JPH0997368A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To purchase a commodity without cash or a card and to select the commodity without pressing any commodity selection button. SOLUTION: Voice data that a customer speaks are inputted from a voice input device 3 and compared by a voice recognition device 2 with voice data for individual identification held in a voice data holding device 4 to identify the customer. Further, the voice recognition device 2 discriminates a commodity according to the voice data showing specific commodity which are inputted separately from a voice input device 3 and carries the commodity out by a vending mechanism controller 7. Then, a totalization device 9 records the customer identified by the voice recognition device 2 and the sale price of the carried- out commodity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine which enables merchandise to be purchased even without carrying cash or a card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a product is purchased at a vending machine, cash or a card is first put into the vending machine.
And after pressing the product selection button of the product you want to purchase,
Products are taken out from the product outlet.

[0003]

However, when the vending machine is installed in a company or the like, it is often the case that people change into uniforms and do not have cash or a card.
Even if the customer wants a drink or the like from the vending machine when he / she does not have cash or a card, he / she cannot purchase from the vending machine, which is inconvenient. There is also a problem that people who are short or who use a wheelchair or the like may not be able to purchase a product because the money slot and the product selection button are out of reach.

The present invention solves such a problem, and is suitable for being installed in a place where customers are limited, such as in a company or a hospital, and is suitable for purchasing a product without cash or a card. It is an object to provide a vending machine that can do this.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, in the vending machine of the present invention, voice input means for inputting a word uttered by a customer as voice data and voice data for holding voice data for personal identification. A holding unit, a voice recognition unit for identifying the customer individually by comparing the voice data input from the voice input unit with the data held in the voice data holding unit, and a product for outputting a product selection signal. The selection means, the sales mechanism control means for carrying out the product indicated by the selection signal, and the totaling means for recording the selling price of the carried-out product for each individual are included.

Further, the voice recognition means performs personal identification of the customer by comparing the voice data inputted from the voice input means with the data held in the voice data holding means, and the voice input means. Identify the product based on the voice data that indicates the specific product input from
The product selection signal is now output.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a main control device, 2 is a voice recognition device, 3 is a voice input device, 4 is a voice data holding device, 5 is a display device, 6 is a currency identification device, and 7 is a currency identification device.
Is a sales mechanism control device, 8 is a product selection control device, and 9 is a totaling device.

The main controller 1 comprehensively controls each part of the vending machine. The voice recognition device 2 performs personal identification of the customer based on the voice input from the voice input device 3. That is, the individual voice data of the customer (voice waveform, voice waveform when an ID number, etc. is said) is registered in the voice data holding device 4, and the voice data input from the voice input device 3 is compared. By doing so, the individual of the customer is identified. In that case, the voice data may be registered in the voice data holding device 4 by using the voice input device 3 or by transmitting the data collected by the external device to the vending machine.

The display device 5 displays the amount of money put in and whether or not it is in a sellable state. The currency identification device 6 is
In order to purchase the product even with cash, the money inserted into the vending machine is identified, and the result is notified to the main controller 1. Further, although not shown, if a card identification device is provided, it becomes possible to purchase a product by inserting a predetermined card without inserting money.

The sales mechanism control device 7 carries out the product designated by the product selection control device 8 for selecting the product with the product selection button according to a command from the main control device 1. Aggregator 9
After the product is shipped, the sales price of the product is accumulated and totaled for each individual. Then, afterwards, they are billed individually or debited from a bank account.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the first embodiment. Step 1 ... It is determined whether or not a voice is input from the voice input device 3. Step 2 ... If there is, it is determined whether or not the voice is the voice of the customer registered in the voice data holding device 4. Step 3 ... If there is no voice input in Step 1 or it is not the voice of the customer registered in Step 2,
It is determined whether or not a predetermined amount of money or more has been inserted into the currency identification device 6 (when a card identification device is provided, a predetermined card is inserted into the card identification device).

Step 4 ... If there is insertion (or insertion), or if it is the voice of the customer registered in Step 2, it is determined whether or not the product selection button has been pressed. Step 5: When pressed, the sales mechanism control device 7 is instructed to carry out the corresponding product. Step 6 ... When the carry-out is completed, the selling operation is ended. Step 7 ... The price of the product delivered in Step 4 is added to the cumulative sales amount of the customers who have sold, and totaling is performed.

This embodiment is suitable for a vending machine installed in a place where the number of purchasers is limited, such as in a company or a hospital, and the employees and patients there always have cash and cards. Even if you do not have it, you will be able to purchase the desired product at any time. The cumulative sales amount for each individual collected in step 6 will be billed later. In addition, you may make it possible to collectively withdraw from a bank account. With this arrangement, the cash dispenser and other devices that handle cash are eliminated from the vending machine, and financial troubles are eliminated. Furthermore, the totalizing device 9 may be used to display the cumulative sales amount of the person up to now on the display device 5 or the like in response to the request of each individual.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of the second embodiment. The reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. Compared to that of FIG. 1, the product selection control device 8
The difference is that is omitted. In this embodiment, both the purchaser's individual identification and product selection are performed by voice. The voice recognition device 2 also identifies the product that the customer desires to purchase, in addition to the individual identification of the customer in the first embodiment. That is, by receiving voice data indicating a specific product input by the customer through the voice input device 3 such as a microphone and comparing the voice data with the voice data registered in the voice data holding device 4, the customer's request The product is identified, and the result is notified to the main controller 1. that time,
You may ask the customer to tell you the product name, or for easier identification, give the product a simple number such as 1, 2, ... May be.

As for the processing procedure, step 4 in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is changed as shown in FIG. Here, only steps 4-1 and 4-2 of the changed portion will be described. Step 4-1: It is determined whether or not a voice for designating a desired product for purchase has been input from the voice input device 3. Step 4-2 ... If there is, it is determined whether or not the product is registered in the voice data holding device 4.

In the above procedure, if the registered product cannot be identified no matter how many times the voice is input,
Processing may stop here. Therefore, if the registered product cannot be identified even if the voice is input a predetermined number of times or more, the process may be canceled and the initial state may be restored. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the selling price of the sold product is summed up for each individual by the totaling device 9 every time the product is sold, but the sold price is not recorded but is simply recorded. Alternatively, the data may be retrieved later and tabulated separately.

[0018]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, the customer can be identified based on the voice uttered by the customer, so that the purchaser can be limited within the company or hospital. If you are installed in such a place, you can purchase goods without cash or a card. Moreover, since the product is identified based on the voice uttered by the customer, the product to be purchased can be selected without the trouble of pressing the product selection button. Furthermore, it becomes possible to purchase a product even when a person who is short or uses a wheelchair cannot reach the money slot or the product selection button.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart of a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main control device 2 voice recognition device 3 voice input device 4 voice data holding device 5 display device 6 currency identification device 7 sales mechanism control device 8 product selection control device 9 totaling device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A voice input means for inputting a voice uttered by a customer as voice data, a voice data holding means for holding voice data for personal identification, a voice data input from the voice input means, and a voice data holding means. Voice recognition means for personally identifying the customer by comparing with the data held in, product selection means for outputting a product selection signal, sales mechanism control means for carrying out the product indicated by the selection signal, An automatic vending machine, characterized by having an aggregating means for recording the selling price of the delivered goods for each individual. 2. The voice recognition means performs personal identification of a customer by comparing the voice data input from the voice input means with the data held in the voice data holding means, and the voice input means. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the product is identified based on voice data indicating a specific product input from the product, and a product selection signal is output.