JPH03185594A - Automatic vending machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten a purchasing time by discharging a commodity corresponding to code data read out by a commodity code reading means from a storage part and subtracting the number of discharged units from the purchasable number data of a prepaid card to rewrite the contents of the prepaid card. CONSTITUTION:A card reader 27 reads out commodity code data and the purchasable number data from the prepaid card 11 inserted from a card insertion port 6. Whether the purchasable points are left or not is discriminated from the purchasable number data, and when the card is a card capable of purchasing commodities, a commodity specified by the commodity code data is discharged. The number of purchased commodities is subtracted from the read purchasable number data, the subtracted result is written in the prepaid card 11, and the prepaid card 11 is returned to return the machine to a waiting state. Consequently, a customer can select a commodity without taking much time and the purchasing time can be shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a vending machine system comprising a vending machine that dispenses a product selected by a customer from among a plurality of types of products.

(bl) Conventional technology machines are widely used. In this vending machine, multiple types of products are stored in the storage section, and after inserting cash, the customer releases the selected product from the storage section by operating the product button. I try to do that.

(C1 Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in conventional vending machines, the selection of products is done by the customer operating product buttons, and the arrangement of products differs depending on the vending machine, so as the variety of products increases, There was a problem in that it took time for customers to find the product button for the product they wanted, leading to a long purchase time.Furthermore, product sellers had to consider the needs of consumers and increase the number of items that could be stored for popular products. It is conceivable to make more products than other products, but this consumer need can only be known from the sales of the product, and it is not possible to deal with sudden changes in consumer needs in advance. , there was a problem where products with a small number of stores were sold out.

The purpose of this invention is to enable the selection of products by a vending machine using a prepaid card, thereby eliminating the need for the customer to select the product and controlling the purchase time. Our goal is to provide a vending machine system that allows you to know in advance which products are selling well, responds to changes in consumer needs, and prevents certain products from being sold out. (Means for Solving the Problem) The vending machine system of the present invention includes a prepaid card that stores code data of a specific store and data on the number of products that can be purchased, and a storage section that stores multiple types of products. a prepaid card insertion slot, a product code reading means for reading the code data of the product from the prepaid card inserted into the insertion slot, and releasing the product corresponding to the code data read by the product code reading means from the storage section. The present invention is characterized by comprising a vending machine equipped with a release selection means and a data rewriting means for subtracting and rewriting the purchasable number data of the prepaid card by the number of releases.

(e) Effect In this invention, the code data of the product stored in the prepaid card inserted into the vending machine is read by the product code reading means, and the product corresponds to the code data read by the product code reading means. is released by the release selection means. Therefore, the conventional work of inserting cash and selecting a product can be performed only by inserting a prepaid card, and there is no need for the customer to find the desired product button. Furthermore, since the trend in the sales volume of prepaid cards is reflected in the future best sellers of each product, it is possible to predict the amount to be prepared for each product according to the sales trend of prepaid cards.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine forming part of a vending machine system which is an embodiment of the present invention.

A product display section 2 is formed at the top of the front of the vending machine 1, and the vending machine 1! ■Samples of products stored by ■ are displayed. Below the product display section 2, product buttons 3 corresponding to each product are installed. By operating this product button 3, the customer can select a desired product.

A coin insertion slot 4, an input amount display section 5, and a card insertion slot 6 are provided in the middle part of the front of the automatic vending machine a1. The coin slot 4 accepts the insertion of cash by the customer, and displays the total amount of money inserted on the inserted amount display section 5. Further, a prepaid card, which will be described later, is inserted into the card insertion slot 6. A change discharge lower and a product discharge port 8 are provided at the lower front of the vending machine. After cash is inserted, the product corresponding to the operated product button 3 is released into the product discharge port 8, and if there is a difference between the inserted amount and the product price, the change corresponding to the difference is discharged to the change release lower.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the prepaid card used in the vending machine system.

On the surface of the prepaid card 11, a display is made to clearly indicate the product specified by the prepaid card 11. For example, in a prepaid card 11 applied to a cigarette vending machine, the product specified by the prepaid card 11 can be clearly indicated by printing the puff cage of each brand. Further, a purchase number display section 12 is formed on the upper part of the front surface of the prepaid card 11, and a punch hole is punched each time a product is purchased, and the purchase number of the product is indicated. Further, a magnetic recording section is formed on the back side of the prepaid card 11, and the code data and purchasable quantity data of the product specified by the prepaid card 11 are stored in this magnetic recording section. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control section of the vending machine.

A memory 23, a product dispensing section 24, a coin processing section 25, a change dispensing section 26, a card reader 27, a card writer 28, a product button 3, and a display section 5 are connected to the CPU 21 via an internal bus 22.

The memory 23 stores code data and selling price data for each product stored in the vending machine 1, and also stores the total amount of coins inserted through the coin slot 4. The product discharge section 24 discharges a specific product from among the plurality of types of products stored in the storage section to the product discharge port 8. The coin processing section 25 determines the denomination and authenticity of the coins inserted through the coin input slot 4. The change discharging section 26 discharges the required amount of change to the change discharging lower.

The card reader 27 reads out product code data and purchasable quantity data from the prepaid card 11 inserted through the card insertion slot 6. The card writer 28 rewrites the purchaseable number data stored in the prepaid card 11 after releasing the product. As mentioned above, the product button 3 is a button that is operated when selecting a product on the surface of the vending machine 1. Operation of this product button 3 or card insertion slot 6
The product specified by inserting the prepaid card 11 into the product is released by the product release unit 24.

Furthermore, the display section 5 displays the amount of money invested that has been accumulated in the memory 23 as described above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the control section of the vending machine.

The CPU 21 waits for the prepaid card 11 to be inserted into the card insertion slot 6 or a coin to be inserted into the coin insertion slot 4 (nl, n2). When a coin is inserted into the coin slot 4, the amount of money inserted is added up and this amount is displayed on the display section 5 (n8). Next, wait for the product button 3 to be pressed (n9)
, when any of the product buttons 3 is pressed on the console, the charge is calculated by deducting the product price from the input amount (n 10
), emitting the product (nil). If there is a difference between the input amount and the product price in the fee settlement process, the difference is released as change and then returns to the standby state (n 12.
n13-n1).

When the prepaid card 11 is inserted while waiting, the product code data and purchaseable quantity data are read from the inserted prepaid card 11 (n3). It is determined whether there is a purchaseable quantity based on the purchaseable quantity data (n4), and if the card allows the purchase of the product, the product specified by the product code data is released (n5). Next, the read data on the number of available purchases is decremented, this value is written to the prepaid card 11 (n6), the prepaid card 11 is returned, and the process returns to the standby state (n7-nl). In the above processing, n3 corresponds to the product code reading means of this invention, and n
5 also corresponds to the release selection means, and n6 similarly corresponds to the data rewriting means.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the card insertion slot 6
The product to be released is specified based on the code data of the product stored in the prepaid card 11 inserted in the prepaid card 11, thereby eliminating the need for the customer to operate the product button. Therefore, in a vending machine that stores many types of products, the customer does not have to take much time to find the product button of the desired product, and the time required to purchase the product can be shortened. According to the company, customers can insert cash and select products by inserting a prepaid card, which has the advantage that customers do not have to take time to select products and can shorten the purchasing time. Future trends in consumer needs can be predicted based on the number of cards sold for each product, and the amount of each product can be prepared in accordance with the demand.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of a vending machine constituting a vending machine system which is an embodiment of the present invention, Figs. 2 and 2 are front views of a prepaid card used in the vending machine system, and Fig.
The figure is a block diagram of the control section of the vending machine, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the control section of the vending machine. -Vending machine, 3-product button, 1-card insertion slot, 11-prepaid card, 4-product release section, 27-card league, 8-card writer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has a prepaid card that stores the code data and purchaseable quantity data of a specific product, and a storage section that stores multiple types of products, and has a prepaid card insertion slot and a prepaid card inserted into the slot. a product code reading means for reading the code data of the product; a release selection means for releasing the product corresponding to the code data read by the product code reading means from the storage section; and subtracting the purchaseable number data of the prepaid card by the number of releases. A vending machine system comprising: a data rewriting means for rewriting data; and a vending machine provided with a data rewriting means.