JPH0935132A - Controller for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect data necessary for the control of an automatic vending machine(AVM) even when program runaway or the like occurs. SOLUTION: A control program common to different machine sorts is stored in a ROM 3 built in a controller 1. Machine-sorted specification data set up correspondingly to the machine sort of each AVM, vending format setting data necessary for practically vending commodities and vending history data are stored in a RAM 4. The controller 1 is also provided with an EEPROM 10 for storing the machine-sorted specification data and the vending format setting data stored also in the RAM 4 and a write inhibiting circuit 11 for turning off a switch 12 inserted into the writing signal line of the EEPROM 10 at the time other than the writing of necessary data in the EEPROM 10. Even when data stored in the RAM 4 are destructed due to the runaway of the program, backup battery-out for the RAM 4 or the like, data necessary for the control of the AVM are stored in the EEPROM 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a controller for an automatic vending machine that sells products such as canned drinks and bottled drinks.

[0002]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For example, an automatic vending machine that sells products such as canned beverages has MPU, ROM, RAM.
It is equipped with a control device consisting of etc., and the control device operates a heating device and a cooling device for heating and cooling the products in the product storage chamber (column) according to a predetermined control program, and turns on a fluorescent lamp for a display. A coin mechanism having a change inspection mechanism and a change discharge mechanism, a bend mechanism for discharging the products in the column one by one, various displays, and the like are controlled.

In this case, there are a plurality of types of vending machines which differ in the number of product storage rooms (columns) and the hot / cold switching specifications of each room, but the ROM is shared even among these different models. In order to achieve this, the control program stored in the ROM is shared, and the model-specific specification data corresponding to the model of the vending machine is stored in the RAM at the time of factory shipment, so that control according to that model is performed. I am trying. At this time, the RAM stores the stored contents by the backup battery.

In addition, when actually selling a product by an automatic vending machine, it is necessary to also provide sales mode setting data such as allocation of selection buttons to columns, price setting of products, hot / cold selection, and setting of sales hours. Become. Also regarding this sales mode setting data, for example, at the time of factory shipment,
The standard data is stored in the RAM so that the administrator of the vending machine or the like can change it to a desired sales mode (rewrite data) at the shipping destination. The RAM also stores other sales history data (aggregation data) so that the administrator can aggregate and confirm the number of sales.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, for example, when the backup power supply of the RAM is turned off and the entire memory of the RAM is cleared, or when the program runs away and the memory content of the RAM is destroyed, it is necessary for the control. It becomes impossible to sell the product because the specification data for each model is lost. In this case, in order to restore the system, it is necessary to re-enter the data, which is a problem that takes a lot of time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a control device for a vending machine capable of protecting data necessary for controlling the vending machine even if a program runs out of control. To provide.

[0007]

A control device for a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a microprocessor, a ROM, and an R.
A rewritable ROM for storing data necessary for controlling the vending machine together with the RAM, which is provided with an AM and controls the vending machine according to a control program, and when writing necessary data to the rewritable ROM. Except for the above, a write prohibition circuit for prohibiting writing of data from the microprocessor to the rewritable ROM is provided.

In this case, the rewritable ROM can store the model-specific specification data set according to the model of the vending machine (the invention of claim 2).

Further, the detecting means for detecting that the data stored in the RAM is destroyed, and the data stored in the rewritable ROM when the detecting means detects the destruction of the data are copied to the RAM. It may be configured to include a data copy means for performing the above (the invention of claim 3).

Furthermore, the rewritable ROM may store sales mode setting data for setting the sales mode of the vending machine (the invention of claim 4).

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) First Embodiment First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a control device 1 for an automatic vending machine according to this embodiment.

Here, the control unit 1 connects an MPU (arithmetic processing unit) 2, which is a microprocessor, a ROM (read only memory) 3, and a RAM (readable and writable memory) 4, to each other by a signal line (bus). It is configured. Of these, the ROM 3 stores a control program for controlling each mechanism of the vending machine. And the RA
In M4, a storage area for storing various kinds of data described later is provided together with the work area. Also, this R
A battery 5 for backup is connected to the AM 4 so that the stored contents are retained even when the power supply to the control device 1 is turned off.

A control input / output circuit 6 is connected to the MPU 2. Although not shown, the control input / output circuit 6 is provided with a heating device and a cooling device for heating and cooling the products (for example, canned beverages) in the product storage chamber (column), a coin inspection mechanism, and a change discharge mechanism. The coin mechanism, the bend mechanism for discharging the products in the column one by one, the fluorescent lamp for various displays and displays, the product selection switch operated by the selection button, etc. are connected.

Here, in the present embodiment, the RAM
The storage area 4 stores model-specific specification data set corresponding to the model of the vending machine, such as the number of product storage rooms (columns) and hot / cold switching specifications of each room. As a result, the control programs stored in the ROM are made common even between different models, so that the ROM can be shared.

Along with this, the RAM 4 is necessary for actually selling the product by the vending machine, such as allocation of the selection button to the column, price setting of the product, selection of hot / cold, and setting of the sales time zone. The following sales mode setting data is stored. Further, in this embodiment, sales history data (aggregated data) such as when and how much of which product was sold is also stored.

At this time, the setting data input circuit 7 is connected to the MPU 2, and the setting data input circuit 7 is connected.
The model-specific specification data and the sales mode setting data are input to the RAM 4 via the. In this embodiment, by connecting the data input device 8 to the setting data input circuit 7 on the factory side, the model-specific specification data and the standard sales mode setting data are input to the control device 1 in advance. ing. Regarding the sales mode setting data, the vending machine manager or the like can obtain the sales mode setting data by connecting a setting device (for example, a remote control device or a control panel) 9 to the setting data input circuit 7 at the shipping destination (bottler). You can change the data.

Thus, the control device 1 controls each mechanism of the vending machine based on the control program stored in the ROM 3 and the data stored in the RAM 4, so that the purchaser puts the required money. When the selection button is operated, the selected product is sold.
In this case, the sales history data in the RAM 4 is rewritten every time the product is sold.

By the way, the MPU 2 has a rewritable RO.
The M EEPROM 10 and the write inhibit circuit 11 are connected. In this case, the MPU 2 stores the above-mentioned model-specific specification data and sales mode setting data in the EEPROM 1
It is configured to write to 0, and with this, EEPR
The OM 10 stores data necessary for controlling the vending machine together with the RAM 4. EEPR
Of course, the data can be read from the OM 10.

Then, the MPU 2 and the EEPROM 10
In the middle of the write signal line connecting
Is provided, and the write inhibit circuit 11 is
The switch 12 is turned on based on the command signal from
It is turned off. At this time, as will be described later in the description of the operation, the control device 1 uses the software configuration (control program) to switch via the write inhibit circuit 11 only when the MPU 2 writes the necessary data described above into the EEPROM 10. 12 is turned on, and at the time of other normal vending machine control, etc., the switch 12 is turned off via the write inhibit circuit 11 to turn off the EEPROM 10.
It is made impossible to write data to.

Further, as will be described later, in this embodiment, the control device 1 realizes the functions of the detecting means and the data copying means by the software configuration (control program), and the data of the RAM 4 is turned on when the power is turned on. Is detected, and if data destruction is detected, the data (specific model data and sales mode setting data) stored in the EEPROM 10 is copied to the RAM 4. Of.

Next, the control device 1 configured as described above.
The action of will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the control device 1 controls each mechanism of the vending machine based on the control program stored in the ROM 3 and the model-specific specification data and the sales mode setting data stored in the RAM 4. At this time, the flow chart of FIG.
The processing procedure executed by the (MPU2) is schematically shown.

That is, when the controller 1 is powered on,
First, the system is initialized (step S1), and then the write inhibit circuit 11 turns off the switch 12 (step S2). In the next step S3, it is checked whether or not the data in the RAM4 has been destroyed, and the RAM is
If it is judged that the data of 4 is not destroyed (N
o), proceeding to step S4, normal vending machine control is executed. The detection of data destruction in step S3 will be described later.

Although details of the automatic vending machine control in step S4 are omitted, the product (canned beverage) is cooled (or heated) to a set temperature, a predetermined display is performed, and the currency required by the purchaser is displayed. When the product is turned on and the selection button is operated, the bend mechanism of the column corresponding to the selection button is operated to sell the selected product.
Further, at this time, as described above, the sales history data in the RAM 4 is rewritten every time the product is sold.

[0024] And the manager of the vending machine (bottler)
However, you can change the selection button column assignment,
If you want to change the sales mode of the vending machine, such as changing the price of the product, switching between hot / cold, and changing the sales hours, input the sales mode setting data using the setting device 9. Work can be performed (step S5).

When such sales mode setting data is input (Yes in step S5), first, in step S6, the switch 12 is operated via the write inhibit circuit 11.
Is turned on, and data can be written from the MPU 2 to the EEPROM 10. Then, in step S7,
The input change data is written in the RAM 4, and together with this, the change data is also written in the EEPROM 10. When the writing of data is completed, the switch 12 is turned off again in step S8 and the EEPROM 1
Writing of data to 0 is prohibited, and the process returns to the normal vending machine control (step S4).

In the normal control of the above-mentioned vending machine, if the program runs out of control, RA
The data stored in M4 (specification data by model, sales mode setting data, and sales history data) will be destroyed. Further, even when the power consumption of the battery 5 is increased and the power supply is interrupted, the data in the RAM 4 is erased when the power is turned off. If the data in the RAM 4 (specification data for each model and sales mode setting data) is destroyed, the subsequent operation of the vending machine becomes impossible.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in step S3, the presence or absence of data destruction in the RAM 4 is detected. This detection is performed, for example, by determining whether or not a predetermined pattern of data that is not changed in a normal state is stored in a specific address of the RAM 4, and if the predetermined data is not stored, RA is stored.
It is determined that the M4 data has been destroyed. still,
As another method of detecting data destruction in the RAM 4, a checksum of the sales mode setting data area may be stored.

If it is determined that the data in the RAM 4 has been destroyed (Yes in step S3).
s), in step S9, the data (specification data for each model and sales mode setting data) stored in the EEPROM 10 is copied to the RAM 4.
At the time of the above program runaway, the switch 12 is turned off, so that the EEPROM 10
The data stored in is not destroyed (the probability of data being destroyed is very small). In addition, RAM4
Even if the backup battery 5 of the
Of course, the data stored in will not be destroyed.

Therefore, even if the data in the RAM 4 is destroyed due to a program runaway or battery exhaustion, not only the model-specific specification data but also the sales mode setting data in the sales mode that has been used until the last time is stored in the RAM 4 Will be copied to the vending machine administrator (service person)
It becomes possible to immediately control the vending machine equivalent to the previous time (step S4) without performing the resetting work.

As described above, according to this embodiment, EEPRO
The M10 is provided to store the model-specific specification data and the sales mode setting data necessary for the operation of the automatic vending machine together with the RAM 4, and the writing prohibition circuit 11 makes it impossible to write the data to the EEPROM 10 except when necessary. Therefore, even if the program runs away or the backup battery of the RAM 4 runs out, the data required for controlling the vending machine can be protected.

As a result, even if the data in the RAM 4 may be destroyed, unlike the conventional method in which the product cannot be sold, the product cannot be sold. In addition, it is possible to quickly restart the operation of the vending machine. Moreover,
Model-specific specification data and sales mode setting data are automatically R
Since the data is copied to the AM4, it is possible to restart the operation of the vending machine without any troublesome work such as re-input of data by an administrator.

(2) Second Embodiment The flow chart of FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Similar to FIG. 2, the processing procedure executed by the control device according to the present embodiment will be described. It is shown schematically. In this case, the hardware configuration of the control device is the same as that of the first embodiment, so new illustration and detailed description will be omitted, and reference numerals will be the same.

In the first embodiment described above, the sales history data used by the administrator of the vending machine for collecting sales and the like is stored only in the RAM 4, but in the present embodiment, the sales history data is stored. Regarding data, EEPRO
It was stored in M10. That is, when the power is turned on, the system is first initialized (step S11), then the write inhibit circuit 11 turns off the switch 12 (step S12), and normal vending machine control is executed (step S11). S13).

Then, the sales history data in the RAM 4 is rewritten as the product is sold. When the sales history data is changed in this way (step S1).
4 is Yes), and in step S15, the switch 12 is turned on through the write inhibit circuit 11 and the EEPROM 1
Data can be written to 0, the changed sales history data is written in the EEPROM 10 in step S16, and after the writing is completed, the switch 12 is turned off again in step S17 to write the data in the EEPROM 10. Is prohibited.

Further, in this case, as in the case of the first embodiment, when the manager of the vending machine wants to change the selling mode of the vending machine, he / she can input the sales mode setting data. . If the sales aspect setting data has been input (Yes in step S18), the switch 12 is turned on through the write prohibition circuit 11 in step S19, and the changed sales aspect setting data in step S20. Is written in the EEPROM 10, and after the writing is completed, the switch 12 is turned off again in step S21.

Further, although not shown in the figure, the control unit controls R due to program runaway or backup battery exhaustion.
When the data destruction of the AM4 is detected and the data destruction of the RAM4 is detected, the model-specific specification data, the sales mode setting data and the sales history data stored in the EEPROM 10 are copied to the RAM4. Control is resumed.

Therefore, also in this embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, the data necessary for controlling the vending machine can be protected, and the data in the RAM 4 is lost due to a program runaway or RAM 4 backup battery exhaustion. Even if the data is destroyed, the operation of the vending machine can be promptly restarted without any trouble. Then, in the present embodiment, the sales history data is similarly protected, and the sales history data can be retained even if the program runs away or the backup battery of the RAM 4 runs out.

(3) Third and Fourth Embodiments FIGS. 4 and 5 show a third embodiment of the present invention. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the EEPROM 21 having a relatively small storage capacity is used as the rewritable ROM so that the cost can be reduced. And RAM4
2, a model-specific specification data storage area 4a, a sales mode setting data storage area 4b, and a sales history data 4c are provided together with a work area 4d.
Only the model-specific specification data in the model-specific specification data storage area 4a, which is the minimum necessary for controlling the vending machine, is stored. This model-specific specification data is stored in the EEPROM 21 in advance on the factory side.

Therefore, here, the switch 12 is turned on only when the factory side writes the model-specific specification data in the EEPROM 21. Then, during normal operation of the vending machine, the data is not written in the EEPROM 21, and when the data in the RAM 4 is destroyed, the data in the EEPROM 21 is copied to the RAM 4 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Is done. The description of the flowchart of FIG. 5 is omitted because it overlaps with the description of each of the above embodiments.

According to the third embodiment, as in each of the above embodiments, even if the data in the RAM 4 is destroyed due to a program runaway or a backup battery running out of the RAM 4,
The data required to control the vending machine can be protected. Moreover, in this case, the switch 12 is not turned on during the control of the vending machine, so that the data protection can be surely performed.

Finally, FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the model-specific specification data and the sales mode setting data are fixed data, and the EEPROM 10 (and RAM 4) is preliminarily set on the factory side. ). Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when the sales history data in the RAM 4 is rewritten as the product is sold, the changed sales history data is written in the EEPROM 10.

Further, when the data in the RAM 4 is destroyed, the model-specific specification data, the sales mode setting data and the sales history data, which are stored in the EEPROM 10, are copied to the RAM 4 and the control is restarted. . Incidentally, since it overlaps with a part of the second embodiment,
Detailed description of each step in the flowchart will be omitted.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as in the above-mentioned embodiments, even if the data in the RAM 4 is destroyed due to a program runaway or a backup battery running out in the RAM 4,
The data necessary for controlling the vending machine can be protected.

[0044]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the controller of the vending machine of the present invention, the rewritable ROM is provided to store the data necessary for the operation of the vending machine together with the RAM, and Since the write-protection circuit made it impossible to write data to the rewritable ROM except when necessary, the data necessary for controlling the vending machine can be stored even if the program runs out of control or the RAM backup battery runs out. Therefore, even if the data in the RAM can be protected, it is possible to quickly restart the operation of the vending machine, which is an excellent practical effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing a configuration of a RAM and an EEPROM, showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is a control device, 2 is an MPU (microprocessor), 3 is a ROM, 4 is a RAM, 5 is a battery, 10 and 21.
Is an EEPROM (rewritable ROM), 11 is a write inhibit circuit, and 12 is a switch.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rewritable ROM for storing data necessary for controlling an automatic vending machine together with the RAM, which comprises a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, and controls the automatic vending machine according to a control program. A controller for a vending machine, comprising: a write-inhibit circuit for prohibiting writing of data from the microprocessor to the rewritable ROM except when writing necessary data to the rewritable ROM. 2. The control device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the rewritable ROM stores model-specific specification data set according to a model of the vending machine. 3. A detection means for detecting that the data stored in the RAM is destroyed, and the data stored in the rewritable ROM when the detection means detects the destruction of the data are copied to the RAM. The control device for the vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. The control device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the rewritable ROM stores sales mode setting data for setting a sales mode of the vending machine. .