KR930004857B1 - Point of Sale System of Vending Machines - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Point of Sale System of Vending Machines

1 is a structural diagram of a conventional vending machine.

2 is a block diagram of the present invention.

3 is a file structure diagram according to the present invention.

4 is a flow chart according to the present invention.

5 is a data format diagram according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a point of sale system of a vending machine.

In general, vending machines are increasingly installed due to the advantage that a small space can be installed in a region where demand for limited types of goods is concentrated and sellers do not have to reside.

However, the conventional vending machine collectively controls the overall operation of the vending machine, a product selection unit 1 for selecting a product as shown in FIG. 1, an output unit 13 for outputting the selected product with a motor, and the like. The control unit 10 and the sensor input unit 12 for detecting the quality of the product or the signals and mechanical abnormalities required for sale, etc., the control unit 10 for the product selected by the buyer through the product selection unit 11 After checking the price, etc., only the role of delivering only the corresponding product to the consumer through the output unit 13, so that the information management according to the product sales was inevitably handled directly by the person who manages the vending machine.

As such, sales, calculation, inspection of machinery abnormality, and unit price change were possible only by the manager's separate work. Therefore, a separate manpower is required, and information necessary for management cannot be immediately confirmed. In the case of management, it was inconvenient to re-statify the data by the manager's report.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a point-of-sale management system for a vending machine to add a communication function and a data processing function to an unmanned vending machine so as to manage the point of sale through communication with the vending machine controller.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a system block diagram to which the present invention is applied and includes a plurality of vending machines 100... 110 and a first communication control unit 201 and data communication with the vending machines via a transmission medium. It consists of a vending machine controller 200 that collects the sales information for the sale and time of sale management. However, each vending machine has a second communication control unit 14 for controlling communication with the vending machine controller 200 in the same configuration as in the above-described first embodiment, and the receipt and storage for the customer at the same time as the product output when selling the product. A receipt issuing unit 15 for issuing a journal receipt is further provided.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of representative files among the files used in the vending machine controller 200. FIG. 3a is a file for any one vending machine, and this file existing for each vending machine is handled by the vending machine. Record sales status such as unit price, quantity, and amount. Figure 3b is a file that records the total sales of goods (sales quantity, amount) for each vending machine. In addition, additional files can be used for additional functions.

4 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the vending machine, and FIG. 5 is a data format diagram transmitted from the vending machine to the vending machine controller, and includes a vending machine identification number, an instruction code, and sales-related data.

The present invention will be described in detail based on the above configuration. First, let's look at the purpose of the data processed by the vending machine.

1) Mechanical Inspection … … ㆍ Machine failure diagnosis

ㆍ quality of material

Urgent contact with other consumers

2) Change of sales information. … Change of unit price of the product

3) Management Information Extraction. … Revenue Hourly / Daily / Monthly

ㆍ Sales Status by Product

ㆍ Sales Status by Vending Machine

Seasonal Preferred Products

ㆍ Entry / exit processing

ㆍ Inspection / Settlement

4) Inventory Management. … … … Stocktaking

5) Order and Ordering Work. Orders for shortages to product suppliers

For example, it typically receives a check / settlement request, and the vending machine controller 200 receives a machine failure, out of stock, customer contact, sales information, check, settlement data.

Referring to the operation of the vending machine shown in FIG. 4, the series of operations for the point of sale management of the vending machine will be described in detail. First, when the power of the vending machine is turned on, the system is initialized in step (a). After executing the routine to proceed to step (b) and checks whether the vending machine 200 data or the key input from the own keyboard while waiting for the merchandise available state.

If it is determined that there is an input from the keyboard as a result of the input check, the process proceeds to step (c) to check whether an emergency contact key is input. In this case, in the case of the emergency contact key, emergency data is transmitted to the vending machine controller 200 via the second communication control unit 14 and the transmission medium, and the manager requests appropriate processing.

If it is recognized in the step (c) that it is not the emergency processing key, it is regarded that the input related to the purchase of the product has been made from the consumer as in the existing automatic vending machine, and proceeds to the step (e) to execute the product sales routine Thereby delivering the desired product to the consumer.

In order to update the sales information generated in this sale to the corresponding file after performing step (e), a calculation is performed to reduce the inventory amount of the product sold in step (f) and increase the sales amount.

After performing step (f), in step (g), the current state is checked for proper stock state, and if it is less than proper stock, the process proceeds to step (k) and transmits insufficient stock data to the vending machine controller 200.

To this end, a product code that is out of stock is included in the sales-related data item of the data format of FIG. 5, and the administrator can quickly and accurately cope with inventory management and ordering work with reference to this.

On the other hand, if the current state in the step (g) is in the proper inventory state proceeds to step (h) to update the contents of the file with the calculation result in the step (f). After performing the step (h), the receipt issuing unit 15 is controlled to issue a receipt for a large customer who has printed sales details, and at the same time, the same contents are printed on an audit paper to issue a journal receipt for storage. After the receipt is issued, the process proceeds to step (j) to transmit the sales-related data to the vending machine controller 200 and then loops to the step (b) to wait.

On the other hand, if it is recognized in step (b) that there is data input from the vending machine, proceed to step (l) to analyze the received data and then go to step (m) or (n) or (o) according to the analysis result. Proceeds to perform the processing corresponding to each and proceeds to step (P) to transmit the result to the vending machine controller 200.

For example, assuming that a command for requesting a fault diagnosis has been delivered, the module diagnoses a fault for each module, and stores information on a breakdown portion in a sales-related item and transmits the information to the vending machine 200. This allows the A / S personnel to have the necessary information on the fault location and cause and to take only necessary parts for repair.

In addition, when the vending machine controller 200 changes the unit price of the product and sends it to each vending machine, the vending machine sells the product according to the contents of the received data (product code, unit price).

In addition, in the case of a check or settlement request command, the total sales information in the vending machine is transmitted to the vending machine controller 200. In the case of settlement, the data is erased after transmission and new sales are made, and the vending machine controller 200 extracts management information from the received data.

As mentioned above, by adding information sending and receiving function to the vending machine, the relevant data can be sent to the vending machine controller as soon as sales and machine abnormalities occur or at regular intervals so that the point of sale management can be performed by the vending machine controller. It is possible to efficiently manage multiple vending machines.

In other words, it is possible to reduce maintenance costs, collect data quickly, and appropriately cope with it by moving away from manual management of managers to computer management, thereby increasing overall management efficiency. In addition, even when new management information is required, it is possible to rationalize management and reduce costs by simply updating the necessary data at the time by changing the file system of the vending machine controller without changing the function of the vending machine.

Claims (2)

A plurality of vending machines 100... 110 having a data transmission / reception function and a second communication control unit 14 and a first communication control unit 201 are provided, and the data is automatically communicated with the vending machines through a transmission medium. A sales point management system of a vending machine, characterized by comprising a vending machine controller (200) that collects sales information for the vending machines and manages the point of sale. 2. The point of sale system of claim 1, wherein each vending machine further includes a receipt issuing unit (15) for issuing a product for sale and issuing a receipt for a large customer and a journal journal for storage.