JPH05114073A - Vending information managing device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sales information managing device for an automatic vending machine(AVM) which can inform a center device of stock information before selling out all commodities. CONSTITUTION:The sales information managing device is constituted of a communication line network 2 connected to plural AVMs 1a to 1c, the center device 3 for managing the sales information of the AVMs 1a to 1c connected to the network 2, a main control part 4a for controlling the whole AVMs by inplem enting money detection and selection, commodity sales control and storage of sales information, etc., of the respective AVM 1a, etc., a stock storage means 6 connected to the main control part 4a to store the stock of commodities, a reference storing means 8 for storing the reference number of commodities and the reference stock of each commodity sort which are used for references for informing the center 3 of the decrease of the stock from the AVM 1a, a sales information communicating means 5a for transmitting/receiving the sales information of the AVM 1a to/from the center device 3 through the network 2, and an operation control part 7 connected to the main control part 4a and the means 8, and 5a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sales information management apparatus for connecting a communication line network to a plurality of vending machines and a center apparatus, and managing the sales information of the vending machines by the center apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various proposals have been made for using a public communication line for managing sales information of vending machines (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-159787).

An example of a conventional sales information management device for a vending machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional sales information management device for an automatic vending machine. In FIG. 4, 1
a, 1b, 1c are vending machines, and 2 is a vending machine 1
A communication line network 3 connected to a, 1b and 1c is a center device connected to the vending machines 1a, 1b and 1c through the communication line network 2. Reference numeral 4 is a main control unit for controlling the entire vending machine such as currency detection / sorting, product sale control, sale information storage, etc., which is connected to the communication network 2 through a sale information communication means 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes an inventory quantity storage means that is connected to the main control unit 4 and stores the inventory quantity of products.

The operation of the vending machine sales information management apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

[0006] The main control unit 4 controls all product sales operations as an automatic vending machine, and the main control unit 4 rewrites the data in the stock amount storage means 6 for each product sales and manages other sales information. To do. In the center device 3, the vending machine 1a,
When collecting the sales information of 1b and 1c, the information is transmitted from the center device 3. Then, through the communication network 2,
The relevant vending machine 1a receives the information through the sales information communication means 5. The main control unit 4 outputs the data stored in the inventory amount storage unit 6 and other sales information to the sales information communication unit 5. The output data is transmitted to the center device 3 by the communication line network 2, and the sales information is aggregated by the center device 3. In the center device 3, it is possible to know the inventory quantity of the product of the corresponding vending machine from the received inventory quantity data.

[0007]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when the center device 3 becomes aware of the product inventory of the vending machine 1a, the number of products has already decreased and the product sales opportunity is lost. Had.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and provides a sales information management device for an automatic vending machine, which can notify the center device from the automatic vending machine when the stock quantity of the product becomes small. ..

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, a vending machine sales information management device of the present invention comprises a plurality of vending machines and a communication network connected to the plurality of vending machines. A central device connected to the communication network for managing sales information of the vending machine, and a main control unit for controlling the entire vending machine such as currency detection and sorting, product sales control, sales information storage, etc. And an inventory quantity storage means connected to the main control unit for storing the inventory quantity of the article, and a reference article number and a reference inventory quantity for each article which serve as a reference to inform the center device from the vending machine of the decrease of the inventory quantity. Standard storage means, sales information communication means for transmitting and receiving vending machine sales information to and from the center device through the communication network, the main control section, the standard storage means, and the sales information communication means. Connected to An arithmetic control unit, wherein the arithmetic control unit stores, in the reference storage unit, the reference number of products and the reference inventory amount transmitted from the center device through the communication line network and the sales information communication unit, Compared with the data of the inventory amount storage means sent from the main control unit for each sale, through the sales information communication means when the number of products whose inventory quantity reaches the standard inventory quantity reaches the standard inventory quantity It is composed of an arithmetic control unit for making a call to the center device.

Further, there is provided a standard setting means connected to the arithmetic and control unit for setting the standard number of products and the standard stock quantity, and the standard number of goods and the standard stock quantity set by the standard setting means are stored in the standard storage means. It has an arithmetic and control unit that operates.

[0011]

According to the present invention, if the standard inventory amount is set in the vending machine by the center device in advance, the number of products whose inventory amount reaches the standard inventory amount in the vending machine reaches the standard number of products. Then, the vending machine can notify the center device.

Further, by providing the standard setting means,
Each vending machine can set a more detailed and optimal standard inventory quantity for each product.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vending machine sales information management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The same configurations as those of the related art will be denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4a is a main control unit for controlling the entire vending machine such as currency detection / sorting, product sale control, sale information storage, etc., and is connected to the inventory quantity storage means 6.
Reference numeral 5a is a sales information communication means for transmitting and receiving the sales information of the vending machine to and from the center device 3 through the communication network 2. Reference numeral 7 is a calculation control unit connected to the main control unit 4a and the sales information communication unit 5a, and 8 is a calculation control unit 7 connected to the calculation control unit 7 and a reference number of products serving as a reference for notifying the center device 3 of a decrease in stock quantity. It is a reference storage means for storing the reference inventory quantity for each product.

The operation of the vending machine sales information management device configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the arithmetic control unit 7.

In advance, the center device 3 causes the vending machine to transmit the standard inventory data for each product and the standard number of products for notifying the decrease of the product inventory quantity to the vending machine 1a. The transmitted data is transmitted to the sales information communication means 5a of the corresponding vending machine through the communication network 2. When the sales information communication unit 5a receives the standard inventory quantity data and the standard commodity quantity for each product, it outputs the standard inventory quantity data and the standard commodity quantity to the arithmetic control unit 7. When the standard stock amount for each product is input to the arithmetic control unit 7 (STEP 1), the input standard stock amount is stored in the standard storage means 8 (STEP 2).
Further, when the standard number of products is input in the arithmetic control unit 7 (ST
EP3), and stores the input reference number of products in the reference storage means 8 (STEP4). In the main control unit 4a, each time the product is sold, the data in the inventory amount storage means 6 is rewritten to store the inventory amount, and the inventory amount is output to the arithmetic control unit 7. In the arithmetic control unit 7, when the product inventory amount is input from the main control unit 4a (ST
EP5), if the input product inventory amount is less than the product-specific reference inventory amount stored in the reference storage means 8 (STEP
6) Add the number of products (STEP 7). Arithmetic control unit 7
Will complete the inventory comparison of all products (STEP
8) When the number of products reaches the reference number of products stored in the reference storage unit 8 (STEP 9), the product inventory amount is output to the sales information communication unit 5a (STEP 10). The sales information communication unit 5a transmits the input product inventory amount data to the center device 3 through the communication line network 2.

In this way, in the center device 3, the number of products whose actual inventory quantity is less than the reference inventory quantity transmitted to the vending machine 1a in advance is the vending machine 1 in advance.
It can be confirmed if the number of products exceeds the reference number of products sent to a.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 7a is an arithmetic control unit connected to the main control unit 4a, the sales information communication unit 5a, and the connection unit 9, and 9 is connected to the arithmetic control unit 7 to set the standard number of products and the standard stock amount for each product. Is a standard setting means for.

The operation of the sales information management device for the vending machine constructed by adding the standard setting means 9 to the first embodiment as described above will be described in detail with respect to the operation part different from that of the first embodiment.

The standard inventory quantity data for each commodity for the vending machine to notify the decrease of the commodity inventory quantity from the center device 3 is preset by the standard setting means 9, and the arithmetic control section 7 is operated.
In a, when the standard stock amount is set, the set standard stock amount is stored in the standard storage means 8. Further, when the vending machine is previously set by the center device 3 to set the reference product number data for notifying the decrease of the product inventory quantity by the reference setting means 9, and the arithmetic control unit 7a sets the reference product number, the set reference value is set. The number of products is stored in the reference storage means 8. Then, based on the product inventory amount input from the main control unit 4a, it is determined whether or not to transmit the product inventory amount to the center device 3.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the vending machine 1a is provided with the standard number-of-commodity data and the standard inventory-quantity data for each product for the vending machine to inform the vending machine from the center device 3 beforehand. If it is transmitted, whether the product inventory amount is the same as the reference inventory amount for each product compared with the product inventory amount stored in the reference storage means in the arithmetic control unit 7 and input from the main control unit 4a for each product sale. When the small number of products reaches the standard number of products, the product inventory amount data is output to the sales information communication means 5a and transmitted to the center device 3 through the communication network 2 to reduce the inventory amount of the vending machine in the center device 3. You can check. Further, by providing the standard inventory amount setting means 9 in the vending machine, the standard inventory amount for each product and the standard number of products can be set in the vending machine, which is more suitable for each vending machine. It is possible to set various standard stock quantities.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of vending machines, a communication network connected to the plurality of vending machines, and sales information of the vending machines connected to the communication network are managed. The central device and the individual vending machines have a main control unit that controls the entire vending machine, such as currency detection and sorting, product sales control, and sales information storage, and an inventory quantity that is connected to the main control unit and stores the inventory quantity of products. A storage device, a reference storage device for storing a reference number of products and a reference inventory amount for each product, which serves as a reference for informing the center device of a decrease in stock amount from the vending machine, and the center device through the communication network for selling information of the vending machine. A sales information communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the central device, a communication control network connected to the reference inventory amount storage means, and a sales information communication means are provided, and the communication network from the center device to the sales information communication. Through means The number of standard products sent and the standard stock amount for each product are stored in the standard storage means, and compared with the data of the stock amount storage means sent from the main control unit for each sale of the product, the stock amount of the product is the standard stock amount. When the number of products reaches the standard number of products, the center device can confirm the decrease in the product inventory amount by calling the center through the sales information communication unit.

Further, by providing standard setting means connected to the arithmetic and control unit for setting the standard number of products and the standard stock amount for each product, the standard number of products and the standard stock amount for each product can be set by the vending machine. It is possible to realize an excellent vending machine sales information management device that can be set and can set a more optimal standard number of products and standard inventory quantity for each vending machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sales information management device for a vending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an arithmetic control unit of the sales information management device for the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a sales information management device for a vending machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional sales information management device for a vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b, 1c Vending machine 2 Communication line network 3 Center device 4a Main control unit 5a Sales information communication unit 6 Product inventory amount storage unit 7, 7a Calculation control unit 8 Reference storage unit 9 Reference setting unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sales information management system comprising a plurality of vending machines, a communication network connected to the plurality of vending machines, and a center device connected to the communication network for managing sales information of the vending machines. In the device, each vending machine has a main control unit that controls the entire vending machine, such as currency detection and sorting, product sales control, and sales information storage, and an inventory connected to the main control unit that stores the inventory quantity for each product. Quantity storage means, reference storage means for storing a reference number of products as a reference for notifying the center device of a decrease in stock amount from the vending machine, and reference stock amount for each product, and sales information of the vending machine It comprises a sales information communication means for transmitting and receiving to and from the center device through a communication network, a main control part, the reference storage means, and an arithmetic control part connected to the sales information communication means. Control The control unit stores, in the standard storage unit, the standard number of products and the standard inventory quantity transmitted from the center device through the communication line network and the sales information communication unit, and transmits the standard product for each sale of the product from the main control unit. Comparing with the data of the stock quantity storage means, the arithmetic control for transmitting to the center device through the sales information communication means when the quantity of goods whose quantity of goods reaches the standard quantity of stock reaches the quantity of standard goods Vending machine sales information management device with a department. 2. A standard setting means for setting a standard number of goods and a standard stock quantity connected to the arithmetic and control unit, wherein the standard number of goods and the standard stock quantity set by the standard setting means are stored in the standard memory. The sales information management device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the sales information management device is configured by an arithmetic control unit stored in the means.