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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine and, more
particularly, to an automatic vending machine in which goods or the like
are dispensed in response to the use of a key card.
In automatic vending machines, it is common for cash (coins or bills) to be
used for inducing a sale. More recently, automatic vending machines which
are operated exclusively by various types of key cards are employed for
inducing a sale. In some vending machines, payment can be made while using
such a card.
Methods of payment for purchases from automatic vending machines using a
card system fall into two categories, payment in advance and credit type
payment. In accordance with the payment in advance method, a user
purchases a card in advance for cash, the amount being stored on the card
by suitable means such as a magnetic strip. Each time the card is used in
the machine, the recorded information is appropriately changed so as to
indicate the remaining credit amount. Therefore, the vending machine
operator safely obtains the cash in advance. In accordance with the credit
type payment method, a card holder utilizes a vending machine for a
purchase using a card which has been issued to him. The amount of each
purchase is stored in the machine, and the amounts debited against each
card are accumulated over a predetermined period of time and are then
billed to each card user at the end of that period. In this system, the
collection of the amount owed can be complicated and sometimes impossible.
Advance payment type cards are preferable and utilized in most vending
machines of this type. Such vending machines, however, must be provided
with a complex card reader to identify the amount remaining on each card
and must also be able to change the amount after a purchase has been made.
These types of card readers are very expensive and cards used in this
method are typically abandoned when the amount of credit shown on the card
is expended, making the costs of card provision higher.
Furthermore, in recent years, the variety of merchandise that may be stored
within one vending machine has greatly increased. In beverage vending
machines, for example, coffee vending machines, the number of selections
has increased, such as the type of coffee bean, the amount of cream and
sugar, etc. Therefore, customers will select one of a large number of
items. The operation of automatic vending machines has, therefore, become
more complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved automatic
vending machine in which advance payment card systems are used for
effecting purchases without the need for a complex card reader device.
An automatic vending machine in accordance with the present invention
includes means for identifying stored identification information on a
card, a memory unit for storing the identification information of each
card and the amount of money stored on the card, means for discriminating
and counting the amount of money deposited, and a control circuit to
supply merchandise after a comparison between the price of the selected
merchandise and the amount of credit available which is extracted from a
memory unit in accordance with the identification information. The control
circuit also corrects the amount stored after supplying the selected
merchandise.
Further objects, features and other aspects of this invention will be
understood from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of
the invention referring to the annexed drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an automatic vending machine
according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the vending operation of the automatic
vending machine of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an automatic vending
machine according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the automatic vending
machine of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of still another embodiment of an automatic
vending machine according to the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the automatic vending
machine of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows the relationship between various elements housed in an
automatic vending machine constructed in accordance with the present
invention. Microprocessor 1 is connected to card reader 2 for receiving
therefrom card identifying information. Card reader 2 may comprise any
standard card reading device which is capable of reading information
stored on a card such as that contained on a magnetic strip.
Microprocessor 1 is also coupled to control and display panel 3 through
which a customer selects the desired merchandise stored in the vending
machine, i.e., control/display panel 3 is provided with selecting switches
and display means to indicate information stored in the memory unit, as
described below.
Microprocessor 1 is also coupled to card memory unit 4. Card memory unit 4
stores card identification information corresponding to cards which have
been registered by an operator of the vending machine. Therefore, each
customer or card holder has different identification information. Card
memory unit 4 is in communication with microprocessor 1 for receiving card
identification information to be stored together with information relating
to the prepaid amount of each card, i.e. the customers credit balance.
Microprocessor 1 is further connected to a merchandise conveying unit 5
which is coupled to a merchandise storage unit 6. Merchandise conveying
unit 5 is responsive to an authorization signal received from
microprocessor 1 and retrieves selected merchandise from storage unit 6
and supplies the merchandise to the customer. Both conveying unit 5 and
storge unit 6 may comprise known components found in conventional
automatic vending machines.,
The system includes a cash discrimination device 7 which detects the amount
of deposited money. The amount of money deposited is stored in memory unit
4 through microprocessor 1 in accordance with each card identification
information. Therefore, the amount of money deposited is stored under the
identification information of each card.
In the above-described automatic vending machine, a customer who wishes to
use the vending machine should obtain a card which has personal
identification information stored thereon. Initially, each customer should
insert the card into simple card reader 2 provided in the automatic
vending machine. The customer then deposits a suitable amount of money,
for example one dollar, through discrimination device 7. Card memory unit
4 stores combined information relating to the card identification
information and amount of money deposited. Control/display panel 3 will
indicate to the customer the amount deposited. Thereafter, the customer
can purchase merchandise from the automatic vending machine at any time.
The customer may purchase any merchandise stored in the vending machine up
to the desposited amount. When a customer inserts the card, card reader 2
will read the identification information and retrieve the amount remaining
in that account and display this amount to the customer. The customer then
selects the desired merchandise and microprocessor 1 compares the price of
the selected merchandise with the amount remaining for that card, and if
the amount remaining is more than the purchase price, the microprocessor 1
generates an operating signal to supply the selected goods through
conveying unit 5 to the customer. Microprocessor 1 will then store the
remaining amount of money in memory unit 4. The microprocessor will simply
subtract the purchase price from the original amount and will store the
remainder for the next transaction. This process will be repeated each
time the customer makes a purchase. When the purchase price exceeds the
amount stored in memory, the customer will be informed and may add money
to the account.
The operation of the above mentioned vending machine will be explained with
reference to FIG. 2. After the customer's identification information is
read through card reader 2, the customer selects merchandise through
control/display panel 3. At this time, if the purchase price of the
merchandise is below the amount remaining in the account, the conveying
unit delivers the selected merchandise to the customer from the storage
unit and the stored amount in the account is adjusted accordingly. If the
purchase price of the merchandise is over the amount remaining in the
account, the control/display panel indicates this condition to the
customer and the customer must deposit more money to receive the
merchandise.
In the above described automatic vending machine, the identification
information stored on the card functions to extract specific information
stored in the memory unit 4. Memory unit 4 can store selection information
together with information relating to deposited money. This selection
information can be used as the operating signal for the vending machine,
and the customer can obtain the desired merchandise with only one action,
such as pressing a confirmation or starting switch. In other words, if a
customer uses a beverage dispensing machine, for example, a coffee vending
machine, the customer can select the type of coffee bean, the strength of
the brewed coffee and the amounts of sugar and cream by operating a
plurality of selecting switches. Instead of inputting this information
each time a purchase is made, the selection information is stored in
memory unit 4. In this way, the customer need only enter his card and the
beverage will be automatically prepared according to the stored
information.
There are two methods of registering selection information into memory unit
4. In the first method the identification information of the card is first
confirmed by the card reader 2. Thereafter, the customer operates the
selection switches in accordance with his own preferences, and the
identification information of the card is reconfirmed by card reader 2.
The selection information is registered in memory unit 4 together with the
identification information. In the second method the last operation of the
first method is eliminated, i.e., the operation of reconfirming the
identification information through card read 2 is replaced by the
operation of a switch on an information display panel. As shown in FIG. 3,
the automatic vending machine is provided with an information display
panel 9 which is coupled to microprocessor 1. Therefore, the input of the
selection information is confirmed by the operation of a confirmation
switch only.
The operation of an automatic vending machine provided with the
above-described function will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. After
the card has been identified, if memory unit 4 has any stored selection
information, the vending machine will prepare the merchandise in
accordance with the stored information, after the operation of a
confirmation or start switch. The vending operation then proceeds in the
same manner explained with reference to FIG. 2. Therefore, the customer
has purchased merchandise easily, utilizing information stored in memory
unit 4.
In above described automatic vending machine, the card functions only to
identify and extract information from a memory unit, therefore, dishonest
acts by potentially dishonest purchasers who attempt to use counterfeit
cards, stolen cards or the like may not be easily prevented. To avoid this
potential disadvantage, the automatic vending machine is provided with
identity information input unit 8 which is coupled to microprocessor 1, as
shown in FIG. 5. When information regarding the deposited amount of money
is stored in memory unit 4 together with the identification information
stored on the card, the customer manually inputs identity information in
the form of a security code which is registered in the memory unit.
Thereafter, the machine will only operate if the identification
information on the card as well as the manually inputted identity
information both match the registered information in memory unit 4.
Referring to FIG. 6, each sustomer must input the identity information
through input unit 8 after the card has been identified by card reader 2.
The customer then makes his selection. At that time, microprocessor 1
compares the inputted identity information with the stored information in
memory unit 4 and if the identity information matches the stored
information, microprocessor 1 compares the price of the requested
merchandise with the amount remaining in the account. If the identity
information does not match the stored information, the control/display
panel 3 indicates this fact to the customer.
This invention has been described in detail in connection with the
preferred embodiments. These embodiments, however, are merely illustrative
and the invention is not restricted thereto. It will be understood by
those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications can be
made within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended
claims.
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