JPS63106211A - Cassette management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of rental and returning work of cassette remarkably, by employing a cassette assembled with an IC circuit for storing commodity information and reading out the commodity information of the cassette contained in a shelf from the outside. CONSTITUTION:A cassette case 24a is provided with a window 26 for optical communication, and an IC circuit 27 arranged with a signal connection mechanism, i.e. a light emission element 28a and a photoreceptor 28b, is provided in the window 26. Commodity information such as commodity code, title concerning to a cassette 24 is recorded in the IC circuit 27. When the cassette 24 is inserted into a shelf 22, commodity information concerning to a video tape in the cassette 24 is read out by means of a light emission element 47a and a photoreceptor 47b burried in an upper side guide groove corresponding to the window 26.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to cassette management for lending and managing cassettes in which a recording information medium and an IC circuit for storing product information regarding the recording information medium are incorporated in a cassette case. Regarding the method.

[Prior Art] At a store where recording information media such as tapes are housed in cassette cases, such as video tapes, etc., are lent out to the general public for a fee, the store clerk must enter the product name or product code that specifies the loaned product, and the type of loan type. The address, name, and rental date are recorded on the rental slip or notebook, and when the item is returned, the rental record is deleted. In this way, when the clerk records the name and product code of the loaned product on the loan slip or notebook, the efficiency of the loan operation decreases. Additionally, there is a concern that the product code may be written incorrectly or the loan may be completely forgotten, making accurate loan management impossible.

On the other hand, software rental companies that rent out audio tapes, video tapes, etc. to the general public for a fee generally retain copyright rights to software suppliers such as record companies, movie companies, and TV companies at a certain percentage depending on the number of rentals. There is an obligation to pay the fee. Therefore, rental companies need to accurately manage which software has been rented and how many times. However, with the method described above, accurate lending management is difficult.

In order to eliminate these inconveniences, we attach a barcode indicating the product code to each rented tape cassette, issue a membership card with a membership number recorded on each borrowed tape, and scan the barcode with a barcode reader when renting a cassette. A rental management method has been developed in which a product code is read and stored in a storage device together with a membership number manually entered from a keyboard, for example.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, even with the above-mentioned cassette management method in which cassette lending is managed using barcodes, the following problems still occur. In other words, in the lending management method described above, since the product code of the cassette currently being lent is stored in the storage device, by printing out the stored contents of this storage device, it is possible to determine how many times each cassette has been lent. can be understood. However, when lending or returning a cassette, the clerk must read the barcode attached to the cassette using a barcode reading device.

Furthermore, no information is stored that indicates that cassettes that are not currently being lent are definitely stored on the shelf. Therefore, for example, when checking inventory at the end of the month or at the end of each day's work, it is necessary to manually inspect the cassettes stored on the six shelves in the room one by one. As a result, there is also the problem that the efficiency of inventory checking is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to more strictly manage the rental of cassettes by reading the product information of the IC circuit built into the cassettes stored on the shelf. The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for managing cassettes that is possible.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The cassette management method of the present invention provides a method for managing a plurality of cassettes that incorporates a recording information medium housed in a cassette case and an IC circuit that stores at least product information regarding the recording information medium. When you pull out the desired cassette from the shelf that stores it! , in response to the withdrawal operation, reads product information regarding the cassette from the IC circuit and records the rental information in the rental management memory; and in response to the insertion operation of the cassette into the shelf, performs the rental management for the cassette. This is to register the return to memory.

[Function] With this cassette management method, each cassette has a built-in IC circuit that stores product information regarding the recording information medium such as tape of this cassette, so that each cassette can be inserted into six shelves. For example, it becomes possible to arbitrarily read product information stored in the IC circuit of the cassette from an external control device. Therefore, when a cassette is pulled out from the shelf, the rental information of the cassette is registered in the rental management memory, and when the cassette is inserted into the shelf, the return information of the cassette is registered in the rental management memory. As described above, with the cassette management method of the present invention, lending and withdrawal management can be automatically performed simply by pulling out and inserting a cassette into a shelf.

[Example〕 An embodiment of the present invention under varnish will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cassette lending management device using the cassette management method of the embodiment. In this embodiment, a case will be explained in which the device is installed in a video rental shop that rents out video tapes to the general public for a fee. In other words, 2 in the figure
Reference numeral 1 denotes a rack in which a large number of racks 22 are arranged on the front side, and a main body control device 23 is installed adjacent to this rack 21.

Further, an operation panel 25 is attached to the front surface of the main body control device 23.

As shown in FIG. 3, the six shelves 22 provided on the rack 21 are carved on the upper and lower surfaces of a plurality of bars 22a and each side 22a, which are arranged horizontally and parallel to each other on the front surface of the rack 21. It is formed by a pair of guide grooves 22b and 22C. A step 22d is formed at the tip of the lower guide groove 22b constituting the shelf 22 to prevent the cassette group from protruding upward. Then, a videotape cassette 24 shown in FIG. 4 is inserted between the pair of mutually opposing guide grooves 22b and 22c in the longitudinal direction (in the direction of the arrow). The cassette 24 is inserted into the guide groove 22b.

22c until it reaches the end, the entire cassette 24 passes over the step 22d formed at the tip of the lower guide groove 22b, as shown in FIG.
It will be supported on the horizontal part of. Therefore, when pulling out the cassette 24 from the shelf 22, the tip of the cassette 24 is lifted up and then pulled out toward the front.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the cassette 24 inserted into the shelf 22 to its proper position. That is, a pair of reels 24b and 24c are disposed within a cassette case 24a formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and a tape 24d is wound between the pair of reels 24b and 24b. Further, a window 26 for optical communication is formed in a corner enclosure 24e of this cassette case 24a, and the cassette case 24a is provided with a window 26 for optical communication.
An IC circuit 27 is disposed within the window 4a at a position facing the window 26. A light emitting element 28a and a light receiving element 28b as a signal connection mechanism are arranged on a PC board supporting this IC circuit 27.

Through-holes are formed at positions facing the light-emitting and light-receiving surfaces of the light-emitting element 28a and light-receiving element 28b of the PC board. Further, a battery 29 is provided adjacent to the PC board. Please note that these electronic parts are stored in cassette case 2.
Since it is disposed within the corner enclosure 24e within 4a, it does not interfere with tape running.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the cassette 24 is inserted into the shelf 22 to its proper position, the window of the cassette case 24a
The light emitting element 47a and the light receiving element 47b are embedded in the upper guide groove 22c facing the light emitting element 47a. Furthermore, a microswitch 4 is provided on the end wall surface 22e in this shelf 22.
5 is attached, and when the cassette 24 is inserted into the tl 122 to its normal position, the microswitch 45 is closed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the IC circuit 27. As shown in FIG. C
The ROM 27c is connected to the PU 27a via the pass line 27b.
, RAM 27d, the light emitting element 28a and the light receiving element 281
) is connected to the input/output boat 27e.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the RAM 27d contains the product code of the video or tape of this cassette 24, the branch number used when there are multiple identical products, the title name, and the rental fee for one time. Product information consisting of rental unit prices indicating . Note that this product information is written in the video software management center. Then, the cassette 24 is supplied to the video rental store with the product information written thereon.

As shown in FIG. 7, the operation panel 25 includes a display section 31 for displaying various messages and amounts, a stroke number key 32 for manually inputting numerical data such as membership numbers, and a set key used when inputting numerical data. 34, a rental key 35 that is pressed when renting a cassette, a transmission key 36 for transmitting data to the host computer of an external video software management center, three mode selection keys operated with keys for selecting and setting various business modes, and An issuance port 41 of a printer 40 for printing rental slips and the like is provided.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the main body control device 23. C
The PU42 connects to the ROM43 and RA via the pass line.
M44, input port 46 into which opening/closing information of each microswitch 45 provided in each shelf 22 is input, W122
A light emitting element 27a embedded in the inner lower guide groove 22b
and a light receiving element 47b are connected, an input port 50 to which key signals are input from the keyboard 49 of the operation panel 25, an output port 51 to send data to the printer 40 and the display unit 31, and the current month, date, hour, and minute. A clock circuit 52 for measuring time, an I for transmitting data such as rental information, etc.
10 interface 53 to IIJ WJ. In addition,
This I10 interface 53 is MODEM54. It is connected via a switch 55 to a host computer 56 of a video software management center.

In addition, each of the above-mentioned electronic components is connected to an AC power source by a power switch 57.
A drive voltage ycc is supplied from a power supply circuit 58 connected via the power supply circuit 58. Note that in the RAM 44 and the clock circuit 52, backup batteries 44a and 52a constantly maintain stored contents and timekeeping operations.

In the RAM 44, as shown in FIG. 9, a rental management memory 59 is formed. This rental management memory 5
Reference numeral 9 is formed of a number of tables 60 corresponding to the number of 11122 installed on the rack 21, and each table 60 includes a shelf number area 62 for storing 122 shelf numbers, a product code, and a branch number.

Product information area 63 that stores product information consisting of title name, rental unit price, total number of placements that have been lent to date, total loan amount, total arrears, month, day, hour and minute of the loan if it is currently being loaned, and the number of items that are currently being lent. A lending information area 64 is formed to store lending information consisting of membership numbers for borrowing and borrowing. Note that if the item is currently on loan, the shelf number in the shelf bin area 62 is cleared.

Further, in the RAM 44, there are formed a loan days memory 65 for storing the number of days for one loan, and an overdue charge memory 66 for storing the overdue amount or overdue rate per day when the loan is returned after the loan deadline. ing.

The main body control section 23 of such a cassette lending management device performs lending/returning processing for each cassette 24 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the power switch 57 is turned on, the S
1 performs predetermined initial processing including clearing various input/output ports and the I10 interface. Next, in S2, confirm that the mode selection key 39 of the operation panel 25 is set to the ON position, which indicates normal operations such as lending and returning.

Then, at S3, one of the microswitches 45 on the shelf 22
When the cassette 24 was opened, the cassette 24 inserted into that shelf 22 was pulled out, so the RAM 4 was
Storage bin area 6 of each table 60 of lending management memory 59 of 4
Search for 2. When the table 60 of the relevant shelf number is searched, the current month, date, hour and minute read from the clock circuit 52 are stored in the rental information area 64 of the relevant table 60 as the rental month, date, hour and minute. Then, the shelf number in the shelf number area 62 of the corresponding table 60 is cleared. At the same time, the corresponding table 60 is displayed on the display section 31.
The title name of the videotape read from the product information area 63 is displayed.

When the rental key 35 is pressed manually in S4 and the member number 0 is pressed with the stroke number key 32 in S5, the total location of the rental information area 64 of each table 60 corresponding to each cassette 24 pulled out is displayed. Each loan information such as the number of withdrawals and total withdrawal amount is updated, and the input membership number is stored. Then, the product information of each lent cassette 24, the rental month, date, time, membership number, and R expiry date are printed out on a rental slip by the printer 40, and the cassette is discharged from the issuing port 41. This completes the lending process for one customer and returns to S3.

If the cassette 24 is not pulled out from the fIA 22 in S3 and the microswitch 45 of the shelf 22 in which no cassette 24 is currently inserted is closed in S6, that shelf 2
2, it is determined that the cassette 24 returned by the customer has been inserted. Then, in S7, the shelf number of the shelf 22 is read, and the RA of the IC circuit 27 of the inserted cassette 24 is read.
The product information stored in M27d is read through the light emitting element and the light receiving element. The product information area 63 of each table 60 of the lending management memory 59 is searched using the product code included in the read product information. At the same time, the videotape title name included in the product information read from the IC circuit 27 is displayed on the display section 31.

When the corresponding product code is retrieved, the previously read shelf number is stored in the shelf bin area 1162 of the table 60 that was retrieved. Then, the rental information area 64 of the corresponding table 60
Perform return registration processing for. That is, the lending information area 64 is cleared of the lending month, day, hour, and minute, and the membership number. Since the return process for one cassette 24 has been completed above, S6
The process returns to step 3 and has the insertion operation of the next cassette 24.

In a cassette management method applied to such a cassette lending management device, when the mode selection key 39 is set to the [ON] position and the cassette 24 is pulled out from the shelf 22, the lending management will indicate that the cassette 24 has been lent. It is stored in memory 59. Further, when the cassette 24 is inserted into the shelf 22, the fact that the cassette 24 has been returned is also stored in the lending management memory 59.

Therefore, the clerk only needs to pull out the cassette 24 from 1122 and insert it into the holder 22 without performing any special operations when lending or returning the cassette 24. As a result, the efficiency of office work when borrowing and returning items can be greatly improved.

Furthermore, the storage status of each cassette 24 in the eight shelves 22 can be monitored at all times by directly monitoring the microswitch 45 or by reading the stored information in the IC circuit 27 via a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Therefore, it is possible to accurately manage inventory at all times.

Furthermore, since an IC circuit 27 that stores the product information of the videotave is built into the rented cassette 24, when the cassette 24 is returned to the shelf 22, the product information of the cassette 24 is automatically stored in the main unit. Since it can be read by control-23, the returned cassette 2
You can reliably grasp product information such as the product code in item 4. As a result, there is no need to specify the shelf 22 to be inserted for each cassette 24.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the cassette management method of the present invention, by using a cassette incorporating an IC circuit that stores product information regarding a recording information medium such as a tape, cassettes stored on a shelf can be The product information of the IC circuit can be read from the outside, which greatly improves the efficiency of cassette lending and return work, and allows for stricter cassette lending management.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

This figure shows a cassette rental management device to which a cassette management method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cassette inserted into a shelf, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the entire cassette rental management device. 3 is a cutaway perspective view showing the shelf of the device taken out, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the cassette, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the IC circuit incorporated in the cassette, and FIG. 9 and 9 are diagrams showing the memory contents,
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation panel, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the main body control device, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation. 21...-Rack, 22... Shelf, 22a... Crosspiece, 2
2b, 22C... Guide groove, 22d... Step portion, 23
...Main control device, 24...Cassette, 24a...
・Cassette case, 24b, 24c... Reel, 24
d...Tape, 25...Operation panel, 27...I
C circuit, 31...Display section, 32...Number key, 35
...Rent key, 36...Send key, 39...Mode selection key, 40...Printer, 42...CPU,
44...RAM, 45...Micro switch, 53
... I10 interface, 56... Host computer, 59... Lending management memory, 60... Table, 63... Product information area, 64... Lending information area. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 10

Claims (1)

[Claims] When a desired cassette is pulled out from a shelf that stores a plurality of cassettes that incorporate a recording information medium housed in a cassette case and an IC circuit that stores at least product information regarding the recording information medium, the pull-out operation In response, product information regarding the relevant cassette is read from the IC circuit, rental information is recorded in the rental management memory, and in response to the operation of inserting the cassette into the shelf, return registration for the relevant cassette is registered in the rental management memory. A cassette management method characterized by: