JPS6288090A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products using cards.

(Prior art) Generally, vending machines sell in cash (coins or banknotes), but recently so-called card-based vending machines have been introduced that allow sales and payments to be made using cards such as magnetic cards. It has been put into practical use.

In addition, as a payment method for vending machines that use cards, a card is purchased in advance with cash, on which monetary information corresponding to the purchase price is written using magnetic information or other means, and the information is written on the card each time the vending machine is used. There is a so-called prepayment method in which the amount is reduced, and a so-called deferred payment method in which the card holder is required to pay the accumulated usage amount every predetermined period when using a vending machine with a card.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) The prepayment method is a method in which a card with amount information written on it is purchased in advance with cash payment, and the card is used in a vending machine. This is a method of thinking of the card as a kind of cash voucher by writing on it. The prepayment method is safe in terms of cash collection because the cash can be obtained in advance. On the other hand, the deferred payment method is a method in which a vending machine is used with a card on which only card identification information is written without amount information written on it, and the sales amount of a certain card is collected later and the card is retained. This is a method of charging the person for the payment. The disadvantage of the deferred payment method is that it takes time and effort to collect cash. There is also the risk that cash cannot be recovered.

For the above reasons, the prepayment method is preferred and implemented because of the reliability of payment collection, but the card reader in the prepayment method must be able to write as well as read.

This writable card reader has the disadvantage that it is considerably more expensive than a read-only card reader.

As described above, conventional prepaid card vending machines have the disadvantage of being expensive because they require a writable card reader.

On the other hand, the number of products in vending machines has increased recently, and the number of flavors to choose from has also increased. For example, in a coffee vending machine, the choice of seasoning refers to the selection of the type of coffee beans, the strength of the coffee, the amount of cream, the amount of sugar, etc. It is a recent trend that the range of choices expected from vending machines is expanding and requests are becoming more diverse, but on the other hand, there are too many items to choose from, and users have to press too many selection buttons. This has the disadvantage that it is a burden on the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a means for realizing a prepayment type card vending machine that simplifies the selection operation of multiple items and ensures cash collection using an inexpensive read-only card reader.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a read-only card reader, a product selection section, a money acceptance section, a selection information registration operation section, an arithmetic processing section, and a memory. In the prepayment operation, information on the balance obtained by adding the previously stored balance to the card information input from the card reader and the information on the amount of money prepaid from the money acceptance section is stored in the storage section. In the selection information registration operation, the card information input from the card reader and the selection information selected by the product selection section are stored in the storage section based on the operation of the selection information registration operation section. In the vending operation, the card information input from the card reader is compared with the card information pre-stored in the storage unit, and if they match, the pre-stored balance is used as the sales request. When the price is equal to or higher than the price of the product, the product is sold based on the selection information pre-stored in the storage unit corresponding to the card information, and after the sale, the amount obtained by subtracting the sales amount from the balance is the remaining amount in the storage unit. , and these controls are performed by the arithmetic processing section.

(Example) The present invention will be described below based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a combination diagram of block elements built into a vending machine according to the present invention, and the configuration of the vending machine according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

The microprocessor 1 includes an arithmetic processing unit and L7 having the functions described below, a card reader 2 capable of reading magnetic card information, a product selection unit 3, a storage unit 4 for storing card information, etc., and a money identification unit as a money acceptance unit. A selection information registration operation section 8 is connected to the microprocessor 1.
A product storage/export unit 6 is connected to the product storage/export unit 6 via a product unload drive unit 5 .

First, in order to use a vending machine with a card, a user obtains a magnetic card on which card identification information is written in advance. Next, the user causes the card reader 2 to read the card identification information of the card. Furthermore, the money identifier 7 is made to read a 1000 yen bill. The microprocessor 1 combines the card identification information and the deposit information of 1,000 yen and stores it in the card information storage section 4. This means that the vending machine stores that a prepayment of 1000 yen has been made for that card. Next, let the card reader read the same card, press the button for the product you want to purchase from the product selection section 3, and press the purchase request button (not shown). If the product costs 100 yen, the microprocessor 1 , since the balance is 1000 yen and the request is 100 yen, the balance is set to 900 yen, and the product delivery drive unit 5
A control signal is given to the designated product to be carried out and sold from the product storage and carry-out section 6.

Next, we will explain how to use cards to simplify flavor selection in coffee vending machines. As mentioned above, during the sales operation, you can select the product by pressing the button of the product you want to purchase from the product selection section, but for example, the flavoring in a coffee vending machine can be selected by selecting the type of coffee beans, the strength of the coffee, the amount of cream, etc. In a vending machine where the product cannot be sold unless you select the quantity, amount of sugar, etc., these selection operations are troublesome.

By the way, since the selection combinations of a certain user are usually fixed, this selection information is registered in the storage unit 4 in correspondence with the card, and when making a purchase using the card, the selection information is stored in the storage unit. It continues from 4 and can be used as is without fear of product selection. This selection information registration operation will be explained below.

First, the card is read by the card reader 2. Next, by selecting the selection information to be registered in the product selection section 3 and then pressing a registration button (not shown) included in the selection information registration operation section 8, the selection information is registered as the card fI! is combined with the information and stored in the storage unit. The next time you make a purchase based on your selection information, you can swipe the same card.
The selection information stored in the storage section 4 is read out in accordance with the card information, and the product selection button of the product selection section 3 is illuminated in the same way as when it is illuminated during normal selection. This is visually confirmed, and if the user wishes to purchase the item, he/she presses a purchase request button (not shown), and if the above-mentioned balance conditions are satisfied, the item based on the selection information is delivered and sold.

A flowchart of the sales operation is shown in FIG.

Give other users magnetic cards with different card identification information written on them. In this case as well, advance payment is made in the same manner as above and the vending machine is used. After reading the card information, the balance for that card is displayed numerically. If you continue to make purchases with your card, the balance will gradually decrease and become less than the amount needed to purchase the product.
At that time, for example, the balance of 30 yen can be prepaid by 1,000 yen, leaving a balance of 1,030 yen. In this way, it is necessary to prepare only 1000 yen bills as cash, and there is an advantage that small change is not necessary, and small change is not necessary when using a card.

In conventional prepayment type card vending machines, in order to write information on the prepaid amount and balance onto the card, it was necessary to have a card reader with both reading and writing functions. However, a card reader having both of these functions has the drawback of being expensive. On the other hand, in the prepayment type card vending machine in the above embodiment, the prepaid amount or balance information is stored in the vending machine, so the card reader is a read-only machine, resulting in a low price. You can get advantages.

Further, by registering and storing selection information such as selection of seasoning in correspondence with card information, an operational advantage can be obtained in that a complicated selection operation for seasoning can be omitted.

Further, by pressing the registration button included in the selection information registration operation section 8, there is an effect that there are fewer restrictions on the order in which the selection information is registered and stored.

In the above embodiment, the block elements shown in Fig. 1 are built into the vending machine body, but in recent vending machines, the controller part, money acceptance part, product storage and delivery part, etc. are separated. Sometimes there are. In this way, even if the block elements are physically separated, or even if the number and combination of block elements changes, the function as a prepaid card vending machine will not change, so the same effect can be expected. .

In the above description, a magnetic card was used as a specific example of the card, but similar effects can be obtained with cards of other principles and shapes.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in 6-H below, the vending machine according to the present invention is lower in price than using an inexpensive read-only card reader, and allows payment to be made by card using a card. It is possible to provide a vending machine that has the advantages of simplifying product selection and easy registration of selection information.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the selling operation of the embodiment of the present invention. [...Microprocessor 7 as an arithmetic processing unit...
・Cart League 11...Storage unit for card information, etc. 7...Money validator as a money acceptance unit Patent ratio 191 Sanden Co., Ltd. II','. 1st Inputra 2-

Claims (1)

[Claims] It includes a read-only card reader, a product selection section, a money acceptance section, a selection information registration operation section, an arithmetic processing section, and a storage section, and in the prepayment operation, the card information input from the card reader and the Information on the balance obtained by adding the previously stored balance to the information on the amount of money prepaid from the money acceptance unit is stored in the storage unit, and in the selection information registration operation, the card information input from the card reader is stored in the storage unit. and the selection information selected by the product selection section are stored in the storage section based on the operation of the selection information registration operation section, and in the vending operation, the card information input from the card reader and the selection information are stored in the storage section. The card information stored in advance is checked, and if they match, the balance stored in advance in the storage unit corresponding to the card information is The automatic vending machine sells products based on selected information, and after the sale, the amount obtained by subtracting the sales amount from the balance is stored in the storage section as a balance, and these controls are performed by the arithmetic processing section. Machine.