JPS61138397A - Securities applicable 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] [Technical field to which the invention pertains] This invention accepts only paper or paper and coins, distinguishes their authenticity, and pays out products commensurate with the input amount and necessary change. It is a further development of a vending machine that can dispense products (hereinafter referred to as a vending machine), and its main purpose is to enable the dispensing of products and necessary change using other forms of paper than cash.

Here, a valid ticket is like a gift certificate for cigarettes or beer.
It is a type of security that is recorded with at least predetermined product information and amount information or face value information, and the recording of the product information means that it is recorded optically or magnetically in addition to the letters in the product name. Including those encoded or patterned. The amount information includes number information, unit price information, or total amount information displayed on the face of the ticket or encoded or patterned optically or magnetically. Further, the face value information includes the number information and the issue date (or validity information equivalent thereto) of the ticket.

The apparent value of the face value, which is expressed only by the number of pieces without including the unit price, is due to the price increase (decrease) of the product for which the ticket is issued, at the time of issue of the ticket and at the time of exchange for the product. This is because it changes with

[Prior art and its problems]

In the following description of each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

2 and 3 respectively show a front view of an example of a beer vending machine of this scale and a plan view of a beer ticket as an example of a valuable ticket.

In Fig. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes the main body of the vending machine, and the display section 2 is provided on the door, and samples of canned beer 21 to 24, large bottled beer 25, 26, etc. are displayed, and below each sample is the corresponding product selection. Buttons P (Pi to Pn) are provided. This product selection button P has an indicator lamp (available for sale) that informs the customer that the product can be sold if the input amount matches or exceeds the set price of the product and a specified amount of change is paid out. Also called lamp) L
(Ll to Ln) are built-in. If the product is out of stock, this indicator lamp L will not light up or will be displayed as "out of stock". 4 is an out-of-change display lamp, 5 is a coin slot, and 6 is a return lever for returning the inserted coins.

7 is a digital display section that displays information such as the amount of money put in and the amount of change paid out. Reference numeral 8 denotes a paper/value note insertion slot (insertion of paper or value notes is also referred to as insertion in a broad sense).

When the return lever 6 is operated after inserting coins or bills, coins are returned from the return slot 9, and paper and bills are returned from the paper/bill insertion slot 8.

Change is also returned from the return port 9. However, when referring to the following types of money collectively, it is called change.

Reference numerals 10 and 11 denote product take-out ports, which are structured so that products can be easily taken out depending on the product storage and delivery format of the vending machine main body 1. In this example, the product outlet 10 is exclusively for products corresponding to product samples 21 to 24 on the display section 2, and the product outlet 11 is also exclusively for products corresponding to product samples 25 to 26. D is a display window equipped with an indicator lamp to indicate whether the paper is defective or whether the ticket can be used.

The coins inserted through the coin input slot 5 are judged to be genuine or false by a known coin sorting mechanism 32, and counterfeit coins are guided to the return slot 9, while genuine coins are guided to a change cylinder according to denomination. The paper money/value note inserted through the paper money/value bill insertion slot 8 is verified for authenticity by a paper damage/value ticket discrimination machine 31 installed inside the paper money/value ticket insertion slot 8, and the counterfeit bill or counterfeit note is returned to the insertion slot and becomes a genuine bill. Alternatively, genuine notes may be temporarily held in case of cancellation or other events.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a beer ticket 120 as an example of a valuable ticket, and FIG. 3 (A) shows an example of one that does not directly include amount information.
Figure (I3) shows an example that includes amount information.

Beer ticket 12 in Figure (5) includes: (a) Product name (e.g. beer large bottle) (0) Number of tickets exchanged (e.g. 2 bottles) (/→manufacturer name (some are common)) Issue year Month(
8) Information such as the vendor of the umbrella (e) issued tax stamp (e) ticket is printed on the front and back sides.

As shown in the same figure, the beer ticket 121 in figure (b) has a figure (5).
The unit price of the product is added to the printed content, or the name of a specific product (e.g. beer large bottle) is used as the name of the product on the surface of the membrane, and instead of the number or unit price, the ticket is used to describe various products that can be exchanged. There are some examples that are replaced with the total amount of . The printing position of this information varies depending on the manufacturer, so in Figure 3, the ticket 120 (
12, 121) on a part of the magnetic information recording band 120a (
12a.

121a) is shown. Unlike paper tickets, the printing format of beer tickets can be easily changed, so by standardizing only the recording format and position of magnetic information, it is possible to create unique gift card surfaces for each manufacturer.

Therefore, the magnetic information recording band contains product information such as product code, amount information such as number of exchanged tickets and unit price or total amount, number of exchanged tickets and issue, and if necessary, manufacturer name or common ticket information and counterfeit identification information. Code information etc. are also added.

The paper/valuable bill discriminating machine 311 is for discriminating the authenticity and denomination of ordinary circulating paper, and a known machine equipped with an optical sensor and a magnetic sensor is used. Identification machine 3
If 11 determines that the inserted piece is waste paper, it sends a signal corresponding to the denomination (for example, 1,000 yen) to a vending machine control section (not shown).

If the identification machine 311 identifies the inserted piece as a beer ticket, the product name, the number of tickets exchanged, and the unit price or total amount.

A signal related to the number of exchanged tickets, the date of issue, and other necessary information is sent to the vending machine control section.

In this way, this vending machine operates like a normal vending machine when coins are inserted, and when a valid ticket is inserted, it calculates the monetary value of the ticket (valuable ticket amount) and calculates the value of the ticket. It will be deemed that money equivalent to the amount of the ticket has been inserted, and the product equivalent to the amount will be considered to have been inserted (however, in the case of inserting a beer ticket, it is generally not limited to a specific beer product, but the target will be a beer product). (Only limited items can be exchanged for various items.) and the necessary change will be paid out.

However, the value of beer tickets is generally high, so if only relatively inexpensive products are purchased using beer tickets, the amount of change will be excessive and the amount of change will be excessive.
The reserve of change in the ticket validator 311 and the coin sorting mechanism 32) suddenly decreases, and it is easy to run out of change.In this case, you have to purchase any product that can be purchased at that time for exactly the same amount as the set price. As a result, there are fewer opportunities to use coupons at vending machines, and even fewer opportunities to use the vending machines themselves.
There is a problem in that it limits product sales through vending machines.

[Object of the Invention] □ An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can eliminate the above-mentioned problems and eliminate restrictions on the use of valuable tickets as much as possible.

[Key points of the invention]

The key point of the present invention is to determine the authenticity of a ticket (beer ticket, etc.) on which face value information such as gold bullion information or date of issue is recorded, and to read each of the above-mentioned information. It is equipped with a means (such as a coin sorting mechanism, a bill validator, etc.) and, if necessary, a coin sorting means (a coin sorting mechanism, a bill validating machine, etc.), and at least distinguishes the bills from the inputted bills. Based on the information read out through the means, the monetary value (hereinafter referred to as the value of the voucher) is calculated as necessary, and the product and necessary change corresponding to the value of the inserted voucher are selected. Ticket sales control means (CP) for carrying out and dispensing
In a vending machine (such as a beer vending machine) equipped with a vending machine (such as a beer vending machine), the ticket sales control means includes means for setting a predetermined sales ratio (such as a sales ratio setting switch), and at least a means for setting a predetermined sales ratio (sales ratio setting switch, etc.) The return of change will be prohibited and the sales of the products will be prohibited until the cumulative set price of all products selected and carried out under the above-mentioned input exceeds the sum of the above-mentioned ticket amounts multiplied by the above-mentioned sales ratio. Means to continue operation (CPU, etc.)
The point is that it is equipped with the following.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described in detail below based on FIGS. ) is also the same figure (
It is a flowchart explaining operation of A).

In FIG. 1, the paper/value ticket discriminator 311 receives the denomination information when inserting a paper ticket, and the product information and face value information when inserting a beer ticket 12.

When inserting the beer ticket 121, the product information, price information, and other necessary information are provided to the CPU 30 as a signal 311a.

Here, the CPU 30 corresponds to the vending machine control section described above, and controls the entire vending machine.

33 is a sales ratio setting switch (hereinafter also referred to as SW) provided in the vending machine, and is a switch for setting the sales ratio, which will be described later. Reference numeral 5 (81 to Sn) denotes a product delivery solenoid, which is provided corresponding to each of the product selection buttons P (P1 to Pn) and carries out the corresponding product based on the selection. 34 is the keyboard inside the vending machine, each selection button P1~Pn
The set price (also called selling price) of the corresponding product, etc.
The CPU 30 controls the variable setting values necessary for the operation of the vending machine.
This is for setting in a RAM (not shown) belonging to the . 6
a is a refund SW opened and closed by the return lever 6;
This is a switch that instructs the CPU 30 to return the input amount or the remaining amount (change).

Next, the operation of FIG. 1(A) will be explained based on FIG. 1('B). In step S1, the CPU 30 examines the signals 32a and 311a output from the coin sorting mechanism 32 and the paper/bill validator 311 to determine whether or not a coin or paper is inserted. If it is determined that there is an input, the process goes to step SIA via branch Y and calculates the amount of input, and if it is determined that there is no input, the process directly proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the output signal 311a of the paper/valuable ticket validator 311 is checked again, and first, it is determined whether a beer ticket 120 that can be accepted by the vending machine is inserted (for example, the authenticity of the ticket, the manufacturer name, etc.). Discern. If it is determined that the ticket is not acceptable as a result of this determination, the ticket is returned and the process proceeds to step S3 via branch N. However, if it is determined that the ticket is acceptable, the process proceeds to step S2A via branch Y.

In step 82A, the discriminator 311
When a beer ticket 12 is inserted based on the signal 311a input from If the price of the product to be exchanged for the ticket is increased after it is issued, (sales price of the product before the price increase) x (ru).Also, if beer ticket 121 is inserted, from the above amount information (unit price of the product to be exchanged) Calculate the value of the ticket, such as × (number of exchanged tickets) or the total amount.

Furthermore, since beer tickets are generally expensive, we take into account the amount of products in the vending machine (also called contents) and the amount of change, and in order to prevent them from becoming unsold, an excessive number of beer tickets will be sold for a short period of time. In step 82A, in order to prevent the
If necessary, for example, one sales operation (the point at which one or more products and necessary change corresponding to the value equivalent to the total input amount from the initial input of currency or valuable notes to the subsequent input are completed) Step S calculates the cumulative total of the number of beer tickets or ticket price to be inserted during the series of operations up to
It is also possible to perform operations such as prohibiting in step 2.

In step S3, the presence or absence of sellable products is determined for each product selection button P (Pi to Pn) based on the sum of the input amount and the ticket amount calculated in steps SIA and S2A.
It is checked based on data such as the set price = #, whether the product is sold out, etc., and in step S4, one of the salesable lamps L (L1 to Ln) corresponding to the product that can be sold is selected. The product is lit, and the customer is informed that the product selection button P corresponding to the lit lamp L can be selected.

However, in this step S3, the vending machine does not sell alcohol (
If the product sells soft drinks (beer, rice cake, etc.) and soft drinks, the products that can be redeemed with beer tickets are currently limited to beer products, so it is necessary to limit the sales products in this way or to sell products that are not shown. In conjunction with a software timer, the system also performs operations to limit sales products by time of day, such as prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages during a predetermined time at night, to determine products that can be sold.

In addition, in this step S3, in order to make it easier to limit the amount of change, when a beer ticket is inserted, selectable products are set such that when a beer ticket is inserted, products of a lower price are not exchanged as needed. It is also possible to perform price-limiting operations for sale items, such as limiting the price to items whose set price is equal to or higher than a predetermined amount.

The information necessary for calculating the above-mentioned ticket amount is stored in a ROM (not shown) belonging to the CPU 30 for fixed information.
Regarding variable setting information, the same settings are stored in R and AM (not shown) belonging to the CPU 30 via the keyboard 34, etc.

Next, when a selection operation of the product selection button P is detected in step S5, the process moves to step S6 via branch Y, and the product selected in step S5 is set based on the input amount or the input amount equivalent value calculated in step S3. Calculate the remaining amount after subtracting the amount.

However, in the case of continuous sales, it is necessary to consider the additional input amount (including the equivalent value) as the input amount (including the equivalent value), and in this case, multiple products will be selected in one sales operation. The remaining amount is generally expressed by the following formula (1).

(Remaining amount) = (sum of currency input amount including additional input and value of securities up to that point during one sales operation) - (selection up to that point during one sales operation).

(sum of set prices of all products carried out) ・・・・・・・・・・・・(1) In the next step S7, the product corresponding to the selection button P selected in step S5 is changed to the corresponding product. The unloading solenoid 8 is driven to unload.

In the next step 87A, it is determined whether the remaining amount expressed by the above-mentioned formula (1) is less than or equal to the lowest price (referred to as the minimum set price) among the set prices for each product selection button P set on the keyboard 34. Determine. If it is determined that the product is accepted ('branch Y), it is no longer possible to purchase (or exchange) the product, so the process moves to step 811, where the change is automatically paid out to complete one sales operation, and the process returns to step S1, where the sales standby begins. .

On the other hand, if the determination in step S7A is negative (branch N), the sales ratio set in the sales ratio setting 5W33 is read in the next step S8. In the next step S9, the sum of the above-mentioned ticket amounts of the tickets put in during the sales operation is multiplied by the sales ratio (referred to as the set ratio ticket amount), and the amount of the tickets taken out during the sales operation is It is determined whether the cumulative total of the set prices of all products (referred to as the total product sales amount) has exceeded the set price. If the result of this judgment is yes, that is, the total product sales amount exceeds the set ratio value of the securities, branch Y.
The process then moves to step 810, and it is checked whether there is an operation input for refund 5W6a. That is, in this case, the operation of the return lever 6 is made valid.

If it is determined in step 810 that refund 8W6a is ON, the process moves from branch Y to step 811, the remaining amount is returned as change, and one sales operation is completed.
If the refund 8W5a is not turned on, the process returns to step S1 from branch N to continue the sales operation.

If it is determined in step S9 that the total product sales amount is less than the set ratio value of the ticket, the process returns to step S1 via branch N to continue the sales operation. In other words, in this step S1, whether or not additional currency is to be added is determined in the next step S2.
In this step, it is determined whether or not additional beer tickets have been inserted, and in the next step S3, a sales propriety calculation is performed. However, if one sales operation is not completed and continues like this, the amount invested at the beginning of the Meiji era (
(or its equivalent value), in step S3, the remaining amount of equation (1) is used as the set price for each product selection button P.

The subsequent operations are the same as described above, and the operations from step S9 to S1 to S9 are repeated until the set ratio value of the coupon becomes less than the total amount of product sales due to the selection and delivery of the product, and the sales operation is not completed. In this case, the operation of the return lever 6 (therefore, the ON of the refund 8W6a) is disabled, and steps S9→8 are performed only when the set ratio value of the voucher becomes less than the total product sales amount.
By enabling the refund 5W6a in the steps 10→S11, change is paid out and one sales operation can be completed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, restrictions on the selection of exchange products can be greatly eased by considering and accepting securities in the same way as currency equivalent to their monetary value. When selling with vouchers, the owner of the vending machine sets a predetermined sales ratio in advance, and unless the product is purchased for an amount greater than the value of the inserted voucher multiplied by this sales ratio, change will not be paid out. Since the structure allows for the prohibition of sales, it increases the chances of using valuable tickets, prevents a sudden decrease in change reserves, and makes it less likely that problems such as "cannot sell even though there is an item inside" will occur. , it is possible to provide a vending machine with more sales opportunities.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(A) is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the main part as one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(A) is the same diagram (5).
FIG. 2 is a front view of an example of a vending machine that can accept beer tickets, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing two types of beer tickets as examples of valuable tickets. 120 (12,121)...Beer ticket, 30...C
PU, 311...Paper/bill validating machine, 32...Coin sorting machine groove, 33...Sales ratio setting switch, 34...
... Keyboard, 6... Return lever, 6a... Refund switch, P (P t ~ p n ), , Product selection button,
L (L1~Ln)...Sellable display lamp, 5 (s1
~S n )...Product unloading solenoid. ■Pζ11-Publication-Yamaguchi Eight spears 2 drawings R9 (A) 3 spears drawings

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A security that determines the authenticity of a security in which face value information such as amount information or the number of exchanged items of a predetermined product, date of issue, etc. is recorded, and reads each of the above information. It is equipped with a discrimination means and, if necessary, a currency discrimination means, and based on the information read out from at least the inserted securities through the currency discrimination means, the monetary value (hereinafter referred to as the currency value) is determined as necessary. In the vending machine, the vending machine is equipped with a ticket sales control means that calculates the amount of money (referred to as the amount of money) and selectively carries out and dispenses products corresponding to the amount of the inserted ticket and necessary change. The control means includes a means for setting a predetermined sales ratio, and an amount obtained by multiplying at least the sum of the value of the valuable notes of the inserted valuable notes by the said sales ratio, for all the items selectively carried out under the above-mentioned injection. A vending machine that can use valuable tickets, characterized in that it is equipped with a means for prohibiting the return of change and for continuing the sale of products until the cumulative set price of the product exceeds the set price of the product.