JPH11120423A - Controller for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize the waste of communication by transmitting data only to a necessary terminal control part group when plural terminal control part groups which are functionally made different are present. SOLUTION: A main control part 1 controls plural terminal control parts 2, 3,... for individually controlling each part of a vending machine through a communication line. At that time, the plural terminal control parts 2, 3,... are divided into plural groups which are functionally made different such as a display control part and a sales control part or the like, and addresses different for each group are set. Then, when the main control part 1 transmits data to the terminal control parts, the destinations of transmission can be decided by group units by using the address of each group.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a product selection switch, a sellable lamp, a sold-out lamp, a product discharge solenoid, a sold-out switch, etc., which are made into one unit for each product, and a terminal control unit is provided for each unit. The present invention relates to a vending machine control device that controls and controls such a terminal control unit by a main control unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional general vending machine control device, the inside of a vending machine is divided into a display mechanism, a vending mechanism, a coin processing mechanism, and the like, and these are controlled by a terminal control unit for each part. However, the terminal control units are generally controlled by a main control unit. However, in such a vending machine control device, when the number of commodities sold by one vending machine increases, for example, the display controller connects to a commodity selection button, a sellable lamp, a sold-out lamp, and the like. The problem is that the number of harnesses is increased to several hundreds, so that wiring work is troublesome and costs are increased.

Therefore, the display mechanism is unitized by a product selection switch, a sellable lamp, and a sold-out lamp for each product, and a terminal control unit is provided for each unit, and serial communication is performed between the terminal control unit and the main control unit. A vending machine control device has been proposed in which the number of harnesses is reduced by performing the control. In such a vending machine control device, the number of terminal control units is several tens.

In a vending machine control device having such a large number of terminal control units, the communication between the main control unit and the terminal control units takes too much time if performed by a polling method. Therefore, it has been proposed to perform communication using simultaneous broadcast between the main control unit and the terminal control unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control device for a conventional vending machine. The main control unit 1 and the terminal control units 2, 3,... Are connected by a serial transmission line, and the serial transmission line is connected to a clock line C for transmitting a clock for synchronization.
L and communication lines A and B for transmitting and receiving various data.
Consists of

The main control unit 1 broadcasts, for example,
When transmitting display command data of a sellable lamp and a sold-out lamp to each terminal control unit 2, 3,..., First, broadcast to each terminal control unit 2, 3,. Send the address for When each of the terminal control units 2, 3,... Receives the data, all the terminal control units can receive data.

Therefore, the main controller 1 transmits display command data to all terminal controllers 2, 3,... In a format as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, "1" and "0" of the terminal control unit 2 are 1-bit data indicating turning on and off of the sellable lamp and the sold-out lamp, respectively.
Similarly, “0” and “1” of the terminal control unit 3 indicate that the sellable lamp and the sold-out lamp are turned off and on, respectively. so,
The display command data is a sequence of 1-bit data indicating whether the sellable lamp and the sold-out lamp of each unit are on or off, and the transmission timing is based on the clock transmitted via the clock line CL. Is determined. That is, at the first clock, the lighting data “1” of the sellable lamp of the first unit is output to the transmission communication line A, and at the second clock, the light-out data “1” of the sold-out lamp of the first unit is output. Is output to the communication line A, and a series of data is output.

[0008] On the other hand, the terminal control section determines which of the display command data in the format as shown in FIG. 9 is transmitted serially based on the address data unique to each terminal control section stored therein. It is determined whether to take in the data of the bit and predetermined data is taken in accordance with that.

In this way, efficient data transmission can be performed by simultaneous broadcast from the main control unit 1 to each of the terminal control units 2, 3,..., And the communication time can be reduced as compared with the polling method. It can be shortened.

Conventional documents relating to such a vending machine control device include, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2581813.
(G07F 9/00).

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However,
In the conventional vending machine control device, each terminal control unit has only two addresses, that is, a unique address and a broadcast address for specifying all terminal control units. When transmitting data to a terminal control unit, there are only two methods of specifying one terminal control unit to be transmitted or specifying all terminal control units. Therefore, as a terminal control unit to be controlled by the main control unit 1, it is preferable that all terminal control units have the same function. For example, a terminal control unit group of a display mechanism system and a terminal control unit group of a sales mechanism system When a plurality of terminal control unit groups having different functions exist, communication waste is increased.

That is, when there are a terminal control unit group of a display mechanism and a terminal control unit group of a sales mechanism as terminal control units, the main control unit 1 transmits data to each terminal control unit by simultaneous broadcasting. Naturally, the data in the case includes both the bit corresponding to the terminal control unit of the display mechanism and the bit corresponding to the terminal control unit of the sales mechanism. Therefore, for example, even when the display command data of the sellable lamp and the sold-out lamp is transmitted to each terminal control unit of the display mechanism system by simultaneous broadcast, the sales mechanism system which does not need to transmit the data is not necessary. In this case, data including bits for the terminal control unit is transmitted, and communication is wasted, and the communication efficiency is reduced accordingly.

The present invention solves such a problem, and when there are a plurality of functionally different terminal control unit groups, data is transmitted only to necessary terminal control units, thereby enabling communication. The purpose is to minimize waste.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine control apparatus comprising: a plurality of terminal control units for individually controlling each unit of the vending machine; A vending machine control device comprising a main control unit that controls and controls a control unit through a communication line, wherein the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of groups, and different addresses are assigned to the respective groups. The data transmission destination can be specified in a group unit. With this configuration, data can be transmitted only to a specific terminal control unit group among a plurality of terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine control device, wherein a plurality of terminal control units for individually controlling each unit of the vending machine, and the plurality of terminal control units are collectively controlled through a communication line. A vending machine control device comprising a main control unit, wherein the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of groups, a different flag is set for each group, and a data transmission destination is set using the flag. Can be specified in a group unit. Even in this case, data can be transmitted only to a specific terminal control unit group among a plurality of terminal control unit groups.

Further, a control device for a vending machine according to a third aspect is characterized in that the terminal control section is divided into a plurality of functionally different groups. If you do this,
Data can be simultaneously transmitted to a terminal control unit group having a specific function among a plurality of terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be minimized.

Further, the control device for a vending machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention controls a plurality of terminal control units for individually controlling each unit of the vending machine, and integrally controls the plurality of terminal control units through a communication line. A vending machine control device including a main control unit, wherein the main control unit specifies a first address and a last address of a data transmission destination, and the terminal control unit includes:
Data is received when its own address is within the specified range of the first address and the last address. With this configuration, data can be transmitted only to the necessary terminal control unit group without adding an address, a flag, or the like to each group.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control device of the vending machine. In FIG. 4, 10, 20
Is a display unit unitized in correspondence with a specific product storage column, 11 is a display control unit for controlling the display unit, 12 is a sellable display LED, 13 is a sold-out display LED, and 14 is a product selection. Switch, 30, 40
Is a sales unit unitized in correspondence with a specific product storage column, 31 is a sales control unit for controlling the sales unit, 32 is a relay for turning on and off a product discharge solenoid, and 33 is a sold-out switch.

Although not shown, the display unit 20 is similar to the display unit 10 and includes a display control unit and a displayable L for sale.
The sales unit 40 has an ED, a sold-out display LED, and a product selection switch.
It has a sales control unit, a relay, and a sold-out switch. The display control unit 11 and the sales control unit 31 are connected to the main control unit 1 and are controlled by the main control unit 1 as terminal control units. For example, in a 32-column vending machine, 32 display control units and 32 sales control units are required, and the total number of terminal control units is 64 or more.

It takes too much time to communicate with such a large number of terminal control units by using a polling method as in the prior art. Therefore, the communication performed between the main control unit and the terminal control unit is performed by using the simultaneous broadcast. In the present invention, the communication efficiency at that time is improved.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in addition to the individual address for each terminal control unit, the display control unit and the sales control unit are divided into a plurality of functionally different groups, and different group addresses are assigned to each group. . When data is transmitted only to a terminal control unit belonging to a certain specific group, for example, only to the display control unit, the group address data generation unit 1E generates the group address data of the display control unit. Then, the data and the data itself created by the transmission data creation unit 1A are sent to the communication unit 1B as group batch transmission data 1C.

When transmitting data to only one terminal control unit, the main control unit 1 creates address data of the terminal control unit to be transmitted by the individual address data creating means 1F. And the transmission data creation means 1A
Individual transmission data 1D together with the data body created in
To the communication means 1B.

The data format of the group batch transmission data 1C and the individual transmission data 1D is, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, the address data AD is inserted after the signal STX indicating the head of the data, and thereafter the data body DATA to be transmitted is input. And after them,
Signal ETX indicating end of data and block check character BC
Insert C.

On the other hand, in the terminal control unit to which such transmission data is sent from the main control unit 1, it is received by the communication means 2A. Then, in the address determination means 2D, the address data AD is extracted therefrom, and the address data AD is extracted from the address data AD, the individual address stored in the individual address storage means 2E, and the group address stored in the group address storage means 2F. Compare. As a result, if any of them matches, the transmission data extraction means 2B extracts the data body transmitted thereafter. Then, the data processing means 2C performs predetermined control based on the data extracted in this manner.

In the first embodiment, as described above, the main control unit 1 transmits a data with a group address, so that a data transmission destination can be specified for each group.
As a result, data can be transmitted only to a necessary terminal control unit group among a plurality of functionally different terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be minimized.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of functionally different groups, such as a display control unit and a sales control unit, and different flags are set for each group. To specify the destination of data by group. And
Only terminal control units belonging to a certain group, for example,
When transmitting data only to the display control unit, the group flag creation unit 1G creates the group flag data of the display control unit, and further sets “0” as the individual address data.
, And the data created by the transmission data creation means 1A are sent to the communication means 1B as group batch transmission data 1C.

When data is transmitted to only one terminal control unit, the main control unit 1 creates address data of the terminal control unit to be transmitted by the individual address data creating means 1H. "0" is created as the flag data, and the flag data and the data created by the transmission data creation unit 1A are combined and sent to the communication unit 1B as individual transmission data 1D.

The data format of the group collective transmission data 1C and the individual transmission data 1D is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Like That is, a signal ST indicating the head of data
X, the individual address data AD and the group flag FLG are inserted, and thereafter, the data body DA to be transmitted is transmitted.
TA, followed by a signal E indicating the end of data.
TX and block check character BCC are inserted. Then, when transmitting to a specific terminal control unit, as shown in FIG. 6B, the individual address data AD of the terminal control unit is transmitted.
, And “0” is inserted into the group flag data. When transmitting to a terminal control unit belonging to a specific group, as shown in FIG. 6C, “0” is inserted in the individual address data and a group flag FLG corresponding to the group is inserted. Group flag F
As the LG, for example, the first group is “1”, 2
The third group may be set as "2", and the third group as "3".

On the other hand, in the terminal control unit to which such transmission data has been sent from the main control unit 1, the communication unit 2A receives it. Then, the collective communication determining means 2G extracts the individual address data AD and the group flag FLG from the received data, and sets the individual address data AD to "0".
If it is, it means batch sending,
Group flag FLG and group flag storage means 2J
Is compared with the group flag of the own group stored in. As a result, if they match, the transmission data extracting means 2
In B, the data body transmitted thereafter is extracted. Then, the data processing means 2C performs predetermined control based on the data extracted in this manner.

Also, the own address determining means 2H extracts the individual address data AD and the group flag FLG from the received data. If the group flag FLG is "0", it is referred to as individual transmission. Therefore, the individual address AD is compared with its own address stored in the address storage unit 2K. As a result, if they match, the transmission data extracting means 2B extracts the data body transmitted thereafter. Then, the data processing means 2C performs predetermined control based on the data extracted in this manner.

In the second embodiment, as described above, the main control unit 1 attaches the group flag and transmits the data, so that the data transmission destination can be specified in the unit of a group. As a result, data can be transmitted only to a necessary terminal control unit group among a plurality of functionally different terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be minimized.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of functionally different groups, such as a display control unit and a sales control unit. Division addresses 31 to 6
Addresses are set in order for each group, such as 0. When transmitting data to the entire terminal control unit belonging to a certain group, the main control unit specifies and transmits the first address and the last address in the group. Further, when the terminal address is between the first address and the last address, the terminal control unit determines that the transmission is addressed to the own group and takes in the data.

When transmitting data only to the terminal control units belonging to a certain group, for example, only to the display control unit, the main control unit 1 uses the start / end address data creating means 1K to send the first And the last address data are created and sent to the communication means 1B. On the other hand, the batch transmission data 1J created by the transmission data creation unit 1A is sent to the communication unit 1B. Then, the communication unit 1B transmits the transmission data to each terminal control unit, for example, in a format as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, following the signal STX indicating the head of the data, start address data, for example, “01”
And end address data, for example, “30”.
Also, if data is to be transmitted only to the control units at addresses “05” to “20” in the display control unit, “05” is inserted as the start address data and “30” is set as the end address data. Put in. Then, after that, the data body DATA to be transmitted is inserted, and thereafter, the signal ETX indicating the end of the data and the block check character BCC are inserted, and the data is transmitted.

At this time, when individually transmitted to one terminal control unit, as shown in FIG. 7C, the same address data as the address of the terminal control unit is used as the start address and the end address. For example, “05”, “0”
Insert 5 ".

On the other hand, in the terminal control section to which such transmission data has been sent from the main control section 1, it is received by the communication means 2A. Then, the start / end address determination unit 2L extracts the start address and the end address from the received data, and determines whether or not the own address stored in the address storage unit 2K is within the range. . As a result, if the own address is within the range, the transmission data extracting means 2B extracts the data body transmitted thereafter. Then, the data processing means 2C performs predetermined control based on the data extracted in this manner.

In the third embodiment, the main control unit 1 specifies the first address and the last address in the terminal control unit group to which data is to be transmitted, and the terminal control unit
When the first address and the last address are within a specified range, data is received. As a result, data can be transmitted only to the necessary terminal control unit group, and communication waste can be minimized.

[0037]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. In the vending machine control device according to the first aspect, a plurality of terminal control units are assigned different addresses for each group, and a data transmission destination can be specified in a group unit. Of these, data can be transmitted only to a specific terminal control unit group, and communication waste can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine control apparatus in which a plurality of terminal control units are set with different flags for each group, and the data transmission destination can be specified in groups by using the flags. did. As a result, similarly to the above, data can be transmitted only to a specific terminal control unit group among a plurality of terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be reduced.

In the control device for a vending machine according to the third aspect, the plurality of terminal control units are divided into functionally different groups. As a result, data can be simultaneously transmitted to a terminal control unit group having a specific function among a plurality of terminal control unit groups, and communication waste can be minimized.

Further, in the control device for a vending machine according to claim 4, the main control unit specifies a first address and a last address of a data transmission destination, and the terminal control unit determines that its own address is the same as the first address. Data is received when the first address and the last address are within the specified range.
As a result, data can be transmitted only to the necessary terminal control unit group without using a group address, a group flag, and the like, and communication waste can be minimized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control device of the vending machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a communication format in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication format in a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a communication format according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a conventional vending machine control device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a format of a display command data body in a conventional vending machine control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main control part 2 ... Terminal control part 10, 20 ... Display unit 12 ... LED for sale indication 13 ... LED for sale display 14 ... Product selection switch 30, 40 ... Sales unit 31 ... Sales control part 32 ... Relay 33 … Sold out switch

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Yamazaki 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] An apparatus for controlling a vending machine, comprising: a plurality of terminal controllers for individually controlling the respective units of the vending machine; and a main controller for controlling the plurality of terminal controllers integrally through a communication line. Wherein the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of groups, different addresses are assigned to the respective groups, and a data transmission destination can be designated in a group unit. Control device. 2. A vending machine control device comprising: a plurality of terminal control units for individually controlling each unit of the vending machine; and a main control unit for controlling the plurality of terminal control units through a communication line. Wherein the plurality of terminal control units are divided into a plurality of groups, different flags are set for each group, and the destination of data can be specified in units of groups using the flags. Vending machine control device. 3. The vending machine control device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal control unit is divided into a plurality of functionally different groups. 4. A vending machine control device comprising: a plurality of terminal control units for individually controlling each unit of the vending machine; and a main control unit for controlling the plurality of terminal control units through a communication line. The main control unit specifies a first address and a last address of a data transmission destination, and the terminal control unit determines that its own address is within a range specified by the first address and the last address. A vending machine control device characterized by receiving data once.