JPS5845740B2 - sales equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to vending equipment.

In recent years, unmanned supermarkets, which are equipped with many vending machines to save labor, have been appearing.

However, this is a large-scale system and requires enormous equipment costs to install a large number of vending machines.

Therefore, installing vending machines like the one mentioned above is problematic in small-scale stores due to equipment costs, and furthermore, in stores that handle seasonal products, it is difficult to expect that vending machines can be used efficiently. It is uneconomical.

This invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a vending facility that can sell goods almost unattended without installing a vending machine.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a counter device that is operated by a customer when purchasing an article, and a payment device that is operated by the customer after completing the purchase of the article, and the counter device is attached to a magnetic card and the article. The system is configured to read and record price information from the presented price card, record it on the presented magnetic card, and return the magnetic card. The payment device is equipped with a reading device that reads price information from a magnetic card presented by the customer, and based on this price information, it identifies that cash corresponding to the total purchase amount has been paid. It consists of a label issuing device that issues a number of labels equal to the number of articles purchased.

With the above configuration, it is possible to sell and settle goods in the following manner.

That is, a customer has a magnetic card placed in the store, and each product is arranged on a product shelf, and the customer arbitrarily takes out a desired product from the product shelf.

A price card is attached to each product, and when the customer presents (inserts) the price card attached to the product he/she has taken out and the magnetic card into the counter device, the counter device reads the price from the price card and displays it. After recording on the magnetic card, the magnetic card is returned.

The above operation is repeated every time one product is taken out, and after all the desired products have been taken out and the receipt has been taken, the magnetic card is presented (inserted) into the settlement device and the purchase price is put into the settlement device.

The payment device uses a reading device to read price information from the magnetic card, and when the customer identifies that the total amount of the purchase amount has been deposited, the label issuing device issues labels for the number of purchased items.

The customer attaches one issued label to each purchased item and leaves the store.

An attendant is stationed only at the exit of the store, and the attendant assumes that all purchased items have been paid for if a label is affixed to each item.

Therefore, according to this invention, the store is unmanned except for an attendant at the exit, and there is no need to install a vending machine.Customers can choose the products they want and put the price into the payment machine. It becomes possible to provide sales equipment that can be purchased.

Embodiments illustrating the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a top view showing the arrangement of the counter device and payment device in this invention, where 1 is a store, 2 is an entrance, 3 is an exit, 4 is a product shelf, 5 is a counter device, and 6 is a payment device. , 1 is a gate with a staff member, and 8 is a gate.

However, the product shelf 4, counter device 5, payment device 6, gate 7,
A plurality of stands 8 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

Note that 8' is a stand for placing magnetic cards.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the product shelf 4 and counter device 5 shown in FIG. 1, and the counter device 5 is provided with a price card slot 9, a magnetic card slot 10, and a price display 11.

Figure 3 is a graph showing a magnetic card, where A is the front surface and B
, C, and D indicate the back side.

In addition to the prescribed characters, the surface A has a magnetic stripe G and a hole H.
and is provided.

B shows the back side when the card was issued, and C and D show the back sides during shopping and after payment, respectively.

The hole H is for determining the orientation of the magnetic card when the magnetic head reads the magnetic card.

Figure 4 is a graph showing a price card.As shown in A, the price card consists of two parts M and M'.The part M is pasted on the product shelf as shown in the mouth, and the part M' is It can be easily removed from part M and therefore from the merchandise shelf.

In addition to the price printed on portion M', a price card is magnetically recorded on portion N.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of one embodiment of the teller device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the structure of the mechanical part of the device shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, each time a customer takes out a product, the customer inserts the price card M' attached to the product (FIG. 4A) into the price card slot 9 shown in FIG. One magnetic card (
It is shown in Figure 3.

) and insert it into the magnetic card slot 10.

21 is a roller, 24, 24' is a roller for the belt conveyor 23, 25, 25', 25// are auxiliary rollers, these rollers and the belt conveyor are always rotating in the direction of the arrow, The loaded price card M' is conveyed to the right, and phototransistors 22 and 22' are provided along the way (22' is for reading when the price card is inserted face down).

) is read by.

The read price is displayed on the display 11 in FIG.

For example, a micro switch (not shown) is used to insert the price card.

), the alignment control device (described later) detects this at an appropriate timing.

) operates to drive the control rod 26 and push the card M into the card collection surface 27.

A push plate 28 is pulled by a spring 29 and presses the cards M' in the box 27 to align them.

A magnetic card (shown in FIG. 3) inserted from the slot 10 is detected by a photoelectric switch 31 having a light projector 30, and this detection output causes a motor (described later) to rotate forward and drive a roller 32, causing it to move to the right. sent to
When passing under the magnetic head 33, the magnetic recording is read.

Next, when the leading end of the magnetic card reaches the position of a photoelectric switch 34 having a light projector 35, the photoelectric switch 34 detects this and operates a stopper 36 to stop the magnetic card at a predetermined position.

When the printing device 37 with the ribbon 37' finishes the specified printing at this position, the motor is reversed after an appropriate timing by the output of the photoelectric switch 34, and the magnetic card is sent to the left, and the magnetic card is When passing through the position 33, predetermined data is magnetically recorded, and then the magnetic card is returned from the slot 10.

The above operation will be further explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG.

First, the configuration of the one shown in FIG. 5 will be explained.

38 is a reading circuit which receives the output of the phototransistor 22, and the read information is sent to a print control device 39 and a recording device 40.
, are input to the arithmetic circuit 41.

42 is a transport control circuit which receives the detection outputs of the photoelectric switches 31 and 34 and controls the motor 43.

The motor 43 drives the roller 32 shown in FIG.

The calculation circuit 41 inputs the calculation result to the recording device 40 and the print control device 39.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a reading/recording control device, which serves as a detection output of the photoelectric switch 3L34, inputs read information from the magnetic head 33 to a reading circuit 45, and causes the magnetic head 33 to record information from the recording device 40 onto a magnetic card. A stopper control device 046 controls the stopper 36 shown in FIG. 6 based on the output of the photoelectric switch 34 and information from the reading circuit 45.

47 is a +1 (plus l) circuit which applies a signal to the recording device 40 based on the signal from the reading circuit 45.

Reference numeral 48 denotes an alignment control device which receives the signal from the phototransistor 22 and controls the alignment rod 26.

Next, the operation will be explained.

The price information obtained by the phototransistor 22 in FIG.

On the other hand, when a magnetic card is inserted through the slot 10 and detected by the photoelectric switch 31, this detection output is applied to the conveyance control circuit 42, which causes the motor 43 to rotate in the normal direction, so that the magnetic card is Transported to the right.

Note that the detection output of the photoelectric switch 31 is also applied to the reading/recording control device 44.

When the magnetic card reaches the position of the magnetic head 33, the magnetic head 33 reads the magnetic recording.

At this time, the reading/recording control device 44 includes a photoelectric switch 31.
When this detection output is added, the device 44 inputs the information read by the magnetic head 33 to the reading circuit 45.

The information read from the magnetic card is the purchase amount and its line shown in FIG. 3C.

In Figure 3C, the purchase amount is recorded in the first and second lines, and in this case, there is a record up to the second line, and the amounts in the first and second lines are 250 yen and 300 yen, respectively. It reads that it is a circle.

When the magnetic card is used for the first time, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is read that there is no record of the amount in the first line either.

As will be described later, information indicating the number of lines in which the purchase amount is recorded is also recorded on the magnetic card.

Among these pieces of information, information indicating the line with the record is input to the stopper control device 46, and the device 46 receives this information and controls the stopper 36 so that the record on the magnetic card is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3C. 1st. If there is a record on the second line, the stop position of the magnetic card is determined so that the third line faces the printing surface of the printer 37.

Further, among the read information, information on the purchase amount is input to the arithmetic circuit 41.

Note that the reading circuit 45 inputs a signal to the +1 (plus 1) circuit 47 every time it outputs read information once.

The calculation circuit 41 calculates the total amount based on the price card information inputted from the reading circuit 38 and the magnetic card amount information inputted from the reading circuit 45, and inputs the total amount to the print control device 39 and the recording device 40. do.

A +1 signal is also input from the +1 circuit 47 to the recording device 40 .

The photoelectric switch 34 detects the front end of the magnetic card before the magnetic card stops at the printing position and generates a detection output, and this detection output is input to the conveyance control circuit 42, the reading/recording control device 44, and the stopper control device 46. be done.

Therefore, the stopper control device 46 gives a command to the printing control device 39 to cause the printing device 37 to print the current purchase amount and the total amount on the magnetic card, and returns the stopper 36 to its original position, and the conveyance control circuit 42 performs an appropriate operation. motor 4 at the appropriate timing.
3 is reversed and the magnetic card is conveyed to the left in FIG. By operating the magnetic head 33, the current purchase amount, the total amount, and the number of lines for printing the purchase amount input into the recording device 40 (+1 circuit 4
7 adds up to 1.

is magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripe G of the magnetic card.

The magnetic card is returned to the customer through the slot 10.

When the phototransistor 22 reads the price card, the Φ signal is input to the alignment control device 48, and the alignment control device 48 operates the control rod 26 at an appropriate timing to direct the conveyed price card to the collection direction 27 ( Figure 6).

The above operation is repeated every time one product is purchased, and when the purchase of the product is completed, the magnetic card is inserted into the payment device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the structure of one embodiment of the payment device, and FIG. 7 is a corrected diagram showing the structure of the mechanical part of the device shown in FIG.

First, the structure and operation of the mechanical parts will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, when a magnetic card is inserted through the slot 51, a photoelectric switch 52 having a light projector 52' detects this, and a motor (not shown) detects this.

) to drive the rollers 54 (plurality) and transport the magnetic card to the right.

When the magnetic card passes the position of the magnetic head 53, the information recorded on the magnetic stripe G is read.

A photoelectric switch 5 whose front end of the magnetic card has a floodlight 55
When the photoelectric switch 56 reaches the position 6, the photoelectric switch 56 detects this, and its output causes the printer 58 to print the total amount at the position P in the third diagram.The motor is also reversed, and the roller 54 prints the magnetic card. Convey it to the left in the figure.

When the magnetic card passes under the puncher 59, the puncher 59 punches a hole in the magnetic card at the position shown at Q in the third diagram, that is, at the magnetic stripe, thereby marking the magnetic card as invalid.

Thereafter, the magnetic card is ejected from the slot 51.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a bill slot, and when a customer inserts a bill, a photoelectric switch having a light projector 60 detects this, and the detected output drives a motor (not shown).

) is rotated in the normal direction, thereby driving the rollers 63 (plurality) to transport the banknotes to the right.

64 is a magnetic head that reads information on the banknote when the banknote passes this position.

When the bill is further conveyed and detected by a photoelectric switch 66 having a light projector 65, the roller 67 is driven by the detection output, and the bill is stored in the storage surface 68.

Next, the electrical configuration and operation of the payment device O will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the configuration will be explained.

In FIG. 8, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 7 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG.

71 is a conveyance control device which receives outputs from photoelectric switches 52 and 56 also shown in FIG. 7 and controls the motor 72.

Reference numeral 73 denotes a reading control device, which is connected to the magnetic head 5 also shown in FIG.
The read information of No. 3 is input to the storage circuit 14.

Reference numeral 75 denotes a printing control device which receives information from the storage circuit 74 and drives the printing machine 58 to print on the magnetic card.

76 is a punch control device which receives the output of the conveyance control device 71 and operates the punch machine 59 also shown in FIG.

77 is a conveyance control device that controls a motor 78.

Reference numeral 79 denotes a reading control device which receives the output of the phototransistor 64 also shown in FIG.

The transport control device 77 is operated by the outputs of the identification circuit 80 and the phototransistor 64.

The outputs of the phototransistor 66 and the identification circuit 80 are input to the roller 67 in FIG.

Reference numeral 81 denotes a subtraction circuit which receives information from the identification circuit 80 and the storage circuit 74 and drives change dispensers 83, 84 and 85.

82 is a label release control device which receives the output of the identification circuit 80 and applies the output to the label release machine 87.

86 is a subtracting circuit that stores information in the storage circuit 74 and the control device 82.
The output signal of

Next, the operation will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

When the magnetic card is detected by the photoelectric switch 52,
The detection signal is applied to the conveyance control device 71, and the device 71 rotates the motor 72 in the forward direction based on this signal.

The motor 72 drives the roller 54 in FIG. 1 to transport the magnetic card to the right.

When the magnetic card passes the position of the magnetic head 53, the information on the magnetic card read by the magnetic head 53 is stored in the storage circuit 74 by the reading control device 73.

By reading the information on the magnetic card as shown in the third diagram, the total amount and the number of purchased products can be known.

Information on the total amount stored in the storage circuit 74 is input to the print control device 15.

When the magnetic card is further conveyed and reaches the position of the printing device 58, it is detected by the photoelectric switch 56, and the detection signal is applied to the conveyance control device 71 and the print control device 75.

Therefore, the print control device 75 drives the printer 58 to record the total amount on the print line P of the total purchase amount on the magnetic card.
Next, the conveyance control device 71 immediately stops the motor 72, and after the above-mentioned printing is completed, the conveyance control device 71 rotates the motor 72 in the reverse direction and transfers the magnetic card to the seventh magnetic card.
The card is conveyed to the left in the figure, and a signal is given to the punch control device 76 at an appropriate timing to operate the punch machine 59, and the punch machine 59 punches a hole Q in the 0th part of the magnetic stripe of the magnetic card.

The magnetic card is then ejected.

The hole Q is considered to be a sign that the magnetic card has been used.

On the other hand, when a bill inserted from the bill slot 65 is detected by the photoelectric switch 62, the detection signal activates the conveyance control device 77 to rotate the motor 78 in the forward direction.

The normal rotation of the motor 78 causes the roller 63 to rotate in the normal direction and convey the bill to the right.

When a banknote passes the position of the phototransistor 64, the read information is sent to the banknote identification circuit 80 by the reading control device 79.
When the banknote is identified as a normal banknote, the signal 80-B is applied to the roller 67, and information on the amount of the banknote is input to the subtraction circuit 81 and the discharge control device 82. Ru.

In this case, when the banknote is further conveyed and reaches the position of the photoelectric switch 66, the detection signal is applied to the roller 67, so that the roller 67 is activated and pushes the banknote into the storage surface 68.

When the identification circuit 80 identifies that the banknote is not a normal banknote, it generates a signal 80-A and inputs it to the conveyance control device 77, and the device 77 uses this signal 80-A to reverse the motor 78, so that the banknote is returned from the input port 65.

Information on the total amount of purchase money is inputted to the subtraction circuit 81 from the memory circuit 74, and the total amount of purchase money is subtracted from the amount of banknotes input from the identification circuit 80, and the remaining amount is sent to the change dispensing machines 83, 84 . Released from 85.

Also, if the result of the subtraction is zero or positive, a signal is generated and applied to the release control device 82.

In other words, a signal is applied only when the amount of inserted banknotes is equal to or greater than the total purchase price.

On the other hand, the number of purchased products (zero) is inputted to the subtraction circuit 86 from the storage circuit 74 .

When a signal 80-B indicating that the banknote is normal is output from the identification circuit 80 and applied to the release control device 82, if the signal from the subtraction circuit 81 is applied to the device 82, the device 82 drives the label ejector 87. to release the label.

Each time a label is released, a signal is applied from the device 82 to a subtraction circuit 86, which subtracts 1 from the number of purchased items originally loaded.

The stiffness subtraction result is obtained by device 82&? - If the subtraction result is not zero, the device 82 causes the label discharge machine 87 to successively discharge labels one by one, and when the subtraction result input from the subtraction circuit 86 becomes zero, the device 82 stops the discharge machine 87.

In this way, labels are released in a number equal to the number of purchased items.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the label discharge machine 87, in which 91 is a reel of label paper, 92 is a label cutter, 93 is a feed roller, 9
4 is an emitter.

Since such a discharger is well known, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the change dispenser 83, 84, 85.
3 releases a 1,000 yen coin, 84 releases a 50 yen coin, and 85 releases a 100 yen coin.

Since such a discharger is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is a graph of the label, on which predetermined characters such as "Payment Completed" are printed, and the cutter 92 cuts the graph.
They are cut out one by one and released.

Furthermore, since the total purchase price is visibly printed on the magnetic card, the customer can read the total purchase price and make the payment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the teller device and payment device in this invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the product shelf and teller device in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a magnetic field diagram used in this invention. Graph of the card, FIG. 4 is a graph of the price card, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the teller device, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the structure of the mechanical part of the teller device. , FIG. 7 is a front view showing the mechanical parts of the payment device shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the payment device, and FIG. 9 is a configuration of the label ejection device. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the change discharging device, and FIG. 11 is a graph of the label. 4... Counter device, 6... Settlement device, 33... Magnetic head, 38... Price card reading circuit, 44... Magnetic card reading/recording control device, 45... Magnetic card reading circuit , 53... Magnetic head, 73... Magnetic card reading control device, 64... Phototransistor, 80...
...Banknote identification circuit, 81...Subtraction circuit, 83, 84,
85... Change dispenser, 86... Subtraction circuit, 87.
...Label release machine.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A counter device operated by a customer when purchasing goods;
The teller device is provided with a payment device operated by the customer after completing the purchase of the product, and the counter device is presented with a magnetic card and a price card attached to the product by the customer, reads price information from the price card, and reads the price information from the price card. The payment device is configured to record price information on the magnetic card and then return the magnetic card, and the payment device includes a reading device that reads price information from the magnetic card presented by the customer, and a total purchase amount based on the price information. a label issuing device for issuing a number of labels equal to the number of purchased goods by identifying that the corresponding cash has been paid.