Mobile devices

Abstract

To provide portable terminal operation means that enables a visually-impaired person to select and purchase a commodity in an automatic vending machine.SOLUTION: By using a portable terminal 2, communication means from an automatic vending machine including 20 is utilized, a commodity is selected based on information obtained from commodity information receiving means 17 when entering an area A, a settlement method is determined by settlement recognition means 13, and when a button transmitted from select button positional information transmission means 7 is pressed, the fact that the commodity has been purchased by purchase confirmation means 9 is guided. Voice recognition means 11 can guide a flow from commodity guidance to purchase by a voice through a speaker 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides a receiving means for a mobile terminal capable of notifying information to a person who wishes to purchase a vending machine, particularly a person who is visually impaired, with the aim of allowing the person to use the vending machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Many vending machines have been installed as a convenient sales method. However, due to visual impairments or the inability to read, potential purchasers may not realize that the product in the vending machine is sold out or that the desired product is not available, meaning that they are unable to purchase the product they want. In such cases, potential purchasers who are unable to purchase the desired product must search for a vending machine that sells the desired product or for the entire store, resulting in a waste of time and effort. Furthermore, there is a current situation in which purchasers may not realize that a similar product is available in the vending machine and leave, meaning they are unable to purchase the desired product. As vending machines are not face-to-face sales, there are cases where the desired product is sold out or not available, or the customer is unable to know about the wide range of products available and finds it difficult to obtain the information that is right in front of them, making it impossible to purchase the desired product. To address this problem, Patent Document 1 makes it possible to receive inventory and product information from vending machines.

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2008-136144 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As mentioned above, when a desired product is sold out or not available in the vending machine, the purchaser is unable to know the sales status of the desired product. To address this problem, the vending machine is equipped with a transmitting and receiving antenna, which allows the purchaser to communicate with a portable terminal used by the purchaser to obtain product information, enabling purchases to be made according to the product status.

[0005] However, the technology in Patent Document 1 mentioned above has the problem that people with visual impairments or who cannot decipher characters cannot obtain the information. Therefore, by providing voice guidance, it is possible to provide information about vending machines, which solves the above-mentioned problem. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a vending machine and a portable terminal capable of communicating with the vending machine, the portable terminal comprising: a location information receiving means for receiving location information transmitted from the vending machine; a voice guidance means for the vending machine that detects when the portable terminal has entered a predetermined area of ​​the vending machine using the location information receiving means and provides vending machine information; and a voice recognition means that recognizes the voice of an operator operating the portable terminal, and the voice guidance means provides product location information of the vending machine in response to voice recognition by the voice recognition means.

[0007] The portable terminal is characterized in that when it receives out-of-stock information from inventory detection means for detecting the inventory status of the product provided in the vending machine, it issues a voice notification from the voice guidance means.

[0008] Furthermore, the receiving means of the present invention is capable of connecting to a vending machine equipped with a communication system and a portable terminal used by a purchaser to obtain information, and then audio guidance is provided to the vending machine informing the purchaser that the desired product is out of stock, as well as the product's contents and location, so that even if a person has a visual impairment or is unable to read printed text, they can still select and purchase the product in the same way as someone with normal eyesight or reading comprehension. This eliminates the situation where a purchaser realizes that the desired product is sold out, understands why the product did not come out even after inserting money and pressing the button, and is able to purchase a similar product to the desired product or a product that is currently being promoted, preventing the purchaser from missing an opportunity to purchase other products.

[0019] The mobile terminal of the present invention is characterized in that it is activated by voice and provides voice guidance up to product purchase. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when a mobile terminal of a person wishing to purchase a product is connected to a vending machine equipped with a communication system, the visually impaired person can notice via the receiving system that the desired product is sold out when they purchase it. This allows them to understand why the sold-out product is not being dispensed from the vending machine. The person wishing to purchase the product can then select and operate another product. This provides a vending machine that allows the product seller to sell products without losing sales opportunities.

[0011] Even visually impaired people can use a mobile terminal receiving means to enter designated area A of the vending machine and be notified of sold-out information, which is the vending machine's inventory information, as well as details of the products stored, such as carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, and soft drinks, along with their product features and product names, allowing them to check and select the product before purchasing.By using a mobile terminal equipped with a receiver from a vending machine equipped with product information transmitting means, the location of the push buttons and how to operate the product exit guide can be heard, so even if the desired product is not available, other product information can be obtained and a different product can be selected and purchased. [Brief explanation of the drawings] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a relationship between a mobile terminal and a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the flow of a display screen of a mobile terminal of the present invention. MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A vending machine 1 of the present invention comprises a location information transmitting means 3 that transmits location information within a predetermined area A of the vending machine 1, a product information transmitting means 5 that transmits information about products stored in the vending machine 1, such as orange juice or vegetable juice, and an inventory detection means 4 that detects the inventory status of these products. It also comprises a product manufacturer transmitting means 6 that transmits information about the product manufacturer, a product selection button position transmitting means 7 for purchasing a product, a deposited amount recognition means 8 that detects the amount inserted, and a purchase confirmation means 9 that detects purchase confirmation after the deposited amount is detected. This allows detailed product information and purchase instructions to be transmitted based on the vending manufacturer information.

[0013] Meanwhile, the mobile terminal 2 is equipped with location information receiving means 10, which receives location information signals from the location information transmitting means 3. The mobile terminal 2 is also equipped with product manufacturer receiving means 16, which receives signals from the product manufacturer information transmitting means 6 provided in the vending machine 1. When the mobile terminal 2 detects that it has entered the predetermined area A of the location information transmitting means 3, the mobile terminal 2 transmits vending machine information, such as product information such as the names of product manufacturers of products stored in the vending machine 1. When the product manufacturer receiving means 16 receives the product manufacturer information, the vending machine voice guidance means 12 provides voice guidance. Furthermore, the inserted amount confirmation means 8 and the payment recognition means 14 provide voice guidance on the inserted amount and payment. In this way, the mobile terminal 2 provides voice guidance on the operations required to purchase products from the vending machine 1, along with visual guidance, allowing the user to identify the location of the displayed products. The vending machine 1 and the mobile terminal 2 communicate with each other through their respective receiving antennas 20 and 21. Communication between the vending machine 1 and the mobile terminal 2 is also communicated to visually impaired users via the voice recognition means 11 and speaker 15 provided in the mobile terminal 2.

[0014] Next, the flow of purchasing a product according to the present invention will be described.

[0015] The sales operation of the present invention will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 2. The person wishing to purchase a product starts by first launching the app on the mobile terminal 5 in s2. Next, a loading screen is displayed in s3 (see Figure 3, b). The person wishing to purchase a product then decides in s4 whether or not to search for vending machines, and if YES, proceeds to s5. If NO, proceeds to s6, where the message "Cannot be detected" is displayed and a voice guide is played, and then returns to s3. In s5, the mobile terminal 2 decides whether or not to connect to the vending machine, and if YES, proceeds to s8, and if NO, proceeds to s7, where the message "Detect again" is displayed and a voice guide is played from the speaker 15.

[0016] In s8, "Manufacturers that handle this product" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, then the process proceeds to s9, where "Confirm guidance start" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, and if YES, the process proceeds to s11 (see Figure 3, f), and if NO, the process proceeds to s10, where "Exit application" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, then the process proceeds to s24 and ends. In s11, "Display product list or enter keyword" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, and if keyword entry is selected, the process proceeds to s13, where a display is made to input the keyword by voice and a voice announcement is made (see Figure 3, h), and if list display is selected, the process proceeds to s12, where all products in the vending machine are displayed and a voice announcement is made. When the corresponding product is found by completing keyword entry in s14 (see Figure 3, i), the process proceeds to s15, where the corresponding product is displayed and a voice announcement is made, and then the process proceeds to s16, where the purchased product is displayed and a voice announcement is made.

[0017] If confirmation is not possible in s16, the process proceeds to s17, where "Please select a product" is displayed and a voice announcement is made. On the other hand, if confirmation is made in s16, the product is displayed, the price is displayed in s18 and a voice announcement is made, the process proceeds to s19, where button position information is displayed and a voice announcement is made (see Figure 3, 1), the process proceeds further to s20, where payment confirmation is displayed and a voice announcement is made, the process proceeds to s21, where "Thank you" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, the process proceeds to s23, where "Exit the app" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, and the process ends in s24. If payment cannot be confirmed in s20, the process proceeds to s22, where "Please purchase" is displayed and a voice announcement is made, and the process proceeds again to s21.

[0018] In addition to the above-mentioned embodiment, in the present invention, it is possible to switch to keyword search in the middle of product guidance in s12, and when keyword search is performed, the genre is announced by voice, and when the product name is input by voice, the location of the product is announced, and the purchaser of the desired product can insert a coin and operate the vending machine to purchase the desired product.

[0019] In this way, the person wishing to purchase a product must follow the location display to check the position of the desired product button on the vending machine and predict where the desired product is.

[0020] This receiving means can interrupt the display by voice, regardless of the screen display, by using the function of the receiving means.

[0021] This receiving method displays the message as text on the user's mobile device and can be visually confirmed, making it possible to share the message on the screen with a third party.

[0022] The receiving means in the flowchart of FIG. 2 can be operated by voice.

[0023] Voice operations by the mobile device user are notified by voice from the mobile device's speaker. For example, voice notifications such as "The target product is A. It is sold out." or "The target product is A. It is a carbonated drink, stored in a PET bottle, refrigerated." It is also possible to provide voice notifications through earphones by providing an earphone jack instead of a speaker.

[0024] A communication system for a mobile terminal will now be described.

[0025] A person wishing to purchase a product can use the portable terminal that he or she has already used, and the vending machine can easily build a communication system using the vending machine and the portable terminal by simply adding a communication system.

[0026] According to the present invention, product information from a vending machine equipped with a communication system can be controlled not only by voice but also manually via a mobile terminal used by the person wishing to purchase the product, and can be controlled through the screen of the receiving means from the mobile terminal of the person wishing to purchase the product.

[0027] Although the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1. Vending machine 10. Location information receiving means 2 Mobile terminal 11 Voice recognition means 3. Location information transmission means 12. Voice guidance means 4 Stock detection means 13 Payment recognition means 5. Means of product information transmission 14. Means of sales recognition 6 Product manufacturer information dissemination means 15 Speakers 7. Selection button location information sending means 16. Product manufacturer information receiving means 8 Inserted amount recognition means 17 Vending machine voice guidance receiving means 9 Purchase confirmation method Within Area A

Claims

[Claim 1] A portable terminal capable of communicating with a vending machine that sells multiple types of products that are manufactured by product manufacturers and can be categorized into product categories, the portable terminal comprising: a location information receiving means for receiving location information transmitted from the vending machine; a voice guidance means for detecting that the portable terminal has entered a specified area of ​​the vending machine using the location information receiving means and providing vending machine information including the product manufacturer, the multiple product categories, and the product names assigned to each of the multiple types of products; and a voice recognition means for recognizing the voice of an operator operating the portable terminal, wherein a selection is made between a list display that provides information about all products and keyword input that provides information about the product category, the voice guidance means providing voice guidance for all products in the vending machine in response to voice recognition by the voice recognition means, and if a keyword for a product category is input during the voice guidance, the voice guidance means performs a keyword search based on the keyword and provides voice guidance for the searched product category, and when a product name is input by voice, searches for a product based on the input product name, and provides information about the searched product name and the product position assigned to the searched product.

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