KR20030096907A - vending machine providing internet information service in reward for purchase and a method for providing internet information service using the same vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The vending machine according to the present invention is an advertisement provided through the Internet together with a product selection unit for displaying a product to be sold and selecting a desired product, a payment processing unit for paying a product purchase price, and a product discharge unit for discharging the paid product. Or a display unit for displaying information, and when the vending machine is not in use, the display unit displays an advertisement provided through the Internet, and the product selection through the product selection unit and the payment for the purchase of the product through the payment processing unit are completed. If necessary, various information services are provided according to a user's selection through the display unit.

Description

Vending machine providing internet information service in reward for purchase and a method for providing internet information service using the same vending machine}

The present invention relates to a vending machine and a method of providing an internet information service using the same, and more particularly, to a vending machine capable of using internet information as a product is purchased using a vending machine and a method of providing an internet information service using the same. .

Vending machines are widely installed and used because of the advantages that the operator does not need a fixed manpower other than periodic management, and the convenience and anonymity can be guaranteed on the user side. Is getting. In addition, in recent years, the payment method of the vending machine is also expanded to credit cards, electronic money, etc. in addition to cash is expected to increase its use.

The general vending machine has a configuration as shown in FIG. 1. That is, the product selector 110 for displaying a product to be sold using the vending machine 100 and selecting a desired product, a payment processing unit 130 for paying the purchase price of the product, 140 and a credit card slot, 140: return and Change discharge unit) and the product discharge unit 120 for discharging the paid product.

The product selector 110 displays a product sold using a vending machine using a real product, a model, a photo, a picture, etc., displays a price of each product, and has a selection button for selecting a desired product. have.

The payment processing unit consists of a coin or bill slot, a credit card or electronic money slot 130, a return and change discharge 140, a receipt outlet (not shown) according to a payment method that can be processed by a vending machine. Can be.

The product discharge unit 120 discharges the product for use by the user when the selection and payment processing of the product is completed.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to promote the use of the vending machine by providing a variety of additional services, such as selling the product through the vending machine and providing information to the user of the vending machine via the Internet. It is to provide a vending machine that can obtain ancillary services according to the sale of goods and a method of providing Internet information service using the same.

1 is a view showing a vending machine according to the prior art.

2 is a view showing the appearance of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a view showing the overall network configuration of the vending machine management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vending machine management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, when a user completes a product selection and payment procedure, the user can use an information service through the Internet for a predetermined time using a computer screen and an operation unit provided in the vending machine.

That is, a vending machine that provides information service through the Internet as a reward for purchasing a product according to the present invention may display a display unit capable of displaying an advertisement or information provided through the Internet, display a sold product, and select a desired product. A product selection unit, a payment processing unit that pays for the purchase price of the product, and a product discharge unit that discharges the paid product, wherein the display unit displays an advertisement provided through the Internet while the vending machine is not in use. When the product selection through the unit and the product purchase price payment through the payment processing unit is completed, various information services are provided through the display unit according to the user's selection.

The apparatus may further include an output unit capable of printing the information screen provided through the display unit and providing the same to the user.

Internet information service providing method using a vending machine according to the present invention, a display unit for displaying the advertisement or information provided through the Internet, a product selection unit for displaying the products to be sold and select the desired product, product purchase price An internet information service providing method using a vending machine including a payment processing unit for paying and a product discharge unit for discharging a paid product, the method comprising: displaying an advertisement provided through the internet through the display unit, selecting a product through the product selection unit, and When the payment for the product purchase price through the payment processing unit is completed, the method may include providing various information services according to a user's selection for a predetermined first time.

Here, the vending machine further includes an output unit for printing the information screen provided through the display unit and providing the same to the user. After the providing of the information service, the vending machine can select whether to print the provided information. The method may further include displaying a screen and printing and providing the information provided through the display unit through the output unit as the user selects the printing of the information and pays a fee for printing.

Meanwhile, another method of providing an Internet information service according to the present invention includes a display unit capable of displaying an advertisement, a prize game, or information provided through the Internet, a product selection unit that displays a product to be sold and selects a desired product, and purchases a product An internet information service providing method using a vending machine including a payment processing unit for paying a price, a product discharge unit for discharging a paid product, and an output unit for outputting a prize exchange ticket, the display unit displaying an advertisement provided through the Internet When the selection of the product through the product selection unit and the payment of the purchase price of the product through the payment processing unit is completed, the display unit displays a prize lottery and information using menu, and a prize lottery through the display unit as the user selects a prize lottery menu. If you win by executing the prize exchange ticket through the output section And outputting, and a step of the user as the selected information using the menu through the display unit provides a variety of information services in accordance with the selected user for a predetermined first time.

Here, after the step of providing the information service, if the first time has elapsed, displaying a screen that allows the user to choose to stop or continue using the information, the user chooses to continue using the charges for continued use In accordance with the payment, the display unit may further include providing various information services according to a user's selection for a predetermined second time.

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

2 is a view schematically showing the appearance of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine 200 of the present invention displays a product to be sold and selects a desired product 210 to select a desired product, and a payment processor 230 to pay for a product purchase price. In addition to the card slot, 240: return and change change discharge unit) and the product discharge unit 220 for discharging the paid product is provided with a display unit 250 for displaying advertisements, prize games, Internet information.

The display unit 250 includes a touch screen and the like, and is connected to the Internet through a computer (not shown in FIG. 2) installed in the vending machine 200, and displays an advertisement when the vending machine does not operate. Depending on the operation, it provides a function to display various information such as prize games, stocks, weather, sports, and news.

An internal configuration of the vending machine will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vending machine 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention is largely composed of a vending machine 320 and a computer 310 for providing an additional service. Vending unit 320 is configured in a form similar to the configuration of the vending machine according to the prior art. That is, the vending machine control unit 322 for controlling the entire process of the automatic sales, the selection operation unit 323 for operating the user to select the desired product, the payment process for the product purchase, that is, the input of money and discharge of change, credit card And / or a payment processing unit 324 which processes payment processing, return, etc. using a debit card, and a product discharge unit 325 which processes to discharge a product for which payment is completed.

On the other hand, the vending unit 320 is provided with a computer connection unit 321 for connecting to the additional service providing computer 310.

The additional service providing computer 310, which is provided to be connected to the computer connection unit 321 of the vending machine 320 through the vending machine connection unit 313, includes a CPU 312 in charge of central processing of the computer and a user of necessary information. Display unit 311 to be displayed for viewing, the Internet connection unit 314 in charge of access to the Internet, print out a prize ticket when the prize is won, or print out the contents if the user wants to output the necessary contents while using the information And an output unit 316 in charge of the memory and a memory 315 for storing necessary information.

The computer connection unit 321 of the vending machine 320 and the vending machine connection unit 313 of the computer 310 for providing an additional service may be connected to each other using an RS-232C protocol, and the like. It provides from the 320 to the additional service providing computer 310 and receives control information of the vending machine from the additional service providing computer 310 as needed.

The operation of the vending machine of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The vending machine of the present invention gives the user a chance to use the information and / or give a prize for a certain time as a reward for purchasing the product through the vending machine.

First, with reference to FIG. 4, the most basic use of information will be described.

If the vending machine is not in an operating state, an advertisement is displayed on the display unit 250 of the vending machine (S410). As will be described later, the advertisement displayed through the display unit is provided through the Internet, and the type, time, and content of the advertisement can be centrally managed through the Internet.

Next, when a user performs a payment procedure to purchase a product using a vending machine (S420), the user may select a desired product according to the paid amount (S430). The payment procedure may be performed by inputting real money such as coins and / or bills, or by using a credit card or electronic money. The payment and product selection process may be reversed. That is, the product may be selected after payment first, such as a general coffee or beverage vending machine, or the like, and the payment procedure may be selected after the product is first selected as in a subway ticket vending machine.

When the user's selection of the product is completed, the display unit 250 stops the advertisement and displays a screen for using various information services (S440). Information provided through the display unit is transmitted using the Internet, and the type of information provided may include various contents such as stocks, weather, exchange rates, sports, news, real estate, fortune telling, maps, and directions. The user can use the desired information for a certain time while operating through the touch screen. The information use time may use a predetermined value, which may be changed and managed through the Internet, and may be differently set according to the type of the product selected by the user. Providing an information access service is particularly advantageous in the case of vending machines that sell goods that take a certain time to provide goods. That is, in the case of a coffee vending machine, the user can efficiently use the waiting time by making the information available during the coffee dispensing time. However, the information usage time is not necessarily limited to until the product is discharged, and it is possible to use the predetermined time information even after the product is discharged as necessary. That is, the product desired by the user is discharged after the use of the information or during the use of the information (S450). For example, in the case of a coffee vending machine, the user can use the desired information while drinking the discharged coffee.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in addition to providing information, it is possible to provide an opportunity for a prize draw as a reward for purchasing a product. 5 shows a flow diagram of such a method.

When the vending machine is not in use, the advertisement is displayed (S510), the user pays the product price (S520), and the step of selecting the product (S530) is similar to the above-described embodiment. However, in this embodiment, after selecting a product, the display unit provides a screen through which a user can select a desired one among information use and prize draw (S540).

When the user selects to use the information, the process proceeds in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment (S550-> S590).

If the user selects a prize draw, a prize draw is performed (S560). Sweepstakes may be performed as soon as the user selects a sweepstakes if the sweepstakes are determined as a single product, and if the variety of prizes is provided, the user may select the sweepstakes desired. In the latter case, a screen for selecting a prize is provided to the user through the display unit, and a prize is selected after the prize is selected according to the user's operation.

The result of the lottery can be confirmed on the fly (S570), and when the result of the lottery, the prize is printed and provided to the user on the fly through the output unit 316 of the additional service providing computer 310 (S580). In this way, it is possible to provide various kinds of prizes in the prize game by printing and issuing a prize ticket with the output unit 316.

After the prize draw or the use of information is made, or the prize selected by the user with the prize draw or use of the information is discharged (S590).

On the other hand, if the user wants to continue using the information even after the elapsed time of using the information provided according to the product purchase. 6 shows a flow chart in this case. 6 shows only after the step of using information after product selection in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

That is, when the user is able to use the information as a reward according to the purchase of the product (S550), when the information use time elapses (S551), the embodiment shown in Figures 4 to 5 again to the advertising display screen (S510) However, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the user is provided with a screen for selecting whether to continue using the information (S552).

After the user chooses to continue using the information and pays for the use of the information (S553), the user can use the information again for a time corresponding to the paid cost (S554). That is, the user may continue to use the information without purchasing the product by paying a fee for using the information separately even after the use of the information provided as a reward for purchasing the product elapses.

In addition, the time or number of times information is available may be appropriately determined as necessary. In the case of a vending machine installed in a region where there is a high demand for information use, by facilitating the use of additional information, it is possible to secure profits from using the information in addition to selling the product through the vending machine. Locally, you can limit the time or number of times you use additional information to allow other users to purchase goods quickly.

In addition, if desired by the user, the information displayed while using the information may be output to the printer and provided to the user. In particular, the output service may be usefully used in the case of fortune-telling information or map information. FIG. 7 shows a flow chart in this case. As in FIG. 6, the flow chart shown in FIG. 4 or 5 shows only after the step of using information after product selection.

When the user is able to use the information as a reward according to the purchase of the product (S550), if the user wants to use the information by outputting the information displayed on the screen (S556), the user pays the cost according to the output ( S557), the desired information can be output and used (S558). If the information usage time has not elapsed even after outputting the information (S559), the information can continue to be used (S550). If the information usage time has elapsed, the display returns to the first advertisement display screen (S510).

For this purpose, an information output button is displayed on the information use screen displayed to the user, or in the case of information provided with an information output service (for example, fortune-telling or directions information), a dialog box is displayed asking the user whether or not to output the information. can do. The information output is performed using the output unit 316 of the computer 310 for providing an additional service of the vending machine 300. To this end, the output unit 316 is preferably a printer of a degree capable of printing on A5-A4 size paper.

On the other hand, such vending machines are connected to the Internet through the Internet connection 314 of the computer 310 for providing an additional service, and can be centrally managed by being connected to the vending machine management server through the Internet.

8 shows an overall system for managing connection of multiple vending machines via the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of vending machines 200_1, 200_2,..., 200_n are connected to the vending machine management server 900 via the Internet 800. The multiple vending machines 200_1, 200_2,..., 200_n need not belong to the same type or belong to the same operator. That is, vending machines of various operators of various types may be managed and operated by a single vending machine management server 900.

A more detailed configuration of the vending machine management server 900 is as shown in FIG. That is, the vending machine management server 900 has a web server 910 to which each vending machine 200_1, 200_2, ..., 200_n can be connected, and each vending machine 200_1, 200_2, ..., Vending machine DB (920) that stores information about 200_n), advertising DB (930) that stores advertisement information to be provided through the vending machine, and information that stores data about information services to be provided through the vending machine. The DB 940 includes a prize DB 950 that stores information on the prize draw provided through the vending machine.

Vending machine DB 920 stores the type of the vending machine, the owner, the installation area, the IP address of the vending machine, and other information specific to each vending machine. The advertisement DB 930 stores information such as the contents of the advertisement to be provided through each vending machine, the advertisement display time, the order, the type, and the like, and the information DB 940 displays the contents and the information to be provided through each vending machine. Information such as time (when the display time varies depending on the type of information) is stored. Prize DB 950 stores information such as the type of prize, the probability of winning, whether or not to win. Here, advertisement does not necessarily mean commercial advertisement, but should be understood in a broad sense including all contents such as public service advertisement or public relations.

In addition, information for managing the vending machines 200_1, 200_2, ..., 200_n itself, that is, inventory information of the vending machine, payment related information, and the like are stored in the vending machine management server 900, and the vending machine management server This can be managed through the 900. For example, when vending machine inventory information is managed by the vending machine management server 900, and the vending machine lacks inventory or change, the vending machine owner information stored in the vending machine DB 920 is used. Inventory management can be performed by providing an alarm to the owner of the vending machine, and the owner of the vending machine can access the vending machine management server 900 through a separate internet terminal to monitor the stock status of the vending machine. . In addition, in the case of using a credit card or electronic money in addition to the real currency as a payment method, a payment management server 900 may have a server for payment management to perform payment processing.

The advertisement is displayed through the display unit 250 of the vending machine 200. The vending machine management server 900 configured such that the additional service providing computer 310 in the vending machine 300 always provides an advertisement through the Internet. The method of displaying by accessing a specific web page operated by the web server 910 may be used. The vending machine management server 900 reads the information of the vending machine that is being connected through the vending machine DB 920 and displays a predetermined advertisement for the vending machine based on a predetermined interval, frequency, and the like.

When the user performs a payment procedure in order to purchase a product through the vending machine 300 in this advertisement display state, the result is transferred from the vending machine control unit 322 to the computer 310 for providing an additional service through the computer connection unit 321. And the additional service providing computer 310 transfers it back to the vending machine management server 900, thereby moving from the advertisement providing web page to the information providing web page or the prize drawing web page. The information provision and prize lottery process is performed through the user's input through the touch screen 311 and the interaction with the vending machine management server 900 accordingly.

On the other hand, the additional service providing computer 310 as described above can be used as it is a personal computer system commonly used, it is also possible to make a separate computer to be suitable for use in a vending machine. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, although the additional service providing computer 310 and the vending machine control unit 322 for controlling the vending function itself of the vending machine 300 are separately provided, the additional service providing computer 310 is provided. The entire system may be configured to perform the functions of the vending machine control unit 322 together.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and should be interpreted by the following claims. In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications or changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, by displaying an advertisement through a vending machine and allowing a certain amount of time information to be used as a reward for purchasing a product through the vending machine, or by providing an opportunity for a sweepstakes, the user can additionally benefit from the purchase of the product. Vending machine operators can expand their sales through vending machines.

Claims (6)

As a vending machine that provides information service through the Internet as a reward for purchasing products, A display unit for displaying advertisements or information provided through the Internet, Product selection section that displays the products to be sold and selects the desired products, A payment processor that pays for the purchase of goods, A product discharge unit for discharging the paid product, When the vending machine is not in use, the display unit displays an advertisement provided through the Internet. When the product selection through the product selection unit and payment of the product purchase price through the payment processing unit is completed, the vending machine to provide a variety of information services according to the user's selection through the display unit. The method of claim 1, And an output unit for printing the information screen provided through the display unit and providing the same to the user. A display unit for displaying advertisements or information provided through the Internet, a product selection unit for displaying a product to be sold and selecting a desired product, a payment processing unit for paying for the purchase of a product, and a product discharge unit for discharging a paid product As an Internet information service providing method using a vending machine, Displaying an advertisement provided through the Internet through the display unit; When the product selection through the product selection unit and payment of the product purchase price through the payment processing unit is completed, providing a variety of information services according to the user's selection for a predetermined first time through the display unit Internet using a vending machine How to Provide Information Services. The method of claim 2, The vending machine further includes an output unit capable of printing an information screen provided through the display unit and providing the same to a user. After the step of providing the information service, Displaying a screen to select whether to print the information provided; And printing the information provided through the display unit through the output unit and providing the information provided through the display unit as the user selects printing of the information and pays a fee according to the printing. A display unit that can display advertisements, prize games or information provided through the Internet, a product selection unit that displays the product to be sold and selects the desired product, a payment processing unit that pays for the purchase of the product, and a product that discharges the completed product An internet information service providing method using a vending machine including an output unit for outputting a discharge part and a prize exchange ticket, Displaying the advertisement provided by the display unit through the Internet; Displaying, by the display unit, a prize draw and an information use menu when product selection through a product selection unit and payment of a product purchase price through the payment processing unit are completed; As a user selects a prize lottery menu, executing a prize lottery through the display unit and outputting a prize exchange ticket through the output unit when the prize is won; And providing a variety of information services according to a user's selection for a predetermined first time through the display unit as the user selects an information use menu. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, After the step of providing the information service, If the first time elapses, displaying a screen for selecting to stop using the information or to continue using the information; Internet information service using a vending machine further comprising the step of providing a variety of information services according to the user's choice for a predetermined second time through the display unit as the user selects to continue using and pays a fee for continuing use. How to Provide.