Vending machine

Abstract

To reduce manufacturing costs while providing various value-added services.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a vending machine 10 that comprises a main control unit 10a which controls vending of articles, and the vending machine also comprises an information terminal 14 which is communicably connected to the main control unit 10a, and sets reception addressee information included in data as transmission addressee information according to previously set conditions when receiving the data from the main control unit 10a and also sends the data out to external equipment 20 corresponding to the set transmission addressee information. The information terminal 14 has conversion information 143a in which the reception addressee information given by the main control unit 10a and the transmission addressee information that the information terminal 14 can send out are related to each other, and it is preferable that the transmission addressee information be set based upon the reception addressee information and the conversion information 143a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vending machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a vending machine that transmits various information such as sales to an external device called a weighing server. In response to a request from the external device, this vending machine transmits various information to the external device via a modem connected to a main control unit via an interface conforming to the RS232C standard (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-228206 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, there has been a demand for vending machines to provide various value-added services, which requires the vending machines to connect to external devices such as various servers via a network. This requires the vending machines to establish new communication connections corresponding to the value-added services they provide, which results in an increase in the number of components and leads to an increase in manufacturing costs.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can reduce manufacturing costs while making it possible to provide various value-added services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine of the present invention is a vending machine equipped with a main control unit that controls the sale of products, and is characterized by having an information terminal that is communicatively connected to the main control unit and that, when data is received from the main control unit, sets the receiving destination information included in the data as sending destination information in accordance with preset conditions and sends the data to an external device corresponding to the set sending destination information.

[0007] The present invention is also characterized in that, in the above-mentioned vending machine, the information terminal has conversion information that associates the receiving destination information provided by the main control unit with sending destination information that the information terminal can send, and sets the sending destination information from the receiving destination information and the conversion information.

[0008] Furthermore, in the vending machine according to the present invention, the information terminal is connected to the main control unit via USB communication. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, when an information terminal communicatively connected to the main control unit receives data from the main control unit, it sets the receiving destination information included in the data as sending destination information in accordance with preset conditions and sends the data to an external device corresponding to the set sending destination information, thereby enabling connection to multiple external devices that provide various value-added services and enabling the aggregation of communications between the main control unit and the information terminal, thereby achieving the effects of reducing manufacturing costs while enabling the provision of various value-added services. Furthermore, even if the destination information of an external device is changed, the setting of the information terminal rather than the main control unit needs to be changed, so that the setting can be easily changed from the external device via a network without changing the main control unit, which has different setting means depending on the manufacturer and model, achieving the effects of reducing the cost required for setting changes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents executed by the information terminal shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine 10 shown here sells beverages in containers such as cans or plastic bottles, and although not shown in the figure, it includes a main cabinet and a front door.

[0013] The main cabinet is a rectangular, insulated enclosure with an opening on the front. Inside, multiple product storage racks are installed, and columns are set up for these product storage racks. A column is a storage unit that stores the same type of product, and one or more product storage racks are installed depending on the products to be sold.

[0014] The front door is an insulated door that is swingably mounted on the main cabinet to open and close the opening at the front of the main cabinet. This front door is provided with product selection buttons, a coin slot, and a product removal port. The product selection buttons are a selection means for selecting a product and are provided corresponding to product samples. The coin slot is an insertion port for coins or other currency. The product removal port is an opening for removing products carried out from inside the main cabinet and can be opened and closed by the product removal door.

[0015] The vending machine 10 has a main control unit 10a, to which a cooling device 11, a dispensing device 12, a money processing device 13, and an information terminal 14 are connected.

[0016] The main control unit 10a comprehensively controls the operations of each unit of the vending machine 10 in accordance with programs and data stored in a storage unit (not shown).

[0017] The cooling device 11 is used to maintain the products stored in the product storage rack at a set temperature. The cooling device 11 cools the products stored in the product storage rack that has been set to be cooled, and heats the products stored in the product storage rack that has been set to be heated.

[0018] A carry-out device 12 is provided for each column in the product storage rack. When a carry-out command is given from the main control unit 10a, this carry-out device 12 carries out the product at the most downstream position of the corresponding column, and makes the carried-out product available for removal through the product removal port.

[0019] The money processing device 13 is, for example, what is called a coin mechanism or a bill validator, and processes deposits and withdrawals of money inserted through a money insertion slot.

[0020] The information terminal 14 is connected to the main control unit 10a via USB (Universal Serial Bus) communication 15, and includes a communication unit 141 and a destination information setting unit 142. The communication unit 141 includes an internal communication processing unit 141a and an external communication processing unit 141b.

[0021] The internal communication processing unit 141a is a communication interface that performs communication such as sending and receiving data with the main control unit 10a. The external communication processing unit 141b is a communication interface that connects to an external device 20 such as a server via a network N such as the Internet using a communication method such as LTE (registered trademark).

[0022] The destination information setting unit 142 sets the sending destination information from the receiving destination information such as the IP address included in the data provided from the main control unit 10a through the internal communication processing unit 141a and the conversion information 143a stored in the terminal memory unit 143.

[0023] Here, the conversion information 143a stored in the terminal storage unit 143 is a table in which receiving destination information provided by the main control unit 10a is associated with sending destination information to which the information terminal 14 can send, and is determined in advance depending on the applicable value-added services. Note that in the conversion information 143a, the receiving destination information and the sending destination information may differ, but the receiving destination information and the sending destination information may also match.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing carried out by the information terminal 14 shown in Fig. 1. The operation of the vending machine 10 will be described while explaining this processing.

[0025] The information terminal 14 determines whether or not there is a request for various information such as sales information and sold-out information (hereinafter also referred to as sales information, etc.) from the external device 20 via the external communication processing unit 141b (step S101). If there is no request for sales information, etc. (step S101: No), this process is repeated.

[0026] On the other hand, if there is a request for sales information or the like (step S101: Yes), the information terminal 14 requests the sales information or the like from the main control unit 10a through the internal communication processing unit 141a (step S102), and waits to receive the sales information or the like from the main control unit 10a (step S103). Note that various types of information may be received by the information terminal 14 making a request through the external communication processing unit 141b, or may be received through the internal communication processing unit 141a without a request from the main control unit 10a.

[0027] When sales information or the like is received from the main control unit 10a via the internal communication processing unit 141a (step S103: Yes), the information terminal 14 sets destination information via the destination information setting unit 142 (step S104). More specifically, the information terminal 14 reads out the conversion information 143a from the terminal storage unit 143 via the destination information setting unit 142, and sets the sending destination information from the receiving destination information received simultaneously with the sales information or the like received in step S103 and the conversion information 143a. The receiving destination information may be composed of one piece of information such as an IP address, or may be composed of two pieces of information such as an IP address and a port number.

[0028] The information terminal 14, which has set the transmission destination information in the destination information setting unit 142 in this manner, sends sales information, etc. to the target external device 20 via the external communication processing unit 141b (step S105), and then terminates this processing.

[0029] As described above, according to the vending machine 10 embodying the present invention, when the information terminal 14, which is communicatively connected to the main control unit 10a via USB communication 15 or the like, receives data from the main control unit 10a, it sets transmission destination information based on the reception destination information included in the data and the conversion information 143a stored in the terminal storage unit 143, and sends the data to the external device 20 corresponding to the set transmission destination information, thereby enabling connection to multiple external devices 20, such as servers that provide various value-added services, and enabling the aggregation of communications between the main control unit 10a and the information terminal 14. This makes it possible to provide various value-added services while reducing manufacturing costs.

[0030] According to the above-described vending machine 10, when connecting to multiple external devices 20, it is only necessary to change the conversion information 143a stored in the information terminal 14 (terminal storage unit 143), and there is no need to change the main control unit 10a, etc. Therefore, it is easy to increase the number of value-added services, etc.

[0031] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications can be made.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the information terminal 14 sets the sending destination information from the receiving destination information and the conversion information 143a, but in the present invention, the form is not particularly limited as long as the sending destination information can be set from the receiving destination information in accordance with the preset conditions.

[0033] The components in the above embodiments are merely functional schematics and are not necessarily physically configured as shown in the drawings. In other words, the distribution and integration of each device and configuration data is not limited to that shown in the drawings, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various usage situations, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10...vending machine, 10a...main control unit, 11...refrigeration device, 12...dispensing device, 13...money processing device, 14...information terminal, 141...communication unit, 141a...internal communication processing unit, 141b...external communication processing unit, 142...destination information setting unit, 143...terminal memory unit, 143a...conversion information, 20...external device, N...network.

Claims

1. A vending machine equipped with a main control unit that controls the sale of products, a data terminal that is communicatively connected to the main control unit and that, when data is received from the main control unit, sets the receiving destination information included in the data as sending destination information in accordance with preset conditions, and sends the data to an external device that corresponds to the set sending destination information.

2. The vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the information terminal has conversion information that associates the receiving destination information provided by the main control unit with sending destination information that the information terminal can send, and sets the sending destination information from the receiving destination information and the conversion information.

3. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal is connected to the main control unit via USB communication.

Images