JPS62182995A - Food card settler for dining hall such as restaurant - 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) This invention provides a method for purchasing a meal card with cash from an automatic card vending machine (card issuing machine) at a cafeteria of a restaurant, eatery, etc., and using this meal card. The present invention relates to a meal card payment device in a cafeteria such as a restaurant, which allows the payment of food and drinks.

(Technical background of the invention and its problems) Traditionally, in cafeterias such as restaurants, cash or magnetic card payments have been accepted, especially in company cafeterias, communal cafeterias in buildings occupied by multiple companies, and school cafeterias. It is often operated in this manner.

In these methods, customers purchase a mixture of several denominations of certificates and pay for the combination according to the purchase amount, or a uniform set meal is served in the form of coupons, which requires a large amount of manpower. There was a problem in that it was not possible to perform the issuance and settlement process without requiring the .

(Object of the invention) This invention was made under the above circumstances,
The purpose of this invention is to save labor by using a meal card to replace the system for purchasing menus and making payments in restaurants such as e-stores, which previously relied on meal tickets. The goal is to provide equipment.

(Summary of the Invention) This invention relates to a meal card payment device in a cafeteria such as a restaurant, which includes a register that calculates the meal fee by inputting the menu, price, etc. of the meal brought by the customer, and a register that calculates the meal fee by inputting the menu and price of the meal brought by the customer. and a meal card reading/writing device that reads the remaining amount of the meal card, subtracts and updates the meal fee calculated in the register, and records the result.

When there is a shortfall in the above-mentioned balance on the inserted meal card, a new value will be added based on the cash amount previously entered in the above-mentioned register, and a value equal to the above-mentioned shortfall will be deducted from this cash amount. Shoku + jG card issuing 'meal card'! It comes equipped with equipment.

(Embodiment of the invention) Meal 11 in a cafeteria of a restaurant, eatery, etc. of this invention
One or more T-card payment devices (9) are installed in the cafeteria. Customers can use the meal card issuing machine (vending machine) in advance.
Insert money into the machine, select and purchase a meal card corresponding to a predetermined amount, go to the cash register (checkout counter) with the self-service menu you have selected from the display shelf, and bring it with you. The meal bill can be paid with the existing meal card or cash, and if the balance on the meal card is insufficient at the cash register, a new meal card can be purchased with cash. .

This inventive device will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of the interior of a cafeteria in which one layer of the meal card payment device of the present invention is installed.
IO and the customer can self-service the desired menu (
a display shelf 180 for selecting and selecting dishes (dishes); and a checkout station 130 for settling the amount of the customer's menu by a cashier
and is provided. The JA bank 130 includes a register 10G, a display 116 that is connected to the register 100 and displays the amount, etc., and a meal card 2 at the time of payment.
Meal card issuing machine 115 for issuing
There is a card slot 11B provided at the counter part of 0, into which the customer inserts his/her meal card 2 during WiM, and a card slot 11B for reading the information written on the meal card 2 inserted through this slot 118, and for reading necessary information. a card reader/writer 117 that collects food, and a collection box 120 that collects meal carts r2 that are determined to be unnecessary by the card reader/writer 117.
and a card ejection port 111 provided at the counter portion for returning the meal card 2 to the customer after being transported by the card reader/writer 117. Similarly, a counter on the opposite side of the register 10G and the meal card issuing machine 115 is provided with a device for inserting, processing, collecting, and returning cards.

In addition to the functions of a normal register, the register 10G has additional functions to operate the meal card issuing machine 115 and the card reader/writer 117, and the cashier can use the keyboard ( (not shown) to operate these functions.

In such a configuration, the customer will receive the meal card issuer a10
Insert money into the desired amount (e.g.

Meal cards 2 equivalent to 10 (10 yen) and 50 (10 yen) are purchased in advance, that is, the meal cards 2 used in this invention are as shown in FIGS. )
As shown in the cross-sectional view taken along line xx in Figure (A), it has a rectangular shape similar to a paper leaf, similar to conventionally widely used cash cards (quick cards, bank cards, etc.). A magnetic stripe MS for writing and reading data is layered on a part of the surface. In addition, the 1 meal card 2 has a substrate 20 made of hard paper, for example.
A characteristic area CP for writing a special characteristic unique to each meal card 2 is provided at a predetermined position on the surface. Above it, there is an issue code area MW that displays the issuing store code and issuing machine number that issued this meal card 2 each time it is issued, and a serial number column CM that displays the serial number of the issue of this meal card 2. , an amount area MV where the amount available for use with this meal card 2 and its balance are printed, an expiration area ND where the issue date and expiry date of this meal card 2 are printed, and a payment area that displays whether this meal card 2 has been paid. Area EE is provided. The characteristic data of the characteristic area CP of this meal card 2 is, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-281980 by the present applicant, the barcode band 22. 23, and is printed or layered to form a barcode band 22, 23 formed on each meal card 2 when issued by the meal card issuing filO.
The characteristic data unique to this meal card 2 is magnetically read from the memory card 2, and the characteristic data is recorded on the magnetic stripe MS. ing. And this barcode band 22
．． A mask band 21 made of an opaque non-magnetic material is covered over the characteristic area CP where 23 is printed,
For customers and third parties, there is a barcode band 22 under the mask band 21.
．． 23 is no longer recognized. This mask? +? 21 may be provided so as to cover the entire surface of the substrate 20, and as shown in FIG. In addition, the management number of the issuing machine that issued the meal card 2 may also be recorded on the magnetic stripe MS. As will be described later, on the ZARANIMATA 1mm Strive S, there is an area on the surface of the 0 Meal Card 2 to record the balance of the value of this Meal Card and the expiration date, etc., which are updated each time it is used. At the top, there is also this card 2
A name field KN is provided in which a name (in this example, "meal card") is printed in advance. And meal card 2
A note R (not shown) is provided on the back side of the table card 2 to indicate precautions for handling the table card 2. Note that these displays, entry columns, etc. on this meal card 2 can be rearranged into any arrangement, or can be freely arranged by switching the front and back sides.

Such a meal card 2 is purchased from a meal card issuing machine 10 whose panel configuration is shown in FIG.

That is, when a customer inserts money from the coin slot 11 or bill slot 12 provided on the front of the meal card issuing machine 10, the numerical value (amount) and When you operate the selection button 13 corresponding to the amount you wish to purchase while checking the operation instructions, the amount that can be used with this meal card will be displayed in amount area N.
Y, the issue date and expiration date of this meal card are printed in the expiry date area N0, and the above amount, expiration date, number of this meal card, etc. are recorded on the magnetic stripe MS. The meal card 2A with the characteristics recorded thereon is ejected from the card issuing port 17 of the meal card issuing machine IO. Here 1
Meal card numbers are automatically assigned sequentially every time meal card 2 is issued from 1 meal card issuing filG.゛As described above, the customer purchases one or more meal cards 2 for himself at the card issuing machine IO in advance, and when eating in the cafeteria, he follows the arrows A-B in Figure 1. While proceeding in the direction, select the desired menu from the display shelf 160 by self-service, and after finishing all items, go to the checkout counter 130 1. For example, line up in the direction of arrow C and take turns loading the meal car 12 from the card slot 118. When inserted, the meal card 2 is automatically taken in in the direction of the arrow, and the cashier inputs the price of the menu into the register 100. The card reader/writer 117 is loaded.

The data on the meal card 2 is read to check the balance, the amount is printed in the amount area MV of the meal card 2, the balance is also magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripe MS, and the card is then conveyed in the E direction. The meal card 2 is discharged from the discharge port 119 and returned. In this case, if the balance of the inserted meal 21G card 2 is insufficient for the menu price, the cashier asks the customer whether to issue a new meal card or pay the shortfall in cash. In either case, the food that was thrown in! The shin card 2 is discarded, transported in the direction F in the figure, and collected in a collection box 120.
Since the insufficient amount is displayed on the display 11B of the register 100, in the case of cash payment, the cashier receives the insufficient amount in cash from the customer and completes the closing process at the register 100.

In addition, if the customer wants to purchase a new meal card in the above-mentioned shortage situation, the cashier will receive cash from the customer and
The purchase of a meal card for the customer's desired amount is input into the register 100, and a meal card with the amount of money after deducting the shortfall is issued by a meal card issuing machine 115 and handed to the customer.

Here, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall structure of the cafeteria, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the meal card issuing machines 10, 11.
5 is a block configuration diagram showing a meal card issuing unit of No. 5; FIG. The details will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, the first meal card issuing machine 10, 115 will be explained, but since the configuration of meal card conveyance is almost the same, the fifth meal card issuing machine 10,115 will be explained.
The meal card issuing machine 10 shown in the figure will be explained.

When a customer inserts money into the coin slot 11 or the bill slot 12, the amount of money inserted is identified by the money identification device 85, and the value is displayed on the display N18.Then, the customer selects and presses the selection button 13. The amount data corresponding to is RAN92
The unused meal cards 2B aligned and stacked in the 0-meal card storage section 3G read out from the 0-meal card storage section 3G are taken out one by one by the meal card take-out mechanism 60 disposed at the lower end of the 1-meal card storage section 30. The meal card 2B sent out from the meal card take-out mechanism BO is attached to a meal card transport mechanism 40, which is made up of a plurality of pairs of rollers and two pairs of belts wound around the rollers, and is driven by a motor or the like. be included.

In the middle of this meal card transport mechanism 40, there is a print stop position detection sensor 83 which is a light emitting/receiving element that optically detects the meal card 2B being transported and stops it at a predetermined position for printing. A printer 50 for printing the above-mentioned data at the above-mentioned predetermined positions of the meal car 12B is provided at the downstream stage, and the meal card transport mechanism 40 is stopped when printing is performed by this printer 50. There is. A write head 72 is provided at the subsequent stage for writing data processed by the control device onto the magnetic stripe MS. Furthermore, at the terminal end of the meal card transport mechanism 4G, the barcode band 22.
From 23 onwards, there is provided a characteristic detection device fi70 consisting of a magnetizing means, a magnetic head, etc., for magnetically reading the characteristics specific to the meal card 2B. The detection method shown in No.-281980 is used. A characteristic reading detection sensor 82 consisting of a light emitting/receiving element for optically detecting that the meal card 2B has been conveyed to the characteristic detection device 517G is provided at the subsequent stage, and the terminal end Issue port 1
It has reached 7. Inside the card issuing port 17, a carry-out detection sensor 81 is provided, which is a light emitting/receiving element for optically detecting the meal card 2B being carried.

This meal card issue @10 is input/output interface 8B
Data management device 2 consisting of a center computer via
Connected to 00. On the other hand, the issuing mechanism of the meal card issuing machine 115 installed at the checkout station 130 is almost the same as that shown in FIG. are the same. Note that, instead of inputting cash at the register 100, the money received from the customer may be inserted into the food/K card issuing machine 115 and processed in the same manner as the issuing alO. The provided card reader/writer 117 has a configuration as shown in FIG.

Namely.

The meal card 2 inserted from the card slot 11B is taken into the interior by the card conveyance device 140, and is sent to the feed detection sensor tat and the characteristic reading detection sensor 182. The conveyance position is controlled according to the detection by the print stop position a detection sensor 183, and the characteristic detection device is similar to the one described above! At 70, characteristics unique to the card are detected and printed by the printer 150. In addition, the card data is read by Read Rad 171,
Necessary data is written to the card in the write step 172. And this card reader/writer 117 is a data input/output interface! 94 to the register 100.

The operations in the cafeteria configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B).

First, the customer purchases Meal Card 2.

When money is inserted into the coin slot 11 or bill slot 12 of the meal card issuer a11G (step St), the meal card issuer amIO enters the meal card issuing operation, and the money identification device i95 counts the inserted amount. For example, a lamp is displayed on the selection button 13, which can be selected according to the input amount, to prompt the customer to select the amount (step S3). The money slots 11 and 12 are closed by a shutter (not shown) so that the money is not required to be issued after the money is inserted. Therefore, when the selection button 13 is pressed and the amount is specified (step S4), one unused meal card 2 is taken out from the meal card storage section 30 (step S5), and the meal card transport mechanism 40 is driven. During the conveyance, when the printing stop position detection sensor 83 detects the meal card 2, the meal card 2 is stopped at a predetermined position, and the printer 50 prints the management data, "issue date", "expiration date", " After printing "available amount of money" etc. in a predetermined column, transportation is restarted, and when the characteristic reading detection sensor 82 detects this meal card 2, the characteristics unique to this meal card 2 are read by the characteristic detection device g17G, After that, the meal card transport mechanism 40 is reversed to return the meal card 2, and the read characteristic data is recorded on the magnetic stripe MS along with the above data (
Step S6), after that, the L meal card conveyance mechanism 4
0 is reversed again and the meal card 2At-with the value recorded is issued from the card issuing port 17 (step S7), and the amount inserted is greater than the amount recorded on the issued meal card 2.

If there is change (step S8), the coin dispenser (not shown) dispenses the change from the coin dispensing port 18 (
Step S8), if there is no change in step S8, the above management data and "input amount", "
Issued card amount”.

Output data such as "change" to the central data management device 200 via the interface 8B (step 81G)
), the money slots 11 and 12 are opened (step 311), and the process returns to step St to prepare for the next customer.

Here, in step S4, when the customer presses the return button 15 to cancel the purchase of the food card 2 (step S20), both the money slot 11, 12 and the card issuing slot 17 are opened. S21
), the inserted money is returned from the money outlet 18 (step S22), and the process returns to step St to prepare for the next customer.

On the other hand, a method of eating at a cafeteria and paying the bill using the meal card 2 issued in this manner will be described below.

Using the meal card 2 issued as described above, the customer selects a menu from the display shelf 180 and inserts the meal IK card 2 into the card slot 118 provided at the checkout station 130 in order to pay the bill. 5100), this card slot! The conveyance detection sensor T81 provided in the card reader/writer 117 connected to the lower part of 1B
When detecting the tip of the inserted Meal% card 2, the register 10 is sent via the data input/output interface 194.
0 enters the payment operation and closes the card slot 118 in order to prevent the next customer from accidentally inserting the Meal 4T Card 2 when attempting to pay for the meal (step 51).
01) Then, the card transport device 140 is driven via the CPU 90 to transport the food 111 and the card 2 into the card reader/writer 117.During this transport, the characteristic area of the meal card 2 is The unique characteristic data recorded on the CP is read by the characteristic detection device 170, and the management data such as the "meal card number" written on the magnetic stripe MS by the read head 171 and the ""Expirydate","Balance"
, Various data such as the above characteristic data are read (step 9102). There, the characteristic data read from the characteristic area CP is compared with the characteristic data read from the magnetic stripe MS, and the read "meal card number" is compared. The authenticity of this meal card 2 is checked via the CPU 190 depending on whether it is the issuing law number (step 8103), and if this meal card 2 is not “true”, an alarm is issued (step 5105). , if “true” (step 5104), the above magnetic stripe MS
This meal card 2 is checked via the CPU 190 according to the "expiration date" written in the card, and if it has expired, "Display expiration date" (step 9123),
If it is within the deadline (step 910B), manually pay for the customer's menu using the keyboard of the register 100.
16, g: and the amount are displayed (step 5107).
, Compare the above balance with the minimum price for food determined by this cafeteria (Step 5108), and if there is no menu that can be filled with this remaining amount, display "Payment" and notify that the current card should be paid anew. Step 5122)
, if the remaining amount is greater than the minimum charge, the amount is 10
Press the selection button (not shown) provided at 0 to instruct payment of the menu price (step 9110).
, if the selection button is not pressed, the card return button is pressed to return the card to the customer (step 51).
24) When the selection button is pressed, the CPU 190 determines whether the remaining amount on the card is greater than the menu price entered from the register 100 (step 5lit); if the remaining amount is greater, the menu can be settled as is. , the new remaining amount is re-recorded on the magnetic stripe MS of the meal card 2 by the write head 172, and is printed in the amount area MV by the printer 150, and this updated remaining amount is displayed on the display 11B (step 5120). ), and compares this updated remaining amount with the lowest price of this restaurant's menu, and if there is a menu that can be eaten with this remaining amount and this meal card 2 can still be used (step 5121), this Output data such as the amount of each menu item paid and the updated remaining amount of this meal card 2 to the central data management system@200 (step 5125), and open the card slot 118 for the next customer (step 5125). Step 512B)
, the customer's meal card 2 is returned through the card outlet 119 (step 5127).

Here, in the above step 5123, if "expiration date" is displayed, the above step 910
If the remaining amount recorded on this meal card 2 is insufficient in B, and if the remaining amount updated in step 5121 is insufficient, you will not be able to eat with this meal card 2 from now on. The remaining amount is displayed on the display 11B to "settle" as described above, and the process proceeds to the data processing in step 5125.

On the other hand, if the remaining amount of the meal card 2 is insufficient for the menu price in step 5111.

When the customer indicates that he/she would like to pay the shortfall in cash, the cashier receives the cash from the customer and enters the amount into the register 100 (steps 5112 and 5113), and the above-mentioned card reader/writer 117 reads the 8 corresponding amounts. The meal card 2 is discarded, and the meal card 2 is transferred to the card transport device m140.
Step 5114)
Card slot 1 so that the next customer can insert card 2.
Step 18 (Step 9130), Step 5
The process returns to step 100 and repeats the above operation.

In step 5112 above, when the customer indicates that he/she wants to purchase a new card 2 with cash at checkout station 130 (step 5115), the cashier receives cash from the customer and enters the amount into register 100 (step 511B).
), the register 100 calculates the amount by subtracting the above-mentioned difference and the amount input this time, activates the meal card issuing filter 15 connected to the register 100, and writes the magnetic card with the write head as described above. Record and print this difference amount using a printer to issue a new meal card 2 (step 5117), and output this data to the data management device 200 as described above (step 5118), further eliminating the need for Card that became 2
is collected from the card reader/writer 117 into the collection box 120 as described above (step 5119), and the same steps as described above are performed for the next customer, step 5130 is performed, and the process returns to step 5ioo to perform the above-described operations. There is. Furthermore, in step 5IIO above, if the customer requests the cashier to cancel the meal, the cashier presses the return button on the register 100 (step 5124).
Then, open the card slot 118 (step 512B), return the meal card 2 from the card outlet 119 (step 5127), step 51)
Return to 00 and prepare for the next customer.

All data related to sales in the meal card storage units 10 and 115 and the register 100 are managed by the central data management device 200.

In the above description, a data management device such as a center computer performs overall management, but each issuing machine, register, and settlement device may be independently managed.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the table card payment device for dining rooms such as restaurants of the present invention, it is possible to sell meal tickets at restaurants, etc., which conventionally required a lot of time and manpower, and to use meal cards in the payment system. By.

It can be simplified, saves time and labor, and since data is managed, it is possible to create a store in a more planned manner.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 shows an i
J! of the Ho card issuing and payment system! Figures illustrating the main points, t52 (A) and (B) are diagrams showing the appearance of the meal card issuing machine of the present invention, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the exterior panel of the meal card issuing machine of the present invention, and Figure 4 Figure 5 is a block diagram of the present invention, Figure 5 is a mechanical diagram of the card issuing machine, Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the meal card issuing machine, and Figures 7 (A) and (B) are meal cards at the cash register. It is a flowchart showing the settlement method according to. 2.2A, 2B...Meal card, 10,115...
Shokuge card issuing machine, TS, TT... display, 17.
...Card issuing port. 20... Substrate, 21... Mask band, 22.23...
・Barcode band, 3G...meal card storage section, 40
... Meal card transport mechanism, 50,150... Printer, 80... Meal card take-out mechanism, 70,170.
...characteristic detection device, 72,172...light head,
10G...Register, 117...Card reader/writer, 11B...Card slot, 119...Card output slot, 120...Collection box! 30...Settlement office,
18G...Display shelf, 171...Read head. 5th vine 6 vice

Claims (1)

[Claims] A register that calculates the meal price by inputting the menu, price, etc. of the meal brought by the customer, and a register that reads the remaining amount of the meal card inserted through the slot, and updates the meal price calculated by the register by subtracting it. Based on the meal card reading/writing device for recording and the cash amount newly input into the register when a shortfall occurs in the remaining amount of the inserted meal card, the shortfall is subtracted from the cash amount. 1. A meal card payment device in a cafeteria such as a restaurant, characterized by comprising a meal card issuing device that issues a new meal card with a value added thereto.