JP3624697B2 - Electronic money vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic money compatible vending machine capable of purchasing a product using an IC card type electronic money in which a monetary value is recorded as electronic data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the development of the Internet and IC cards, the introduction of electronic money that performs transactions by changing monetary values into electronic data has been studied, and trial experiments have been conducted in various places. Under such circumstances, there is an increasing need to be able to use electronic money even in vending machines.
[0003]
Conventionally, most vending machines use a method of purchasing products by inserting coins or banknotes, but some have been developed to purchase products using magnetic recording type prepaid cards. Yes. In such a vending machine, when a magnetic recording type prepaid card is used, the price of the product is withdrawn from the balance recorded on the prepaid card, the card balance is rewritten to that value, and the product is discharged.
[0004]
On the other hand, in order to charge the card issue organization for the sales amount of the prepaid card, the sales amount is recorded in a memory, and at the time of aggregation, it is printed out by a printer and sent to the card issue organization.
[0005]
Therefore, when making a vending machine compatible with electronic money, particularly IC card type electronic money, it is conceivable to apply the same method as the prepaid card compatible vending machine for settlement with the card issuing organization. . However, if electronic money becomes widespread and transaction volume increases in the future, the method of printing out and charging sales data one by one will not be able to cope. Therefore, a method of directly transmitting sales data by connecting each vending machine and a card issuing organization through a telephone line or the like is being studied.
[0006]
On the other hand, when the vending machine is compatible with the IC card type electronic money, an IC card reader / writer is provided in the vending machine, and a security chip is attached to the vending machine so that reading / writing of data of the IC card can be performed via the security chip. Security needs to be ensured.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the vending machine for IC card type electronic money, when the sales amount of the IC card type electronic money is transmitted through a telephone line or the like, since the transmitted amount is transferred from the card issuing organization, It is desirable to be able to print out the transmission result. On the other hand, the IC card reader / writer is normally replaceable, and the security chip can be easily detached from the IC card reader / writer. Therefore, in some cases, there has been a problem that an IC card reader / writer or a security chip may be replaced by intention or error, and an error may occur.
[0008]
The present invention solves such problems, and prints out the transmitted sales summary data when the sales summary data in IC card type electronic money is transmitted to the card issuing institution in the vending machine, and the amount transmitted. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to collate vending machines, IC card readers / writers, and security chips at the same time when a credit card is transferred from a card issuing organization.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, an electronic money-compatible vending machine according to claim 1 is a main terminal that controls a plurality of terminal control units that individually control each part of the vending machine and the terminal control units. The control unit accepts the IC card in which the monetary value is recorded as electronic data, reads and writes the data of the IC card through the security chip, and subtracts the price of the sale product from the data of the IC card. IC card reader / writer that accumulates the price of the product sold as sales summary data and the data collection device at a remote location by command via the communication line An electronic money-compatible vending machine comprising a communication means for transmitting data and a printer, the IC card reader / writer At the time of sending the aggregated and held sales summary data to the data collection device, the machine number of the vending machine set in the main control unit together with the sales summary data from the printer, the IC card reader / writer The identification number and the identification number of the security chip are printed out. In this way, the transmitted amount can be verified when it is transferred from the card issuing organization, and individual identification of the vending machine, the IC card reader / writer, and the security chip can be performed.
[0010]
The electronic money-compatible vending machine according to claim 2 prints a part of the print data immediately after the sales summary data transmission command is issued, and prints the remaining print data after the completion of the transmission of the sales summary data. It is characterized by that. In this way, the start and end of the counting operation can be confirmed by the operation of the printer.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 2 is an IC card reader / writer, 3 is an interface, 4 is a connector, 7 is an input device, 8 is a printer, 9 is an optical adapter, 10 is a handy terminal, 11 is an IC card, 12 is a PHS telephone, and 13 is A PHS base station, 14 is a public line, and 15 is a data collection device.
[0012]
The main control unit 1 of the vending machine controls the terminal control units such as the coin processing control unit 5 and the sales control unit 6 in an integrated manner. In the main control unit 1, a machine number used for individual identification of the vending machine is set by the vending machine user. The input device 7 is for inputting various data such as a product price and setting of a product selection button and setting the data in the main control unit 1. The printer 8 is for printing out sales data and the like. The handy terminal 10 is for collecting sales data and the like via an optical adapter 9 that performs communication using infrared rays.
[0013]
An IC card reader / writer 2 and an interface 3 are provided in such a vending machine control unit. The IC card reader / writer 2 has a card insertion slot 2a, and data can be read from and written to the IC card 11. The IC card 11 has a monetary value recorded as electronic data, and functions as an IC card type electronic money. The IC card reader / writer 2 incorporates a security chip 2b, and data is read from and written to the IC card 11 through the security chip 2b. As a result, only the regular IC card 11 can be used, and all other cards are rejected. In this way, system security is ensured.
[0014]
When the IC card 11 is inserted into the card insertion slot 2 a of the IC card reader / writer 2, the IC card reader / writer 2 reads the data recorded on the IC card 11 to check the balance, and the main card via the interface 3. Notify the control unit 1. In response to this, a lamp for selling a product that can be purchased with the balance of the IC card 11 is turned on. Then, the sales control unit 6 carries out the product selected by the product selection button from the products that can be sold.
[0015]
At the same time, the IC card reader / writer 2 rewrites the data by subtracting the price of the selected product from the remaining amount of the IC card 11. Further, the price of the product is stored as a card sales summary data file in a memory in the IC card reader / writer 2.
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a card sales summary data file. This data file is closed when the number of stored data reaches a predetermined number, or when a predetermined period has elapsed. Thereafter, another data file is opened, and the subsequent sales data is accumulated there. In this way, a plurality of card sales total data files are held in the memory in the IC card reader / writer 2, and serial numbers are assigned to the respective files.
[0017]
In each file, “IC card reader / writer ID” is a unique number assigned to the IC card reader / writer 2, and “security chip ID” is a security incorporated in the IC card reader / writer 2. This is a unique number assigned to the chip 2b. “Aggregated data file number” is the number of the card sales aggregated data file, and “Aggregated data status” is whether the file has been sent to the card issuing institution, whether the file is currently open, etc. , Shows the current state of the file.
[0018]
The “total amount” is a total amount as a result of accumulating the sales amount by the IC card 11. The “number of card insertions” is the total number of times the IC card 11 has been inserted into the IC card reader / writer 2 during the period in which the file is open, and the “number of rejections” is the number of times the IC card 11 is in the period during which the file is open This is the total number of times that was inserted but was rejected due to card fraud, communication error, etc. Therefore, “number of times of card insertion” − “number of times of rejection” is the number of times the IC card has actually been sold. The “file close time” records the time when the file is closed.
[0019]
On the other hand, a PHS telephone 12 can be connected to the interface 3 via the connector 4, and the card sales summary data file held in the IC card reader / writer 2 is sent from the IC card reader / writer 2 based on the transmission command. The data is sent to the data collection device 15 of the card issuing organization via the interface 3, the PHS telephone 12, the PHS base station 13 and the public line 14.
[0020]
The interface 3 includes a display 3a composed of, for example, a 6-digit 7-segment LED and a plurality of setting buttons 3b, and can set the telephone number of the data collection device 15 and the number of retries when the communication state is not good. I am doing so.
[0021]
In addition, if the movable PHS telephone 12 is used for the connection between the interface 3 and the public line 14, no special wiring work is required, and it can be used in common with other vending machines, which is advantageous in terms of cost. However, a fixed PHS radio may be provided in each vending machine. By doing so, the cost is increased because a PHS radio is required for each vending machine, but the operation is simplified. The telephone is not limited to PHS and may be a mobile phone. Further, the connection between the IC card reader / writer 2 and the public line 14 may be directly connected via a wired telephone line without using the interface 3 or the PHS telephone 12. By doing so, wiring work for drawing a telephone line is required, but the operation is simplified and communication can be stably performed.
[0022]
The transmission command is performed in conjunction with a start command for a normal counting operation of the vending machine by pressing a counting key that has been conventionally provided in the input device 7, the handy terminal 10, or the printer 8. That is, when the totaling (clear) key of the input device 7, the handy terminal 10 or the printer 8 is pressed, after the normal totaling operation is performed, the totaling operation of electronic money is continuously performed, and the IC card reader / writer 2 is All of the stored unsent card sales summary data files are sent to the data collection device 15.
[0023]
Further, a totaling start button 3c for separately performing the totaling operation of electronic money is provided in the interface 3. If communication errors frequently occur due to poor PHS communication status, retry using the total key of the input device 7, handy terminal 10, or printer 8 in addition to the normal operation for counting electronic money. The counting operation is also repeated in vain, but such inconvenience can be eliminated by retrying using the counting start button for performing the counting operation of electronic money independently.
[0024]
In this way, the card sales summary data file is transmitted to the data collection device 15, and when this is completed, receipt confirmation data is returned from the data collection device 15. The receipt confirmation data is update information for notifying that “the received data has been received normally and may be deleted from the IC card reader / writer 2”. Then, the card issuing organization transfers the sales proceeds to the merchandise seller (operating organization of the vending machine) based on the received card sales summary data.
[0025]
Then, a necessary part of the card sales total data transmitted to the card issuing institution is printed out by the printer 8 at the time of execution of the totaling operation so that it can be verified when a transfer is made from the card issuing institution.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print format. Print the title first. Next, the print number and the date and time when the counting operation is started are printed. The print number is assigned serially by the interface 3 each time printing is performed. Next, the machine number set by the user in the main control unit 1 of the vending machine is read from the main control unit 1 and printed so that individual identification of the vending machine can be performed. After that, in order to indicate whether the connection to the data collection device 15 is connected from the IC card reader / writer 2 via the interface 3 or directly from the IC card reader / writer 2, “Jihanki” is selected in the former case. If it is the latter, “CRW”, which means a card reader / writer, is printed.
[0027]
Further, after reading and printing the IC card reader / writer ID and the security chip ID from the card sales total data file, the total data file number, the number of sales, and the file of all the card sales total data files transmitted to the data collection device 15 this time Each total amount is printed. Among them, the total data file number and the total file amount are read from each card sales total data file and printed as they are, but the number of sales is the number of card insertions in each card sales total data file minus the number of rejections. Is printed.
[0028]
Then, the number of cases handled for each card sales summary data file and the total of the file total amount are printed, and finally the processing result is printed. That is, when the totaling operation is normally completed, “exit” is printed. On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs during the counting operation, as shown in FIG. 4, the error content is printed together with the characters “error”.
[0029]
In addition, when there is an instruction to send sales total data, the printer 8 immediately prints a part of the print data, for example, the title part or the part from the title to the security chip ID, and temporarily stops it. Then, after the transmission of the sales summary data is completed, the remaining part is printed. By doing so, the start and end of the counting operation can be confirmed by the operation of the printer.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, the electronic money-compatible vending machine according to claim 1 is configured such that when the sales summary data is transmitted to the data collection device, the machine number of the vending machine, the identification number of the IC card reader / writer, and the security chip together with the sales summary data The ID number was printed out by the printer. As a result, the transmitted amount can be verified when it is transferred from the card issuing institution, and individual identification of the vending machine, the IC card reader / writer, and the security chip is also possible.
[0031]
The electronic money-compatible vending machine according to claim 2 prints a part of the print data immediately after the sales summary data transmission command is issued, and prints the remaining print data after the completion of the transmission of the sales summary data. As a result, the start and end of the counting operation can be confirmed by the operation of the printer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a card sales summary data file.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print format.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print format when an error occurs.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 ... IC card reader / writer 3 ... interface 4 ... connector 7 ... input device 8 ... printer 9 ... optical adapter 10 ... handy terminal 11 ... IC card 12 ... PHS telephone 13 ... PHS base station 14 ... public line 15 ... data collection device

Claims (2)

A plurality of terminal control units that individually control each part of the vending machine, a main control unit that controls and controls these terminal control units, and an IC card in which monetary value is recorded as electronic data, Reads and writes data of the IC card via a security chip, subtracts the price of the sales product from the IC card data, rewrites the IC card data to the value after the withdrawal, and converts the price of the sales product to the sales summary data A vending machine corresponding to electronic money, comprising: an IC card reader / writer that stores data as communication means; a communication means that transmits the sales summary data to a remote data collection device according to a command via a communication line; and a printer. At the time of transmitting the sales summary data that the IC card reader / writer has aggregated and held to the data collection device, An electronic device that prints out the machine number of the vending machine, the identification number of the IC card reader / writer, and the identification number of the security chip set in the main control unit together with the sales summary data from the printer Money vending machine. 2. A vending machine for electronic money according to claim 1, wherein a part of the print data is printed immediately after the sales total data transmission command is issued, and the remaining print data is printed after the transmission of the sales total data is completed. .

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