JPH01311397A - Article lending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and rapidly retrieve a rack number or the like at the time of lending or returning an article by arranging a card reader, and at the time of lending an article, recording control data in a card offered to a user and reading out the recorded contents at the time returning it. CONSTITUTION:When a card offered to a user is inserted into the card reader 49 and a keyboard unit 48 is operated, personal data on a magnetic stripe part 53 of the card are read out and control data such as a lending date a5, a machine number a6, a rack number a7, a product number a8, etc., are written in the stripe part 53 by the reader 49 through a CPU 45. A cassette on the corresponding rack is extracted by a cassette I/O device 25 and lent. At the time of returning it, the card control data read out by the card reader 49 and collated with the read result form the cassette by a bar code reading part 43 of the device 25, so that the rack number or the like can be rapidly and easily retrieved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Industrial Application Field This invention is applicable to, for example, a video rental device that rents out video cassettes using a card. The present invention relates to an article lending machine that takes out rental articles, lends them to a customer, and returns and stores the rented articles returned by the customer on a shelf.

(B) Conventional technology In the case of the video rental device in the above example, the card given to the customer has a membership code number magnetically recorded on it, and when the card is inserted into the device when renting out a video cassette, the The member code number is read and stored in the shelf number storage area corresponding to the rented video cassette file in the storage device of the device itself.Furthermore, this storage area contains the rental date, video cassette title number, etc.Video Rental Device Stores management data necessary for managing machine numbers, etc.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention - In the above-mentioned rental management, as the number of video cassettes for rental increases, the storage capacity of the storage device increases, so the problem of searching for shelf numbers takes time is solved. have

The object of the present invention is to provide an article lending machine that can further reduce the time required to search the above-mentioned stored data.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The first aspect of the present invention is to take out rental items stored in a shelf and lend them to a customer based on the insertion of a card, and to take out rental items that have been returned by the customer. It is an article lending machine that is returned and stored on a shelf, and is equipped with a card reader that records article management data on a card when an article is lent and reads the management data from the card when the article is returned. Features.

Furthermore, a second invention of the present invention is an article lending machine that takes out rental articles stored on a shelf and lends them to a customer based on the insertion of a card, and returns and stores the rental articles returned by the customer on the shelf. a card reader that records management data of an article on a card when the article is rented and reads the management data from the card when the article is returned; and a reading means that reads the management data attached to the article. The article lending machine is characterized by being equipped with a comparison and determination means for comparing the management data of each article read by the card reader and the reading means and determining whether the rental article is accepted or rejected for return. do.

(E) Function The article lending machine of the first aspect of the present invention uses a card reader to record management data other than the customer's personal data on the card given to the customer when lending the article, and when returning the rented article. , read management data from the card with a card reader.

The article lending machine of the second aspect of the present invention uses a card reader to record management data other than the user's personal data on the card given to the customer when lending the article, and when returning the rented article, the card reader records management data other than the customer's personal data. In addition to reading the management data from the card, the reading means reads the management data attached to the article, and the comparison and judgment means compares the quantity management data to determine whether the rental article is accepted or not returned. do.

(F) Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, the files in the storage device within the device body can be omitted or simplified, and the file search time is shortened, making it easier to match cards with returned and lent items. It is easy to do, the processing time for verification is shortened, and since management data is recorded on the card, it can be easily searched by another article lending machine with the same function or another search device.

Further, according to the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention described above, it is possible to return the rented item to a device different from the device from which it was borrowed. It becomes easier.

(g) Examples An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

The drawing shows a video rental device as an example of an article rental device, and in FIG. The title picture of an expensive video cassette is displayed in the display area. On the other hand, each video cassette is set with the work number and shelf number on which it is stored, and each of the aforementioned display areas itself forms a switch, and when this display area is suppressed, the title picture is displayed. The work number and shelf number of the indicated video cassette are input.

In the lower right corner of the title image display section 12 mentioned above,
A video cassette take-out and return port 13 is formed.

A storage section 15 for a work list I-book 14 is formed on the front panel 11 at the bottom of the title picture display section 12 mentioned above.
This work list Iff 14 collects work numbers and shelf numbers corresponding to the work names of other video cassettes that could not be displayed on the title image display section 12 described above.

A display 16 made of a CRT is provided on the upper right side of the front panel 11 described above, and the display 16 displays necessary items such as operating procedures or selection items for the customer.

Function key 17 located at the bottom of the above-mentioned display 16
... specifies the set mode such as lending mode, return mode, etc. Furthermore, the numeric keypad 18 at the bottom is used to enter the work number when selecting and borrowing a video cassette from the work list book 14 mentioned above. .

The card insertion slot 19 is used to insert a card given to the customer, which will be described later.In addition to the customer's unique data such as the customer's membership code number, this card also contains management data (rental data) which will be described later. It is recorded.

Coin slot 20 and bill slot 21 are used to insert money used or appropriate coins/M for paying additional charges, change discharge port 22 discharges change, and receipt discharge port 23 discharges receipts. do.

FIG. 3 shows a cassette loading/unloading device inside the video rental device 10, and this cassette loading/unloading device 25 has a cassette storage 127 that stores video cassettes 26 on the front side partitioned into a lattice pattern, and a large number of cassettes placed next to Mi. A storage case 28, a loading/unloading unit 29 having a cassette loading/unloading structure for automatically loading/unloading video cassettes 26 into/out of the cassette storage case 28, and a loading/unloading unit 29 connected to each cassette storage shelf 27...・Vertical movement mechanism 30 that moves vertically so as to correspond to the front loading/unloading position.
and a horizontal movement mechanism 31 for horizontal movement.

The above-mentioned loading/unloading unit 29 stores the video cassette 26 one by one.
During the loading/unloading operation f1, this loading/unloading unit 29 is supported by a vertical movement mechanism 30, which will be described below, and is vertically moved.

The vertical movement mechanism 30 described above includes a lifting guide rod 34° 34 that connects a lower base 32 on which the vertical drive motor M1 is mounted and a main base 33 corresponding to the upper part, and an upper and lower base 33.
．． It consists of a vertical chain 35 stretched and supported between 32,
The above-mentioned lifting guide rod 34.34 supports the above-mentioned loading/unloading unit 29 by allowing it to rise and fall, and also supports the vertical chain 3.
5, and this vertical chain 35 is connected to the vertical drive motor M
1, the loading/unloading unit 29 is moved in the vertical direction.

The horizontal movement 1fflllj31 described above is composed of a horizontal drive motor M2, a pair of upper and lower horizontal chains 36, 37, and a pair of upper and lower slide shafts 38, 39, and is mounted horizontally on the front surface of the upper part of the cassette storage case 28. The above-mentioned main base 33 is slidably supported on the slide shaft 38 over the entire width of the case, and the above-mentioned lower base 32 is supported on the lower slide shaft 39 horizontally suspended on the lower front surface of the cassette storage case 28.
The upper and lower bases 33 and 32 are integrally connected to the upper and lower horizontal chains 36 and 37 that are arranged along the upper and lower slide shafts 38 and 39, respectively. These horizontal chains36.3
7 receives the driving force of the horizontal drive motor M2, the loading/unloading unit 29 moves in the horizontal direction every vertical movement t[30.

In this case, the upper and lower horizontal chains 36 and 37 are stretched and supported at both ends provided in a loop shape via chain sprockets 40.
．． Upper and lower horizontal chains 36 and 37 are meshed with chain sprockets 40 and 40 provided at the upper and lower ends of the elongated rotating shaft 41 so that the chains 37 rotate synchronously.

Furthermore, each of the motors M1 and M2 can be rotated by a predetermined amount based on the pulse signal to accurately position the cassette storage case 28 at a desired corresponding position on the cassette storage shelf 27.

The cassette holding part 42 of the above-mentioned loading/unloading unit 29, that is, holds the video cassette 26 taken out from the cassette storage shelf 27 and releases it into the loading/unloading port 13 on the front side,
Alternatively, in order to receive the video cassette 26 inserted into the take-out/return port 13 and return it to a predetermined cassette storage shelf 27, the outside surface of the video cassette 26 is Barcode reader 43 for reading the barcode attached to
It is equipped with

The bar code of the video cassette 26 described above encodes the work number of the video cassette 26 and the shelf number of the storage shelf.

FIG. 4 shows a control circuit of the video rental apparatus 10, and the control section 45 is composed of, for example, a CPU.
includes a ROM 46 and a RAM 47. The ROM 46 stores a program for controlling each part of the video rental apparatus 10, and the RAM 47 stores necessary data and constitutes a rental file.

The keyboard unit 48 is connected to the title screen display section 12 mentioned above.
switches, a function key 17, and a numeric keypad 18, and input operation signals from these switches and keys.

The card reader 49 reads data magnetically recorded on a card inserted into the card insertion slot 19, that is, a card given to a customer and will be described later, or magnetically writes new data.

The money unit 50 determines the authenticity and denomination of the coins or bills inserted into the coin insertion slot 20 and bill insertion slot 21, calculates the amount of money inserted, and releases change to the change output opening 22 when necessary.

The printer unit 51 prints out rental data including usage fees and additional fees on journals and receipts.
The receipt is discharged into the receipt discharge port 23 mentioned above.

Figure 5 shows the card given to the customer, and this card 5
2 has a magnetic stripe 53, and the following data is magnetically recorded on this magnetic stripe 53.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a business code unique to a salesperson is recorded in area a1.

The member code number of the customer is recorded in area a2.

In area a3, the date of expiry date of the card is recorded.

Rental data 1 is set in area a4, and a plurality of areas are set for this rental data, allowing a plurality of video cassettes to be rented at one time.

The rental data mentioned above includes the rental date in area a5, the machine number of the video rental device in area a6, the shelf number in area a7, and the video cassette 2 in area a8.
It consists of four pieces of data with work number 6.

Furthermore, the RAM 47 of the control section 45 described above is configured with a file having the contents shown in FIG.

That is, this file sets areas in numerical order of the shelf numbers set for each of the cassette storage shelves 27...
When a video cassette 26 stored in a cassette storage a27 of each shelf number is lent out, a flag 1'' is set in each area to memorize the lent, and when the video cassette is returned, the flag is reset.

The processing operations of the control section 45 for renting and returning the video cassette 26 of the video rental apparatus 10 configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIG.

The display 16 of the CRT normally displays a guide to insert the card 52, and when the customer inserts the card 52 into one card insertion slot, the display 16 displays a display guide indicating whether to borrow or return the card 52 (steps n1 to 1). n3).

If the customer does not select the rental mode from the function keys 17, the display 16 displays a guide to select the work on the video cassette 26 (step n4.n).
5).

When the desired work is on the title screen display section 12, the customer inputs a switch by pressing the display section, and
If the work is in the work list 114, enter the work number and shelf number using the numeric keypad 18 (step n6).

Since the video cassette 26 allows a plurality of titles to be lent out at the same time, if the user desires to lend out a plurality of titles, the above-mentioned selection operation is successively executed.

For each selection operation described above, the display 16 displays the name of the work of the selected video cassette 26 and also displays its usage fee (step n7).

Based on the guidance displayed on the display 16, the customer inserts the usage fee into the coin slot 20 or the bill slot 21 in the form of coins or banknotes.

The money unit 50 determines the authenticity and denomination of the inserted money, calculates the inserted amount, and when change is required, releases the change into the change outlet 22 (step n8).

The cassette loading/unloading device 25 moves the loading/unloading unit 29 to the position of the cassette storage shelf 27 in which the selected video cassette 26 is stored, takes out the portrait video cassette 26 to the cassette holder 42, and then 29 to the original position and discharged into the takeout/return port 13 (step n9).

At the same time, a flag is set in the area of the corresponding shelf number in the rental file in the RAM 47 to record the rental.

If there is a plurality of selected video cassettes 26, the above-described ejecting operation is repeated.

The printer unit 51 prints out necessary data such as the receipt and the work number of the video cassette 26 lent to the journal, the shelf number, and the total usage fee (step n1o).

The card reader 49 magnetically records the rental date, machine number, shelf number, and work number in each of the rental data areas a4 to a8 of the magnetic stripe 53 of the inserted card 52 (step n11).

These rental data become management data for managing the rental of the video cassette 26.

Thereafter, the card 52 is returned to the card insertion slot 19, the receipt is released to the receipt discharge port 23, and the lending process is completed (step n12).

Next, the operation of returning the video cassette 26 will be explained.

When the customer selects return using the function key 17, return is determined by the aforementioned Stella 7''n4, and the display 16 displays a guide to insert the video cassette 26 (
Step n13).

When the customer takes out the borrowed video cassette 26 and inserts it into the return slot 13, the barcode reader 43 provided in the cassette holding part 42 of the cassette ejector 25 reads the barcode attached to the video cassette 26 and returns the video cassette 26. Read the data, ie, the work number and shelf number.

Then, it is compared with the work number and shelf number data of the rental data already read from the card 52 in step n2 described above, and it is determined whether they match (step n14).
.

When the above judgment is made, the cassette loading/unloading device 25
is driven to store the received video cassette 26 in the cassette storage shelf 27 of the already read shelf number, and returns to the original position of the take-out/return port 13 (step n15).

At the same time, the flag in the area of the corresponding shelf number is reset in the rental file in the RAM 47, and the rental is deleted.

If there are a plurality of video cassettes 26 to be returned, the above-described processing operations (steps n14 and n15) are repeatedly executed (step n16).

If some of the returned video cassettes 26 have exceeded their predetermined lending period and require an additional charge, the additional charge is calculated and the amount is displayed on the display 16 (step n17). .

Based on the instructions displayed on the display 16, the customer inserts the additional fee into the coin slot 20. Or insert coins or bills into the bill slot 21.

The money unit 50 determines the authenticity and denomination of the inserted money, calculates the inserted amount, and when change is required, releases the change to the change outlet 22 (step n18).
.

The printer unit 51 prints out the receipt, the work number of the returned video cassette 26, and the total additional charge (step ■) 19).

The card reader 49 reads the rental data of the video cassette 26 to be returned recorded in each of the rental data areas a4 to a8 of the magnetic stripe 53 of the card 52, that is,
Data such as the rental date, machine number, shelf number, and work number are deleted (step n20).

Thereafter, the card 52 is returned to the card insertion slot 19, the receipt is released to the receipt discharge port 23, and the return process is completed (step n21).

In step n14 described above, the data of the work number and gate number of the rental data already read from the card 52 and the data of the barcode of the video cassette 26 read by the barcode reader 43, that is, the data of the work number and shelf number. If they do not match, it is determined as NG, and since the rental video cassette 26 is not a normal rental video cassette 26, this fact is displayed on the display 16 (step n22).

The cassette loading/unloading device 25 returns the video cassette 26 inserted into the cassette holder 42, and this NG
47, and if this NG occurs a predetermined number of times, for example, the first time, it is allowed to try again, but if it is the second time, the NG is processed, for example, by a staff member (step n23). .n24).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the work number and shelf number of the rented video cassette 26 are magnetically recorded on the card 52, and when the video cassette 26 is returned, the barcode data of the video cassette 26 and the recorded data on the card 52 are recorded. Since it is configured to judge whether the return is accepted or not by comparing the
Files in the RAM 47 inside the device can be omitted or simplified, and the card 52 and returned video cassette 2 can be omitted or simplified.
6 can be easily compared with other video rental devices with the same functions, which shortens the file search time and reduces the processing time for the comparison. can.

Furthermore, since it becomes possible to return the rented video cassette 26 to a device other than the device 10 from which it was borrowed, it becomes easier for the customer to return the video cassette 26.

In the above embodiment, the rental data is used as management data, but if the purpose is only to reduce the amount of files in the RAM 47, a part of the rental data can be used as management data on the card 52. It is also possible to record magnetically.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, lending of the video cassette 26 is shown in 1. However, this invention can also be used for other rental items.

In the configuration of this invention, the article lending machine corresponds to the video rental apparatus 10 of the embodiment, the reading means corresponds to the barcode reader 43, and the comparison determination means corresponds to the control section. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the recording area of the card, FIG. 2 is a front view of the video rental device, FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view of the cassette loading/unloading device, and FIG. Figure 4 is a control circuit block diagram, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the card. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a file storage area, and FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart. 10... Video rental device 25... Cassette loading/unloading device 26... Video cassette 27... Cassette storage shelf 29... Loading/unloading unit 43... Barcode reader 45... Control section 49 ...Card reader 52...Card Figure 1 Figure 6 Showing the marking area of the card Figure 6 Explanatory diagram showing the rear of Fubiru Wazocho Figure 2 Front view of the barrel device Figure 4 Figure 49 Power ~ Dorita 52 Card

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An item lending machine that takes out rental items stored on a shelf and lends them to a customer based on the insertion of a card, and returns and stores the rental items returned by the customer on the shelf; An article lending machine equipped with a card reader that records management data on a card and reads the management data from the card when returning the article. (2) An article lending machine that takes out rental items stored on a shelf and lends them to a customer based on the insertion of a card, and returns and stores the rental items returned by the customer on the shelf, and when the item is rented out, the item is rented out. A card reader that records management data on a card and reads the management data from the card when returning the item; a reading means that reads the management data attached to the item; and the card reader and the reading means read out the management data of the item. An article lending machine comprising: a comparison determination means for comparing management data of each article and determining acceptance or non-acceptance of return of the loaned article.