JPS63127905A - Confirmation of stored goods in automatic commodity transaction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the commodity mistake and facilitate commodity management by taking out a commodity and reading the commodity code during transport and inspecting the conformity of the commodity with a memorized commodity shelf, in an automatic commodity transaction device which mechanically reads the commodity code. CONSTITUTION:In the confirmation for stored goods, a controller 6 instructs a transfer mechanism 3 to successively take out commodities 1 from a storage shelf 1. The attached code No. of the taken-out commodity is read by a code reading mechanism 4 during transport. The read out information is collated with the memory information in a memory device 5, and the conformity of the contents of the storage shelf 2 with the stored commodity 1 is inspected. If the result of inspection is correct, the commodity 1 is returned into the storage shelf 2, and if the result indicates error, the content of memory is renewed, and the commodity is stored into another storage shelf. With such constitution, the commodity mistake is prevented, and the stock call be confirmed, and supplement of commodities is facilitated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] In an automatic transaction device that trades products to which a machine-readable code is attached, a transfer mechanism that transfers the product transfers the product to a code reading device and the code is attached to the product. The code is read and the product storage information stored in the storage device is updated based on the result.

[Industrial application field]

This invention relates to an automated transaction device that sells, lends, or even returns products with machine-readable codes.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an example of an automatic commodity transaction device to which the present invention is applied, and is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-212625 and Japanese Patent Application No. 60-222679 filed earlier by the applicant. This device is similar to the one previously used.

To explain the outline of this device based on a diagram, products 1 such as video tapes to be sold or rented are stored in a number of storage shelves 2 for storing these products, and vertical guide rails 31 and horizontal Automatic transport including a transport head 33 which is movable to a position facing the stored product 1 by a direction guide shaft 32 and has a claw 34 for engaging the product, and a motor 35 for rotating this transport head by 180 degrees. The mechanism 3 places the product 1 stored on the storage shelf 2 on the transport head 33 by engaging the product 1 stored in the storage shelf 2 with the protruding claw 34 of the transport head 33 and then retracting the claw. Then, the transport head, motor 35, etc. are moved to the position shown by the dotted line in the figure, and after being rotated 180 degrees by the motor 35, the mold 34 is projected again, and the product is released from the product release lower to the customer. do.

When a customer wants to return an item that he or she has previously borrowed, the item inserted from the item ejection lower is received onto the transport head 33, and this transport head rotates 180 degrees in the opposite direction from when the item was rented, and then places the item on the item. After the product is moved to the position of the shelf where it is to be stored, the product 1 is pushed into the storage shelf 2 by the die 34 and stored. In addition, if the loaned product is replenished and other products are stored on the storage shelf at the time of lending, prepare a spare storage space and store the returned product there. I can do it.

This device uses a card reader 8 to read customer information from a customer card such as a credit card inserted by the customer, and a product code to specify the product desired by the customer in order to automatically control sales, lending, and returns. , an operation panel 9 for manually inputting product information such as a personal identification number and videotape standards such as VH3 and β, a display 10 for displaying customer guidance, and a control device 6 for controlling the operation of the device. ing.

A code reading mechanism 4 for reading machine-readable product codes such as bar codes attached to products released or received from the product release lower is provided inside the product release lower, and when trading products. The code of the product is read by this reading mechanism and the contents of the product are detected.
The product is released after confirming that it matches the product specified by the customer, or the product is accepted after confirming the product returned by the customer.

On the other hand, the storage device 5 for storing the contents of the products 1 stored on this shelf in correspondence with the storage shelf 2 is connected to the control device 6.
The correspondence between the storage shelves and the products stored on the storage shelves is stored, for example, as follows.

When storing products to be sold or rented, multiple product storage patterns are prepared in advance that specify the products to be stored on each storage shelf to suit the installation location of the automated product transaction device, and the service personnel By storing the products in the storage shelf according to the product pattern and inputting the product pattern manually to the automatic product transaction device, the stored contents of the storage device 5 match the storage shelves and the products stored there. do it like this. In addition, when the control device 6 of this automatic commodity transaction device is connected to the host processor online, the above-mentioned product pattern is transmitted from the host processor to the control device 6 of this automatic commodity transaction device and its stored contents are stored. The service person updates the product pattern according to the product pattern and stores the product according to this product pattern.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

With conventional devices such as those described above, when a service person or the like stores a product on a product storage shelf, there is a possibility that a service person or the like may accidentally store a product that is different from the product specified to be stored on that shelf, or If the pattern of products stored in the storage shelves is incorrectly stored in the storage device, the products stored in each storage shelf stored in the storage device will not match the products actually stored, and the products will be lost. Even if the error is discovered when trading, not only will unnecessary operations be performed, but there are also drawbacks such as the inability to appropriately determine which products should be replenished.

[Means for solving problems]

A product storage shelf 2 that stores products 1 having a machine-readable code indicating the contents of the product; an automatic transfer mechanism 3 that takes out or stores products stored on this shelf; A code reading mechanism 4 provided on the transfer path to read a machine-readable code attached to the product; a storage device 5 corresponding to a storage shelf and storing the contents of the product stored on the shelf; In an automatic commodity trading device comprising a control device 6 that controls the device,
This control device 6 takes out the product from the storage shelf, transfers it to the code reading mechanism 4 by the transfer mechanism 3, reads the code attached to the product, and checks the storage shelf and product stored in the storage device. A control function was added to check the response.

Furthermore, based on the results of the above inspection, the correspondence between the storage shelves stored in the storage device 5 and the products stored therein is updated, or the control device 6 is connected to the host processor via a communication line. Then, this control device starts the above-mentioned inspection according to a command from the host processor, and sends the inspection results back to the host processor.

[For production]

When checking inventory according to the present invention, the control device 6
The transfer mechanism 3 sequentially takes out the products 1 stored in the product storage shelf 2 from this storage shelf and transfers them to the code reading mechanism 4, and the code reading mechanism reads the barcode or characters attached to the products. The processor identifies the content (type) of the product based on the code, identifies the storage shelf stored in the storage device 5, and the products stored on this shelf. Check whether the correspondence with the contents actually matches.

As a result of this inspection, if there are no errors, the inspected product can be returned to the original storage shelf by the transfer mechanism 3,
If they do not match, update the memory content of the storage device to match the actual storage condition, or store the product inspected by the transfer mechanism in another storage location such as a spare stofker and store it in the storage device. You can perform processes such as updating product data to indicate that the product is no longer available.

In addition, if the storage shelf where the incorrectly stored product should have been stored becomes empty due to a sale, etc.,
It is more desirable that the processor performs control so that the product is stored on the original shelf.

In addition, if this automatic commodity transaction device is connected to a host processor and centrally managed, the inspection results are transferred from this automatic commodity transaction device to the host processor and stored in the storage device of this host processor. By rewriting the product information contained in the product information, it can be used to control product sales and lending, create data for product replenishment, etc.

This inspection takes a relatively long time as the products stored in the storage shelves are sequentially taken out and inspected, so it is carried out at the end of the business or during business hours such as at night under control from the host processor. Can be done outside.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the configuration of the control system of the present invention in the case where the automatic commodity transaction device T is connected to the host processor P via a communication line.
The operation of the automatic commodity transaction device illustrated in the figure will be explained assuming that it is used as a terminal.

Note that for the host processor P, only the components related to the present invention, such as the processor 21, system data storage device 22, communication control device 23, display device 24, and keyboard 25, are shown, and for the automatic commodity transaction device T, only the components related to the present invention are shown. Components corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. Note that the processor 6-1, transfer mechanism control device 6-2, and transfer mechanism drive device 6-3 of the automatic commodity transaction device T are collectively shown as the control device 6 in FIG. .

After the customer inserts a customer card such as a credit card into the card reader 8, when the customer manually specifies the product code of the product he/she wishes to borrow using manual means such as the operation panel 9, the card is transferred from the customer card. leader 8
After sending the customer information read by the host processor P to the host processor P and confirming the customer's creditworthiness, the storage device 5 is accessed using this product code and the product code stored in this storage device and the storage location are obtained as described above. The storage position of the product desired by the customer is identified by the correspondence with the customer, and the product whose contents are indicated by the bar code is taken out from the storage shelf by the transport head 33 and transferred by the transport mechanism 3 toward the product discharge lower. After P&identifying the product with the barcode reader 4, the product is released from the release lower to the customer, and information about the stored product on the storage shelf from which the product was taken out is stored in the storage device 5 for lending or sales. Update as completed.

When a customer returns a product, the customer inserts the customer card into the card reader 8 and manually inputs the intention to return the product from the operation panel 9. Then, when the product is inserted from the product release lower, the product code assigned to the product by the code reader 4 is displayed. is read, and the storage device 5 is searched using this product code and the customer code read from the customer card by the card reader 8 to confirm that this product has been properly lent. The position of the storage shelf to be stored is read, the returned product is stored in this storage position by the transport head 33, and then the rental information stored in the storage device 5 is cleared.

In order to carry out such transactions, it is necessary for the storage device 5 to accurately remember which products are stored in each storage shelf, and in the present invention, it is necessary to accurately store which products are stored in each storage shelf. The transfer mechanism 3 sequentially takes out the products from the storage shelf and sends them to the code reader 4 to read the code attached to the product. Return it to the original storage shelf, and if it is different, update the contents of the storage device to match the actual state.

Another method for handling cases where the stored content is different is to store the incorrectly stored product in a spare storage location such as a stocker as described above, and to store the product in the storage device 5 as the product in the storage shelf is out of stock. The memory contents of can be updated.

This inspection was carried out by installing the operation panel 9 of the automated commodity transaction device T or an operation panel (not shown) that can only be operated by the service person or the like when the service person stores the product. The service person himself can order this inspection, or the inspection order may be issued automatically or by an operation similar to the above when business hours are over.

Furthermore, as in this embodiment, when the automatic commodity transaction device is connected to a host processor, an inspection command may be issued from the keyboard 25 of this host processor P, and in this case, the business is closed as described above. It is clear that the inspection order may be issued at certain times or outside business hours. Further, there is no need to rely on an operator to issue this command, and an appropriate method can be selected such as the host processor automatically issuing an inspection command based on the above conditions.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to check the stored products by simply instructing an inspection of the products stored in the automatic product transaction device, thereby preventing the release of erroneous products and keeping the product management in check. Since this can be done in accordance with the schedule, it is possible to achieve special effects such as easier product management such as product replenishment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an automatic commodity transaction device to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a product having a machine-readable code, 2 is a product storage shelf, 3 is an automatic transfer mechanism, 4 is a code reading mechanism, 5 is a storage device for storing the contents of stored products, and 6 is a storage device for storing the stored products. A processor that performs control. 16 (1 each)
figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A product storage shelf (2) that stores a large number of products (1) having machine-readable codes indicating the contents of the products, and an automatic transfer mechanism (2) that takes out or stores products stored on this shelf. 3), a code reading mechanism (4) provided on the transport path of the product by the automatic transfer mechanism to read a machine-readable code attached to the product, and a code reading mechanism (4) that is provided in the transport path of the product by the automatic transfer mechanism and reads a machine-readable code attached to the product; In an automatic commodity trading device, the automatic commodity transaction device includes a storage device (5) that stores the contents of the commodity stored therein, and a control device (6) that includes a processor that controls these devices. An automatic commodity transaction device characterized by having a control function to read a code attached to the commodity by transferring it to a code reading mechanism, and to check the correspondence between the commodity and the storage shelf stored in the storage device. Inventory confirmation method. (2) In the automatic commodity transaction device according to claim 1, the correspondence between the storage shelves and the commodity stored in the storage device (5) is updated based on the result of the above inspection. Inventory confirmation method. (3) The processor is connected to a host processor via a communication line, and the processor starts the inspection based on a command from the host processor, and sends the inspection results back to the host processor. An inventory confirmation method in an automatic commodity transaction device according to claims 1 and 2.