JPH0816917A - Vending machine power charge settlement method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a vending machine (hereinafter,
It is also referred to as a vending machine.)

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of power charge settlement (payment)
As a method, it is usual that an electricity consumer at the place where the vending machine is installed (the owner of the place where the vending machine is installed) pays.

[0003]

However, there are many cases in which a vending machine is not owned by an electric power consumer who manages the vending machine. For this reason, in most cases, the owner of the vending machine pays the electricity consumer an installation fee and an electric power fee which are a percentage of the sales of the vending machine. This is so unreasonable that it is unreasonable to pay the parking fee of a monthly parking lot for cars, etc., including the gasoline fee, so it is desirable to completely separate the installation fee and the electricity fee. ing. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable a vending machine to completely and accurately separate and settle its power charges.

[0004]

In order to solve such a problem, in the invention of claim 1, the vending machine is provided with a detecting means for detecting the amount of power consumption and an external power charge collecting means. The present invention is characterized in that an instruction means for giving an instruction and a calculation means for calculating the power usage rate from the previous time to the current time in accordance with the instruction are provided, and cash equivalent to the calculated power rate is paid out. In the present invention, the payout can be a predetermined product instead of cash (the invention of claim 2).

According to the invention of claim 3, the vending machine is provided with
A detection means for detecting the amount of power consumption, a card reader / writer means for inserting a power charge collection card, and a calculation means for calculating the power charge used from the previous time to the present time according to the insertion of this card are provided. The power charge data to be settled is written in the card by the card reader / writer means.

According to the invention of claim 4, the vending machine is provided with
A detection means for detecting the power consumption amount and a calculation means for calculating the used power charge from the last time to this time in response to an instruction for collecting the power charge given from the outside are provided, and this calculation means is used for the online system of the bank. It is characterized by enabling automatic transfer by connecting to.

[0007]

[Function] The vending machine is provided with a power amount detecting means and a calculating means for calculating the used power amount from the previous time to the present time based on the output, and the power cost calculation is artificially or automatically performed on the calculating means. By giving an instruction for, it is possible to accurately settle only the electricity usage charge. Also,
By using a card reader / writer or combining with an online system, illegal use is prevented and safety is improved. Further, by using the online system, complicated manual work is unnecessary.

[0008]

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a watt hour meter as a power amount detecting means, 2 is a vending machine control device, 3 is a coin mechanism, 4 is a switch (SW), 5 is a card reader / writer, 6 is a vending machine side online system, and 7 is a bank. Side online system, 8 is a bank. It is to be noted that one of the one-dot chain lines (blocks B1, B2, B3) is basically provided, but in some cases, two or more can be used in combination.

That is, in this embodiment, the electric power meter 1 is provided at the input end of the vending machine and is commonly connected to the vending machine control device 2 for performing various controls of the vending machine, but which blocks are connected to these. Depending on the situation, it differs as follows. First, the case where the block B1 is connected will be described.

As its original function, the vending machine is equipped with a coin mechanism 3 as standard equipment for taking in or paying out money. Therefore, a switch 4 that can be operated only by the electricity fee collector is provided outside the vending machine, and when the switch 4 is pressed, the vending machine control device 2 uses the amount of power used at that time and the use at the time when the switch 4 was pressed last time. A predetermined instruction is given to the coin mechanism 3 to multiply the difference with the electric power amount by the electric charge unit price, add the basic charge to this to obtain the electric power charge to be paid, and pay out the amount equivalent to the electric power charge. In addition, although it is assumed here that the payment is made in cash, it goes without saying that the payment can be made in a predetermined product in some cases.

Next, the case where the block B2 is connected will be described. In many vending machines of recent years, a card reader can be attached so that a product can be purchased with an employee card or the like. Therefore, in this example, the card reader / writer 5 is used instead of the card reader.

In this way, by inserting the card possessed only by the electricity bill collector into the card reader / writer 5, the vending machine controller 2 uses the amount of power used at that time and the amount of power used when the card was inserted last time. The difference between and is multiplied by the unit price of electric charge, the basic charge is added to this to obtain the electric charge to be paid, and a predetermined instruction is given to the card reader / writer 5 to write money data corresponding to the electric charge to the card.

By using such a card, there is an advantage that illegal use can be prevented as compared with the case where a switch is used. In addition, this card is an automated teller machine (ATM) of a predetermined bank.
Of course, it can be turned into cash by inserting it into an er machine).

Next, the case where the block B3 is connected will be described. For example, a beverage manufacturer or the like who owns a vending machine may provide an online system for grasping the sales status of hot-selling products for a sales strategy. Therefore, by connecting the vending machine-side online system 6 and the bank-side online system 7 connected to the bank 8 with a telephone line or the like, the difference between the amount of electric power used at that time and the amount of electric power used last time can be determined every predetermined day. It is possible to multiply the unit price of the electric charge, add the basic charge to the electric charge, obtain the electric charge to be paid, and transfer the amount equivalent to the electric charge from the bank account of the vending machine holder to the bank account of the electric power company. By doing so, it is possible to omit the complicated work for manual cash conversion.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the above operation. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not an external switch is pressed, an electricity bill collector inserts a card, or a trigger signal including a command from the bank-side online system 7 is generated. ), Check the current amount of power in step S2,
In step S3, the previous electric energy is checked. When the trigger signal is not generated, the process ends.

Then, in step S4, the difference between the previous time and this time is obtained, multiplied by the unit price of the electric charge, and the basic charge is added to calculate the electric power charge to be paid this time, and then the vending machine control device 2 in step S5. Coin mechanism 3, card reader / writer 5 or vending machine side online system 6
Etc. to give a predetermined payment processing.

[0017]

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to accurately receive only the electric power charge from the owner of the vending machine, and there is an advantage that the electric power charge can be accurately and reliably managed in the vending machine. As a result, it becomes possible to receive the power supply of the vending machine directly from the utility pole. In particular, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use by using a card reader / writer or combining with an online system,
It is possible to improve safety. Further, it is possible to save labor by using the online system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Electricity meter, 2 ... Vending machine control device, 3 ... Coin mechanism, 4 ... Switch (SW), 5 ... Card reader / writer, 6 ... Vending machine side online system, 7 ... Bank side online system, 8 ... Bank.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A detection means for detecting the amount of power consumption of the vending machine, an instruction means for giving an instruction for collecting the electricity charge from the outside, and a power consumption charge from the previous time to this time in response to the instruction. An electric power charge settlement method for a vending machine, characterized in that a cash equivalent to the calculated electric power charge is provided. 2. The power charge settlement method for an automatic vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the payout is a predetermined product instead of cash. 3. A vending machine, a detecting means for detecting the amount of power consumption, a card reader / writer means for inserting a power charge collecting card, and a use from the last time to this time depending on the insertion of the card. An electric power charge settlement method for a vending machine, characterized in that the electric power charge data to be settled is provided in the card by the card reader / writer means. 4. A detecting means for detecting the amount of power consumption of the vending machine, and a calculating means for calculating a power charge from the previous time to this time in response to an instruction for collecting the power charge given from the outside. By providing this operation means with an online system of a bank, automatic transfer is possible, and a power charge settlement method for a vending machine.