JPS61221991A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a vending machine for merchandise that can accept both coins and price information recording cards.

(Prior Art) In recent years, vending machines have flooded the streets, and recently there has been a general trend towards dual-purpose machines that can be used not only for coins but also for monetary information recording cards (hereinafter referred to as cards).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the conventional coin and card machine. As shown in the figure, a conventional dual-purpose machine has a main unit of the vending machine (hereinafter referred to as the main unit) H, a coin processing device,
and a card processing device C, and signals such as amount data and product price data are sent and received between the card processing device C and the coin processing device, and a sales enable signal a1 sales is sent to and received from the main device H. The start signal b1 selection signal C is sent and received only from the coin processing device K. In other words, a vending machine configured to compare the total amount of coins inserted, the amount on the card, and the price of the product to determine whether the product can be sold is described in detail in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 117692/1983. ing.

Note that the card processing device C outputs the voice data of the card to the card identification section 1, the card control section 2, and the coin processing device K, which read or write the amount information written on the card. , or a card calculation/comparison unit 3 for calculating the difference between the amount data and the product price, and a signal converter 4 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the coin processing device.

The coin processing device also includes a coin verification section 5 for determining the type of coins inserted, a price setting section 6 for setting the product price, and a sellable signal a when the total amount of inserted coins exceeds the product price. an arithmetic control unit 7 that outputs product price data to the card processing device C when the product is output or carried out; an input/output circuit 8 that sends and receives signals to and from the main unit H; and an input/output circuit 8 that sends and receives signals to and from the card processing device C. and a change dispensing unit 1O that dispenses the difference between the total amount of coins inserted and the product price as change when the product is taken out.

Furthermore, when the product selection switch 11, the product delivery unit 12, and the coin processing device K output the sellable signal a, the main unit H drives the product delivery unit 12 when the product selection switch 11 is pressed, and A relay control section 13 is provided which outputs a selection signal C when a sales start signal is sent to the coin processing device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The conventional vending machine described above requires a signal-to-converter 9 in the coin processing device K in order to send and receive signals to and from the card processing device C. It was also necessary to add a function to the control section 7 to distinguish and determine whether a card or a coin is used. Therefore, when configuring a machine that handles both coins and cards, a conventional coin processing device dedicated to coins cannot be used in combination with card processing device C as is, and a coin processing device with new functions is used. This was inconvenient and uneconomical.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned actual situation of conventional vending machines. A card processing device including a control unit, a price setting unit for sales products, a card calculation and comparison unit that sends out a sellable signal, and an input coin verification unit, a product price setting unit, and a calculation control unit that outputs a sellable signal. and a relay control unit that drives a product delivery mechanism by driving a product selection switch when a sell enable signal is output from the card processing device or the coin processing device. In a vending machine consisting of a machine main body, a sales enable signal from the card processing device and a sales enable signal from the coin processing device are sent to a relay control unit of the vending machine main body using the same signal line. The above-mentioned problem is solved by configuring the device to do so.

(Function) With the above configuration, the transmission and reception of signals between the card processing device C and the coin processing device is eliminated, and the coin processing device K is provided with a signal converter for the card processing device C and a judgment function regarding the card. Since this is not necessary, by simply using the conventional coin processing device K and simply adding the card processing device C, it becomes easy to construct a dual-purpose vending machine that can be used for both cards and coins.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same functions as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the present invention, the sellable signal a output from the card processing device C' and the sellable signal a output from the coin processing device K are transmitted to the relay control unit 13 of the main unit H through the same signal line g. , the card processing device C and the coin processing device are characterized by a structure in which no signals are exchanged between them.

FIG. 2 is a time chart of the operation of the card processing device C', and the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be explained with reference to this chart.

First, a customer inserts a card into an insertion slot (not shown) of card processing device C'. The card identification section 1 reads the information recorded on the card, and the amount data is sent to the arithmetic comparison section 3. The arithmetic comparison section 3 compares the amount data of the card with the product price of the price setting section 6, and if the amount data is larger, outputs a sellable signal a to the relay control section 13 of the main unit H through the input/output circuit 14. (Figure 2 ←)).

If there are a plurality of product prices, the comparison between the amount data and the product price is repeated and a plurality of sellable signals a are output.

First, when the customer presses the selection switch 11 for the desired product (FIG. 2 (c)), the relay control section 13 activates the product delivery section 12.
is driven to carry out the corresponding product. At the same time, the relay control section 13 outputs a sales start signal and a selection signal C to the card processing device C' (FIG. 2(E)). The arithmetic comparison unit 3 of the card processing device C' thereby calculates the difference between the card price data and the price of the selected product. This difference data is conversely sent to the card control unit 2, where the card controller 2 erases the original amount data and writes the difference data as new amount data on the card (see Fig. 2). Controls the identification unit 1.

In this way, each time a product is purchased, the amount written on the card is updated, and as long as the amount data exceeds the product price, the sellable signal a is output again. When the customer wishes to stop purchasing the product, the card is returned to the customer by pressing a return switch (not shown) (FIG. 2 (G)).

FIG. 3 shows the input/output circuit 14 of the card processing device C', the input/output circuit 8 of the coin processing device, and the relay control section 1 of the main device H.
3 shows an example where there are 3 products.Therefore, there are 3 signals for both sellable signal a1 and selection signal C, and these are a l t a 2 t
IL 3 and cl, e2. Indicated by c3.

First, in card processing device C', relay R(i)
(However, i=1 + 2 e 3 ) is calculated by the calculation comparison unit 3
This is a relay for sending the sales ready signal (i) from the main unit H to the main unit H. When this is connected, the relay R(j) of the main unit H is connected by the contact r(i) (where j = 4, 5, 6)
(i) is sent to , and at that time, selection switch 5W(i
) is pressed, the corresponding 1 of the above relay R(j)
is switched to the N and O contact sides, and at the same time, the solenoid 5(1) for carrying out the product is turned on, and the product is carried out. At the same time, the sales start signal relay Rb is turned off, and the contacts rb are switched to the n and c sides to output the sales start signal, and at the same time, the selection signal c (i) is output.

When purchasing a product with a card, the sellable signal a enters the input circuit consisting of the photocoupler pb, diode Db, and resistor Tb of the card processing device C', and the selection signal C(
i) is input to an input circuit composed of a photocoupler P(i), a diode D(i), and a resistor T(i), and the entry on the card is updated.

In the coin processing device K, R'(i) is a sales output relay for sending the sales enable signal (i) output from the calculation control section 7 to the main unit H, and when it is turned on, the contact r'(
i) is closed and sends a sellable signal (i) to the main unit H through the same signal line as the card processing device C'.

The subsequent operation is similar to that of the card processing device C' described above.

When coins are used, a sales start signal is sent to the coin processing device using photocagraph p'b, diode D'(i), and resistor T.
'b, and the selection signal c(i) is input to the input/output circuit composed of photocoupler P'(I) and diode D.
'(i), resistor T'(i) functions to pay out the difference between the total amount of coins inputted into the input/output circuit and the product price as change.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, the present invention has a simple configuration and can be used for both cards and coins by combining a card processing device without changing the conventional coin processing device and vending machine main unit. Since this type of vending machine is configured as a vending machine, it can be implemented as a vending machine that can be used for both cards and coins, which will become increasingly common in the future.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the configuration of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a time chart thereof, Fig. 3 is a connection diagram of the main parts of Fig. 1,
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional vending machine. H... Vending machine main unit, K... Coin processing device,
C, C'... Card processing device, 1... Card identification section, 2... Card control section, 3... Arithmetic comparison section, 4, 9
. . . Signal converter, 6 . Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] a card identification and control section for recording and writing information such as amount between the amount information recording card; and a price setting section for sales products;
a card processing device including a card calculation and comparison unit that sends out a sellable signal; a coin processing device that includes an input coin verification unit, a product price setting unit, and a calculation control unit that outputs a sellable signal; A vending machine comprising: a vending machine main body including a relay control unit that drives a product delivery mechanism by driving a product selection switch when a vendable signal is output from the card processing device or the coin processing device; The vending machine is characterized in that the vending machine is configured to send a sellable signal from the card processing device and a vendable signal from the coin processing device to a relay control unit of the vending machine main body using the same signal line. vending machine.