JPS6125286A - Ticket 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 of the Invention] The present invention relates to an automatic ticket vending machine that automatically sells a commuter pass (hereinafter referred to as a commuter pass) by, for example, a user's operation.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] In recent years, with the automation of station equipment, automatic commuter pass vending machines that allow users to directly purchase commuter passes through user operations have been developed and are being put into practical use. . These automatic commuter pass vending machines are operated directly by the user, so
It is equipped with a guidance display device that displays guidance such as operations to the user according to the procedure. As this guide display device, for example, a CRT display device may be used. However, in this case, the initial operation guide is always displayed even when the user is not present, leading to a shortened lifespan of the CRT and increased power consumption. In particular, these devices have a longer downtime than actual operating time, which has been a major problem.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to extend the life of the guide display device and reduce power consumption by displaying the guide only when necessary. Our purpose is to provide automatic ticket vending machines.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects that the user is located near the operating section of the vending machine main body, and upon this detection starts the guidance display on the guidance display device, thereby providing the necessary information. The guidance is displayed only at certain times.

[Embodiment of the Invention] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show an automatic commuter pass vending machine as an example of the automatic ticket vending machine according to the present invention. That is,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine main body, and an operating section (customer service surface) 2 is formed on the front surface of this main body 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the vertical surface 2a of the operating section 2,
An application form insertion slot 3 for inserting a commuter pass purchase application form, a commuter pass insertion slot 4 for inserting an old commuter pass, an exit 5 for receiving the issued new commuter pass and change coins, an alarm sound emitting hole 6, etc. are provided. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, on the horizontal surface 2b of the operation section 2, there is a C.
RT display device f7, a group of operation buttons 8 provided around the display screen of this CRT display device 7 and operated according to displayed guidance, a numeric keypad 9 for data input,
A deposit slot 10 for inserting banknotes representing purchase fees or receiving change banknotes is provided.

Then, as shown in FIG.
A mat switch 11 as a detection means for detecting a user is installed on the floor nearby. The mat switch 11 is turned on when the user steps on it and turned off when the user gets off it, and uses, for example, a mat switch manufactured by Tokyo Sensor Co., Ltd. (product number MT=754).

On the other hand, inside the main body 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, there is a name reader fli12 for name transcription corresponding to the application form insertion slot 3, and a commuter pass reader fli12 corresponding to the commuter pass insertion slot 4. device 13, a ticket issuing mechanism 14 that issues a new commuter pass in correspondence with the takeout port 5, a change mechanism 15 that releases change coins, a receipt printer (not shown), and an alarm device (for example, a buzzer) that corresponds to the alarm sound emitting hole 6. ) 16, a deposit/withdrawal mechanism 17 for depositing and withdrawing banknotes is provided corresponding to the deposit port 1o.

Further, inside the main body 1, there are provided a safe 18, a floppy disk device 19 for data storage, an attendant operation panel 20, a power supply/control section 21, and the like.

Thus, the user operates according to the guidance displayed on the CRT display device 7 to sell the desired commuter pass.

That is, in accordance with the guidance display, an application form for purchasing a commuter pass with six predetermined items filled in is inserted into the application form insertion slot 3, and an old commuter pass is inserted into the commuter pass insertion slot 4. Then, the name reading device 12 reads the name written on the application form, and the commuter pass reader 13 reads necessary information on the old commuter pass (issuance conditions such as valid section and valid period). Then, the information on the old commuter pass read by the commuter pass reader 13 is displayed on the CRT display device 7, and the user is asked to confirm the contents. Here, when the user presses the confirmation button in the operation button group 8, the CRT display device 7
The fee will be displayed and you will be prompted to input the fee. Here, when the user inserts a bill of an amount 7 equal to or greater than the displayed fee into the deposit slot 10, the human withdrawal mechanism 17 operates to accept the inserted bill, and C, RT The input amount is displayed on the display device 7 and the user is asked to confirm. Here, when the user presses the confirmation button, the ticket issuing mechanism 14 operates, and the commuter pass reader 13
A new commuter pass is issued based on the information read, the name read by the name reading device 12 is transferred to the issued new commuter pass, and the name is ejected to the outlet 5. At this time, if there is change, the change mechanism 15 and/or the deposit/withdrawal mechanism 17 operate, and the change is discharged in the form of coins and/or banknotes to the takeout port 5 and/or the deposit port 10. Commuter tickets are sold in this way.

FIG. 5 shows the main parts of the control circuit. That is,
Reference numeral 22 denotes a control section mainly composed of a microcomputer, to which the CRT display device 7, mat switch 11, alarm 16, and timer 23 for time monitoring are connected. The control section 22 controls the entire automatic commuter pass vending machine and also controls according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Now, when the user steps on the mat switch 11, the mat switch 11 is turned on, and it is detected that the user is located near the operating section 2. When the mat switch 11 detects a user, the control section 22 receives the detection signal and lights up the CRT display device 7 to display a guide for the first operation. next,
A predetermined time is set in the timer 23 and the timer 23 is started. Next, it is checked whether or not the user has performed the first operation, and if the first operation is performed, the next guidance is displayed on the CRT display device 7, and the process shifts to the commuter pass issuing operation as described above. When the issuing operation is completed, a predetermined time is set in the timer 23 again and the timer 23 is started. Next, it is checked whether or not the mat switch 11 has detected the user, and if it has not detected the user (if the mat switch 11 is in the OFF state), it is determined that the user has returned, and the CRT display device 7 Turn off the light and return to the initial state. On the other hand, if the mat switch 11 detects the user in the above check (if the mat switch 11 is in the on state), the timer 2
3, it is checked whether the time has elapsed or not, and when the time has elapsed, the CRT display device 7 is turned off, the process returns to the first flow, and the first guidance display is performed again. That is,
When the purchase of a commuter pass ends, the next user may be in succession, so the timer 23 is started from the time the issue of the commuter pass ends, and the last guidance display is stopped after a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 to 4 seconds). After that, the system assumes that the next user has arrived and displays the first guidance. in this way,
CRT display and spray device 7 at the end of commuter pass purchase
The light is turned off by the timer 23 or the detection signal from the mat switch 11, whichever is faster.

On the other hand, in checking whether or not the first operation has been performed, if the user has not performed the operation, it is checked whether or not the mat switch 11 has detected the user; if the mat switch 11 has not detected the user immediately, the CRT display device 7 is turned off to return to the initial state. That is, if the user leaves without performing any operations even after the initial guidance display is performed, control is performed so that the CRT display device 7 is immediately turned off. On the other hand, in the above check,
If the mat switch 11 detects a user, it is checked whether the timer 23 has timed out or not, and when the time has expired, the alarm 16 is activated. Next, check whether the mat switch 11 has detected the user,
When it is no longer detected, the CRT display device 7 is turned off and returned to the initial state. That is, after detecting that a user has arrived and starting the first guidance display on the CRT display device 7, the control unit 22 starts time monitoring by the timer 23, and within a predetermined time (for example, 2 to 3 minutes) If no operation is performed, control is performed to operate the alarm device 16 and issue a warning sound. This eliminates people who have no intention of purchasing a commuter pass.

In this way, by detecting the presence of a user with the mat switch 11 and starting the guidance display on the CRT display device 7 upon this detection, the guidance display can be performed only when necessary. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced and the life of the CRT display device 7 can be significantly extended. Moreover, by generating a predetermined sound after starting the guidance display upon detection of a user, it is possible to exclude people who have no intention of purchasing a commuter pass. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the situation where there is a person who has no intention of purchasing a commuter pass and other users are unable to purchase it, and at the same time, fraud prevention and crime prevention effects can be obtained.

In the above embodiments, the detection of the user was performed using a mat switch, but the detection method is not limited to this, and other methods such as an optical detection means consisting of a light source and a light receiving element, or a detection means using ultrasonic waves may be used. Detection means may also be used. Furthermore, if an audio guidance device is also provided, it will be better if the first voice of the audio guidance is made at the same time as the guidance is displayed. Further, regarding the alarm sound, a sound may be used to provide guidance to request all persons other than the purchaser to leave. Further, although the case where a CRT display device is used as the guide display device has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a case where other display devices such as a plasma display device or a liquid crystal display device are used.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the invention is applied to an automatic commuter pass vending machine, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be used for automatic vending of other securities such as movie theaters and theater admission tickets. It can also be applied to machines, automatic cash dispensing machines, and even vending machines for food, drinks, etc.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic ticket vending machine that can prolong the life of the guidance display device and reduce power consumption by displaying guidance only when necessary. It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a side view showing the external appearance, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the external appearance, and FIG.
The figure is a rear view schematically showing the internal mechanism. Figure 4 is a rear view schematically showing the internal mechanism.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main part of the control circuit, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation. 1... Vending machine main body, 2... Operation section, 7
・・・・・・CRT display device (guidance display @ location)
, 8... operation button group, 9... numeric keypad,
11... Mat switch (detection means), 16.
...Alarm, 22...Control unit, 23...
...Timer. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A vending machine that automatically sells tickets according to user operations, and a guide display device that is installed in the operating section of the vending machine and displays instructions for operations etc. to the user;
a detection means provided near the operation section of the vending machine main body for detecting whether or not a user is near the operation section; lighting of the guide display device based on the detection result from the detection means;
An automatic ticket vending machine characterized by comprising a control means for controlling turning off the light. (2) When the detection means detects a user, the control means lights up a guidance display device to start a guidance display, and the first operation by the user is performed within a predetermined time after starting the guidance display. 2. The automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 1, wherein an alarm means is activated when the automatic ticket vending machine is not operated. (3) The detection means is a mat switch installed on the floor near the operating section of the vending machine main body, and the detection operation is performed when the user gets on and off the mat switch. The automatic ticket vending machine described in paragraph 1. (4) The automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the guide display device is a CRT display device. (5) The automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the ticket is a commuter pass used in transportation facilities.