JPS59186085A - Information input unit for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an input device for inputting necessary information to a vending machine.

(b) Prior Art As the control of vending machines has become electronic, the information necessary to set the selling price is entered using a keyboard. However, input using a keyboard requires operating the function keys and numeric keys in a predetermined order, which requires skill and is quite difficult for inexperienced or inexperienced users. Additionally, when vending machine control becomes microcomputerized, new functions can be added to meet market demands by changing the memory (ROM) that stores the vending machine's control program. It is also necessary to change the accompanying keyboard, and as the amount of information increases, the information input operation becomes extremely complex, making it increasingly difficult for amateurs to operate it.

(c) Purpose The present invention uses barcodes to input information needed for vending machines in place of the keyboard used to input necessary information, which is easy to operate even for inexperienced people and allows accurate and quick input. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine as described above, which is more convenient for a person inputting information, and allows accurate input operations to be achieved.

2) Dedicated barcode display media that are dedicated to vending machines that are installed in designated locations such as component stores and perform vending operations, and that display setting information or management information necessary for vending operations in barcodes. A common barcode display medium that is common to the vending machines installed at the predetermined location, includes all the setting information or management information of these multiple vending machines, and displays all the setting information or management information in barcodes. and a barcode reading device that can read the barcodes of both of the media and outputs information to be stored in the storage section of the vending machine.

(E) Example (1) is a barcode reading device according to the present invention, which is a hand-held scanning type Perco that reads a barcode by photoelectric conversion described on a sheet (2) as a barcode display medium to be described later. ' IJ-data (3) and barcode reader (3)
) and a waveform shaping circuit (5) that shapes the output of the amplifier circuit (4). The barcode league (3) is pen-shaped and has an aperture α2 at its tip for easy hand-held scanning.
Inside, there is a light emitting element αJ, which is a light emitting diode that emits infrared light or other light toward an opening (121), and a light emitting element (13) is reflected by a reflective medium (corresponding to the sheet of the present invention) outside the opening C121. A phototransistor (14) which is a photoelectric conversion element that receives the reflected light and generates a photoelectric conversion output.
A lead wire (15) leads the photoelectric conversion output from the end opposite to the aperture α2 to the amplifier circuit (4).
is derived.

The barcode in the present invention is P and Q as shown in Figure 3 (a).
It has two character areas, and in the area Q, data characters containing setting information and management information, which will be described later, are displayed. In addition, a start character is displayed in the P area, and when the barcode league (3) is moved from left to right on the surface of the barcode, the barcode reader (3) detects the first bar and the waveform shaping circuit is activated. The pulse width judgment unit that operates with the output of (5) starts operating, measures the pulse width of the waveform shaping circuit (5) generated by the thin bar and the thick bar, and judges the thin bar and the thick bar in the range of Q. Based on this standard data, thin bars and thick bars in the range of Q are distinguished, and data characters in the range of Q can be read accurately. For information, see each product storage column (
Setting the selling price for each (storage room), setting whether to sell multiple selections of products or selling one item within the amount inserted into the vending machine, so-called multi-bend or single-bend, whether to exchange money or not, etc. Furthermore, spare change pipes are 10 yen and 50 yen.
So-called setting information such as whether to set it to yen or 100 yen coins, whether to use the two product storage columns in an alternating sales system, and whether to display the internal temperature on the display, as well as sales aggregation. Management information necessary for vending machine management, such as total sales amount (total number of sales items, instructions to display or print out the sales amount and number of sales items for each product storage column on the display, and instructions for inspections such as sales tests) There is.

Depending on the type of vending machine, it is not necessary to have a barcode medium that describes all of these settings, various information, and management information; rather, when looking at a single vending machine, the products stored in it are Due to the structure of vending machines, selling prices are also limited. For this reason, there is no need for barcode media that has unnecessarily many sales prices and column numbers written on it, and as a store owner, if unnecessary management information is written on the barcode media, the vending machine It is inconvenient to search for and operate the necessary barcode, and there is also a risk of entering unnecessary information by mistake. Therefore, in the present invention, a barcode display medium with a simple barcode display is provided for use only in vending machines installed at a predetermined location such as a store. On the other hand, it is inconvenient for service personnel who visit each store to check and inspect the operation of various vending machines to prepare a barcode display medium for each store or model. Therefore, in order to allow service personnel to use it over a wide range of areas, it is necessary to provide a bar code display medium that can be displayed in a manner common to each store or different types of vending machines. To explain specifically,
Regarding the selling price as setting information, for store owners, there is a numerical display section (17) for the selling price so that the selling price can be set from 10 yen to 200 yen as shown in Figure 4.
, a barcode display area α which is provided corresponding to each sales price display and is displayed with a barcode to mean the corresponding price, and a title display area (1 → and ``Sales Price Setting''). Direct visual reading means the barcode (A) and its barcode display section □□□ which instructs the vending machine's control unit, that is, the microcomputer (Le), to set the selling price for each product storage column that stores products by type. Display section that can be used (2υ) and explanatory texts and displays showing operating procedures (
2. Create a sheet (2) on page - that shows the indication (c) that all columns will be set at the same price instead of setting prices for each product storage column and its barcode display area (goods). do. On the other hand, for service personnel, a wider range of selling prices (from 10 yen to 990 yen in the example) can be set than in sheet (2) for store owners, as shown in Figure 5. The part where the digit amount is displayed numerically (c)
, a bar code display section (c) that corresponds to this amount and means that amount, and a numeric display section (27) that indicates the amount in the IOO yen digit of the sales price, and a number display section that corresponds to this amount and means that amount. The barcode display section 2 provided to
(c) Display section similar to (Foundation) (2) (2!1 (7) ta
Create (2) where i+ca (to) is written on page -.

The above-mentioned barcode reading device (1) is installed in each vending machine, and this device (1) is attached to each sheet and the device (1) so that it can read the barcodes on both the shopkeeper's sheet and the serviceman's sheet. 1) is configured. Therefore, when the store owner sets the sales price based on the store owner's sheet, the control unit After entering the price setting state, press the product sales selection button in the product storage column you want to set, and then use the barcode reader (3) to scan the barcode α barrel corresponding to ¥100, and the button that was pressed will be displayed. The corresponding column is selling price 10
It is set to 0 yen. In this way, you can set the selling price of each column one after another, and these prices are controlled by the control device (IQ
is stored in the storage unit. In addition, the service person can set the selling price and confirm the setting using the service person sheet in the same way as the store owner. In this case, the selling price for service personnel is displayed in digit amounts, so the selling price of 100 yen can be achieved by scanning the barcode 4 corresponding to ¥lOO with the barcode reader (3), and the selling price is 920 yen. The setting is achieved by scanning the ¥900 barcode and then scanning the ¥20 barcode (261) using the barcode reader (3).

In this way, store owners can quickly find what they need from a limited number of barcodes and scan the barcodes with the barcode reader (3), and service personnel can quickly find what they need from among the limited barcodes and scan the barcodes with the barcode reader (3). This makes service work easier and eliminates the need for multiple bar sheets, as each piece of information can be extracted from a common sheet with a bar code display containing all of the information and scanned with a bar code reader (3). be.

The same applies to management information, and the sheet for store owners may display limited information specific to the vending machine installed there in a barcode, while the sheet for service personnel can be used for each store or each machine type. Equipped with a barcode display to include all the necessary information. By classifying this information into types and displaying them on separate sheets, errors in reading and scanning by the barcode reader can be reduced.

(f) Functions and Effects In the present invention, each setting information and management information can be entered using a barcode instead of a conventional keyboard, so operations can be made extremely simple by separating this information and displaying it on a barcode display medium. This makes it possible to prevent operational errors and eliminates the need for sufficient experience, which is required when using a keyboard, which is favorable for the widespread use of vending machines that are microcomputerized and have improved functions. In addition, from the perspective of operating a vending machine that has become a micro combinator, even store owners who are not bright about the internal functions of the vending machine can scan a sheet with limited information to set the minimum necessary settings, and can also input information. It can be done smoothly. In addition, since the service person uses the information on the sheet common to many vending machines, there is no need to prepare an information sheet for each vending machine, making service work more efficient.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Each figure relates to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a relationship between a barcode reading device and a sheet, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the tip of the barcode reader, and FIG. 3 is a barcode and its reading waveform. , FIG. 4 is a seat for the shopkeeper, and FIG. 5 is a seat for the service person. (1)...Barcode reading device, (2)...Barcode display medium display), (3)...Barcode reader. tBI diagram Figure 3 (Han 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A dedicated barcode display medium that is dedicated to vending machines that are installed in a predetermined location such as a store and performs vending operations, and displays setting information or management information necessary for vending operations in barcodes, and a barcode display medium that is different from the above. A common barcode display medium that is common to vending machines installed at a predetermined location and includes all the setting information or management information of these multiple vending machines and displays all the setting information or management information in the form of a barcode. , an information input device for a vending machine, comprising a barcode reading device capable of reading barcodes of both of the media and outputting information to be stored in a storage section of the vending machine.