JP2011221762A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine that can switch to a management mode of the automatic vending machine without using a door opening/closing key, and a user does not perform unnecessary operation.SOLUTION: When a call button 24 is turned on for more than 10 seconds and subsequently a coin is inserted into a coin mechanism 32, a control part 30 switches from a sales mode to the management mode corresponding to a kind of the coin.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine such as a ticket vending machine.

  Conventionally, a vending machine has been proposed in which a product selection operation unit and a management operation unit are shared, and even if they are shared, unnecessary operations by customers can be restricted (see Patent Document 1, for example).

  This vending machine has a structure that can be switched from the sales mode to the management mode when the administrator opens the door using the door opening / closing key, or a switching unit that switches between the management mode and the sales mode is provided on the front of the vending machine. A structure is disclosed in which a key possessed by the administrator is inserted into the switching unit to switch to the management mode.

JP 2000-357262 A

  However, in the above vending machine, when the administrator loses the door open / close key or mode switching key and cannot switch modes, or these keys are stolen and mischievous, the operation of the vending machine There was a problem that it interfered with work.

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a vending machine that can be switched to a vending machine management mode without using a key and that does not require the user to perform unnecessary operations.

  The present invention relates to a money processing unit having a coin mech into which a coin is inserted, a bill validator into which a bill is inserted, a customer service processing unit having an operation button including a selection button for selecting a product, and a vending machine. A memory storing the type and operation method of one or a plurality of the operation buttons as the first condition for switching to the management mode to be managed, and the type and number of the coins or the bill as the second condition And one or more of the operation buttons are operated based on the first condition, and then one or more coins are inserted into the coin mech based on the second condition, or the bill validator And a control unit that switches to the management mode when one or a plurality of the banknotes are inserted into the vending machine.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to switch to the management mode by operating the operation button according to the first condition and inserting coins or bills according to the second condition, so that no key is required and the user is mischievous. There is no switch to management mode.

It is a front view of the ticket vending machine which shows one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram of a ticket vending machine. It is a flowchart which shows the operation state of a ticket vending machine.

  Hereinafter, the ticket vending machine 10 which is one Example of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. 1-3. The ticket vending machine 10 is a ticket vending machine that sells meal tickets.

(1) Structure of ticket vending machine 10 The structure of the ticket vending machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of the ticket vending machine 10.

  A door 12 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the main body of the ticket vending machine 10.

  A plurality of selection buttons 14 provided for each type of meal ticket are arranged on the front surface of the ticket vending machine 10, that is, the front surface of the door 12, and a sold-out lamp 16 (FIG. 2) that lights up when sold out inside the selection button 14. Built-in).

  Above these selection buttons 14, a 7-segment 4-digit digital display unit 18 is provided for displaying the amount of money that has been input. A coin insertion slot 20 and a bill insertion slot 22 are provided on the right side of the display unit 18. A call button 24 for calling the administrator of the vending machine is also provided side by side.

  Below the selection button 14, a takeout port 28 is provided for taking out the meal ticket and the change. On the right side of the take-out port 28, a return button 26 for returning the inserted coins and the like is provided.

(2) Electrical configuration of ticket vending machine 10 Next, the electrical configuration of the ticket vending machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ticket vending machine 10.

  The control unit 30 that controls the operation of the ticket vending machine 10 is composed of a microcomputer, and is connected to the plurality of selection buttons 14, sold-out lamp 16, display unit 18, coin mech 32, bill validator 34, printer 36, and speaker 40. ing. Here, the operation buttons including the selection button 14 constitute a customer service processing unit, and the coin mech 32 and the bill validator 34 constitute a money processing unit. The control unit 30 is connected to an operation unit 38 for an administrator of the vending machine to operate the ticket vending machine 10. The control unit 30, the coin mech 32, the bill burr 34, the printer 36, and the operation unit 38 are attached to the inside of the ticket vending machine 10.

  The coin mech 32 measures the type and number of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 20, and stores the coins inserted into a hopper (not shown).

  The bill burr 34 measures and stores the type and number of bills inserted from the bill insertion slot 22.

  The printer 36 prints a name, a price, and the like corresponding to the food ticket selected by the selection button 14 on a blank paper and sends it to the takeout port 28.

  The speaker 40 emits a predetermined sound when the call button 24 is turned on.

(3) Types of modes of the ticket vending machine 10 In order to operate the ticket vending machine 10, the ticket vending machine 10 of this embodiment has five modes.

  The first mode is a sales mode for selling food tickets.

  The second mode to the fifth mode are management modes for maintaining the ticket vending machine 10.

  The second mode is a bill surface test mode for test printing a meal ticket.

  The third mode is a cancel setting mode for canceling sales due to clogging of food tickets during sales.

  The fourth mode is a collection setting mode for the administrator of the vending machine to collect coins and banknotes stored by the hopper and bill burr 34 in the coin mech 32.

  The fifth mode is a sold-out setting mode for turning on the sold-out lamp 16 of the selected button 14 for which a product has been sold out among the plurality of selected buttons 14.

  The control unit 30 stores the first condition and the second condition for switching from the sales mode to the management mode in the storage unit 42 of the control unit 30. Each of these conditions is input by the operation unit 38.

  The first condition for switching to the bill surface test mode is that the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or longer, and the second condition is that a 500-yen coin is subsequently inserted.

  The first condition for switching to the cancel setting mode is that the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or more, and the second condition is that one 100 yen is inserted thereafter.

  The first condition for switching to the collection setting mode is that the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or more, and the second condition is that one 50 yen is inserted thereafter.

  The first condition for switching to the sold-out setting mode is that the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or more, and the second condition is that one 10 yen is inserted thereafter.

  The storage unit 42 of the control unit 30 also stores a third condition for returning from the management mode to the sales mode. The third condition is that the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or more.

  It should be noted that a button that is not operated by the user (for example, the return button 26) is preferably used as the type of button for shifting to the management mode.

(4) Operation State of Ticket Vending Machine 10 Next, an operation state in which the administrator switches from the sales mode to the management mode in the ticket vending machine 10 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In step 1, the control unit 30 of the ticket vending machine 10 is in a standby state in the sales mode.

  In step 2, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the administrator has turned on the call button 24 for 10 seconds or more. If it is turned on, the control unit 30 proceeds to step 3 assuming that the first condition is satisfied, and is turned on. If not, return to Step 1. When the first condition is satisfied, the display unit 18 displays all four seven segments as bars.

  In step 3, the control unit 30 proceeds to step 4 and after that the second condition is satisfied if the administrator inserts a coin into the coin mech 32 within a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds). Return to step 1. Here, when the inserted coin is a 500-yen coin, the control unit 30 shifts to the bill surface test mode of step 4, and when a 100-yen coin is inserted, the control unit 30 shifts to the cancellation setting mode of step 5. If a 50-yen coin is inserted, the process proceeds to the collection setting mode in step 6, and if a 10-yen coin is inserted, the process proceeds to the sold-out setting mode. Moreover, if it transfers to each management mode, the display part 18 will display the mode.

  In each management mode from step 2 to step 7, the control unit 30 proceeds to step 8 when a predetermined operation is completed.

  In Step 8, if the call button 24 is turned on again for 10 seconds or more, the control unit 30 proceeds to Step 9 assuming that the third condition is satisfied. If not, the control unit 30 continues each management mode.

  In step 9, the control unit 30 returns the coins inserted in step 3, returns to the sales mode, and ends.

(5) Effect In the ticket vending machine 10 of the present embodiment, the call button 24 is turned on for 10 seconds or more, and each management mode is switched by inserting coins. Therefore, the user mistakenly switches from the sales mode to the management mode. There is nothing. In particular, the user does not shift to the management mode until coins are intentionally inserted.

  In addition, since coins are used for switching to the management mode, it is possible to prevent forgetting to return from the management mode to the sales mode.

  Also, when the management mode is canceled, coins are returned, so that the vending machine administrator does not spend unnecessary money.

  Further, in the case of the ticket vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment, when switching to the management mode, a conventional key is not used, so that the key is not lost.

(6) Modification Examples The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the call button 24 is set to be turned on for 10 seconds or more as the first condition. Instead, the other button (for example, the return button 26) is turned on for 10 seconds or more. The first condition may be cleared by changing the pressing time or by sequentially pressing a plurality of buttons. For example, the call button 24 is pressed for 5 seconds or longer, the return button 26 is pressed for 10 seconds or longer, and the selection button 14 at the right end is pressed for 10 seconds or longer. The third condition for releasing the management mode may also be set to be released by operating other buttons or a combination of operations in addition to pressing the call button 24 for 10 seconds or longer.

  In the above embodiment, one 500-yen coin, 100-yen coin, 50-yen coin, and 10-yen coin are used for selecting the type of management mode. In addition, you may make it select using a banknote. Moreover, when the number of coins and banknotes increases, the types of management modes that can be switched can also be increased.

  In the said Example, if the control part 30 memorize | stores the log | history of the inserted coin or the inserted banknote, the log | history which tried to enter management mode by mischief can be left.

  In the above-described embodiment, the explanation was given with a ticket vending machine for food tickets, but a ticket vending machine such as a ticket may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the ticket vending machine has been described. However, instead of this, a vending machine for cigarettes, beverage cans or beverage bottles may be used.

  In the present invention, the management mode means a mode for performing maintenance of the vending machine and a mode for managing the vending machine, and shifts to a mode other than the four management modes described in the above embodiment. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ticket vending machine 14 Selection button 16 Sold-out lamp 18 Display part 20 Coin insertion slot 22 Bill insertion slot 24 Call button 26 Return button 30 Control part 32 Coinmek 34 Bili-Bali 36 Printer 38 Operation part 40 Speaker

Claims (6)

A money processing unit having a coin mech into which coins are inserted and a bill validator into which bills are inserted;
A customer service processing unit having an operation button including a selection button for selecting a product;
The type and operation method of one or a plurality of the operation buttons that are the first condition for switching to the management mode for managing the vending machine, and the type and number of the coins that are the second condition A storage unit that stores
One or more of the operation buttons are operated based on the first condition, and then one or more coins are inserted into the coin mech based on the second condition, or A control unit that switches to the management mode when a plurality of the banknotes are inserted;
A vending machine characterized by comprising: The storage unit stores a type and an operation method of one or a plurality of the operation buttons that are a third condition for releasing the management mode,
In the management mode, when one or more operation buttons are operated based on the third condition, the control unit cancels the management mode and returns the coins or the banknotes.
The vending machine according to claim 1. A plurality of management modes are set,
The first condition and the second condition stored in the storage unit are different for each type of the management mode,
The vending machine according to claim 1. A display unit;
When the control unit is switched to the management mode, the control unit displays that the management mode is in progress on the display unit.
The vending machine according to claim 1. The vending machine is a ticket vending machine;
The vending machine according to claim 1. The operation method in the first condition is an ON time of one or a plurality of the operation buttons, or an order of turning on the plurality of operation buttons.
The vending machine according to claim 1.

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