JPS625473A - Automatic vending device for reserved seat ticket - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow a passenger to buy a reserved seat ticket for a desired data and a desired seat number accurately by providing a control means which performs control so that reserved seat tickets issued by respective terminal equipments do not correspond to one seat of the same facilities for the same date. CONSTITUTION:When there is a request for data transmission from some terminal equipment 5, the CPU 1 of a central controller 1 reads necessary data out of a main storage device 12 and an auxiliary storage device 13 and stores the data until it is sent back to the terminal equipment. If there is a request for data transmission f the same contents (facilities, service date, and time) from another terminal equipment before the data is sent back, the CPU 11 puts the reading operation for the latter terminal equipment in a queue. Consequently, a reserved seat ticket of the same facilities for the same seat and the same date is prevented from being issued repeatedly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to a device that automatically sells reserved seat tickets for theaters, movie theaters, baseball stadiums, etc., by the customer's own operations.

Prior Art and Its Disadvantages Traditionally, in order for a customer to purchase this type of seat reservation ticket, he or she would go to the facility or play guide concerned, apply for the desired date and time verbally or on an application form, and apply to the staff member, who would then process the application. The seat availability is shown to the customer based on the information such as the seat availability management ledger provided, and a seat reservation ticket containing the number of the seat desired from among the vacant seats is selected from among the seat reservation tickets that have already been created. They take it out or create it on the spot by inputting the desired conditions into the terminal of the vending machine and give it to the customer in exchange for cash.

Therefore, in the past, it was necessary to deploy staff at seat reservation ticket sales offices, which increased personnel costs, and when accepting applications using application forms, troubles occurred due to incorrect input by staff, and even more so when receiving two verbal applications. The disadvantage of this is that there are many problems caused by mishearing or misunderstandings. moreover,
Since the clerk handles cash, it is necessary to reconcile sales and cash after sales are completed17, and verification work is also expensive.

On the other hand, if the customer pays a certain amount of money, the customer can directly operate the system, enter foreign loan conditions1, and issue a designated seat reservation ticket, thereby preventing the above-mentioned troubles and reducing the number of staff. An automatic vending device was proposed. However, with such conventional devices, each desired condition is entered by selective operation of the keyboard, so if there is only one facility to sell, it can be implemented without any particular problem.
When targeting multiple entertainment categories such as plays, movies, baseball, and concerts, and multiple facilities, customer operations may be complicated and
People tend to avoid using automatic vending machines because it can be difficult.

Purpose of the Invention In view of the above-mentioned points, the present invention provides the ability to sell either a single or a plurality of entertainment categories and facilities.1. In addition, even if there are multiple 1 and 17 seats, the automatic ticket sales system allows the customer to easily purchase the seat reservation ticket for the desired date, time, and seat number by using the customer guidance function. The purpose is to provide equipment.

Means for achieving the objective update and store the vacant seat status based on the release information from the eight terminals described below, and transmit the stored contents to each automatic vending machine located at a remote location upon request from the terminal,
The automatic vending machine that made the request displays the transmitted contents, such as the entertainment category, facility name for each category, business days and hours for each facility, and the number of people wishing to enter, on the display in a predetermined order. Each time the display is displayed, the customer inputs the desired conditions by touching and operating the input means consisting of a transparent touch switch provided on the surface of the display on the display part of the desired item among the display items. This configuration allows customers to extremely easily and reliably purchase their desired seat reservation tickets through guidance from a terminal device even when multiple items and multiple facilities are to be sold.

The above terminal is suitable for use when installed in a play guide that sells multiple events and multiple facilities, but it is also suitable for use in play guides that specialize in specific events, such as movie play guides or for one facility of a specific event. It may be desirable to be able to use it only for selling reserved seat tickets.

Therefore, the second invention aims at making it usable both for use in all multiple categories and facilities for sale and for use exclusively in a single category or single facility.

Embodiment of the Invention Next, an embodiment of the invention will be described based on the drawings.
Old eight wires −−＋ Am ・1・−↓
--,h-t This is a block diagram showing a central control device 1 installed in the system center, a data line 3 connected to this central control device via a modem 2, and a modeno.4 connected to the data line 3. It consists of a terminal device 5, which is an automatic vending machine, and is connected through the terminal device 5. The terminal device 5 is installed and used on a street with a large number of passers-by or in a place where the public tends to gather.

[Kinou Control System B1 The central control unit 1 is a combination unit that controls the system.

11, a storage means 12, auxiliary storage means 13 such as a magnetic disk and its driver, a floppy disk and its driver, a /lifter 14, and a transmission control stage J5.

The main storage means j2 stores, in addition to the control program, the order of display on the display of the terminal device described later and the display contents that are less variable (entertainment event names, facility names, etc.),
The magnetic disk of auxiliary memory 11t13 stores the schedule and seat layout for each 20 students, and the floppy disk also stores the availability of seats (sold information) and special information for each timetable on each business day. Information, such as strikes, disasters, breakdowns, etc. that affect the performance or time, that needs to be notified to the beach wishing to purchase the designated ticket through the display of the terminal is stored.

The storage contents of the main storage means 12 and the auxiliary storage means 13 are -
As an example, addresses are set as shown in FIG. In other words, the display order is the performance type, facility name for each month, business days and timetable for each facility, seating allocation map, and seat availability. Among the displayed contents, the performance type (A) and facility name (B) and seating arrangement map (C) are each stored with each facility as one unit, and business days (D), timetables (E), and seat availability (F) are stored with each timetable as one unit. Regarding the facility (movie theater), the movie Ak as its performance type, the theater name B-, and the seating arrangement map C.
-, and if the sales target business days are 6 days and the number of screenings per day is 3, then 6X3 = 18 types of seat availability data F! ~
F18 is stored. "k" above is the number of items and the number of facilities.

In order to realize the functions of the present invention, a control means 11a using a computer 11, a reading means 11b for reading out required contents from the storage means 12, 13, and an updating means 11c for updating the displayed contents are provided. ing. When a data transmission request is received from any terminal, the control means ILa stores the contents of the request until the reading means 11b reads the required data from the storage means 12.13 and sends it back to the selling machine. If another terminal requests data transmission for the same content (facility, business days, hours) before being returned, the device will wait for the other terminal to read the data.

As a result, when there is an inquiry about the availability of seats at one facility on a certain business day and time from one terminal device, the control means 11a inquires about the availability of seats at the same facility on the same business day and time from another terminal device.

To control the sales of reserved seat tickets for the same seat at the same facility on the same day and at the same time twice by making people wait for an inquiry about the time.

The printer 14 prints what the computer 11 outputs, which is the aggregated data of facility-by-facility sales information of reserved seat tickets from each terminal.

The transmission control means 15 controls data transmission between each terminal and the computer 11.

The central control unit AT searches for seat files based on requests from each terminal, aggregates sales data in response to sales deadline signals, and edits sales reports.The seat file searches will be described in detail later.

[Terminal device] The terminal device 5 includes a transmission control means 16 that controls data communication with the central control device 1, and a storage device that stores data (display order and display contents) transmitted from the central control device. 17, a display control means 18 for displaying the display contents in a predetermined order on a display, a display 19 such as a CRT, and a large number of transparent touch switches arranged in a matrix on the surface of the display. input means 2o,
Temporary storage means 21 for storing the contents of the items displayed on the display 19 selected by the customer by touching the input means 20, and calculation means for calculating the fee based on the input contents of the temporary storage means. 22, a determining means 23 for comparing the fee amount calculated by the calculation means with the amount invested by the customer, and determining whether the sales condition is satisfied based on whether the input amount is equal to or exceeds the fee amount; It consists of a ticket issuing means 24 which prints and issues a reserved seat ticket corresponding to the contents of the temporary storage means in response to a signal, and a skip means 25 for realizing the second object of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal. In the figure, the MPU is a microprocessor, and
5.Internoise with peripheral devices through bus AB, data bus DB, and read Q > write signal line rvy.5. The processor control program is stored in ll0M (read [,,l# river memory) 17A,
The RAM (discretionary access memory) 17B stores data transmitted from the central MM device, and the RAM 2
1 stores the data processed by Pro Seven and the MPU.

When you turn on the power to the terminal 5, as shown in Figure 6, the Procera! t M P U is RQ M i 7 A
Start execution of the program read from j42. A data/event request signal is transmitted to the central control unit (P+). This data request signal is a unique number MN assigned to each machine.
In this case, the required level signal li consists of: hair bundle 1 indicating the requested content, bell signal N) l, +: among the display order and display contents, the performance type, facility name, facility business [] This is a signal that specifies F'-evening up to the timetable.

The combination unit 11 of the central control unit 1 receives the request/bell signal NY, l among the f-event request signals from the terminals.
Based on the above, 11. Name of the facility of the entertainment company that has entered into a contract for the use of the invented device of 11.12. Readout I
2, r transmission fl'Nj based on the unique number 1--MN
11 '1''' 1.t 151-': Transmit the f-data request to the terminal that received the data from 12.4': The transmitted terminal transmits the data to IN A M, 1
7 Engagement t 6 (I'2
), Next, the microprocessor 9-MPU reads the performance insert 11 from the RAM 17B and edits it.
Edit the content to be displayed on the display 19 by the means section 2G l7, and display the displayed content as the first selection item on the display 19 from column j, 88 (P3
), FIG. 7(a) shows an example of the display contents at this time.

In other words, the terminal always displays the types of performances '6A1 to A4 for which reserved seat tickets can be sold using the display 1.9 + vending machine here, along with text indicating that you should select the desired event. Status 1 Waiting for customer (P4).

The surface of the display is equipped with an input means 20 consisting of touch switches made of a transparent material arranged in a matrix.
The cutting positions are displayed in parallel, such as in the frame 28A.

When the customer selects the display part of the desired event, the timing control circuit lea of the display ffJI control means 18 and
A touch position detection circuit 26a consisting of a coordinate]/register and a Y coordinate register and a matching circuit 26b detect the customer's touch/1. When position 4 and display 1 dress match,
Matching circuit 261] outputs an output signal! , ],
ri...dishimata position n indicator [1 is -... time storage means 2
21, the customer selects the event and 1. (P5)
.

Display) If there are too many rafts in eye A, the character ``-'' on table 19 and evening/chi frame 28) 3 will be displayed, and if the touch frame is Tough f-17, it will be displayed on the second screen. items are now displayed. Also, display the second screen! , 7, the characters and touch frame of the previous page are displayed, and touching the touch frame returns to the previous page.

In this way, when a performance item is selected, 1. The microprocessor again reads the name of the facility where the event selected by the customer is performed from the RAM 17B, and edits the next display contents 1, 7.
Then, the contents as illustrated in Fig. 7 (b) are set in the 2M option [
CP+, ), which is displayed on the display as ``.

If you touch and select the touch frame 28C corresponding to one of the displayed facility names B1-85, CP? ), as in the previous case, if the selected facility name is -
1'' stage 21 (P8).

Following the completion of the selection of the second selection item 1], the microprocessor M P 'C-1 selects i -K of the selected facility A.
L'''1.1-r RA M i 7 Rrn7G'
l/-i A'='4, read out the business days and timetable of the facility from a predetermined area of the RAM, and edit the editing means 27.
The content is edited according to a predetermined format, and the content as shown in FIG. 7 (c) is displayed on the display 19 as the third selection item, and the customer is asked to select it (P9) - This third selection item , there is a day and time E when the show for which you wish to reserve a seat is open, and a desired number of tickets G. For the convenience of customers, it is desirable to display the content H of the entertainment and its performance period I in parallel.In the example of FIG. 7(C), June 1
Only this week's worth of the period from July 6th to July 6th is displayed on the first screen. and,
If you touch the touch frame of the 0th page, which is an example where performances are performed three times a day, next week's program will be displayed and you can select it.

The characters are flashed in the order of the desired date, hour, and number of sheets to guide the selection order and speed up the process. Further, it is desirable to allow the customer to confirm the selection by displaying the characters of the selected item in reverse video so that the customer can purchase the designated ticket with peace of mind.

In this way, when the specific business day, time and desired number of tickets for a specific facility are selected (PIG) and stored in the temporary storage means 21 (Pth), it is assumed that all the necessary items in the first stage have been selected. The microprocessor MPU reads out the storage content A-I of the temporary storage means 21 and transmits it together with the data request signal to the central control unit 1 via the transmission control means 16 to inquire about vacant seats (PI2). In this case, the data request signal is the unique number MN of the own aircraft and the request level signal NL.
2, and the request level signal NL2 specifies the seat layout and seat availability among the display contents.

The computer ll of the central control device 1 is the transmission control means 1
The data inputted from terminal 4! In other words, the seat file search is performed to read out the seat allocation map of the facility from the magnetic disk of the auxiliary storage means 13 and the availability data for the selected business day and time of the facility from the floppy disk.

In this case, if the readout control means 11a accepts a request for an arrangement of vacant seats (a request for access to the same address) from another terminal for the same business day and the same time at the same facility.

A standby command signal is transmitted to this terminal to make the inquiry wait until a cancellation signal or seat reservation data is input from the other terminal.

In addition, the terminal that has received the standby command signal displays characters such as r processing in progress 1 "Please wait a moment j" on the display screen of FIG. 7(c) and waits for the central standby command to be cancelled.

When access to the storage means 13 becomes possible due to cancellation of the standby command, the read vacancy status data is stored in the temporary storage means l.
Based on the unique number MN of the terminal stored in the id, the request is returned to the terminal that issued the request for arrangement via the transmission control means 15. In the terminal device to which the seat availability data has been transmitted, the microprocessor MPU stores the transmitted data in R of the storage means 17.
After being edited by the editing means 27, the display 19 is stored in the AM 17B as shown in FIG.
CPea) displays the availability of seats in the seating layout map of the facility selected by the customer by filling in the seats for which reserved seat tickets have been sold in any color and leaving the vacant seats blank.

It is convenient to display the currently displayed facility name B, date D, time E, etc. in parallel on this screen.

In addition, the central control device also reads the availability information for 2.3 days before and after the selected business day and transmits it to the terminal.
In addition, when displaying the availability status, touch switches 30a, 30b for selecting the previous time and the next time are displayed on the screen.
! =Previous day and next day selection touch switch 31a.

If you set up 3ib and configure it so that when you touch any evening 7 switch, you can see the availability of other seats and hours in addition to the desired date and time, the desired S If you are unsatisfied with an empty seat for one hour, you can purchase a reserved seat ticket for IIH on another date and time that suits your wishes.If the customer selects a vacant seat on the screen by touching it, The processor MPU stores the selected seat number in the temporary storage means 21, calculates the price of the reserved ticket to be sold by the calculation means 22 based on the seat number and the number of tickets previously input, and at the same time , the printing contents (reservation contents) of the designated ticket to be sold are edited by the editing means 27 (P+6), and the fee amount and reservation contents are displayed on the display 19 as shown in FIG. 7 (e). Pxz),
Ask for customer confirmation.

If the customer touches the "Cancellation" front part to cancel (P
+6), and transmits that to the center. This makes the central i
M's computer computer will release the waiting process from other sales machines. In addition, the vending machine L' returns to the first step Pl of the program due to cancellation, and enters a standby state with the contents shown in FIG. 7(a) displayed on the display 1-.

Also, the customer can touch the “Confirm” display area to confirm.
If (P+9), the message to the effect that the fee should be paid will be displayed on the display (P?o) - If the customer follows this and inserts cash from t:】32 or bill insert +133 (P21) The coin verification section 23a of the determining means 23 determines the authenticity and calculates the input amount (P22), and the comparison section 23'b determines whether the input amount is equal to or larger than the fee amount calculated by the calculation means 22V. Once the comparison is made, it is determined whether the release conditions are met or not (P23). , etc. or large, it is determined that the release condition is satisfied, and the ticket issuing means 24 prints the ticket on the paper according to the predetermined format using the edited contents by the editing means 2'7, and prints the ticket on the paper provided on the customer service side. It is discharged to the outlet 34 (P24).

The microprocessor M P [J monitors the number of tickets issued by the output signal of the ticket detector provided in the ticket issuing means, and stores it in the storage means 21.When the number of tickets issued matches the desired number entered by a customer, Then, printing and issuance of the designated ticket is stopped (P26). When the input amount is larger than the fee amount, the change dispensing unit 35 discharges the change together with the ticket to the dispensing port 34. In addition, when it is determined that the number of tickets issued matches the desired number, the seat number data, the name of the facility, the H mark, and the time data related to the issued reserved ticket are read out from the temporary storage means 21 and transmission control is performed. Through means 16 1. central control unit 1
(P2+) - The central control unit updates the vacant seat status data in the storage means 13 based on this reserved data. In addition, we will be able to answer your next inquiries regarding the same facility and the same date and time.

In order to shorten the waiting time for customers coming from other vending machines for 15F, the vending machines will reply to the center based on the confirmation operation (P19) in the same way as for cancellations. When the microprocessor MPU handles cancellation because the input amount has not reached the charge amount for a predetermined period of time, the data stored in the temporary register +f1'f1 stage 21 is centrally controlled. It is also possible to transmit the information to the apparatus and update the seat availability data in the storage means 13 again by the updating means 11c.

Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the data transmitted from the center to each terminal is divided into two parts: 1. The request level signals NLu and NL2 were transmitted in two parts. This method is convenient when the amount of data processed by the vending machine is larger than the storage capacity of the storage means of the vending machine.

However, if the storage capacity of the first storage stage of the vending machine is sufficiently large, the performance type, facility name, performance [1 o'clock], seat allocation map and vacant seat status of each #i facility can all be stored at once without dividing it into two. Alternatively, a method may be adopted in which the information is transmitted to and processed.

Second invention The second invention is to sell the seat reservation ticket terminal according to the present invention only to a specific event among a plurality of entertainment events or a specific facility among a plurality of facilities of a specific event. It was made so that it could be done.

There is one way to achieve this function.

The main storage means 12 of the central control unit stores the code number of the terminal for which the sales target is desired to be limited and the code number of the limited display item, and the computer 11 receives a request for vacant seats from each terminal. In this case, by checking the code number of the terminal, it is determined whether or not the terminal is a machine for which a limited release is desired, and in the case of a machine for which a limited release is desired, only the display items corresponding to the display item code number are read out from the auxiliary storage means 13. There is a method for transmitting the data.

Firstly, the central control unit 1 transmits data to all the terminals in the same way, and for the terminal desired to be sold, the skip means 25 provided in the terminal is operated to perform the above-mentioned process. Predetermined items set in advance are automatically selected by the skip means 25 when the first selection item is displayed (P3) or when the first selection item and the second selection item are displayed (P6). It consists of

This skip 7th column 25 contains the code number of the item to be sold among the first selection items when the sales target is a specific entertainment category (for example, movie specialty), and the code number of the item to be released among the first selection items. In this case, a storage unit 25a is provided that stores the code number of the item to be sold among the first selection items and the code number of the specific facility, and the next step after the first selection item display step (P3) shown in FIG. 7 is provided. storage section 25
reading out the code number of the specific item of a, or reading out the code number of the specific item after the first selection item display step and the code number of the specific facility after the second selection item display step (P6), respectively; The conversion unit 25b converts this into an XY coordinate signal of the touch frame of the specific item and inputs it to the matching circuit 26b in FIG. 5. As described above, the storage unit 25a and the conversion unit When using the skip means 25 consisting of 25b and a method of reading out the code number of the category or facility recorded in the storage unit and setting the sales target, the terminal device can easily and arbitrarily limit the sales target. Only the items that can be sold are displayed on display 19.
Alternatively, only facilities can be displayed to provide convenience to customers.

In addition, 36 in FIG. 1 indicates the box office entrance and/or box office time of each facility stored in the storage means 13 of the central control device.
This is a sales data change machine for changing remotely from the facility or the general control center, etc., and consists of a data input section, a transmission section, and 4.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the terminal guides and guides customers by displaying the performance type, facility type, performance date and time, seating layout, and availability on the display in a predetermined order; Customers can enter their desired conditions by simply touching the display area that matches their desires, so customers can easily operate the system themselves and accurately purchase their desired seat reservation tickets from among multiple entertainment categories and facilities. I can do it. Conventional devices, in which input is made by operating predetermined keys in a predetermined order from a keyboard with a large number of keys arranged, tend to be avoided by unfamiliar people, but the device according to the present invention is the first one to encounter it. It can be easily used by anyone.

Further, according to the second invention, by utilizing the ski-2 ski means, this device can be used for multiple events and multiple facilities, as well as for a single event or single facility.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall system configuration, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the M'i structure of data to be processed, and FIG. The figure is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the terminal, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the details of the configuration focusing on functions, Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the terminal, and Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal. A flowchart explaining the operation, Figures 7 (a) to (e) are schematic diagrams showing an example of the display contents of the display of the tape machine and examples of 8 selection items, and Figure 8 is a diagram issued by the terminal. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of printed content of a reserved seat ticket. '1 Koji = 1 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 (→ Fig. 8).

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) (a) Type of performance, name of the facility where the performance is held,
The current vacancy status is updated based on the seating arrangement map that is the same as the actual seating arrangement of the same facility, a memory device that stores the vacancy status for each business day and time of each facility, and the release information from each terminal described later. updating means for reading out and outputting the stored contents of the storage means in response to a request from the terminal described below; transmission means for transmitting the read contents to the requesting terminal; a central control device having a control means for controlling seat reservation tickets so that they do not overlap for seats at the same facility on the same date and time; (b) a. storage means for storing the content transmitted from said central control device; b. , the performance category that is stored in the storage means, the names of multiple facilities that perform the same type of entertainment, the business days, timetable, number of people wishing to enter one facility, etc., and the seating plan and current status of the facility. Display control means for displaying the vacant seat status in a predetermined order on the display described below; c. A display operated by the control and display means; d. A large number of transparent switches arranged in a matrix on the surface of the display. an input means for inputting information by a customer's touch on a display part according to the display contents of the display; e. temporary storage means for storing the contents inputted from said input means; f. a seat device inputted from said input means; and a calculation means for calculating a fee corresponding to the number of people wishing to enter; i. a ticket issuing means for issuing a reserved seat ticket with contents corresponding to the items inputted by the customer using the input means, based on a determination that a sales condition is satisfied, using data stored in the storage means; and i. the temporary storage means. an automatic seat reservation ticket vending device comprising: a terminal device having transmission means for transmitting business days, times, and seat numbers among the stored data to the central control device as update data; (2) (a) Type of performance, name of the facility where the performance is held,
A storage device that stores the same seating arrangement map as the actual seating capacity of the same facility, the availability of seats for each business day and time of each facility, and the current availability of seats based on the sales information from each terminal described below. updating means for updating the information, reading means for reading out and outputting the stored contents of the storage means in response to a request from the terminal described below, transmission means for transmitting the read contents to the requesting terminal, and issuing means for each terminal described later. (b) a. a storage means for storing the content transmitted from said central control device; and (b) a. b. Contents stored in the storage means, such as the type of performance, the names of multiple facilities that perform the same type of performance, business days and hours of one facility, the number of people wishing to enter, etc., and the seating plan of the facility; Display control means for displaying the current vacant seat status in a predetermined order on the display described below; c. A display operated by the display control means; d. Out of the contents displayed by the display, the entertainment category or the entertainment category and facility. A display order skipping means for skipping the display of the name, e, consisting of a large number of transparent switches arranged in a matrix on the surface of the display, input by the customer's touch of the display part according to the display content of the display. an input means; a determining means for determining the success or failure of a sales condition based on the amount of cash input and the fee amount calculated by the calculation means; i. corresponding to the item input by the customer using the input means based on the determination of the fulfillment of the sales condition by the determining means; j. updating business days, times, and seat numbers among the data stored in the temporary storage means to the central control device; an automatic seat reservation ticket vending device comprising: a terminal having a transmission means for transmitting data for use; and a seat reservation ticket automatic vending device.