TW202238466A - Vending machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

A vending machine device including a vending machine host and a management host is disclosed. The vending machine host is further configured to obtain first product information of a product according to a barcode on the product, and to synchronize the first product information to the management host. The management host is further configured to perform checkout operations based on the first product information, and to notify the vending machine host to perform a product supply operation.

Description

vending machine

The content of the embodiments described in this disclosure is related to an automatic vending machine device, in particular to an automatic vending machine device including an embedded management host.

With the development of information technology, the form of sales has also changed in response to the development of technology. At present, the retail industry is mainly based on convenience stores scattered all over the country. General convenience stores have to employ a lot of manpower, if the ability to employ can be reduced, the cost of convenience stores can be reduced.

However, with the advancement of technology, more and more vending machines have been developed, and these vending machines can achieve the purpose of selling without using any manpower. The combination of vending machines and unmanned stores will effectively reduce labor costs. However, today's vending machines are often provided by another manufacturer. How the owner integrates his own management host with the machines provided by the vending machine manufacturer is a problem to be solved.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vending machine device, including a vending machine host and a management host. The vending machine host is further used to obtain the first product information of the product according to the barcode on the product, and synchronize the first product information to the management host. The management host is further used to perform the checkout operation according to the first commodity information, and notify the vending machine host to perform the commodity supply operation.

In order to make the description of the present invention more detailed and complete, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings and various embodiments described below, and the same numbers in the drawings represent the same or similar elements. On the other hand, well-known elements and steps have not been described in the embodiments in order to avoid unnecessarily limiting the invention.

In the implementation mode and the scope of the patent application, the description involving "electrical connection" can generally refer to the indirect electrical coupling of one component to another component through other components, or the direct electrical connection of one component to another without passing through other components. a component.

In the implementation mode and the scope of the patent application, the description involving "connection" can generally refer to a component that indirectly communicates with another component through wired and/or wireless communication, or a component that does not need to pass through other components. connected to another component.

In the embodiments and the scope of the patent application, unless the article is specifically limited in the context, "a" and "the" can generally refer to a single or plural.

As used herein, "about", "approximately" or "approximately" are used to modify any quantity that may vary slightly, but such slight variations will not change its essence. Unless otherwise specified in the embodiments, it means that the error range of the numerical value modified by "about", "approximately" or "approximately" is generally allowed within 20%, preferably within 10%. Within, and more preferably within five percent.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vending machine device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1 , the vending machine device 100 includes a management host 110 and a vending machine host 130 . Architecturally, the management host 110 communicates with the vending machine host 130 .

In some embodiments, the management host 110 is further communicated with the vending machine host 130 through the firewall device 150 . In this way, the vending machine host 130 can only obtain part of the information in the management host 110 .

In some embodiments, the vending machine device 100 further includes a panel 105 . The panel 105 is connected to the vending machine host 130 .

In some embodiments, the commodities (not shown) to be put on the vending machine host 130 include barcodes. The barcode is attached to the product. When the clerk wants to put on the shelves, the clerk scans the barcode through the scanning device 200, and makes the vending machine host 130 obtain the commodity information of the commodity according to the barcode.

In some embodiments, the product information includes product name, product price and shelf life.

After the vending machine host 130 obtains the product information, the vending machine host 130 synchronizes the product information to the management host 110 .

In detail, in some embodiments, after the vending machine host 130 updates the product information stored in the database of the vending machine host 130 according to the barcode on the commodity, the main file in the database of the vending machine host 130 is updated. , and transmit the main files in the database of the vending machine host 130 to the database in the management host 110 for data update.

When a consumer intends to purchase commodities through the vending machine device 100 , the consumer selects the commodities to be purchased through the vending machine device 100 . In some embodiments, the consumer selects the product to be purchased through the panel 105 of the vending machine device 100 .

After the consumer selects the product to be purchased, the vending machine host 130 sends product information to the management host 110 . In some embodiments, the vending machine host 130 determines whether the product is in stock for sale.

In some embodiments, when the vending machine host 130 determines that the commodity cannot be sold, the vending machine host 130 displays information that the commodity cannot be purchased on the panel 105 of the vending machine device 100 .

In some embodiments, when the vending machine host 130 determines that the commodity is available for sale, the management host 110 performs the checkout operation according to the payment tool selected by the consumer.

In some embodiments, the payment means include EasyCard, All-in-One Card, cash payment, mobile payment and other payment means.

In some embodiments, the management host 110 is further used to determine whether to receive member information. In some embodiments, after the management host 110 receives the member information, the management host 110 performs points accumulation or discount operations according to the member information.

In some embodiments, the management host 110 is further used to determine whether to deposit the invoice into the payment carrier.

When the management host 110 determines that the checkout operation is completed, the management host 110 sends a message to the vending machine host 130 to notify the vending machine host 130 that the checkout operation has been completed and the commodity supply operation can be performed. After the vending machine host 130 receives the message, the vending machine host 130 performs commodity supply operations to provide commodities to customers.

In some embodiments, when the management host 110 determines that the checkout operation is not completed, the management host 110 sends a message to the vending machine host 130 to notify the vending machine host 130 that the checkout operation is not completed, so that the vending machine host 130 cancel the deal.

In some embodiments, when the automatic vending machine host 130 determines that the commodity supply operation is completed, the automatic vending machine host 130 deducts the inventory quantity corresponding to the sold commodities.

In some embodiments, the message transmission between the management host 110 and the vending machine host 130 (including messages such as transaction success and transaction failure) is transmitted by Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or instant messaging connection (socket) .

In some embodiments, the management host 110 is further used to determine whether to adjust the price of the product according to the shelf life in the product information. In some embodiments, when the management host 110 determines that the shelf life is less than the shelf life threshold, the management host 110 lowers the commodity price.

For example, in some embodiments, when the management host 110 determines that the commodity expires within seven hours, the management host 110 sets a 30% discount off the original price of the commodity as the price of the commodity.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the management host 110 is further communicated with the clearing platform 310 and the accounting platform 320 . The clearing platform 310 is used to execute the clearing operation, and the accounting platform 320 is used to execute the accounting operation.

In some embodiments, the management host 110 is further used to perform the settlement operation every cycle time, and when the settlement operation is in progress, the automatic vending machine host 130 suspends the operation. In some embodiments, the management host 110 performs settlement operations through the accounting platform 320 .

In some embodiments, through the setting of the firewall device 150 in FIG. 1 , the vending machine host 130 cannot know all the data in the management host 110 . In this way, the confidential information can be protected from being known by the machine manufacturer.

For example, in some embodiments, the vending machine host 130 cannot know the liquidation operation of the liquidation platform 310, the settlement operation of the settlement platform 320, and the like. In some embodiments, the vending machine host 130 is unable to know the price after the price reduction of the commodity set by the management host 110 when the shelf life of the commodity is less than the shelf life threshold. In some embodiments, although the vending machine host 130 knows the shelf life of the commodity, it does not know the adjusted commodity price. In some other embodiments, the vending machine host 130 can calculate the adjusted commodity price according to the set calculation formula, and adjust the commodity price to the reduced price.

In some embodiments, the management host 110 and the vending machine host 130 may be servers or other similar devices. In some embodiments, the management host 110 and the vending machine host 130 may be servers, circuits, central processor units (central processor unit) with functions of storing, calculating, reading data, receiving signals or messages, and transmitting signals or messages. , CPU), microprocessor (MCU) or other devices with equivalent functions. In some embodiments, the management host 110 and the vending machine host 130 further include memory (not shown), and the memory may be a component with a storage function or a similar function.

In some embodiments, the settlement platform 310 and the accounting platform 320 may be servers or other similar devices.

To sum up, the technical solution of the present invention has obvious advantages and beneficial effects compared with the prior art. With the technical solution of the present invention, while the owner integrates his own management host with the machines provided by the vending machine manufacturer, he can prevent important information from being known by the vending machine manufacturer. In addition, by synchronizing the data between the management host and the vending machine host, errors caused by data inconsistencies between the management host and the vending machine host can be avoided.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in terms of implementation, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in this art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection of the present invention The scope shall be defined by the appended patent application scope.

100: Vending machine device 105: panel 110: Manage host 130: Vending machine host 150: firewall device 200: scanning device 310: liquidation platform 320:Account platform

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure more comprehensible, the accompanying drawings are described as follows: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vending machine device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

100: Vending machine device

105: panel

110: Manage host

130: Vending machine host

150: firewall device

200: scanning device

310: liquidation platform

320:Account platform

Claims (10)

A vending machine device comprising: A vending machine host; and a management host; Wherein the vending machine host is further used to obtain a first commodity information of a commodity according to a code on the commodity, and synchronize the first commodity information to the management host; The management host is further used to perform a checkout operation according to the first commodity information, and notify the vending machine host to perform a commodity supply operation. The automatic vending machine device as described in Claim 1, wherein the automatic vending machine host and the management host are in communication connection through a firewall device. The vending machine device according to claim 1, wherein the first product information includes a product name, a product price and a shelf life. The vending machine device as described in Claim 1, wherein the management host is further used to determine whether to adjust a product price of the first product information according to a storage period of the first product information. The automatic vending machine device as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the management host judges that the shelf life is less than a shelf life threshold, the management host lowers the commodity price. The automatic vending machine device according to claim 1, wherein when the management host determines that the checkout operation is completed, the management host notifies the automatic vending machine host so that the automatic vending machine host provides the product. The vending machine device as described in claim 6, wherein after the vending machine host provides the commodity, the vending machine host deducts an inventory quantity corresponding to the commodity. The automatic vending machine device as described in claim 1, wherein the management host is further used to determine whether to receive a member information. The automatic vending machine device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the management host is in communication connection with a clearing platform and an accounting platform. The automatic vending machine device as described in claim 9, wherein the management host is further used to perform a settlement operation every cycle time, and when the settlement operation is in progress, the automatic vending machine host suspends the operation.

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