Automated payment system

Abstract

An automated payment system comprising multiple automated payment machines, a communication master unit equipped with a router that connects to a server that processes payment-related information, and communication slave units that connect to this communication master unit, can be easily constructed at a relatively low cost. [Solution] The communication master unit 11 is equipped with a master unit antenna and capable of wireless communication, and the communication slave unit 12 is also equipped with a slave unit antenna and capable of wireless communication.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic settlement system, and more particularly to an automatic settlement system comprising a communication master device connected to a server that processes settlement-related information, and a communication slave device that exchanges information with the communication master device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1, in a system that processes settlement-related information, card information, etc. in a bank or the like, there is known a system comprising a communication master device connected to a computer (server) that processes information, and a communication slave device that exchanges information with the communication master device. On the other hand, there is also known a system in which a communication device is attached to a vending machine installed outdoors, and wireless communication is performed between a remote computer and a mobile terminal via the communication device, a public line, or the like (see Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in a conventional automatic settlement system comprising a communication master device and a communication slave device as described above, laying a wired circuit for connecting the communication master device and the communication slave device requires a great deal of cost and time, making it difficult to construct the system at low cost and easily. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to easily construct an automatic settlement system comprising a communication master device and a communication slave device at low cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The automated settlement system according to the present invention is An automated payment system including multiple automated payment machines, A router capable of connecting to an external network including a server that processes settlement-related information, a router antenna unit for wirelessly connecting, and a communication base unit equipped with a short-range wireless communication antenna unit for wireless communication with the router, A communication slave unit equipped with a short-range wireless communication antenna unit that communicates wirelessly with the router of the aforementioned communication base unit, It is characterized by having the above-mentioned features. Preferably, the communication base station is provided with an additional base station antenna for communicating wirelessly with the above-mentioned short-range wireless communication antenna unit.

[0006] The automatic settlement system of the present invention having the above configuration is Multiple automated payment machines are installed at the gas station. A communication master unit is installed in at least one of the above-mentioned automated payment machines. It is desirable that the communication sub-units be installed on each automatic payment machine other than the one on which the communication master unit is installed, thus forming an automatic payment system for gas stations.

[0007] Furthermore, in the automated settlement system of the present invention, The antenna unit provided on the communication master unit and / or communication slave unit is installed on the top of the casing of the automatic payment machine. A waterproof cover that covers the antenna section installed on the top of the above-mentioned part to prevent water from entering the antenna section, A water channel guides the water that is blocked by the waterproof cover and flows to the side of the waterproof cover so that it flows along the outside of the housing, It is desirable that such a feature be provided. Furthermore, the term "antenna unit installed on the communication base unit" refers to both the router antenna unit and the short-range wireless communication antenna installed on the communication base unit, and also includes the aforementioned internal antenna if one is installed on the base unit. The term "antenna unit installed on the communication slave unit" refers to the short-range wireless communication antenna unit installed on the communication slave unit.

[0008] Furthermore, in the automated settlement system of the present invention, it is desirable that the antenna section for short-range wireless communication of the communication base unit has the same configuration as the antenna section used in the communication slave unit. Moreover, it is desirable that the router antenna section of the communication base unit consists of an LTE antenna, and the short-range wireless communication antenna sections of the communication base unit and communication slave unit consist of WiFi® antennas.

[0009] Furthermore, in the automatic settlement system of the present invention, The antenna base to which the antenna section for short-range wireless communication of the communication master unit or communication slave unit is attached is formed to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in one direction. A fixing means is provided for fixing the rotational position of the antenna base. It is desirable.

[0010] The present invention further provides a communication master unit that constitutes the automated settlement system described above. This communication master unit according to the present invention is equipped with a router that can connect to an external network including a server that processes settlement-related information, a router antenna unit for making the above connection wirelessly, and a short-range wireless communication antenna unit for wireless communication with the router.

[0011] The present invention further provides a communication slave unit that constitutes the automated settlement system described above. This communication slave unit according to the present invention is equipped with a short-range wireless communication antenna unit that communicates wirelessly with a router provided on the communication master unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the automatic settlement system of the present invention, since the communication master unit and the communication slave unit can be wirelessly connected, it is not necessary to lay a wired circuit for connecting the communication master unit and the communication slave unit. Therefore, this automatic settlement system can be constructed relatively inexpensively and easily.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] [Figure 1] Schematic configuration diagram showing an automatic settlement system according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] Perspective view showing the wireless antenna unit in the system of FIG. 1 [Figure 3] Perspective view showing one of the wireless antenna units shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged and detailed manner [Figure 4] Perspective view showing the waterproof cover and the water channel in the system of FIG. 1

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic settlement system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As an example, this automatic settlement system 1 is provided for settlement by an automatic cashier installed at a gas station for automobiles, and includes a server 10 that processes information related to settlement, for example, one communication master unit 11, a plurality (three in FIG. 1 as an example) of communication slave units 12, a wired connection network 13 that connects the communication master unit 11 to the server 10, and a wireless connection network 14 that connects the communication master unit 11 to the server 10.

[0015] The communication master unit 11 and each communication slave unit 12 are respectively installed on one of a plurality of automatic cashiers 20 installed at the fueling stand. More specifically, the automatic cashier 20 has a housing as usual, and the communication master unit 11 and the communication slave unit 12 are installed on the top plate of the housing which is the top of this housing. In the case where a large number of automatic cashiers 20 are scattered at the fueling stand and the communication slave units 12 are respectively installed on those scattered automatic cashiers 20, in order to make the wireless connection with each communication slave unit 12 more reliable, the communication master unit 11 may be provided on two or more automatic cashiers 20 respectively.

[0016] The communication master unit 11 is equipped with an IoT (Internet of Things) board 11a and a router 11b. On the other hand, each of the communication slave units 12 does not have a router installed, but an IoT board 12a is installed. In addition, a short-range wireless communication antenna unit described later is connected to the IoT board 11a, and a short-range wireless communication antenna unit described later is also connected to the IoT board 12a, but these antenna units are omitted in FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, the communication master unit 11 has basically the same configuration as the communication slave unit 12 except for the router 11b and a router antenna unit not shown in the figure, and the IoT board 11a and the short-range wireless communication antenna unit connected thereto use the IoT board 12a and the short-range wireless communication antenna unit connected thereto. This point will be described in detail later.

[0017] The IoT boards 11a and 12a are respectively installed with a predetermined program and are connected to an actuarial control board (not shown) originally provided in the automatic cashier 20. This connection may be made by general electrical work, or it can also be easily done by connecting the connectors on the IoT boards 11a and 12a provided in advance and the connectors on the actuarial control board side. The actuarial control board is for performing normal actuarial processing including change payment corresponding to the cash or credit card information received through the cash insertion slot or credit card acceptance slot provided in the automatic cashier 20, and, for example, the fuel type and fuel quantity notified from the fuel dispenser adjacent to the automatic cashier 20.

[0018] The wired network 13 and wireless network 14 are connected to the server 10 via a closed network 15. The server 10 is located in a settlement center, separate from the gas station where the communication master unit 11 and communication slave unit 12 are installed, and performs processing to centrally manage and view all settlement-related processes for that gas station, or for multiple gas stations in the same chain that include that gas station.

[0019] The wired network 13 consists of a LAN (Local Area Network) 16 to which the router 11b of the communication base station 11 is connected, an ONU (Optical Network Unit) 17 connected to this LAN 16, and an optical fiber line 18 interposed between this ONU 17 and the closed network 15. On the other hand, the wireless network 14 consists of an LTE wireless communication network 19, which wirelessly connects the router 11b of the communication base station 11 to the closed network 15. Note that the wireless communication network is not limited to LTE; any network that does not cause problems in terms of communication speed, capacity, and other communication quality should be appropriately selected. As described above, in this embodiment, the router 11b of the communication base station 11 can connect to the server 10 via either the wired network 13 or the wireless network 14.

[0020] Next, with reference to Figures 2 and 3, the aforementioned master unit antenna and slave unit antenna will be described in detail. Figure 2 shows the top of the enclosure of the automatic payment machine 20 on which the communication master unit 11 is mounted. This enclosure is formed in a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with four enclosure side plates 21 and one enclosure top plate 22. On the enclosure top plate 22 are mounted the IoT unit antenna section 30, the IoT connection antenna section 50 as an internal antenna for the master unit, and the router antenna section 55. Inside the router antenna section 55 is housed a router antenna (not shown) for connecting the router to an external network. Inside the enclosure are the IoT board 11a and router 11b shown in Figure 1.

[0021] Although not specifically shown in the diagram, the top of the casing of the automatic payment machine 20 on which the communication slave unit 12 is mounted does not have a router antenna unit 55 or an IoT connection antenna unit 50, as the communication slave unit 12 does not have a router 11b. Except for this point, the communication slave unit 12 and the communication master unit 11 have basically the same configuration. As a result, the configurations of the communication slave unit 12 and the communication master unit 11 can be largely shared, which is advantageous in reducing the cost of the automatic payment system 1.

[0022] The IoT unit antenna section 30 is a short-range wireless communication antenna section for the master unit (or slave unit in the case of the slave unit 12), provided for the master unit IoT board 11a and the slave unit IoT board 12a shown in Figure 1. It has a fixing plate 32 attached to the top plate 22 of the housing with multiple mounting screws 31, and two WiFi antennas 34 that are electrically connected to the master unit IoT board 11a. On the other hand, the IoT connection antenna section 50 is an internal antenna provided for the router 11b. It has a fixing plate 52 attached to the top plate 22 of the housing with multiple mounting screws 51, and three antennas 54 that are electrically connected to the router 11b. The three antennas 54 are WiFi antennas. In addition, the router antennas not shown, located within the router antenna section 55, are LTE antennas.

[0023] The above-mentioned WiFi antenna 34 and the three antennas 54, together with the IoT board 11a for the communication base station and the IoT board 12a for the communication slave unit shown in Figure 1, have a configuration compliant with the WiFi standard in order to build a wireless LAN. Note that, in order to build a wireless LAN, a configuration compliant with other standards, such as the BLUETOOTH® standard, may be applied, rather than being limited to the WiFi standard configuration as described above. On the other hand, the LTE antenna in the router antenna unit 55 constitutes part of the LTE wireless communication network 19 shown in Figure 1. If the distance between the IoT board 11a for the communication base station and the closed network 15 shown in Figure 1 is relatively short, the wireless connection network 14 may be used as the WiFi connection network, and the WiFi antenna may be used as the antenna for the router antenna unit 55.

[0024] Here, with reference to Figure 3, the mounting of the WiFi antenna 34 will be explained in detail. An antenna base 33, which has an L-shaped side profile, is fixed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 32, and the two WiFi antennas 34 mentioned above are attached to this antenna base 33. Each WiFi antenna 34 is extendable and retractable in the direction of its long axis, as is the case with many antennas of this type, and its base is rotatable around its long axis relative to the antenna base 33. The fixing plate 32 is provided with one screw hole (not shown) through which a fixing screw 35 passes, and screw holes 32a arranged in an arc centered on that screw hole. As an example, there are seven screw holes 32a at equal angular pitches of 30° (only six are shown in the figure).

[0025] When attaching the antenna base 33 to the fixing plate 32, a fixing screw 35 is passed from above through a circular hole (not shown) formed in the bottom (the horizontally extending portion) of the antenna base 33 and the one screw hole, and then the antenna base 33 is rotated around the vertical axis with the fixing screw 35 as the pivot point. This allows the orientation of the two WiFi antennas 34 to be changed. The rotational position of the antenna base 33, that is, the orientation of the WiFi antennas 34, is fixed by tightening a fixing screw 36 that is screwed into one of the seven screw holes 32a. In other words, in this embodiment, the fixing plate 32 with seven screw holes 32a and the fixing screw 36 constitute a fixing means for fixing the rotational position of the antenna base 33.

[0026] As described above, the orientation of the two WiFi antennas 34 can basically be changed for each of the multiple communication slave units 12 mentioned earlier. In a typical gas station, the multiple automatic payment machines 20 to which the communication slave units 12 are attached are each positioned in different directions relative to the single automatic payment machine 20 to which the communication base unit 11 is attached. Therefore, if the orientation of the WiFi antennas 34 on the communication slave unit 12 can be changed, wireless communication between the communication base unit 11 and the communication slave units 12 can be performed more reliably and accurately. The communication base unit 11 may also be made capable of similarly changing the orientation of the WiFi antennas 34 as needed.

[0027] Next, referring to Figure 4, a configuration to prevent water damage to the IoT unit antenna section 30 and the router antenna section 55 will be described. At gas stations, the automatic payment machine 20 is generally installed outdoors, so the IoT unit antenna section 30 and the IoT connection antenna section 50 and router antenna section 55, which constitute the communication master unit 11 and communication slave unit 12, are highly likely to be exposed to rain, snow, etc. Taking this into consideration, in this embodiment, the waterproof cover 40 shown in Figure 4 is installed on top of the automatic payment machine 20. More specifically, the top of the automatic payment machine 20 is the top of the housing plate 22 shown in Figure 2 (not shown in Figure 4).

[0028] The waterproof cover 40 shown in Figure 4 is made of synthetic resin, for example, and has two horizontally extending hem portions 41, a cover portion 42 having an internal space protruding upward from between the hem portions 41, and roughly U-shaped, slightly raised edge portions 43 and 44 surrounding the left and right ends of the hem portions 41 in the figure. This waterproof cover 40 is fixed to the housing top plate 22 by, for example, four fixing screws 45. Figure 2 shows four position-defining protrusions 23 for defining the height and lateral position of the waterproof cover 40.

[0029] With the waterproof cover 40 fixed as described above, the IoT unit antenna section 30, the IoT connection antenna section 50 as an internal antenna of the master unit, and the router antenna section 55 shown in Figure 2 are housed within the internal space of the cover section 42. As a result, the electrical components of the antenna sections 30, 50, and 55, and the conductors connected to them, are not exposed to rain or snow, preventing malfunctions such as short circuits caused by rainwater or melted snow. In addition to the antenna sections 30, 50, and 55, the same effect can be obtained with the cover section 42 even when circuit parts that constitute part of the communication master unit 11 or communication slave unit 12 are installed on the top plate 22 of the housing.

[0030] The edges 43 and 44, which are roughly U-shaped and slightly raised, are lower in the portion close to the cover portion 42, and these portions are recessed 43a and 44a. Therefore, water such as rainwater that is blocked by the cover portion 42 and flows to the side of the cover portion 42 is guided to flow through the recessed 43a and 44a to the outside of the housing side plate 21. In other words, in this embodiment, the edges 43 and 44, which are shaped to surround the outside of the cover portion 42 and have the recessed 43a and 44a, form a channel that guides water that flows to the side of the cover portion 42 to flow to the outside of the housing of the automatic payment machine 20.

[0031] In this embodiment, information exchange between the communication master unit 11 and the communication slave unit 12 is configured to occur wirelessly. Therefore, there is no need to lay long wired circuits for this information exchange, and thus the automatic payment system 1 can be easily constructed at a relatively low cost.

[0032] Next, we will describe the processes that can be performed by the automatic payment system 1 of this embodiment. As mentioned above, the normal payment processing performed by the automatic payment machine 20 on which the communication master unit 11 or communication slave unit 12 is installed is performed by the payment machine control board originally provided in each automatic payment machine 20, so below we will mainly describe the processes related to the communication master unit 11 and the communication slave unit 12.

[0033] <Information collection and distribution processing (1)> When a communication, transaction, error, or other process is performed at each automated payment machine 20, a log of that process is transmitted from the payment machine control board (which has a predetermined program installed) of the automated payment machine 20 to the IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 installed on the automated payment machine 20, or to the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 installed on the automated payment machine 20. The IoT boards 11a and 12a store the transmitted log.

[0034] The IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 sends all stored logs to the router 11b via wireless communication through the IoT unit antenna unit 30 and the IoT connection antenna unit 50 when the number of stored logs reaches a predetermined number, when the time the logs have been stored reaches a predetermined time, or when a log transmission command is input from the payment machine control board of the automatic payment machine 20 on which the communication master unit 11 is installed. Similarly, the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 sends all stored logs to the router 11b via wireless communication through the IoT unit antenna unit 30 of the communication slave unit 12 and the IoT connection antenna unit 50 of the communication master unit 11. The router 11b sends these logs to the server 10 via the wired connection network 13 described above. Alternatively, the router 11b sends the above logs to the server 10 via the wireless connection network 14, which includes the LTE antenna in the router antenna unit 55. When a viewing request is input to the server 10, it displays these logs on a monitor (not shown) or prints them on paper using a printer (not shown).

[0035] <Information collection and distribution processing (2)> In the information collection and distribution process (1) described above, IoT boards 11a and 12a send the stored logs to the server 10 when certain conditions are met, such as the number of stored logs reaching a predetermined number. In this information collection and distribution process (2), a command to send the logs is sent from the server 10 to IoT board 11a or IoT board 12a. This command may be automatically issued when the same conditions as above are met, or it may be issued when a log viewing request is entered into the server 10 as needed.

[0036] <Processing for sending device settings> Each automatic payment machine 20 may have settings changed, such as the types of currency it can accept, the volume of its display, and its display brightness. When these settings are changed, the control board of the payment machine 20 transmits and saves the changed settings to the IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 installed on the payment machine 20, or to the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 installed on the payment machine 20. Furthermore, if necessary, the IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 sends the transmitted settings to the router 11b via wireless communication through the IoT unit antenna 30 for the communication master unit and the IoT connection antenna 50 of the communication master unit 11.

[0037] Meanwhile, the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 sends the transmitted settings to the router 11b via wireless communication through the IoT unit antenna 30 for the communication slave unit and the IoT connection antenna 50 of the communication master unit 11. The router 11b sends these settings to the server 10 via the wired network 13, similar to the logs described above. Alternatively, the router 11b can send the above settings to the server 10 via the wireless network 14, which includes the LTE antenna in the router antenna unit 55, and save them there.

[0038] The control board of each automatic payment machine 20 may require the above-mentioned settings from before the damage occurred, for example, if a part of the board is damaged. To prepare for this, the IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 and the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 store the above-mentioned settings for each automatic payment machine 20. Then, after the damaged payment machine control board is replaced with a working one, the IoT boards 11a and 12a transmit the stored settings to the payment machine control board to reconfigure it. In this case, if necessary, the settings that were transmitted to and stored on the server 10 can also be used.

[0039] <Version upgrade process> The program installed on the payment machine control board of the automatic payment machine 20 is to be updated as needed. The same applies to the programs installed on the IoT board 12a and IoT board 11a. After obtaining the update file, the server 10 wirelessly transmits the update file to the IoT board 11a of the communication master unit 11 via the wired network 13 or the wireless network 14, through the router 11b, the IoT connection antenna unit 50, and the master IoT unit antenna unit 30.

[0040] Furthermore, the server 10 wirelessly transmits the acquired version update file to the IoT board 12a of the communication slave unit 12 via the wired network 13 or the wireless network 14, through the router 11b, the IoT connection antenna unit 50, and the antenna unit 30 for the slave IoT unit. In addition, the server 10 transmits the acquired version update file in the same manner as described above to the automatic payment machine 20 where the communication master unit 11 is installed, or to the payment machine control board of the automatic payment machine 20 where the communication slave unit 12 is installed.

[0041] The payment machine control boards of the automatic payment machines 20 on which the communication master unit 11 is installed, and the automatic payment machines 20 on which the communication slave unit 12 is installed, perform the version upgrade themselves based on the version upgrade files sent in this manner. In addition, the IoT boards 12a and 11a also perform the version upgrade themselves based on the version upgrade files sent in the same manner as described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 1. Automated payment system 10 servers 11 Communication base station 11a IoT board for communication master unit 11b Router 12. Communication handset 12a IoT board for communication slave unit 13 Wired Network 14 Wireless Network 15 Closed network 16 LAN 17 ONU 18 Fiber Optic Internet 19 LTE ​​wireless communication network 20 Automatic payment machines 21 Side panel of the enclosure 22 Top panel of the enclosure 23 Position regulating protrusion 30. Antenna section for IoT unit 31 Mounting screws 32 Fixed plate 34 WiFi antennas 40 Waterproof Cover 41. Bottom of the waterproof cover 42 Waterproof cover cover 43, 44 Edge of the waterproof cover 43a, 44a Recesses on the edges 50 IoT connection antenna section 51 Mounting screws 52 Fixed plate 54 Antenna 55 Router antenna section

Claims

[Claim 1] An automated payment system including multiple automated payment machines, A router capable of connecting to an external network including a server that processes settlement-related information, a router antenna unit for wirelessly connecting, and a communication base unit equipped with a short-range wireless communication antenna unit for wireless communication with the router, A communication slave unit equipped with a short-range wireless communication antenna unit that communicates wirelessly with the router of the aforementioned communication base unit, An automated payment system characterized by having the following features.

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