JPS6288092A - 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 car 1' as a kind of cash voucher by writing it on the card. The prepayment method is safe in terms of cash collection because you can obtain cash 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 these reasons, the prepayment method is preferred and implemented because of the certainty of payment collection, but the card reader for the Nl payment 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 drawback 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 type of coffee beans, the type of coffee? Selection of ingredients such as grain size, amount of cream, amount of sugar, etc.

It is a recent trend that the range of choices expected from vending machines is expanding and demands are becoming more diverse, but on the other hand, there are too many items to choose from, and users are forced to press too many selection buttons. It has the disadvantage that it is a burden to operate.

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, a password input section, and an arithmetic processing section. and a storage section, and in a prepayment operation, the card information input from the card reader, the password information input from the password input section, and the amount information of the prepaid money from the money acceptance section are stored up to that point. Information on the balance including the stored balance is stored in the storage unit, and in the selection information registration operation, the card information input from the card reader and the selection information selected by the product selection unit are stored in the storage unit. Based on the operation of the selected information registration operation section, the selected information is stored in the 10th section of the previous book, and in the automatic vending operation, the card information input from the card reader and the password information input from the password input section (coupling information with U) Then, the combination information such as the card 1n information stored in advance in the JQ section and the password information is collated, and -
・If the cart is released and the pre-stored balance is equal to or higher than the price of the requested product, sell the product based on the selection information pre-stored in the storage unit corresponding to the “cart” information; After the sale, an amount obtained by subtracting the sales amount from the balance is stored as a balance 2 in the storage unit,
The present invention is characterized in that these controls are performed by the arithmetic processing section.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained 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.

A microprocessor 1 serving as an arithmetic processing unit having functions to be described later includes a card reader 2 capable of reading information on a magnetic card, a product selection unit 3, and a storage unit 4 for storing card information, etc.
, a money identifier 7 as a money acceptance unit 7, a PIN witness power unit 8,
A selection information registration operation section 9 is connected thereto, and the microprocessor 1 is further connected to a product storage and delivery section 6 via a product delivery drive section 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, and inputs the password from the password input section 8.

Furthermore, the money identifier 7 is made to read a 1000 yen bill. The microprocessor 1 combines the card identification information, the password, and the deposit information of 1,000 yen, and stores the combination in the card information storage section 4. This will give you 1 for that card.
This means that the vending machine will remember that the advance payment of 00 yen has been made. Next, read the same card with the card reader, enter the PIN from the PIN input section 8, press the button for the product you wish to purchase from the product selection section 3, press the purchase request button (not shown), and the PIN will be entered. If the product is 100 yen when they match, microprocessor 1 will
Due to the request for 100 yen for the balance of 1000 yen, the balance is 90 yen.
0 yen and a control signal is given to the product carry-out drive section 5 to carry out the designated product from the product storage and carry-out section 6 and sell it.

Next, we will explain how to use cards to make it easier to select flavors in coffee vending machines. As mentioned above, during the sales operation, you may 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, i.e., the type of coffee beans, the strength of the coffee, the cream. In a vending machine where a sale cannot be made unless you select the amount of sugar, amount of sugar, etc., these selection operations are troublesome. By the way, since the selection combination of a certain user is usually fixed, this selection information is registered in the storage unit 4 in correspondence with the card, and when purchasing with the card,
The selection information can be read out from the storage unit 4 and used as is without any product selection operation. This selection information registration operation will be explained below.

First, the card is read by the card reader 2, and then the password is input. Next, select the selection information you wish to register in the product selection section 3, and then press the registration button (not shown) included in the selection information registration operation section 9.
The selection information is combined with card information and stored in the storage section. Next, to make a purchase based on the selected information, the same card is read, the PIN is entered, and the memory
The selection information stored in 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 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, a prepaid vending machine can also be realized using the same procedure as above. After reading the card information, the balance for that card will be 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, but in that case, you can prepay 1,000 yen for the 30 yen balance, and get 1000 yen.
You can have a balance of 0.30 yen. In this way, it is sufficient to prepare 000 yen bills and 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.

The password input in the above explanation is effective for preventing unauthorized use.

Conventional prepaid card vending machines require a card reader with both reading and writing functions in order to write information on the prepaid amount and balance onto the card. 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, since the prepaid amount or balance information is stored in the vending machine, the cart league 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 9, there is an effect that there are fewer restrictions on the order of operations for registering and storing the selection information.

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. 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-using vending machine does not change. Similar effects 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.

In the above explanation, a numeric input pushbutton switch has been considered as the password input section 8, but this does not necessarily have to be numeric, and may be a manual switch with other symbols or voice input, and various selections are possible.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, it is difficult to use the machine illegally by entering a password, and by using an inexpensive read-only card reader, the price can be reduced, and the payment can be made by using a card. It is possible to provide a vending machine that has the advantages of card payment, simplified 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 of sales operations in the embodiment of the present invention. 1... Microprocessor as an arithmetic processing unit 2...
-Card reader 4...Storage unit 7 for card information, etc....Money identifier 8 as a money acceptance unit...Password input unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] It includes a read-only card reader, a product selection section, a money acceptance section, a selection information registration operation section, a password input section, an arithmetic processing section, and a storage section, and in the prepayment operation, input from the card reader is provided. storing in the storage unit information on a balance obtained by adding the previously stored balance to the card information inputted, the password information input from the password input unit, and the information on the amount of money prepaid from the money acceptance unit; 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, and the automatic vending operation is performed. In the step, the combination information of the card information inputted from the card reader and the password information inputted from the password input section is collated with the combination information of the card information and password information stored in advance in the storage section. and if they match, and the pre-stored balance is equal to or higher than the price of the requested product, sell the product based on the selection information pre-stored in the storage unit corresponding to the card information. . A vending machine, wherein after a sale, an amount obtained by subtracting the sales amount from the balance is stored in the storage unit as a balance, and these controls are performed by the arithmetic processing unit.