JPH07272004A - Automatic ticket vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide an automatic ticket vending apparatus capable of automatically issuing a ticket with a discount / surcharge for a specific period by a simple operation that is easy for users to use. [Structure] The control unit 1 reads out the current month date and time information when a passenger ticket is selected and purchased from the clock mechanism unit 8 and stores it in the corresponding storage unit 2 for a period such as a specific date discount. It is possible to select a passenger ticket price that changes dynamically and issue a ticket at a price that automatically corresponds to the date and time of the month.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ticket vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among the tickets required for using the railway, ordinary tickets, frequent tickets, one-day tickets, stored fair cards, etc. are generally opened on the station premises or at travel centers. It is sold by a manned ticket counter or an automatic ticket vending machine (automatic ticket vending machine) installed inside the station.

Since the automatic ticket vending machine is extremely effective in saving labor and speeding up ticket vending operations, it has been used in most stations in recent years. Such an automatic ticket vending device is generally a customer's desired destination or ticket by pressing a ticket button, a contact line button, an account button, etc. after the customer inserts a bill / coin or a prepaid card. It is the sale of a kind ticket.

By the way, a system has been put into practice in which some tickets are sold at a discounted rate only on specific days.

[0005] Such a passenger ticket whose price is changed and released every specific period, for example, is limited to a specific section such as a resort season and a main city station only during a specific period such as a holiday season. There is a special ticket such as a one-day ticket to be sold at a discounted fare, and a reserved seat limited express fare for a specific section that differs between the busy season fare and the off season fare.

[0006]

However, since the conventional automatic ticket vending machine does not have the function of discounting the fare of the ticket to be released depending on the date or day of the week, the above-mentioned plan ticket or discount ticket is sold by the ticket vending machine. It was sold manually at the window by a station clerk.

[0007] Alternatively, when issuing a ticket with an automatic ticket vending machine installed in a station, a discount ticket button for a planning ticket or the like is newly provided in addition to a main ticket button, and this button is used only on a specific day The staff of the station clerk was performing the input operation of the function setting at the time of starting the daily station work so as to release the etc.

As described above, when a discount ticket such as a plan ticket is manually released by a ticket sales clerk at the ticket sales window, there is a problem that the ticket sales operation at the window becomes complicated.

Further, when ticketing is performed by the automatic ticket vending machine provided in the station as described above, it is necessary for the staff in charge of station work to input the function settings every day, which leads to complication of station work. There was a problem. Also in terms of maintenance and inspection, there is a problem that the number of buttons is large and the function thereof is different from that of the main board button, which leads to complicated maintenance and inspection.

Moreover, the user is also accustomed to first using the main ticket button of the automatic ticket vending machine that is normally used, and since this ticket button is first pushed, it is provided separately from this. Also, there is a problem that the discount ticket button is easily overlooked, and mistaken operation is easily induced, such as mistaken operation when buying a ticket to buy a ticket with a normal fare.

In addition, it is not only for labor saving of station affairs but also for a user to sell a reserved seat limited express ticket for a specific section in which a charge for a busy period and a charge for a quiet period are sold to a conventional automatic ticket selling device. Although it is preferable from the viewpoint of convenience that ticketing is done quickly, in order to do that with a conventional vending machine, for example, a station clerk checks each day whether it is a busy season or a quiet period and adjusts accordingly. There is a problem that it is necessary to set a ticketing operation for a busy period fee or a low season fee, which leads to complication of station affairs.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to automatically issue a ticket with a discount / surcharge for a specific period by a simple operation that is easy for a user to use. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ticket selling device.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A contact surface operating means in which a selection button that is pushed to select a passenger ticket when a passenger ticket of a section and a ticket type desired by a user is arranged, is arranged.
The inserted money or money equivalent to money is counted and stocked at a predetermined position, and the corresponding amount of the passenger ticket selected by the user pressing the selection button of the customer service surface operation means and the inserted money. Money transfer processing means that outputs the difference from money as change, current month date and time counting means that can read the current month date and time information at any time, and passenger ticket selling price information corresponding to each month date and time, ticket type, and section Storage means for storing as a table in which date and time, ticket type, and section are associated with each other, passenger ticket sale price information input means for inputting and storing the passenger ticket sale price information in the storage means, and the user by the customer service surface operating means Information of the section and ticket type of the passenger ticket selected by using the button, and read out from the current month date and time counting means when the information is input The current month date and time information displayed is compared with a table of passenger ticket selling price information stored in the storage means, and the passenger ticket selling price selecting means for selecting and outputting the corresponding passenger ticket selling price information, and the passenger ticket selling price selection Comparing the passenger ticket selling price information output by the means and the inserted money, and if the inserted money is higher than the passenger ticket selling price, it is a passenger ticket corresponding to the passenger ticket selling price. The passenger ticket corresponding to the selected section and ticket type is output, and if there is a difference between the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket and the inserted money, the difference is output as change and the input. If the amount of money paid is lower than the selling price of the passenger ticket, the passenger ticket output means for waiting for the addition of money is provided.

[0014] Further, when a user purchases a passenger ticket of a desired section and ticket type, a customer contact surface operating means in which a selection button that is pushed to select the passenger ticket is arranged, and the inserted money or The cash equivalent to money is counted and stocked at a predetermined position, and the difference between the equivalent amount of the passenger ticket selected by the user pressing the selection button of the customer service surface operating means and the inserted money is calculated. A cash input / output processing means for outputting as change, a current month date / time counting means capable of reading the current month date / time information at any time, and a passenger ticket selling price information corresponding to each month date / time, each ticket type, and each section. The storage means stores the section as a table in association with each other, the passenger ticket sale price information input means for inputting and storing the passenger ticket sale price information in the storage means, and the customer service surface operating means. The storage means stores the information about the section and ticket type of the passenger ticket selected by the user using the button, and the current month date and time information read from the current month date and time counting means when the information is input. The passenger ticket selling price information stored in the table, and the passenger ticket selling price selecting means for selecting and outputting the corresponding passenger ticket selling price information, and the passenger ticket selling price information output by the passenger ticket selling price selecting means, and the passenger ticket selling price information. If the inserted money is higher than the passenger ticket selling price, the passenger ticket corresponding to the passenger ticket selling price is the passenger ticket corresponding to the selected section and ticket type. The ticket is output, and if there is a difference between the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket and the inserted money, the difference is output as change, and the inserted money is the passenger. If the sale is lower than the price, and passenger ticket output means to wait additional money,
It is characterized by further comprising display means for displaying at least one of the difference between the inserted money, the selling price of the passenger ticket, and the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket and the inserted money.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the passenger ticket selling price selecting means selects the passenger ticket selling price information from the passenger ticket selling price information stored in the storage means, and selects the passenger ticket section and ticket type information. And, based on the current month date and time information at the time when the information is input, one passenger ticket selling price information suitable for it is selected and sent to the passenger ticket output means. Then, the passenger ticket output means outputs the passenger ticket corresponding to the selling price of the passenger ticket and corresponding to the section and ticket type selected by the user using the button.

In this way, the current month date and time information when the passenger ticket is selected and purchased is read out, and the price of the passenger ticket corresponding to the month date and time, such as a specific date discount, changes over time. Tickets can be issued at a price that automatically corresponds to.

At this time, for example, a liquid crystal display panel may be used to notify the user by displaying on the display panel that the ticket sale date is applicable during the period of the discount or the surcharge. Since the conventional automatic ticket vending machine did not display such discount / surcharge information, it is practically impossible for the user to obtain the discount / surcharge information when purchasing a passenger ticket with the automatic ticket vending machine. There wasn't. However, according to the present invention, as described above, the automatic ticket vending apparatus automatically issues a ticket according to the charge discount / additional information, and further, the charge discount / additional information can be notified to the user by the display means or the like.

Therefore, the automatic ticket vending apparatus of the present invention can automatically issue a ticket with a discount / surcharge for a specific period by a simple operation for the user.
It is an automatic ticket vending machine with high convenience and simple structure.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic ticket vending apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control circuit of an automatic ticket vending apparatus of the present invention.

This automatic ticket vending apparatus stores a control unit 1 for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, passenger ticket sales price information such as a discounted fare on a specific date, a program for operating the apparatus, and the like. A storage unit 2 and a customer service surface display unit 3 that displays information necessary for the user such as fare discount information, fare information, and money input information according to the present invention using a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel. ,
A customer service surface operation unit 4 in which buttons (not shown) for pushing when purchasing a ticket or limited express ticket desired by the user are arranged.
Then, while presenting the operation procedure to the user, a voice such as "This card cannot be used" for alerting the user is generated and output using a voice synthesis IC, for example. The voice guidance unit 5, the clerk operation unit 6 used by the clerk to re-enter and update the fare discount information that changes depending on the date such as each season in the storage unit 2, and the information input at that time. Can be confirmed, the staff display section 7 is placed on the back of the ticket vending machine exclusively for staff, and the date of the day when the user is using the device to purchase the passenger ticket is displayed on the customer side. The clock mechanism section 8 for outputting to the section 3, the card processing section 11, the ticket issuing processing section 12, the control section 1 and the like, and the banknotes inserted by the user or the banknotes prepared as change are stocked or stocked. Bill processing unit 9 for controlling the and out of the bill
And a coin processing unit 10 for stocking coins inserted by the user or coins prepared as change coins, or for controlling the putting in and out of the stocked coins, for example, when a stored fair card or the like is inserted into the device, A card processing unit 11 for punching a reference hole or the like in the stored fair card or for storing usage history information in a medium such as a magnetic stripe; and a base material of a passenger ticket, for example, a ticket type, a fare, and a date. The ticket issuing processing unit 12 that prints or stores the above and sells the ticket to the user, and the change releasing unit 13 that outputs the change are the main components.

The clock mechanism section 8 is provided with a current month date / time counting means 10 capable of reading out current month date / time information at any time.
Functioning as 1.

The control unit 1 also provides information on the section and ticket type of the passenger ticket selected by the user's push of a button on the customer service surface operation unit 4, and the clock mechanism unit 8 when the information is input.
It functions as a passenger ticket selling price selection means 102 that compares the current month date and time information read from the table with the table of passenger ticket selling price information stored in the storage unit 2 and selects and outputs the corresponding passenger ticket selling price information. There is.

The bill processing unit 9, the coin processing unit 10, the card processing unit 11, and the change releasing unit 13 are controlled by the control unit 1 to compare the passenger ticket selling price information with the inserted money, and insert the money. If the money paid is higher than the selling price of the passenger ticket, the passenger ticket corresponding to the selling price of the passenger ticket is output and the passenger ticket corresponding to the selected section and ticket type is output. If there is a difference between the equivalent amount of money and the inserted money, the difference is output as change, and if the inserted money is lower than the passenger ticket selling price, it operates to wait for additional money. It functions as the money deposit / withdrawal processing means 103.

Further, the storage unit 2 stores a program for controlling the entire automatic ticket vending apparatus and passenger ticket prices (fares, etc.) such as tickets and limited express tickets to be sold as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG.
A table of passenger ticket selling price information in which data is associated with a specific date is stored.

The clock mechanism section 8 has a clock function that allows the program to read the current year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and day of the week information by setting the current date and time and day of the week once.

The clerk operates the clerk operation section 6 in advance according to the display on the clerk display section 7 to register the discount target ticket type and the discount specified date corresponding thereto. Personnel display section 7 at the time of this registration
An example of the above display is shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, whether or not each ticket type that can be sold is subject to a discount is entered using the Y or N key on the operator's operation section, and the ticket type subject to the discount is the discount date. Similarly, date information such as date and time, day of the week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, ... Saturday) is set by the Y or N key. The registered discount target ticket types and their designated discount dates are recorded in the storage unit 2.

After setting the discount information as described above, when the automatic ticket selling device is put into the sale state, the ticket is sold according to the discount information. The control method is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The automatic ticket vending apparatus in the ticket vending (sale) state always fetches the current date and time and day of the week from the clock mechanism section 8 (step 401) and refers to the discount information recorded in the storage section 2 (402). If there is at least one ticket for which the discount is specified, the discount guide is displayed on the customer service display section 4 (40
3) If all the ticket types are not the designated discount date, the discount guidance display is deleted (404). Then, after a card such as a banknote, a coin, or a stored card that can purchase a ticket is inserted from the customer service surface operation unit 4 (405), and a ticket selection button (not shown) on the customer service surface operation unit 4 is pressed ( 406) Judging from the discount information recorded in the storage unit 2 whether the ticket type is a discount target, the current date and time taken from the clock mechanism unit 8 and the day of the week (407), the discount fare is displayed if it is a discount target. Shi (4
08), or display normal fare if not applicable (40
9) Do. This display is displayed on the customer service surface display unit 4.
At this time, the fare data as shown in FIG. 2 which is registered in advance in the storage unit 2 is referred to and displayed on the account button (selection button) on the customer service surface operation unit 4. For this, for example, the button may be made of transparent plastic, a pilot lamp or the like may be arranged on the back side of the button, and the pilot lamp may be displayed by blinking or the like.

After that, when the account button displaying the fare is pressed (410a, b), the fare information of the account is referred to the fare data described above, and the departure station name, fare, presence of discount, etc. Tickets are printed and encoded by a magnetic head or the like (411a, b). After the ticket is issued, the automatic ticket vending machine returns to the state of comparing the current date and time with the discount information.

(Embodiment 2) In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the setting of the discount depending on the day of the week has been described as an example when the apparatus of the present invention is actually used, but in the second embodiment, it is not a holiday. An example of discounting only on specific days will be described.

First, a holiday table as shown in FIG. 5 is registered in the storage unit 2 in advance. If the current date and time and the day of the week imported from the clock mechanism unit 8 are the days to be discounted, it is judged that the discount is to be made only if the month and day are not the same as all the months and days set on the holiday table. If the same date is present, the control unit 1 determines that it is not a target. The other structure and its operation are similar to those of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) In the first and second embodiments,
I explained how to control the presence or absence of a discount depending on the day of the week.
In the third embodiment, an example of a ticket such as a seat reservation limited express ticket for a specific section, which is a discount target only on a specific date, will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, instead of registering the discount according to the day of the week, the discount date for each designated ticket type as shown in FIG. Use the numeric keypad above to input (set). Figure 6
Golden Week (April 29-5
Only on the 5th of the month), an example of setting a case where the SF card is a discount target is shown. The discount ticket type and the discount date set here are recorded in the storage unit 2.

Then, the automatic ticket vending machine in the sale state is
The control unit 1 determines whether or not the current date fetched from the timepiece storage unit 8 is compared with the above-mentioned discount date information for each ticket type stored in the storage unit 2 to be discounted. The other structure and its operation are similar to those of the first embodiment.

As described above, conventionally, it becomes possible to omit the work such as the manual sale of the discount ticket by the clerk and the manual operation of the clerk to set the automatic ticket vending device for the sale of the discount ticket. It is possible to reduce the load and prevent the wrong issuing of a passenger ticket due to a mistake in staff work, and to eliminate the user's wrong operation and the purchase of the wrong ticket.

Further, since the ticket type and the target date for the discount can be freely set, it is not necessary to modify the automatic ticket vending machine by newly establishing or changing the discount date, the section, the discount rate, etc., and the discount system is changed. It is possible to respond flexibly to.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above detailed description, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically issue a ticket with a discount / surcharge for a specific period by a simple operation that is easy for a user to use. A ticket selling device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a structure of an automatic ticket vending apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a passenger ticket selling price information table according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example on a staff display unit 7 when registering passenger ticket selling price information of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control method of the automatic ticket vending apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a passenger ticket selling price information table according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a passenger ticket selling price information table according to a third embodiment of this invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Control unit 2 ... Storage unit 3 ... Customer contact surface display unit 4 ... Customer service surface operation unit 5 ... Voice guidance unit 6 ... Personnel operation unit 7 ... Personnel display unit 8 ………… Clock mechanism section 9 ………… Banknote processing section 10 …… Coin processing section 11 …… Card processing section 12 …… Ticketing processing section 13 …… Change processing section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A customer service surface operating means in which a selection button that is pushed to select a passenger ticket when a passenger ticket of a section and a ticket type desired by a user is arranged, and inserted money or money. The cash equivalent to money is counted and stocked at a predetermined position, and the difference between the equivalent amount of the passenger ticket selected by the user pressing the selection button of the customer service surface operating means and the inserted money is calculated. Money input / output processing means that outputs as change, current month date and time counting means that can read current month date and time information at any time, and passenger ticket selling price information that corresponds to each month date and time and ticket type and section Storage means for storing as a table in which sections are associated with each other; passenger ticket sale price information input means for inputting and storing the passenger ticket sale price information in the storage means; Information on the section and ticket type of the passenger ticket selected by the user using the button and the current month date and time information read from the current month date and time counting means when the information is input are stored in the storage means. Compared with the table of stored passenger ticket price information,
Passenger ticket selling price selection means for selecting and outputting the corresponding passenger ticket selling price information, comparing the passenger ticket selling price information output by the passenger ticket selling price selecting means and the inserted money, and the inserted money is If the passenger ticket selling price is higher than the passenger ticket selling price, the passenger ticket corresponding to the passenger ticket selling price is output corresponding to the selected section and ticket type, and the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket is also output. And if there is a difference between the inserted money and the difference, the difference is output as change, and if the inserted money is lower than the passenger ticket selling price,
An automatic ticket vending device, comprising: a passenger ticket output unit that waits for the addition of money. 2. A customer service surface operating means in which a selection button that is pushed to select a passenger ticket when a passenger ticket of a section and a ticket type desired by a user is arranged, and inserted money or money. The cash equivalent to money is counted and stocked at a predetermined position, and the difference between the equivalent amount of the passenger ticket selected by the user pressing the selection button of the customer service surface operating means and the inserted money is calculated. Money input / output processing means that outputs as change, current month date and time counting means that can read current month date and time information at any time, and passenger ticket selling price information that corresponds to each month date and time and ticket type and section Storage means for storing as a table in which sections are associated with each other; passenger ticket sale price information input means for inputting and storing the passenger ticket sale price information in the storage means; Information on the section and ticket type of the passenger ticket selected by the user using the button and the current month date and time information read from the current month date and time counting means when the information is input are stored in the storage means. Compared with the table of stored passenger ticket price information,
Passenger ticket selling price selection means for selecting and outputting the corresponding passenger ticket selling price information, comparing the passenger ticket selling price information output by the passenger ticket selling price selecting means and the inserted money, and the inserted money is If the passenger ticket selling price is higher than the passenger ticket selling price, the passenger ticket corresponding to the passenger ticket selling price is output corresponding to the selected section and ticket type, and the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket is also output. And if there is a difference between the inserted money and the difference, the difference is output as change, and if the inserted money is lower than the passenger ticket selling price,
Passenger ticket output means for waiting for the addition of money, and a display for displaying at least one of the inserted money and the passenger ticket selling price, and the difference between the corresponding amount of the selected passenger ticket and the inserted money. An automatic ticket vending machine comprising: