Vending machine system

Abstract

To reduce the operational costs involved in delivering digital content.SOLUTION: A vending machine system 1 comprises: a vending machine control unit 11 provided in a vending machine 10 capable of selling electronic tickets as products; an information terminal 17 capable of communicating with the vending machine control unit 11 and with electronic ticket providing means 20 for providing electronic tickets; and a portable terminal 30 carried by a user who purchases products and capable of communicating with the information terminal 17 and the electronic ticket providing means 20. The information terminal 17 is installed in the vending machine 10. When product sales information indicating that an arbitrary electronic ticket has been selected and the payment has been completed is input from the vending machine control unit 11, the information terminal creates the corresponding electronic ticket and sends the ticket to the portable terminal 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In a conventional vending machine system for selling digital content, a user acquires a wallet code from a digital content platform via a network using a mobile device, and then inputs the wallet code into the target vending machine. The vending machine's control unit then transmits the digital content to the mobile device or the like in accordance with permission from the digital content platform, provided that the wallet code has been verified by the digital content platform (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7297276 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above vending machine system, the vending machine's control unit transmits digital content in response to verification and authorization from the digital content platform, which necessitates the development of dedicated software to operate the vending machine control unit. Because the software for the vending machine control unit differs for each model of vending machine, developing such dedicated software increases operational costs.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine system that can reduce the operating costs involved in sending digital content. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine system of the present invention comprises a vending machine control unit provided in a vending machine capable of selling digital content as a commodity; an information terminal capable of communicating with the vending machine control unit and capable of communicating with a digital content providing means that provides the digital content; and a mobile terminal carried by a user who purchases the commodity and capable of communicating with the information terminal and the digital content providing means, wherein the information terminal is provided in the vending machine, and when product sales information indicating that any digital content has been selected and paid for is input from the vending machine control unit, the information terminal creates the corresponding digital content and sends the digital content to the mobile terminal.

[0007] Furthermore, the vending machine system of the present invention comprises a vending machine control unit provided in a vending machine capable of selling digital content as a commodity; an information terminal capable of communicating with the vending machine control unit and capable of communicating with a digital content providing means that provides the digital content; and a portable terminal carried by a user who purchases the commodity and capable of communicating with the information terminal and the digital content providing means, wherein the information terminal is provided in the vending machine, and, on the condition that product selection information indicating that any digital content has been selected is input from the vending machine control unit, communicates with the digital content providing means to obtain the digital content, and then, on the condition that it is able to communicate with the portable terminal, generates a user authentication code from the identification information of the portable terminal and sends the user authentication code to the digital content providing means, and sends the digital content and the user authentication code to the portable terminal, and the vending machine control unit performs a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content, on the condition that the information terminal has sent the digital content.

[0008] The present invention is also characterized in that, in the above-mentioned vending machine system, the digital content providing means, when an inquiry about the use of the digital content is made from the mobile terminal, allows the use of the digital content on the condition that the user authentication code has been verified.

[0009] The present invention is also characterized in that in the above-mentioned vending machine system, if a predetermined connection time has elapsed without the information terminal being able to communicate with the mobile terminal, the vending machine control unit does not perform a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content.

[0010] Furthermore, in the vending machine system of the present invention, if the information terminal is unable to send the digital content to the portable terminal, it notifies the digital content providing means that the digital content will be returned.

[0011] The present invention is also characterized in that, in the above-mentioned vending machine system, the vending machine control unit does not perform a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content, provided that the information terminal has notified the user that the digital content will be returned.

[0012] Furthermore, in the present invention, in the vending machine system, the digital content is an electronic ticket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, when an information terminal installed in a vending machine together with a vending machine control unit inputs product sales information from the vending machine control unit indicating that any digital content has been selected and paid for, the information terminal creates the corresponding digital content and sends the digital content to the mobile terminal. This eliminates the need to develop dedicated software to enable the vending machine control unit to send digital content, thereby achieving the effect of reducing operational costs for sending digital content.

[0014] Furthermore, according to the present invention, an information terminal provided in the vending machine together with the vending machine control unit communicates with the digital content providing means to obtain the digital content, provided that product selection information indicating that any digital content has been selected is input from the vending machine control unit, and then, provided that communication with the mobile terminal is possible, generates a user authentication code from the identification information of the mobile terminal and transmits the user authentication code to the digital content providing means, and sends the digital content and the user authentication code to the mobile terminal. The vending machine control unit then subtracts the price of the selected digital content, provided that the information terminal has sent the digital content. This eliminates the need to develop dedicated software to enable the vending machine control unit to perform operations such as distributing digital content, and has the effect of reducing operating costs for sending digital content. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of a vending machine system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the details of the electronic ticket sending process performed by the information terminal shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of a vending machine system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the vending machine control unit in the digital content purchasing process in the vending machine system shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the information terminal control unit in the digital content purchasing process procedure in the vending machine system shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the management control unit in the digital content purchasing process in the vending machine system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a vending machine system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] <First Embodiment> 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic diagram of a control system of a vending machine system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine system 1 shown here is configured by connecting a vending machine 10, an electronic ticket providing means (digital content providing means) 20, and a mobile terminal 30 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0018] The vending machine 10 sells beverages in containers such as cans or PET bottles, and although not shown in the figures, it is equipped with a main cabinet and a front door. The main cabinet is a rectangular, insulated housing with an opening on the front. Inside the main cabinet, multiple product storage racks are provided, 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 provided depending on the products to be sold.

[0019] The front door is a heat-insulating door that is swingably mounted on the main cabinet to open and close the opening at the front of the main cabinet. The front door is provided with a product outlet. The product outlet is an opening for retrieving products carried out from inside the main cabinet, and can be opened and closed by the product outlet door.

[0020] The vending machine 10 has a vending machine control unit 11 to which a cooling device 13, a product selection unit 14, a delivery device 15, a payment unit 16, and an information terminal 17 are connected.

[0021] The vending machine control unit 11 controls the overall operation of each unit of the vending machine 10 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the vending machine storage unit 12.

[0022] The cooling device 13 is used to maintain the products stored in the product storage racks at a set temperature. The cooling device 13 cools products stored in product storage racks that are set to be cooled, and heats products stored in product storage racks that are set to be heated.

[0023] The product selection unit 14 is made up of multiple product selection buttons provided on the front door, and allows the user to select a product. When any of the product selection buttons is pressed, the product selection unit 14 sends a selection signal to the vending machine control unit 11.

[0024] A carry-out device 15 is provided for each column in the product storage rack. When a carry-out command is given from the vending machine control unit 11, this carry-out device 15 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 opening.

[0025] Although not shown in the figure, the settlement unit 16 is configured with a money processing device and a settlement terminal. The money processing device is, for example, a coin mechanism or a bill validator, and processes deposits and withdrawals of money inserted through the money insertion slot. The settlement terminal is provided on the front door and performs settlement processing by reading and writing information (electronic money) from a recording medium, such as an electronic money card, held in a predetermined communication area.

[0026] The information terminal 17 includes a communication unit 171 , a short-range wireless communication unit 172 , an electronic ticket generation unit 173 , and an information terminal control unit 174 .

[0027] The communication unit 171 includes an internal communication processing unit 171a and an external communication processing unit 171b. The internal communication processing unit 171a is a communication interface that performs communication such as sending and receiving data with the vending machine control unit 11. The external communication processing unit 171b is a communication interface that connects to the electronic ticket providing means 20 via the network N using a communication method such as LTE (registered trademark).

[0028] The short-range wireless communication unit 172 is a communication interface that performs short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 30. Short-range wireless communication includes Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark), but Bluetooth (registered trademark), particularly BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication, is used from the viewpoint of power consumption.

[0029] The electronic ticket generation unit 173 reads out the electronic ticket information 175a provided in advance by the electronic ticket providing means 20 and stored in the information terminal storage unit 175, and generates an electronic ticket assigned to the corresponding column.

[0030] The information terminal control unit 174 is connected to the communication unit 171, the short-range wireless communication unit 172, and the electronic ticket generation unit 173, and controls the overall operation of each unit of the information terminal 17 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the information terminal storage unit 175, which is also connected. The information terminal storage unit 175 stores electronic ticket information 175a and the like used to generate an electronic ticket in the electronic ticket generation unit 173. As described above, the electronic ticket information 175a is provided in advance by the electronic ticket providing means 20, and each piece of electronic ticket information 175a is associated with a column.

[0031] The electronic ticket providing means 20 is composed of various servers that provide electronic tickets. In the first embodiment, a battery ticket will be described as an example of digital content. The mobile terminal 30 is a terminal device, such as a smartphone, carried by a purchaser of a product.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the details of the electronic ticket sending process performed by the information terminal 17 shown in FIG.

[0033] In this electronic ticket sending process, the information terminal control unit 174 determines whether or not merchandise sales information has been input from the vending machine control unit 11 via the internal communication processing unit 171a (step S101). This merchandise sales information is sent from the vending machine control unit 11 when payment is made by the payment unit 16 and a product (electronic ticket) is selected by the product selection unit 14. In other words, the merchandise sales information is information that indicates that an arbitrary product (electronic ticket) has been selected and payment has been made.

[0034] If this product sales information is not input (step S101: No), the information terminal control unit 174 repeats this process. On the other hand, if product sales information is input (step S101: Yes), the information terminal control unit 174 reads out electronic ticket information 175a from the information terminal storage unit 175 via the electronic ticket generation unit 173, and generates an electronic ticket corresponding to the column included in the product sales information (step S102).

[0035] The information terminal control unit 174, which has generated the electronic ticket in this manner, sends the electronic ticket to the mobile terminal 30 (step S103), provided that it is connected to the mobile terminal 30 via the short-range wireless communication unit 172, and then returns the procedure to end this processing.

[0036] In this way, in the vending machine system 1 which is embodiment 1 of the present invention, when product sales information indicating that an electronic ticket has been selected and paid for is input from the vending machine control unit 11, the information terminal 17 provided in the vending machine 10 generates the corresponding electronic ticket and sends the electronic ticket to the mobile terminal 30, so there is no need to develop dedicated software to have the vending machine control unit 11 send the electronic ticket.

[0037] Therefore, the vending machine system 1 can reduce the operational costs involved in sending out electronic tickets.

[0038] <Embodiment 2> 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of a vending machine system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine system 2 shown here is configured by connecting a vending machine 40, a digital content providing means 50, and a mobile terminal 60 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0039] The vending machine 40 sells beverages in containers such as cans or plastic bottles, and although not shown in the figures, it is equipped with a main cabinet and a front door. The main cabinet is a rectangular, insulated housing with an opening on the front. Inside the main cabinet, multiple product storage racks are provided, 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 provided depending on the products to be sold.

[0040] The front door is a heat-insulating door that is swingably mounted on the main cabinet to open and close the opening at the front of the main cabinet. The front door is provided with a product outlet. The product outlet is an opening for retrieving products carried out from inside the main cabinet, and can be opened and closed by the product outlet door.

[0041] The vending machine 40 has a vending machine control unit 41 to which a cooling device 43, a product selection unit 44, a delivery device 45, a payment unit 46, and an information terminal 47 are connected.

[0042] The vending machine control unit 41 controls the overall operation of each unit of the vending machine 40 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the vending machine storage unit 42.

[0043] The cooling device 43 is used to maintain the products stored in the product storage racks at a set temperature. The cooling device 43 cools products stored in product storage racks that are set to be cooled, and heats products stored in product storage racks that are set to be heated.

[0044] The product selection unit 44 is made up of multiple product selection buttons provided on the front door, and allows the user to select a product. When any of the product selection buttons is pressed, the product selection unit 44 sends a selection signal to the vending machine control unit 41.

[0045] A carry-out device 45 is provided for each column in the product storage rack. When a carry-out command is given from the vending machine control unit 41, this carry-out device 45 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.

[0046] Although not shown in the figure, the settlement unit 46 is configured to include a money processing device and a settlement terminal. The money processing device is, for example, a coin mechanism or a bill validator, and processes deposits and withdrawals of money inserted through the money insertion slot. The settlement terminal is provided on the front door and performs settlement processing by reading and writing information (electronic money) from a recording medium, such as an electronic money card, held in a predetermined communication area.

[0047] The information terminal 47 includes a communication unit 471 , a short-range wireless communication unit 472 , a user authentication code generation unit 473 , and an information terminal control unit 474 .

[0048] The communication unit 471 includes an internal communication processing unit 471a and an external communication processing unit 471b. The internal communication processing unit 471a is a communication interface that performs communication such as sending and receiving data with the vending machine control unit 41. The external communication processing unit 471b is a communication interface that connects to the digital content providing means 50 via the network N using a communication method such as LTE (registered trademark).

[0049] The short-range wireless communication unit 472 is a communication interface that performs short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 60. Short-range wireless communication includes Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark), but Bluetooth (registered trademark), particularly BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication, is used from the viewpoint of power consumption.

[0050] The user authentication code generation unit 473, the details of which will be described later, generates a user authentication code from the identification information of the mobile terminal 60. This user authentication code includes the identification information of the mobile terminal 60 and information on the digital content, and is an identifier that can identify the user.

[0051] The information terminal control unit 474 is connected to the communication unit 471, the short-range wireless communication unit 472, and the user authentication code generation unit 473, and comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the information terminal 47 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the information terminal memory unit 475, which is also connected.

[0052] This information terminal memory unit 475 stores vending machine 40 information such as product information, price information, and inventory information for the vending machine 40, and also has a digital content storage area 475a for storing digital content input from the digital content providing means 50.

[0053] The digital content providing means 50 is made up of a server or the like that forms a digital content platform, and is used to provide digital content such as electronic tickets.

[0054] This digital content providing means 50 comprises a management control unit 51 and a collating unit 52. The management control unit 51 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the digital content providing means 50 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the management storage unit 53. The collating unit 52, the details of which will be described later, collates the user authentication codes to check for a match.

[0055] The mobile terminal 60 is a terminal device such as a smartphone carried by a purchaser of a product such as digital content, and includes an operation display unit 61, an internet communication unit 62, a short-range wireless communication unit 63, and a mobile terminal control unit 64.

[0056] The operation display unit 61 is, for example, a touch panel type liquid crystal display device, and is an input / output interface for inputting various data and displaying and outputting various data.

[0057] The internet communication unit 62, like the external communication processing unit 471b, is a communication interface that connects to the digital content providing means 50 via the network N using a communication method such as LTE (registered trademark). The short-range wireless communication unit 63 is a communication interface that performs short-range wireless communication with the vending machine 40 using a communication method such as WiFi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0058] The mobile terminal control unit 64 controls each unit of the mobile terminal 60 in an integrated manner in accordance with the programs and data stored in the mobile terminal storage unit 65 .

[0059] Figures 4 to 6 show the digital content purchasing processing procedure in the vending machine system 2 shown in Figure 3, where Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the vending machine control unit 41, Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the information terminal control unit 474, and Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the management control unit 51.

[0060] 4, vending machine control unit 41 determines whether or not a deposit has been made via settlement unit 46 (step S201). If a deposit has not been made (step S201: No), vending machine control unit 41 repeats this process.

[0061] On the other hand, if a deposit has been made (Step S201: Yes), the vending machine control unit 41 waits for a product to be selected through the product selection unit 44 (Step S202). If a product is selected through the product selection unit 44 by pressing any of the product selection buttons (Step S202: Yes), the vending machine control unit 41 determines whether the selected product is digital content (Step S203).

[0062] If the selected product is digital content (step S203: Yes), the vending machine control unit 41 sends product selection information indicating that digital content has been selected to the information terminal 47 (step S204), and waits for notification from the information terminal 47 that the digital content has been sent (step S205).

[0063] On the other hand, if the selected product is not digital content (step S203: No), the vending machine control unit 41 ejects the product from the corresponding column via the ejection device 45 (step S206), and then performs a subtraction process on the product price via the payment unit 46 (step S207).

[0064] Meanwhile, the information terminal control unit 474 determines whether or not product selection information has been input from the vending machine control unit 41 via the internal communication processing unit 471a (step S301), and if no product selection information has been input (step S301: No), repeats this process.

[0065] If product selection information has been input (step S301: Yes), the information terminal control unit 474 waits for connection with the digital content providing means 50 via the external communication processing unit 471b (step S302). If connection with the digital content providing means 50 has been established (step S302: Yes), the information terminal control unit 474 requests the digital content included in the product selection information from the digital content providing means 50 (step S303).

[0066] The management control unit 51 of the digital content providing means 50 determines whether or not there is a request for digital content (step S401), and if there is a request for digital content (step S401: Yes), it transmits the corresponding digital content to the information terminal 47 (step S402).

[0067] The information terminal control unit 474, which requested the digital content in step S303, determines whether or not the digital content has been input (step S304), and if the digital content transmitted in step S402 above has been input (step S304: Yes), stores the digital content in the digital content storage area 475a of the information terminal memory unit 475 (step S305).

[0068] Then, information terminal control unit 474 waits for connection with portable terminal 60 via short-range wireless communication unit 472 until a predetermined connection time has elapsed (steps S306 and S307).

[0069] If the connection time has elapsed without connection to the mobile terminal 60 (step S306: No, step S307: Yes), the information terminal control unit 474 notifies the vending machine control unit 41 and the management control unit 51 that the digital content cannot be sent (step S308). Having notified the vending machine control unit 41 and the management control unit 51 that the digital content cannot be sent in this manner, the information terminal control unit 474 cuts off the connection with the digital content providing means 50 (step S309) and ends this processing.

[0070] On the other hand, if a connection is made with the mobile terminal 60 before the connection time has elapsed (step S306: Yes, step S307: No), the information terminal control unit 474 determines whether or not identification information of the mobile terminal 60 has been input from the mobile terminal 60 (step S310). If identification information of the mobile terminal 60 has not been input (step S310: No), the information terminal control unit 474 repeats this process.

[0071] If the identification information of the mobile terminal 60 is input (step S310: Yes), the information terminal control unit 474 causes the user authentication code generation unit 473 to generate a user authentication code from the identification information (step S311).

[0072] The information terminal control unit 474, which has generated the user authentication code in this manner, sends the user authentication code to the digital content providing means 50 via the external communication processing unit 471b (step S312), and also sends the digital content and the user authentication code to the mobile terminal 60 via the short-range wireless communication unit 472 (step S313).

[0073] The management control unit 51, which sent out the digital content in step S402 above, waits for input of a user authentication code (step S403), and if the user inputs the user authentication code sent in step S312 above (step S403: Yes), it stores the user authentication code in the management memory unit 53 (step S404).

[0074] After performing steps S312 and S313, the information terminal control unit 474 determines whether the sending of the user authentication code, etc. has been completed (step S314). If the sending has been completed (step S314: Yes), the information terminal control unit 474 notifies the vending machine control unit 41 that the digital content sending has been completed, then disconnects the connection with the digital content providing means 50 and the mobile terminal 60 (steps S315, S316), and then terminates this processing.

[0075] On the other hand, if the sending is not completed for some reason (step S314: No), the information terminal control unit 474 notifies the vending machine control unit 41 and the management control unit 51 of the return of the digital content, then disconnects the connection with the digital content providing means 50 and the mobile terminal 60 (steps S317, S318), and then terminates this processing.

[0076] In step S205 above, the vending machine control unit 41 was waiting for a notification from the information terminal 47 that the digital content had been sent, and if it received the notification in step S315 (step S205: Yes), it subtracts the price of the digital content through the payment unit 46 (step S207), and then ends the current process.

[0077] That is, vending machine control unit 41 performs a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content on the condition that information terminal 47 has sent the digital content.

[0078] On the other hand, if the digital content sending completion notification is not input in step S205 (step S205: No), that is, if the digital content sending failure notification in step S308 or the digital content return notification in step S317 is input, the vending machine control unit 41 makes a refund through the payment unit 46 (step S208), and then terminates this processing.

[0079] In other words, if a predetermined connection time has elapsed without the information terminal 47 being able to communicate with the mobile terminal 60, or if the information terminal 47 has sent a return notification for the digital content, the vending machine control unit 41 will not perform a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content.

[0080] The management control unit 51, which stored the user authentication code in step S404, determines whether or not a digital content return notification has been received (step S405). If a digital content return notification has been received (step S405: No), the management control unit 51 erases the user authentication code stored in the management storage unit 53 (step S406), and then ends this processing.

[0081] On the other hand, if there is no digital content return notification (step S405: Yes), the management control unit 51 determines whether there is a usage inquiry from the mobile terminal 60 (step S407). If there is no usage inquiry from the mobile terminal 60 (step S407: No), the management control unit 51 repeats this process.

[0082] If there is an inquiry about use from the mobile terminal 60 (step S407: Yes), the management control unit 51 waits for input of a user authentication code from the mobile terminal 60 (step S408). Then, if there is input of a user authentication code (step S408: Yes), the management control unit 51 checks, via the checking unit 52, whether the input user authentication code matches the user authentication code stored in the management memory unit 53 (step S409).

[0083] If the verification is completed by matching the user authentication codes (step S410: Yes), the management control unit 51 notifies the mobile terminal 60 of permission to use (step S411), and then disconnects the connection with the mobile terminal 60 (step S412), terminating this processing. This allows the purchaser to use the digital content sent to the mobile terminal 60.

[0084] On the other hand, if the verification is not completed because the user authentication codes do not match (step S410: No), the management control unit 51 notifies the mobile terminal 60 that the content is not available (step S413), and then performs step S412 to end the current process. As a result, the purchaser cannot use the digital content sent to the mobile terminal 60.

[0085] As explained above, in the vending machine system 2 which is the second embodiment of the present invention, the information terminal 47 which constitutes the vending machine 40 together with the vending machine control unit 41, on the condition that product selection information has been input from the vending machine control unit 41, communicates with the digital content providing means 50 to obtain the digital content, and then, on the condition that it is able to communicate with the mobile terminal 60, generates a user authentication code from the identification information of the mobile terminal 60 and sends the user authentication code to the digital content providing means 50, and also sends the digital content and the user authentication code to the mobile terminal 60, and the vending machine control unit 41, on the condition that the information terminal 47 has sent the digital content, performs a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content, therefore there is no need to develop dedicated software to have the vending machine control unit 41 perform operations such as distributing digital content.

[0086] Therefore, the vending machine system 2 can reduce the operational costs involved in sending out digital content.

[0087] Furthermore, the vending machine system 2 has the following advantages.

[0088] Since the information terminal 47 sends the digital content to the mobile terminal 60, printing or the like is not required, and counterfeiting or the like can be prevented.

[0089] When a digital content providing means 50 receives an inquiry about the use of digital content from a mobile terminal 60, it permits the use of the digital content on the condition that the user authentication code has been verified, thereby improving security in the distribution of digital content, etc.

[0090] The configurations illustrated in the above-mentioned first and second embodiments are merely functional schematics and are not necessarily physically configured as shown. In other words, the distribution and integration of each device and component is not limited to that illustrated, 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]

[0091] 1,2...vending machine system, 10,40...vending machine, 11,41...vending machine control unit, 12,42...vending machine memory unit, 13,43...refrigeration device, 14,44...product selection unit, 15,45...discharge device, 16,46...payment unit, 17,47...information terminal, 171,471...communication unit, 172,472...near-field wireless communication unit, 173...electronic ticket generation unit, 174,474...information terminal control unit, 175,475...information terminal memory unit, 20...electronic ticket providing means, 30,60...mobile terminal, 473...user authentication code generation unit, 50...digital content providing means, 51...management control unit, 52...matching unit, 53...management memory unit, N...network.

Claims

1. a vending machine control unit provided in a vending machine capable of selling digital content as a commodity; An information terminal capable of communicating with the vending machine control unit and with a digital content providing means that provides the digital content; a mobile terminal carried by a user who purchases the product and capable of communicating with the information terminal and the digital content providing means; A vending machine system comprising: The information terminal is provided in the vending machine, and when product sales information indicating that any digital content has been selected and payment has been made is input from the vending machine control unit, the information terminal creates the corresponding digital content and sends the digital content to the mobile terminal.

2. a vending machine control unit provided in a vending machine capable of selling digital content as a commodity; An information terminal capable of communicating with the vending machine control unit and with a digital content providing means that provides the digital content; a mobile terminal carried by a user who purchases the product and capable of communicating with the information terminal and the digital content providing means; A vending machine system comprising: the information terminal is provided in the vending machine, and, on condition that product selection information indicating that any digital content has been selected is input from the vending machine control unit, communicates with the digital content providing means to obtain the digital content, and, on condition that communication with the portable terminal is then possible, generates a user authentication code from identification information of the portable terminal and transmits the user authentication code to the digital content providing means, and also transmits the digital content and the user authentication code to the portable terminal; The vending machine system is characterized in that the vending machine control unit performs a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content on condition that the information terminal has sent the digital content.

3. The vending machine system described in claim 2, characterized in that when an inquiry about the use of the digital content is made from the mobile terminal, the digital content providing means allows the use of the digital content on the condition that the user authentication code has been verified.

4. The vending machine system according to claim 2, characterized in that if the information terminal is unable to communicate with the mobile terminal and a predetermined connection time has elapsed, the vending machine control unit does not perform a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content.

5. 3. The vending machine system according to claim 2, wherein, when said information terminal is unable to send said digital content to said portable terminal, said information terminal notifies said digital content providing means of the return of said digital content.

6. The vending machine system according to claim 5, characterized in that the vending machine control unit does not perform a subtraction process on the price of the selected digital content on the condition that the information terminal has notified the return of the digital content.

7. 3. The vending machine system according to claim 1, wherein the digital content is an electronic ticket.

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