JPH0122676B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic vending method for selling products using cards such as magnetic cards capable of recording information.

[Description of Prior Art] As one of the prior art related to the present invention, there is a vending machine control device using a personal recognition medium described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52-96599. This is because the product was paid out after confirming that the sales information was correctly recorded on the card, and even though the sales information was correctly recorded on the card, the product was not paid out due to an error in the sales mechanism department. If the sales information is not available, a cancellation mark is written on the card to indicate cancellation of the recorded sales information.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] By the way, in the automatic sale of products using a prepaid magnetic card on which the amount of money owned is written in advance,
Each time a product is purchased, a new amount of money (remaining money) is obtained by subtracting the price of the purchased product from the amount of money owned by the card, and this is updated and recorded on the card in place of the previous amount of money owned. In such a vending method, if an error occurs in the update record of the amount owned and the amount is not updated to the correct amount, with the above conventional technology, the product is not paid out and the amount held on the card is incorrect. The amount remains updated and recorded, and the previously purchased item that has already been paid out does not match the amount (remaining amount) held on the card, resulting in financial trouble. Moreover, the cancellation mark is recorded when the product is not paid out even though sales information is correctly recorded on the card, so if an error occurs in the update record, the cancellation mark will not be recorded and the product will not be paid out. There are problems such as the incorrect amount being used as the amount owned by the card.

The present invention has been made based on the above viewpoints, and
The purpose of this is to make it possible to match the amount of purchased items on the card with the amount of purchased items that have already been paid out, even if the purchased item is not paid out due to an error in the update record of the amount owned, and to make the next purchase of the item easier. To provide an automatic sales method using a prepaid card, which automatically resolves errors in update records at the time of the transaction.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, it is possible to write a first amount _D1 , a second amount _D2 , and an error signal representing a writing error of each amount _D1 , _D2 , This is a method of selling products by a vending machine using a prepaid card in which the same amount predetermined as an initial amount is written in the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ , and the vending machine When the card is inserted into the card, the contents of the card are read out, and if the read first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ are the same amount, one of the predetermined amounts is set as the current balance D _S and read. If the first and second amounts D ₁ , D ₂ issued are different from each other, the first and second amounts D ₁ , D ₂
The smaller of the two is the current balance D _S , and the selling price D of the product selected by the purchaser is subtracted from this current balance D _S to obtain the new balance (D _{S - D), and the new balance (D S} - D) is calculated from the vending machine. When the card is removed, the new balance (D _S -D) is written on the card as the current balance D _S in place of the first or second amount D ₁ , D ₂ that was not used this time. The smaller of the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ represents the balance for the product purchase up to this time, and the larger one represents the balance for the product purchase up to the previous time, and the automatic When the card is removed from the vending machine, the new balance (D _S -D) is read out from the card following the writing of the new balance (D _S -D) to the card, and the read new balance (D If there is no error in the new balance ( _D S - D), the product selected by the purchaser will be paid out, and if there is an error in the new balance read (D _S -D), the product will not be paid out and the new balance ( D _S −D)
writes an error signal to the written first or second amount D ₁ , D ₂ , and the first or second amount D ₁ without an error signal when the card is inserted next time;
D ₂ is preferentially adopted as the current balance D _S , and the first or second card with an error signal when the card is removed
The above object is achieved by a card-based automatic vending method in which a new balance (D _S -D) is written on the card in place of the amounts D ₁ , D ₂ and an error signal.

[Effect] Assuming that 1000 yen is written as the initial amount in both the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ and that three products with a selling price of 200 yen have been purchased so far,
The smaller of the first or second amount D ₁ or D ₂ on the card is 400 yen, which represents the remaining amount for the product purchases up to this time, and the larger amount includes the amount for purchasing two products. In other words, 600 yen remains from the previous purchase. here,
An error occurred in the update record of the remaining balance of 400 yen.
If 500 yen is written instead of yen, then this
An error signal is attached to 500 yen, and the third item is not paid out. And next time,
The amount of 600 yen with no error signal will be taken as the amount owned by the card. Therefore, the amount of money owned by the card matches the purchase amount of the two products that have already been paid out. If you purchase a product for 200 yen next time, the 500 yen with an error signal will be changed from 600 yen.
The amount will be updated to 400 yen by subtracting 200 yen, and the update record error will be automatically resolved.

[Embodiment of the Invention] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system installed in a vending machine, and Fig. 2 shows a magnetic card.

The magnetic card 1 has a magnetic stripe 2 having a recording track 3 on which a first amount of money _D1 is written and a recording track 4 on which a second amount of money _D2 is written.
The recording track also has judgment data written therein for judging the suitability of the card. It is also possible to write an error signal to the recording track. The error signal indicates an error in writing the amount that was not written correctly when the amount D ₁ or D ₂ was not written correctly. When the card 1 is inserted into the vending machine, the amount is written in the record track of the incorrectly written amount in a manner that follows the amount, and when the card 1 is inserted into the vending machine, the amount is read out prior to the amount of the writing error.
Indicates that there is a writing error in the following read amount. When the card 1 is an unused virgin card, the same predetermined amount is written as the initial amount in the amounts D ₁ and D ₂ of each truck. The purchaser purchases Card 1 by paying the initial amount.

Write heads W ₁ , W ₂ and read heads R ₁ , R ₂
are provided for each track in the card slot of the vending machine, and are arranged in the order of a write head and a read head in the card removal direction. These heads are connected to a write circuit 5 and a read circuit 6, respectively. The read heads R ₁ , R ₂ and the read circuit 6 are included in the read means 10 of FIG. 1, and the write heads W ₁ , W ₂ and the write circuit 5 are included in the write means 16.

In FIG. 1, the reading means 10 reads the recorded contents of the card 1 when the card is inserted into the vending machine and when the card is removed from the vending machine.
When the card is inserted, the first and second amounts D ₁ , D ₂
and a function to read out the judgment data a and the error signal c if there is one, and when the card is removed, the new balance (D _S -D) is written to the card 1 by the writing means 16, which will be described later. 1 to read out the new balance (D _S -D)b.

The card discriminating means 11 inputs judgment data a to judge whether the inserted card is suitable or not, and when the card is unsuitable, it gives a card unsuitable display signal d to the display device 13, and when the card is suitable, it It has a function of supplying the card suitability signal e to the possession amount determination means 12. If the card is inappropriate, the card appropriateness signal e is not given to the owned amount determining means 12, and the display device 13 according to the card inappropriateness display signal d.
Only a message to that effect will be displayed, and no further sales operation will be performed.

The owned amount determining means 12 inputs the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ from the reading means 10 and the error signal c if there is an error signal, and receives the card suitability signal e from the card determining means 11. Start determining the current balance D _S of card 1, and calculate the first amount
D ₁ and the second amount D ₂ are compared in size, and if they are the same amount (in the case of a virgin card), one predetermined amount (in this example, the first amount D ₁ ) is transferred to the current balance D. _S , and if they are different from each other, the smaller of the first or second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ is determined to be the current balance D _S , and furthermore, the first
Or, if one of the second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ has an error signal c, the other amount without the error signal c is used as the current balance D _S It has a function of determining this and providing the determined current balance D _S to the sales enablement control means 14 and the subtraction means 15. In addition, the owned amount determining means 12 determines the first or second amount D ₁ ,
It has a function of giving the other amount of _D2 which is not adopted as the current balance D _S to the writing means 16 as the amount D _L to be replaced with the new balance (D _S -D). Furthermore, the owned amount determination means 12 has a function of providing the owned amount display signal f to the display device 13 for displaying the current balance D _S , and thereby,
The current balance D _S is displayed on the display device 13.

The sales enablement control means 14 receives the current balance D _S from the owned amount determination means 12, gives a product selection permission signal g to the product selection means 17, and gives a product selection instruction display signal h to the display device 13, and displays the product. By receiving the sales price D of the product from the selection means 17, it is determined whether the current balance D _S ≧Sales price D is satisfied, and if it is satisfied, a subtraction command i is given to the subtraction means 15, and if it is not satisfied, It has a function of providing an amount shortage display signal j to the display device. If the selling price D is greater than the current balance D _S , then
No subtraction command i is given to the subtraction means 15, only a display to that effect is made on the display device 13 in accordance with the insufficient amount display signal j, and no further sales operation is performed.

The product selection means 17 is the sales enablement control means 14
By receiving the product selection permission signal g from the product selection button 20 from the purchaser, it has a function of giving the sale persimmon D corresponding to the selected product to the sales enablement control means 14 and the subtraction means 15 in response to the purchaser's key press of the product selection button 20. are doing.

Upon receiving the subtraction command i from the sales enablement control means 14, the subtraction means 15 subtracts the selling price D from the current balance D _S to obtain a new balance (D _S −D).
It has a function of giving this new balance (D _S -D) to the writing means 16 and the written information identifying means 18.

The writing means 16 gives a card removal instruction display signal l to the display device 13 when the new balance (D _S -D) and the amount D _L to be replaced with the new balance (D _S -D) are given. , new balance when card is removed (D _S - D)
is written on the card 1 instead of the first or second amount D ₁ or D ₂ determined as the amount D _L ,
It has a function of writing an error signal in the new balance (D _S -D) written on the card 1 when the card is removed in response to an error signal writing command k from the writing information identifying means 18.

The written information identification means 18 detects the new balance (D _S -D) on the card 1 by the writing means 16 when the card is removed.
Following the writing, the reading means 10 inputs the new balance (D _S -D) b read from the card 1, and subtracts this read new balance (D _S -D) from the subtraction means 1.
5 and the new balance (D _S −D) from 5, and if they match, the product dispensing signal m is sent to the product dispensing device 1.
9, and when the two do not match, it has a function of giving an error signal writing command k to the writing means 16 and giving a recording error display signal n to the display device 13. When the error signal write command k is given, the product payout signal m is not given, and therefore, the selected product is not paid out.

With the above configuration, when card 1 is inserted into the card slot of a vending machine, when the card 1 is inserted, the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ , judgment data a, and error signal c are generated if there is an error signal. is read out.

If the card is unsuitable, such as card 1 being used in another system, a card unsuitable display signal d is given from the card discriminating means 11 to the display device 13, and a display to that effect is performed. Therefore, no sales operation is performed.

If card 1 is correct, owned amount determination means 1
At step 2, the current balance D _S of card 1 is determined.
At the beginning of use, the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ of the card 1 are initial amounts, for example, both are 1000 yen, and the predetermined first amount D ₁ of 1000 yen is the current balance D. _S sales enablement control means 14
The second amount _D2 , which was given to the bank and which was not adopted as current money, is given to the writing means 16 as the amount D _L to be replaced with the new balance (D _S -D). By giving the current balance D _S =1000 yen to the sales enablement control means 14, the sales enablement control means 1
4 puts the product selection means 17 into a state that responds to the product selection button 20, and when the purchaser selects a product in the vending machine by pressing the button, the selling price D of the product, for example, 200 yen, is set by the product selection means. It is given from 17. Since the sales price D=200 yen satisfies D _S =1000 yen≧D=200 yen, the sales enablement control means 14 gives a subtraction command i to the subtraction means 15. As a result, the subtraction means 15 calculates the current balance D _S =
The new balance (D _S - D) = 800 yen obtained by subtracting the selling price D = 200 yen from 1000 yen is given to the writing means 16. _The writing means 16 writes the new _{balance (D S −}
D) = Write 800 yen on card 1. first amount
D ₁ = 1000 yen is left as is.

The next time you insert card 1, the first amount D ₁
is 1000 yen and the second amount D ₂ is 800 yen, so the owned amount determining means 12 sets the smaller second amount D ₂ =800 yen as the current amount D _S and the first amount D ₁ =
Let 1000 yen be _DL . With this insertion, selling price D = 300
If you select a yen product, the new balance (D _S − D)
= 500 yen, and this amount is the first amount when the card is removed.
will be written instead of the amount D ₁ = 1000 yen. Therefore, the smaller of the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ recorded on the card 1 represents the remaining amount for the product purchase up to this time, and the larger one represents the remaining amount for the product purchase up to the previous time. It will represent.

The new balance (D _S -D) written on the card 1 is read out from the card 1 following the writing, and is compared with the new balance obtained by the subtraction means 15 by the written information identification means 18, If the two match, the item selected by the purchaser will be paid out, and the current sale will be completed when the item is paid out. The two do not match, for example, D ₁ = 500 yen,
A product with a selling price of D = 200 yen is selected when D ₂ = 700 yen, and the incorrect amount of 400 yen is added to the second amount D ₂ on card 1 as the new balance (D _S - D) instead of 700 yen. If it is different from the new balance = 300 yen written and obtained by the subtraction means 15, an error signal is written in the second amount _D2 , the selected product is not paid out, and the card 1 is Re-insertion is prompted by the display device 13. When the card 1 is reinserted, the owned amount determining means 12 selects the first amount D ₁ =500 yen without an error signal as the current remaining amount D _S in preference to determining the current remaining amount based on size comparison. If the purchaser selects the same product again, the new balance (D _S - D) = 300 yen will be written to the second amount D ₂ of Card 1 instead of the incorrect amount of 400 yen, and the amount will be corrected to the correct amount. be done.

If the sales price D of the product exceeds the current balance on the card 1, the subtraction command i is not given to the subtraction means 15, an insufficient amount is displayed on the display device 13, and the subsequent sales operation is stopped.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the magnetic card used in the present invention, the feature of which is that the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ are recorded on a single track 21. FIG. The first amount D ₁ is stored in the recording area A, and the second
The amounts _D2 are respectively recorded in the recording area B. In addition,
W is a write head and R is a read head.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate the same parts.

In the figure, 30 is a microcomputer that includes a CPU 301 and a control program.
It has a ROM 302, a RAM 303 for data storage, an input port 304, and an output port 305. The input port 304 has a readout circuit 6 and a product selection button 2.
0 is connected, so that the recorded contents of the card 1 and the product selection signal are given to the microcomputer 30. The output port 305 has a writing circuit 5, a display device 13, and a product dispensing device 19.
is connected, and writing to the card 1, product payout, and display are performed.

In the state of waiting for card acceptance, a card insertion instruction is displayed on the display device 13 (step 40), and when the purchaser inserts card 1 into the card slot of the vending machine according to this display, when the purchaser inserts card 1, The first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ , judgment data for determining the suitability of the inserted card, and an error signal (if any) are taken into the microcomputer 30 through the reading circuit 6 (step 41 ) Then, based on the judgment data, it is determined whether the inserted card is appropriate (step 42) and whether or not there is an error signal is determined (step 43).

If the card is valid and there is no error signal, step 43 enters step 44, where the current balance D _S of card 1 is determined. If the first amount D ₁ > the second amount D ₂ , the smaller second amount D ₂ is the current balance D _S , and the larger first amount D ₁ is the new balance (D _S - D ) as the amount D _L (step 45). If the first amount D ₁ < the second amount D ₂ , the smaller first amount D ₁ is the current balance D _S
and the larger second amount D ₂ is the new balance (D _S −
Let the amount D _L be rewritten to D) (step
46). At the beginning of use, when the first amount D ₁ and the second amount D ₂ are equal, the first amount D ₁ is the current balance D _S , and the second amount D ₂ is the new balance (D _S - D). Let the amount to be rewritten be D _L (step 47).

Next, a product selection instruction is displayed on the display device 13 (step 48), and the process waits for the sales price D to be accepted. When the purchaser selects the purchased product using the product selection button 20 in accordance with the product selection instruction displayed, the sales price D corresponding to the selected product is given, and the new balance (D _S −D) is calculated (step 49). Next, step 50 is entered, and it is determined whether the current balance D _S ≧Sales price D is satisfied. When this is satisfied, step 51 is entered, and a card removal display is displayed on the display device 13.

When the purchaser removes card 1 according to the card removal display, the new balance (D _S - D)
The new balance (D _S - D) in step 49 is written to card 1 instead of the first or second amount D ₁ , D ₂ which was rewritten as the amount D _L (step
52). Write the new balance (D _S - D) on card 1.
(Step 53) and compared with the new balance (D _S -D) obtained in Step 49 (Step 54), and if the new balance is accurately written, the selected product is paid out. (Step 55).

If the card is determined to be inappropriate in step 42,
Step 56 is entered, a message indicating that the card is inappropriate is displayed on the display device 13, and the above-mentioned selling operation is not performed. If it is determined in step 50 that the amount is insufficient, step 57 is entered and the display device 13
The amount of money is insufficient is displayed and the above-mentioned sales operation is stopped.

If it is determined in step 54 that there is an error in writing the new balance, the writing circuit 5 is activated when the card is removed.
An error signal is written via (step 58). Next, a message to reinsert the card is displayed on the display device 13 (step 59), and reinsertion of the card 1 is prompted. When card 1 is reinserted, step 60 is entered via steps 41, 42, and 43, and the amount with no error signal of the first or second amount D ₁ or D ₂ is set as the current balance D _S The above-mentioned sales operation is performed with the signaled amount as the amount D _L to be rewritten into the new balance (D _S -D).

In the embodiments described above, the case where a magnetic card is used has been explained, but other cards, e.g.
The present invention can also be applied to IC cards and leather cards.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the card balance for the current product purchase and the card balance for the previous product purchase are recorded on the card, and if an error occurs in writing the balance, the purchased product If the payment is not made, the balance from the previous product purchase is used as the amount owned by the card, so it is possible to match the amount of purchased products already paid and the amount owned by the card. Since the erroneous balance is updated to a new balance the next time a product is purchased, errors in update records can be automatically resolved, making this prepayment card effective for accurately recording balances and preventing financial troubles. It is possible to provide an automatic sales method by

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a magnetic card applied to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a magnetic card applied to the present invention. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of FIG. 4. 1: Magnetic card, 10: Reading means, 12: Owned amount determining means, 14: Sales enablement control means, 1
5: subtraction means, 16: writing means, 17: product selection means, 18: written information identification means, 19: product dispensing device, 20: product selection button, 30: microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The first amount D ₁ , the second amount D ₂ , and each amount D ₁ ,
an error signal indicative of a write error of D ₂ , and the first and second amounts D ₁ ,
D ₂ is a method of selling products through a vending machine using a prepaid card with the same predetermined amount written as the initial amount, and when the card is inserted into the vending machine, the Read the contents and read the first and second
If the amounts D ₁ and D ₂ are the same amount, one of the predetermined amounts is set as the current balance D _S and the read first amount is
If the second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ are different from each other, the smaller of the first and second amounts D ₁ and D ₂ is set as the current balance _DS , and purchases are made from this current balance _DS. The new balance (D _S - D) is obtained by subtracting the selling price D of the product selected by the person, and when the card is removed from the vending machine, the new balance (D _S - D) is set as the current balance D _S. By writing on the card in place of the first or second amount D ₁ , D ₂ that was not used this time, the first and second amounts of the card
The smaller of the amounts D ₁ and D ₂ represents the remaining amount for the product purchase up to this time, and the larger amount represents the remaining amount for the product purchase up to the previous time. When the card is removed, the new balance (D _S -D) is written to the card, the new balance (D _S -D) is read from the card, and the new balance (D _{S -D)} is read out from the card.
- If there is no error in D), the product selected by the purchaser will be paid out, and the new balance read out (D _S
-D), an error signal is written in the first or second amount D ₁ or D ₂ to which the new balance (D _S -D) has been written, without disbursing the product, and the card is replaced. At the next insertion, the first or second amount D ₁ , D ₂ without an error signal is added to the current balance
A first or second amount D ₁ which is preferentially adopted as D _S and has an error signal when the card is removed;
D ₂ and new balance (D _S - D) in place of error signal
is written on the card.