JP7775360B2 - Item supply device, item supply system, and management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an item supply device, an item supply system, and a management device.

Conventionally, there are item dispensers in which capsule toys stored inside the device body can be obtained by operating a handle or the like, subject to payment of a fee (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-334911

In such an article supply device, there is an increasing number of consumers who desire to receive articles in other ways than just payment of a price as a condition for receiving the article.
Therefore, the present invention provides an article supply device, an article supply system, and a management device that can meet the demands of consumers who want to receive articles in various forms.

One aspect of the present invention is an item supply device capable of supplying items, comprising: a display unit that displays lottery information for conducting a lottery for the item supply; a storage unit that stores items; a supply unit that supplies the items stored in the storage unit; and a control unit that controls the supply unit to supply items, on the condition that at least the lottery information has been acquired and a lottery has been conducted as a result of the acquisition of the lottery information.

One aspect of the present invention is a product supply system capable of supplying products, comprising a product supply device and a terminal. The product supply device comprises a display unit that displays at least lottery information for conducting a lottery for the product supply, a storage unit that stores products, a supply unit that supplies the products stored in the storage unit, and a control unit that controls the supply of products by the supply unit. The terminal comprises an acquisition unit that can acquire lottery information from the display unit and a transmission unit that transmits a request to conduct a lottery based on the acquired lottery information. The control unit of the product supply device enables the supply unit to supply products, on at least the condition that the lottery information has been acquired and the lottery has been conducted.

One aspect of the present invention is a management device that manages the supply of goods by a goods supply device, and includes: a lottery unit that executes the lottery for goods supply on the condition that a request to execute the lottery for goods supply, which is transmitted upon acquisition of lottery information displayed on the goods supply device, is received; an identification unit that identifies a goods supply device that will be able to supply the goods by winning the lottery; and a supply control unit that controls the control unit of the identified goods supply device to enable the supply of the goods on the condition that the lottery executed by the lottery unit wins the lottery for goods supply and that a goods supply device that will supply the goods is identified.

The present invention provides an item supply device, an item supply system, and a management device that can meet the needs of consumers.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an article supply system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the item supply system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device configuration of a smartphone, which is an example of a terminal. FIG. 4 is a front view of an example of an article supplying device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example of an article supply device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the item supply device. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the terminal. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the management device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the item supply device data D1. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of the item supply system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a photograph of an information display body of trigger information. FIG. 12 shows an example of the rejection notification screen. FIG. 13 shows an example of a device ID input screen displayed on a terminal. FIG. 14 shows an example of a supply guide screen displayed on the terminal. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the lottery process of the management device in the first embodiment. FIG. 16 shows an example of the lottery process start screen. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the supply determination process of the management apparatus in the first embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the error notification screen. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the article supply device in the first embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an item supply device according to a first modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram of an item supply system according to a first modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram of the item supply system in the second embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the winning notification screen. FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the lottery process and supply determination process of the management device in the second embodiment. FIG. 25 is a front view of an example of an article supplying device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an item supply device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 76 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of discount data D2. FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram of the item supply system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 30 shows an example of a device ID input screen displayed on a terminal in the third embodiment. FIG. 31 shows an example of guidance information displayed on a terminal in the third embodiment. FIG. 32 is a flowchart of the lottery process of the management device in the third embodiment. FIG. 33 is a flowchart of the supply determination process of the management apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the supply process of the item supply device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the supply process of the item supply device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the terminal 3 in the first modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 37 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management device according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 38 is an example of the user management data D3. FIG. 39 shows an example of a payment input screen displayed on a terminal in the first modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 40 is a sequence diagram of an item supply system according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 41 is a flowchart of the payment process in the first modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 42 is a schematic diagram of an item supply system according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 43 shows an example of the item supply device data D1 in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 44 is an example of the winning level data D4. FIG. 45 is a sequence diagram of the item supply system according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 46 shows an example of a supply guidance screen in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 47 is a flowchart of the supply process in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 48 is a flowchart of the supply determination process in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 49 is a flowchart of the supply process in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 50 is a schematic diagram of an item supply system according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 51 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 52 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 53 is a diagram showing an example of serial code data D5. FIG. 54 shows an example of a serial code input screen displayed on a terminal in the sixth embodiment. FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an example of error guidance information. FIG. 56 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the item supply system according to the sixth embodiment.

<Outline of the embodiment of the present invention>
An outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this embodiment, if a user wins a lottery to receive a product, the product is supplied to the winning user. The right that a user can receive as a reward for winning a product through the lottery is at least one of the right to obtain the product free of charge (product acquisition right), the right to purchase the product at a discounted price (discount purchase right), and the right to purchase the product (limited purchase right).

If a user wins the lottery, the company supplying the goods will notify the user that they have won the lottery and will then supply the goods to the user. Here, it is desirable to supply the goods to the user from a goods supply device rather than by mail, etc. This is because having the user visit a location where a goods supply device is installed allows the user to become aware of the goods supply device and also lets the user know that a goods supply device that supplies a wide variety of goods is installed. This is beneficial for the company supplying the goods and also provides the user with an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of goods.

In order to have users go to the location where the item supply device is installed, it is desirable for the item supply device to supply the item. However, there are many item supply devices at the location where the item supply devices are installed. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the item supply device that will supply the item to the user from among the many item supply devices. Furthermore, even if the item supply device that will supply the item can be identified, the item cannot be supplied unless it is known whether the user who will receive the item has won the lottery. Therefore, by notifying the user that the item has been won in the lottery and identifying the supply device that will supply the item near the supply device that will supply the item, it is possible to supply the item to the user who has won the lottery.
Therefore, the present embodiment is configured as follows.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the product supply system in this embodiment. In Figure 1, 1 is a company's product supply device, 2 is the product supplied by product supply device 1, and 3 is the user's terminal.

The item supply device 1 is a device that supplies an item 2 to a user. The item supply device 1 is installed indoors or outdoors, and typically multiple item supply devices 1 that supply different items are installed. Among these installed item supply devices 1, there is an item supply device 1 that can supply an item 2 to a user who wins a lottery. The item supply device 1 displays lottery information for conducting a lottery to supply an item 2 to a user. This lottery information is information that serves as the starting point (start) of a series of lottery processes and is hereinafter referred to as trigger information 11. This trigger information 11 includes at least request information that requests the start of the lottery process and triggers the lottery. The request information is, for example, information indicating the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the server that requests the transmission of a lottery process start screen. For user convenience, it is desirable that the trigger information 11 be an information display that can be read by the terminal 3. For example, the information display is a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode (QR Code: registered trademark).

Terminal 3 has the function of reading information displays and the function of communicating with other devices. Terminal 3 may be, for example, a personal computer, tablet computer, smartphone, or mobile phone.

This embodiment has the following features.
(1) Trigger information 11 for the user to start the lottery process is displayed on the item supply device 1.
(2) At the location where the goods supply device 1 is installed, the user's terminal 3 acquires the trigger information 11 of the goods supply device 1, thereby transmitting request information for starting the lottery process.
(3) Identify the item supply device installed in the location where the user is located.
(4) The item supply device 1 supplies items on the condition that at least the trigger information displayed on the item supply device 1 is acquired and a lottery process is executed.

The winning probability of the lottery process in (4) can be a predetermined constant probability or a variable probability. In the case of a predetermined constant probability, winning is determined with a constant probability regardless of the circumstances. For example, if the probability is 50%, there is a one in two chance of winning. In the case of a variable probability, the probability changes depending on environmental information at the time the lottery process is executed, user information registered on the server, etc.

For example, environmental information includes the time, weather, the user's current location, i.e., the location of the place where the item supply device 1 is installed. In the case of time, the probability of winning can be increased during times when the number of items supplied is low, taking into account past supply times. In the case of weather, the probability of winning can be increased on rainy days. In the case of the user's current location (the location of the item supply device 1), the probability of winning can be increased for item supply devices 1 with low supply numbers, taking into account past supply numbers. Note that these methods are merely examples and are not limited to these. Furthermore, these conditions can be combined to create a variable probability. Note that at least one of these conditions for the probability of winning can be present, and they can be combined.

To supply goods to the selected user, the management device 4 identifies the goods supply device 1 installed at the location where the selected user is located, and then transmits a supply permission signal to the identified goods supply device 1. Upon receiving the supply permission signal, the supply unit of the goods supply device 1 unlocks the goods supply lock, enabling the supply of goods 2 to the user. The management device 4 may be on a network capable of communicating with the goods supply device 1, or may be provided in the goods supply device 1 itself. If the goods supply device 1 and terminal 3 can communicate via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark) , or the like, the terminal 3 may receive the supply permission signal from the management device, and then transmit an unlock signal to the goods supply device 1.

First Embodiment of the Present Invention
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The merchandise supply system in the first embodiment is advantageous for companies that supply products to users. By having users visit locations where merchandise supply devices are installed, users can become aware of the merchandise supply devices and further purchase other merchandise. To achieve this, it is desirable to hold a lottery at locations (including nearby locations) where merchandise supply devices that supply a wide variety of merchandise are installed, and the merchandise is supplied at the installation locations. Therefore, the first embodiment is configured as follows. In this embodiment, the reward for winning the lottery is the right to acquire the merchandise free of charge (the right to acquire the merchandise), and the probability of winning the lottery process is set to a fixed probability. In the following description, it is assumed that there are multiple merchandise supply devices that supply merchandise to users who win the lottery, and that the merchandise supply device that supplies the merchandise to the user who wins the lottery is identified using device ID information that uniquely identifies the merchandise supply device.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the article supply system according to the first embodiment. In Fig. 2, the same components as those in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same numbers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the item supply device 1, the user terminal 3, and the management device 4 are connected to a communication network 5 and can communicate with each other. The communication network 5 refers to a communication path that allows data communication. In other words, the communication network 5 includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for connection, a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), as well as communication networks such as telephone communication networks, cable networks, and the Internet, and the communication method can be either wired or wireless.

The item supply device 1 is a device that supplies an item 2, and supplies the item 2 to a user who wins the lottery.
The terminal 3 may be, for example, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, or a mobile phone. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of a smartphone, which is an example of the terminal 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 3 includes a display 31, a touch operation panel 32 integral with the display 31, and a built-in speaker 33 and camera 34. The terminal 3 also includes a control board, a built-in battery, a power button, a volume control button, and other components (not shown). The control board is equipped with various microprocessors such as a CPU, GPU, and DSP, an ASIC, various IC memories such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and a wireless communication module for wireless communication with a mobile phone base station. The control board is also equipped with a so-called I/F circuit (interface circuit), such as a driver circuit for the touch operation panel 32. The elements mounted on the control board are electrically connected to each other via a bus circuit or the like, enabling data reading and writing and signal transmission and reception.
The management device 4 is a server system configured to include one or more server devices, storage devices, etc. The management device 4 performs processes such as lottery processing, identification of the item supply device 1 that supplies the items, and payment processing.

Next, the configuration of each device will be described.
Fig. 4 is a front view of an example of the article supply device 1, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the example of the article supply device 1, and Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the article supply device 1. The article supply device 1 is a device that supplies articles 2.

Item 2 is an item to be supplied to a user. By winning a lottery, a user can obtain the right to receive item 2 from item supply device 1. Item 2 includes, for example, a toy or the like contained in a divisible spherical capsule, or a toy and capsule combined. Item 2 is not limited to one type of item; there may be multiple types of items. In this case, multiple types of items are stored together as items belonging to a single series (type) in the item storage section 20 of item supply device 1, which will be described later.

The front of the item supply device 1 is provided with a display 13 that displays the contents of the item 2, an insertion slot 14 for coins to be paid in exchange for the item 2, a handle 15 as an operating unit, an outlet 16 through which the item 2 is supplied, and a coin return slot 17. By visually checking the display 13, the user can tell that the item supply device 1 is capable of supplying the item 2 that can be supplied if the user wins the lottery.

Trigger information 11 (information display: e.g., a two-dimensional code) and device ID information 12 (information display: e.g., a one-dimensional code) are displayed on the front of the item supply device 1. Trigger information 11 is request information that serves as the starting point for executing the lottery process. For example, request information 11 is link information to a request destination that requests the sending of a lottery process start screen for executing the lottery process, such as the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the management device 4. Device ID information 12 is information that uniquely identifies the item supply device 1. Regarding the display method of trigger information 11 and device ID information 12, in this example, a QR code (two-dimensional code) is used as the information display for trigger information, and a barcode (one-dimensional code) is used as the information display for device ID information, and these are attached to the front of the item supply device 1 for display. However, this is not limited to this. For example, if the item supply device 1 has a display unit such as an LCD, the information display for trigger information 11 and the information display for device ID information 12 may be displayed on that display unit. Furthermore, the location where the trigger information 11 and device ID information 12 are displayed is not limited to the front of the item supply device 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, they may be displayed near the return slot 17 in a position that allows a good view of the bottom of the return slot 17.

The item supply device 1 includes an item storage section 20 , an item supply section 21 , a lock section 22 , an operation section 23 , a control section 24 , and a communication section 25 .
The article storage unit 20 stores a large number of articles 2. The article storage unit 20 is configured to easily store articles by pulling the article storage unit 20 toward you and inserting the article 2 from in front of the article supply device 1. At the bottom of the article storage unit 20, an article supply unit 21 is installed, which includes a turntable with a hole large enough for one article 2 to pass through.

The operating unit 23 transmits the operation of the handle 15 to the turntable of the item supply unit 21. The operating unit 23 is locked by the locking unit 22, and when unlocked, the handle 15 becomes rotatable by user operation. The mechanism for unlocking the lock is, for example, an unlocking mechanism using a solenoid lock. In this case, the solenoid lock is used to place the handle 15 in an unrotatable state (locked state), and the lock is released by passing electricity through the solenoid, making the handle 15 rotatable. Note that the unlocking mechanism is not limited to a solenoid locking mechanism, and other unlocking mechanisms may be used. When the locking unit 22 is in the unlocked state, rotating the handle 15 a predetermined angle rotates the turntable in conjunction with the operation. When the hole in the turntable faces the drop opening provided at the bottom of the item storage unit 20, one item 2 is supplied from the drop opening to the outlet 16 through a passage communicating with the outlet 16.

The control unit 24 controls the locking and unlocking of the locking unit 22. The control unit 24 unlocks the locking unit 22 via the communication unit 25 upon receiving a supply permission signal from the management device 4. The control unit 24 also locks the locking unit 22 after detecting that the item 2 has been discharged to the outlet 16, or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the locking was released.
The communication unit 25 is capable of communicating with the management device 4 via the communication network 5 .

Next, the configuration of the terminal 3 will be described.
Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 3. As shown in Fig. 6, the terminal 3 includes an operation input unit 301, an image capturing unit 302, a processing unit 303, an image display unit 304, a sound output unit 305, a communication unit 306, and a storage unit 307.

The operation input unit 301 is used to input various user operations and outputs operation input signals corresponding to the operation input to the processing unit 303. The functions of the operation input unit 301 can be realized by elements that are directly operated by the user's fingers, such as a touch operation pad, home button, button switch, joystick, or trackball, as well as elements that detect movement or posture, such as an acceleration sensor, angular velocity sensor, tilt sensor, or geomagnetic sensor. In Figure 3, this corresponds to the touch operation panel 32.

The photographing unit 302 photographs the information display (QR code) of the trigger information 11, the information display (barcode) of the device ID, etc., and outputs the photographed image to the processing unit 303. The photographing unit 302 includes a lens, an image sensor, and a controller that controls these. In Figure 3, this corresponds to the camera 34.

The processing unit 303 comprehensively controls the operation of the terminal 3 based on programs and data stored in the memory unit 307, operation input signals from the operation input unit 301, etc. The functions of the processing unit 303 can be realized by electronic components such as a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, an ASIC, or IC memory. The processing unit 303 has the following main functional units: a calculation unit 51, an image generation unit 52, a sound generation unit 53, and a communication control unit 54.

The calculation unit 51 outputs to the image generation unit 52, the sound generation unit 53, and the communication control unit 54. The calculation unit 51 includes an information display acquisition unit 510 and an information guidance unit 511.

The information display acquisition unit 510 reads the information display of the item supply device 1 photographed by the photographing unit 302 and acquires trigger information 11 or device ID information. Based on the acquired trigger information 11, the information display acquisition unit 510 requests the management device 4 to transmit a lottery process start screen, which indicates a lottery process start trigger. In this embodiment, the request to transmit the lottery process start screen is described as a URL that serves as the request destination (link destination) for transmission of the lottery process start screen, and the destination of this transmission request is described as the management device 4. The information display acquisition unit 510 then receives the lottery process start screen and displays the lottery process start screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52. The information display acquisition unit 510 also transmits the acquired device ID.

The information guidance unit 511 displays the lottery process start screen, lottery result information (device ID input screen, unsuccessful selection notification screen), and guidance information regarding the supply of goods (supply guidance screen, error (supply impossible) screen) from the management device 4 on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52.

The functions of the information display acquisition unit 510 and the information guidance unit 511 can be realized by a web browser installed on the terminal 3, or by a dedicated application.

The image generation unit 52 generates one image per frame time (e.g., 1/60 seconds) based on the processing results of the calculation unit 51, and outputs the generated image signal to the image display unit 304. The functions of the image generation unit 52 can be realized by, for example, a processor such as a GPU or digital signal processor (DSP), a video signal IC, a program such as a video codec, an IC memory for drawing frames such as a frame buffer, and an IC memory used for expanding texture data.

The sound generation unit 53 generates sound signals such as sound effects and various operation sounds based on the processing results of the calculation unit 51, and outputs the generated signals to the sound output unit 305. The function of the sound generation unit 53 can be realized by, for example, a processor such as a digital signal processor (DSP) or a voice synthesis IC, or an audio codec capable of reproducing audio files.
The communication control unit 54 performs communication connection and data processing for data communication with the management device 4 and the like.

The image display unit 304 displays a screen based on the image signal input from the image generation unit 52. The function of the image display unit 304 can be realized by a display device such as a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, or a head-mounted display. In Figure 2, the image display unit 304 corresponds to the display 31.

The sound output unit 305 outputs sound effects and the like based on the sound signal input from the sound generation unit 53. In Figure 2, the sound output unit 203 corresponds to the speaker 33.

The communication unit 306 connects to the communication line N to realize communication. The functions of the communication unit 306 can be realized, for example, by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, etc.

The storage unit 307 stores in advance or temporarily stores each processing session programs used during the execution of these programs, as well as programs for operating the terminal 3 and implementing the various functions of the terminal 3. The storage unit 307 can be implemented, for example, by RAM, ROM, IC memory such as flash memory, magnetic disks such as hard disks, or optical disks such as CD-ROMs and DVDs. Specifically, the storage unit 307 stores system programs and control programs. The system programs are programs for implementing the basic computer functions of the terminal 3. The control programs are programs for causing the processing unit 31 to function as the calculation unit 51 (information display acquisition unit 510, information guidance unit 511).

Next, the management device 4 will be described.
8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the management device 4. The management device 4 includes a storage unit 61, a processing unit 62, and a communication unit 63.
The storage unit 61 is realized by, for example, RAM, ROM, IC memory such as flash memory, magnetic disk such as hard disk, optical disk such as CD-ROM or DVD, etc., and stores system programs and function programs. The system programs are programs for realizing the basic functions of a computer. The function programs are programs for causing the processing unit 62 to function as a lottery processing unit 621, an item supply device determination unit 622, and a supply control unit 623, which will be described later. Also stored is item supply device data D1, which will be described later.

Item supply device data D1 is a list of item supply devices for lottery use that supply items 2 to users who win the lottery. Item supply device D1 stores the device ID and inventory quantity of item supply device 1. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of item supply device data D1. As shown in Figure 9, item supply device data D1 stores the device ID of item supply device 1 and the inventory quantity of item 2 supplied by item supply device 1 of that device ID in association with each other.

The processing unit 62 comprehensively controls the operation of the management device 4 based on the programs and data stored in the memory unit 61. The functions of the processing unit 62 can be realized by electronic components such as a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, an ASIC, or IC memory. The processing unit 62 has the following main functional units: a lottery processing unit 621, an item supply device determination unit 622, and a supply control unit 623.

When a transmission request that triggers the start of the lottery process is sent from terminal 3, the lottery processing unit 621 sends a lottery process start screen to terminal 3. When a user requests the execution of the lottery process using the lottery process start screen displayed on terminal 3, the lottery processing unit 621 executes the lottery and sends lottery result information to terminal 3. If the result of the lottery process is a "win," the lottery processing unit 621 sends a device ID input screen. On the other hand, if the result of the lottery process is a "loss," the lottery processing unit 621 sends a loss notification screen. The device ID input screen is a screen displayed on the item supply device 1 for the user to enter the device ID of the item supply device 1. The device ID input screen contains result information indicating that the result of the lottery has been confirmed as a "win." The loss notification screen contains result information indicating that the user did not win the lottery (confirmed loss).

The item supply device determination unit 622 determines whether the device ID received from terminal 3 is included in item supply device data D1. If the device ID is included in item supply device data D1, the item supply device determination unit 622 checks the inventory of the item supply device 1 for the acquired device ID, and if there is inventory, determines that the item supply device 1 is capable of supplying item 2. The item supply device determination unit 622 then identifies the item supply device 1 to which the supply permission signal is to be sent. Once identification is complete, the item supply device determination unit 622 sends a supply guidance screen to terminal 3 that provides guidance on the supply of the item. On the other hand, if the item is not included in item supply device data D1, or is included in item supply device data D1 but is out of stock, the item supply device determination unit 622 sends an error guidance screen to terminal 3 that notifies the terminal 3 that item 2 cannot be supplied.

When the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is able to supply item 2, the supply control unit 623 sends a supply permission signal to the item supply device 1. The supply control unit 623 receives a supply report from the terminal 3, and if the supply report indicates that the item has been successfully supplied, it subtracts one from the inventory quantity for the corresponding device ID in the item supply device data D1.

<Operation>
The operation of the item supply system of this embodiment will be described.
10 is a sequence diagram of the article supply system of this embodiment. In the following description, the article supply device data D1 is assumed to be the same as that shown in FIG.
First, the overall flow of the goods supply system will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

The user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed and acquires the information display of the trigger information 11 displayed on the item supply device 1. The information display is acquired using the photographing function of the photographing unit 302 of the terminal 3 in response to the user's operation (Step 1). Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image of the information display of the trigger information 11 of the item supply device 1 captured by the photographing unit 302 of the terminal 3. The user stands in front of the item supply device 1 and operates the terminal 3 so that the information display of the trigger information 11 is displayed on the display 31 of the terminal 3, and acquires an image of the information display.

The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires request information from the information display of the photographed trigger information 11 (Step 2). In this example, the acquired request information is the URL of the management device 4, which is the request destination for requesting transmission of a lottery process start screen.
The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 requests the management device 4, which is the link destination (URL) indicated by the acquired request information, to transmit a lottery processing start screen, and the information presentation unit 511 displays the lottery processing start screen transmitted in response to this request on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 3). The lottery processing start screen displayed on the image display unit 304 at this time is shown in FIG. 12.
When the operation input unit 301 detects that the user has tapped the start button in the lottery process start screen displayed on the image display unit 304, the information presentation unit 511 transmits a lottery process start request to the management device 4, and the lottery process is executed in the management device 4 (Step 4). Details of the lottery process will be described later.

The communication unit 306 of the terminal 3 receives the device ID input screen or the loss notification screen sent from the management device 4 as lottery result information resulting from the execution of the lottery process, and the information presentation unit 511 displays it on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 5). At this time, if a loss notification screen indicating a confirmed "loss" is received as lottery result information (Step 6: No), the information presentation unit 511 displays the loss notification screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 14). Figure 13 is an example of a loss notification screen.

On the other hand, when a device ID input screen indicating a confirmed "win" is received from the management device 4 as lottery result information (Step 6: Yes), the information guidance unit 511 displays the device ID input screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 7). Figure 14 is an example of a device ID input screen displayed on terminal 3.

The user stands in front of the item supply device 1 and uses the terminal 3 to acquire the device ID information display (Step 8). Here, the user operates the terminal 3 so that the device ID information display (barcode) is captured within the reading frame of the device ID input screen displayed on the display 31, and photographs the barcode.

The information acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires the device ID information from the photographed information display and transmits it to the management device 4 (Step 9). In this example, it is assumed that the acquired device ID information is "7832".
The management device 4 receives the device ID and performs a supply determination process (Step 10). The supply determination process will be described in detail later.

When the terminal 3 receives the guidance information from the management device 4, it displays a supply guidance screen or an error guidance screen (Step 11). Figure 15 is an example of the supply guidance screen displayed on the terminal 3. The supply guidance screen in Figure 15 advises the user to operate the handle 15 of the item supply device 1 to receive the item, and that the handle 15 will lock in one minute. Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of an error notification screen.

Meanwhile, the item supply device 1 receives a supply permission signal from the management device 4 and executes a supply process to supply items (Step 12). The user operates the item supply device 1 in accordance with the supply guide screen displayed on the terminal 3 to receive the item. The item supply device 1 then sends a supply report to the management device 4. Details of the supply process (Step 12) will be described later.

The supply control unit 623 of the management device 4 receives the supply report, and if the supply report indicates that the item has been supplied normally, subtracts one from the inventory quantity of the corresponding device ID in the item supply device data D1 (Step 13).
This concludes the description of the overall operation.

Next, the lottery process (Step 4) of the management device 4 will be explained. Figure 17 is a flowchart of the lottery process (Step 4) of the management device 4.

When the management device 4 receives a request to send a lottery process start screen from the terminal 3 (Step 31), the management device 4 sends the lottery process start screen to the terminal 3 (Step 32).
When the management device 4 receives a lottery process start request from the terminal 3 (Step 33), the lottery processing unit 622 performs a lottery based on a predetermined lottery probability (Step 34).

If the lottery result is a "win" (Step 35: Yes), the lottery processing unit 622 determines that the "win" has been confirmed and decides to send a device ID input screen (Step 36). Figure 14 is an example of a device ID input screen.

On the other hand, if the lottery result is "losing" (Step 35: No), the lottery processing unit 622 determines that the "losing" has been confirmed and determines to transmit a losing notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 37). Fig. 13 is an example of the losing notification screen.
The lottery processing unit 622 transmits the device ID input screen or the unsuccessful notification screen to the terminal 3 as lottery result information (Step 38).
This concludes the explanation of the lottery process (Step 4) of the management device 4.

Next, a description will be given of the supply determination process (Step 10) of the management device 4. FIG.
The item supply device determination unit 621 of the management device 4 acquires the device ID transmitted from the terminal 3 (Step 101). In this example, the acquired device ID is "7832".

The item supply device determination unit 622 determines the device ID using the item supply device data D1 (Step 102). The device ID determination is made by determining whether the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1. If the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1, it determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is the item supply device 1 that will supply item 2 to the user who won the lottery, and identifies the item supply device 1 that will send the supply permission signal (Step 103: Yes). In this example, since the acquired device ID "7832" exists in the item supply device data D1 in Figure 9, the item supply device that will send the supply permission signal is identified as the item supply device 1 with the device ID "7832".

Furthermore, the item supply device determination unit 622 checks the inventory quantity associated with the received device ID (Step 104). If the inventory quantity is not 0, the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is capable of supplying item 2 (Step 104: Yes). In this example, in the item supply device data D1 in Figure 9, the inventory quantity associated with device ID "7832" is "50", so it is determined that item 2 can be supplied.

When the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is capable of supplying the item 2 (Step 103: Yes), it transmits a supply guidance screen to the terminal 3 (Step 105).
When the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is able to supply the item 2, the supply control unit 623 transmits a supply permission signal to the item supply device 1 (Step 106). In this example, the supply permission signal is transmitted to the item supply device 1 with the device ID "7832".

On the other hand, if the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the acquired device ID is not included in the item supply device data D1 (Step 103: No), or if it determines that the inventory quantity associated with the acquired device ID is 0 (Step 104: Yes), it sends an error notification screen to terminal 3 (Step 107).
This concludes the explanation of the supply determination process (Step 10) of the management device 4.

Next, the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 3 will be described. Figure 19 is a flowchart of the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 3.

When the control unit 24 of the article supply device 3 receives the supply permission signal (Step 1201), it unlocks the lock unit 22 (Step 1202), thereby enabling the handle 15 to be operated.
The control unit 24 determines whether the handle 15 of the operation unit 23 has been operated (e.g., rotated once) (Step 1203). If the handle 15 has been operated (e.g., rotated once) (Step 1203: Yes), one item 2 is supplied from the item supply unit 21 to the outlet 16 (Step 1204). Then, the control unit 24 locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

On the other hand, if the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No), the control unit 24 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205). If the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No) and a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205: No), the control unit 24 locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

Finally, if item 2 is supplied normally, the control unit 24 issues a supply report stating that item 2 has been supplied normally, and if item 2 is not supplied, it issues a supply report stating that item 2 has not been supplied (Step 1207).
This concludes the explanation of the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 1.

In this embodiment, trigger information 11, which triggers the execution of the lottery process, is displayed on the item supply device 1, so the user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed to enter the lottery. As a result, the user is guided to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed, and becomes aware of item supply devices that supply other items. The user also learns that various items are supplied in addition to the items being supplied.

In the above embodiment, the item supply device that will provide the item to the user who wins the lottery is identified by the item ID information displayed on the item supply device. However, if there is only one item supply device to supply the item, the step of identifying the item supply device can be omitted. Specifically, Steps 101 to 103 in the supply determination process flow in Figure 18 can be omitted.

In addition, while the above explanation was given using a barcode as the information display for the device ID, the information display may also be a QR code. Furthermore, the device ID itself may be displayed as a string of characters, and the user may manually enter it.

<First Modification of the First Embodiment>
In the above embodiment, the item supply device 1 has been described as being configured to supply items when a winner is confirmed. In the first variation of the first embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the item supply device 1 supplies items even when a winner is not confirmed, as long as payment is made at the retail price of the item. Needless to say, users who have not been confirmed as winners include users who have been confirmed as unsuccessful.

Item supply device 1 is a device that supplies item 2. Normally, a user can receive item 2 from item supply device 1 by inserting cash, but users who win the lottery can receive item 2 from item supply device 1 free of charge as a reward.

Fig. 20 shows an article supplying device according to the present modified example 1. Compared to the article supplying device 1 in Fig. 6, it further includes a cash accepting unit 26.
The item supply device 1 has a cash acceptance unit 26 and accepts cash. When the cash acceptance unit 26 receives a supply permission signal from the management device 4, it switches the function of a coin sorting unit (not shown), which sorts inserted coins, from an initial active state (on state) to an inactive state (off state). The path of coins inserted through the coin slot 14 passes through an internal coin sorting unit (not shown) and is divided into two paths: one leading to the return slot 17 and the other leading to a storage unit (not shown) where the coins are stored. When the coin sorting unit is in an inactive state, the inserted coin passes directly through the coin sorting unit and is discharged from the return slot 17. When the coin sorting unit is in an active state, the coin sorting unit sorts the coins, sending coins that can be used for payment to the storage unit (not shown) and discharging inappropriate coins from the return slot 17. The coin sorting unit also separates coins that can be used for payment by type. The cash acceptance unit 26 counts the number of coins of each type sorted by the coin sorting unit using a sensor and obtains the amount of money inserted. When the amount of money inserted reaches the set price of the item 2, the cash acceptance unit 26 sends an unlock signal to the control unit 24. The price (amount) of the item is set in the cash acceptance unit 26 by the management device 4 or manually.
The control unit 24 unlocks the lock unit 22 in response to an unlock signal from the cash acceptance unit 26. The control unit 24 also locks the lock unit 22 after detecting that an item 2 has been discharged into the outlet 16, or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the lock was released. Furthermore, the control unit 24 may lock the lock unit 22 in response to a lock signal controlled externally.

Next, the operation of the item supply system of this variant 1 will be described. Since everything except the supply process (Step 12) is the same as in the above embodiment, the supply process (Step 12) will be described using the flow diagram in Figure 21. Note that in the following description, the function of the coin sorting unit of the item supply device 3 is turned on, and normally, a user can receive a supply of item 2 from the item supply device 3 by inserting cash.

The control unit 24 of the item supply device 3 monitors whether a supply permission signal is received (Step 1201). If cash is inserted without receiving a supply permission signal (Step 1201: No), the cash acceptance unit 26 checks whether the amount inserted reaches the set price of item 2 (Step 1209). If the amount inserted reaches the set price of item 2 (Step 1209: Yes), the cash acceptance unit 26 sends an unlock signal to the control unit 24.

When the control unit 24 receives the unlock signal, it unlocks the lock unit 22 (Step 1202). This allows the handle 15 to be operated. The control unit 24 determines whether the handle 15 of the operation unit 23 has been operated (e.g., one rotation) (Step 1203). When the handle 15 has been operated (e.g., one rotation) (Step 1203: Yes), one item 2 is supplied from the item supply unit 21 to the outlet 16 (Step 1204). The control unit 24 then locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

On the other hand, if the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No), the control unit 24 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205). If the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No) and a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205: Yes), the control unit 24 locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

If item 2 is supplied normally, the control unit 24 issues a supply report stating that item 2 has been supplied normally; if item 2 is not supplied, the control unit 24 issues a supply report stating that item 2 has not been supplied (Step 1207).

When the control unit 24 of the article supply device 3 receives the supply permission signal (Step 1201: Yes), it sends an unlock signal to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 switches the function of the coin sorting unit that sorts inserted coins from the ON state to the OFF state (Step 1210). The subsequent Steps 1202 to 1207 are the same as those in the above embodiment.
This concludes the explanation of the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 1 of the first modified example.

The supply process described in Variation 1 above may be performed without going through the lottery process (the item may be purchased directly without entering a lottery), or may be performed after the unsuccessful selection notification screen in the first embodiment is displayed on terminal 3 (Step 14 in Figure 10, i.e., after the item has been unsuccessful in the lottery). If performed after the unsuccessful selection screen is displayed in Step 14, it is preferable to display on the unsuccessful selection notification screen that item 2 can be purchased at the regular price.

In this variant 1, the item supply device 1 supplies item 2 to users who win the lottery without inserting cash, and can supply item 2 to users who do not win the lottery by paying a price.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment will now be described.
In the above embodiment, the trigger information includes only request information. In this embodiment, the trigger information includes the request information as well as the device ID of the item supply device 1. Note that components similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same numbers and will not be described in detail.

Trigger information 11 is displayed on the front of the item supply device 1 in this embodiment. The trigger information 11 includes request information and a device ID. The device ID uniquely identifies the item supply device 1.

<Operation>
The operation of the item supply system of this embodiment will be described.
First, the overall flow of the goods supply system will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG.

The user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed and acquires the information display of the trigger information 11 displayed on the item supply device 1 (Step 1).

The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires request information and a device ID from the information display of the photographed trigger information 11 (Step 2). In this example, the acquired request information includes the URL and device ID of the management device 4 that is the destination of the request to send the lottery process start screen. The device ID is assumed to be "7832".
The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 requests the management device 4, which is the link destination (URL) indicated by the acquired request information, to send a lottery processing start screen, and the information guidance unit 511 displays the lottery processing start screen sent in response to this request on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 3).
When the operation input unit 301 detects that the user has tapped the start button in the lottery process start screen displayed on the image display unit 304, the information presentation unit 511 transmits a lottery process start request to the management device 4, and the management device 4 performs the lottery process and the supply determination process (Step 15). The lottery process and the supply determination process will be described in detail later.

The communication unit 306 of the terminal 3 receives the winning notification screen or losing notification screen sent from the management device 4 as lottery result information resulting from the lottery process, and the information presentation unit 511 displays it on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 5). At this time, if a losing notification screen indicating a confirmed "losing" is received as lottery result information (Step 6: No), the information presentation unit 511 displays the losing notification screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 14).

On the other hand, when a winning notification screen indicating a confirmed "win" is received from the management device 4 as lottery result information (Step 6: Yes), the information presentation unit 511 displays the winning notification screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 11). Figure 23 shows an example of the winning notification screen.

The item supply device 1 receives a supply permission signal from the management device 4 and executes a supply process to supply items (Step 12). The user operates the item supply device 1 in accordance with the winning notification screen displayed on the terminal 3 to receive the item. The item supply device 1 then sends a supply report to the management device 4. Note that the supply process (Step 12) is the same as in embodiment 1 or variant 1 of embodiment 1, so a detailed description will be omitted.

The supply control unit 623 of the management device 4 receives the supply report, and if the supply report indicates that the item has been supplied normally, subtracts one from the inventory quantity of the corresponding device ID in the item supply device data D1 (Step 13).
This concludes the description of the overall operation.

The lottery process and supply determination process (Step 15) of the management device 4 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
When the management device 4 receives the request information for executing the lottery process and the device ID information from the terminal 3 (Step 231), the lottery processing unit 622 performs a lottery based on a predetermined lottery probability (Step 232).
If the lottery result is a "win" (Step 233: Yes), the item supply device determination unit 621 determines that the "win" has been confirmed and acquires the device ID received in Step 231 (Step 234).

The item supply device determination unit 621 determines the device ID using the item supply device data D1 (Step 235). The device ID determination is a determination of whether the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1. If the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1, it determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is the item supply device 1 that will supply item 2 to the user who won the lottery, and identifies the item supply device 1 that will send a supply permission signal (Step 236: Yes).

Furthermore, the item supply device determination unit 622 checks the inventory quantity associated with the received device ID (Step 237). If the inventory quantity is not 0, the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user can supply the item 2 (Step 237: Yes).
When the goods supply device determination unit 622 determines that the goods supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is capable of supplying goods 2 (Step 237: Yes), it sends a winning notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 238).
When the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is able to supply the item 2, the supply control unit 623 transmits a supply permission signal to the item supply device 1 (Step 239). In this example, the supply permission signal is transmitted to the item supply device 1 with the device ID "7832".

If the result of the lottery in Step 232 is "losing" (Step 233: No), the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the user has been "losing" and sends a "losing" notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 240).
Furthermore, if the acquired device ID is not included in the item supply device data D1 in the device ID determination in Step 235 (Step 236: No), the item supply device determination unit 622 sends an error notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 241). Similarly, if the inventory quantity is 0 in the inventory quantity check in Step 237 (Step 237: No), the item supply device determination unit 621 sends an error notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 241).
This concludes the explanation of the lottery process and supply determination process (Step 15) of the management device 4.

In this embodiment, trigger information 11, which triggers the execution of the lottery process, is displayed on the item supply device 1, so the user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed to enter the lottery. As a result, the user is guided to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed, and becomes aware of item supply devices that supply other items. The user also learns that various items are supplied in addition to the items being supplied.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, because the trigger information includes request information and device ID information, the information display displayed on the item provision device 1 only needs to be read once to read the trigger information. This reduces the user's workload. Furthermore, because the request information and device ID are sent to the management device 4 after the trigger information is read, the number of communications between the terminal 3 and the management device 4 can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the item supply device 1 was described as being configured to supply items when a winner is confirmed. In this embodiment, as with Variation 1 of the first embodiment, the item supply device 1 may be configured to supply items to users who have not yet confirmed their winners when payment is made at the regular price of the items.

Third Embodiment
A third embodiment will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the reward for winning the lottery was the right to acquire an item (item acquisition right). In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the right a user obtains through the lottery is the right to purchase an item at a discount (discount purchase right). Note that, as in the first embodiment, the trigger information that is the trigger for executing the lottery process in this embodiment will be described in which request information is included. Furthermore, the item supply device 1 in this embodiment has the same configuration as the first variation of the first embodiment, and will be described as supplying an item if payment is made at the item's regular price, even if the winner has not been confirmed.

25 is a front view of an example of the item supply device 1 according to the present embodiment. The difference from the item supply device 1 according to the above embodiment is that the present embodiment has a display unit that displays the retail price (first price) of the item 2.
26 is a block diagram of the item supply device 1 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 24 of the item supply device 1 includes a payment price setting control unit 241, a payment price setting unit 242, a cash detection unit 243, a lock control unit 244, and a supply reporting unit 245.

The payment price setting unit 242 sets the purchase price of the item 2, that is, the payment price (third price) of the item 2.
The payment price setting control unit 241 receives payment price change information from the management device 4 and sets the payment price in the payment price setting unit 242. The payment price change information is information that includes the payment price that is set in the payment price setting unit 242. For example, if the payment price change information is information to change from the retail price to a discounted price (second price), the discounted price is set in the payment price setting unit 242. If the payment price change information is information to change from the discounted price to the retail price, the retail price is set in the payment price setting unit 242. In this embodiment, the retail price of item 2 will be described as being set to 300 yen.

The cash detection unit 243 separates cash (coins) that can be used for payment by type, counts the number of coins of each type using a sensor, and detects the amount inserted. Then, when the amount inserted reaches the payment price of item 2 set in the payment price setting unit 242, the cash detection unit 243 sends a payment completion notification to the unlock control unit 244.

The lock control unit 244 controls the locking and unlocking of the lock unit 22. The lock unit 22 is unlocked in response to a payment completion notification from the cash detection unit 243. The lock control unit 244 also locks the lock unit 22 after detecting that an item 2 has been discharged into the outlet 17, or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the lock was released. Furthermore, the lock control unit 244 may also lock or unlock the lock unit 22 in response to an externally controlled unlock signal or lock signal.

The supply reporting unit 245 transmits the supply completion report described in the above embodiment to the management device 4. It is a means for monitoring the supply status of the item 2 in the control unit 24 described in the above embodiment, and performs the operation of issuing a supply completion report if the item is dispensed normally, and issuing a supply incomplete report if the item is not dispensed normally after a predetermined time has elapsed.

Next, a description will be given of the management device 4. Fig. 27 is a block diagram of the management device 4 in this embodiment.
In this embodiment, the lottery processing unit 621 determines the lottery level by lottery. The memory unit 61 stores discount data D2, which associates discounted prices with lottery levels. FIG. 28 shows an example of the discount data D2. In the example of FIG. 28, the lottery level indicates the discount amount, and the higher the lottery level, the higher the discount amount and the lower the payment amount. The probability of winning each lottery level may be a predetermined constant probability, or the probability may be varied based on the environmental information described in embodiment 1 and user information registered on the server.

The payment price determination unit 624 determines the payment amount by reading the payment amount from the discount data D2 based on the lottery level, which is the lottery result of the lottery processing unit 621. The payment price determination unit 624 then transmits the determined discount price to the supply control unit 623.
The supply control unit 623 receives the discounted price and transmits first payment price change information to the item supply device 1 identified by the acquired device ID, the first payment price change information including the payment price and changing the payment price of the item supply device 1 from the retail price to the discounted price. On the other hand, when the supply (dispensing) of the item 2 from the item supply device 1 is completed, the supply control unit 623 transmits second payment price change information to the item supply device 1, the second payment price change information including the payment price and changing the payment price of the item supply device 1 from the discounted price to the retail price.

Next, we will explain the operation of the item supply system in this embodiment. Figure 29 is a sequence diagram for this embodiment.

The user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed and acquires the information display of the trigger information 11 displayed on the item supply device 1. The information display is acquired using the photographing function of the photographing unit 302 of the terminal 3 in response to the user's operation (Step 1). The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires request information from the photographed information display of the trigger information 11 (Step 2). The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 requests the management device 4, which is the link destination (URL) indicated by the acquired request information, to send a lottery processing start screen, and the information guidance unit 511 displays the lottery processing start screen sent in response to this request on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 3). When the operation input unit 301 detects that the user has tapped the start button on the lottery process start screen displayed on the image display unit 304, the information presentation unit 511 sends a lottery process start request to the management device 4, and the lottery process is executed by the management device 4 (Step 4). Details of the lottery process will be described later.

The communication unit 306 of the terminal 3 receives the device ID input screen sent from the management device 4 as lottery result information resulting from the execution of the lottery process, and the information presentation unit 511 displays it on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 5). Figure 30 is an example of the device ID input screen displayed on the terminal 3. It differs from the device ID input screen of embodiment 1 in that the discount amount is displayed.

The user stands in front of the item supply device 1 and acquires the device ID information display on the display 31 of the terminal 3 (Step 8). Here, the user operates the terminal 3 so that the device ID information display (barcode) is captured within the reading frame of the device ID input screen displayed on the display 31, and photographs the barcode.

The information acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires the device ID information from the photographed information display and transmits it to the management device 4 (Step 9). In this example, it is assumed that the acquired device ID information is "7832".
The management device 4 receives the device ID and performs a supply determination process (Step 10). The supply determination process will be described in detail later.

If terminal 3 does not receive the error information screen from management device 4 but receives the supply information screen from management device 4, it displays the supply information screen (Step 11). Figure 31 is an example of the supply information screen displayed on terminal 3. It differs from the supply information screen in Figure 14 in that it displays the discounted payment price.

Meanwhile, the goods supply device 1 receives a supply permission signal and first payment price change information from the management device 4 and executes a supply process to supply goods (Step 12). The user follows the supply guide screen displayed on the terminal 3, inserts the payment amount in cash, and then operates the goods supply device 1 to receive the goods. The goods supply device 1 then sends a supply report to the management device 4. Details of the supply process (Step 12) will be described later.

The supply control unit 623 of the management device 4 receives the supply report, and if the supply report indicates that the item has been supplied normally, subtracts one from the inventory quantity of the corresponding device ID in the item supply device data D1 (Step 13).
This concludes the description of the overall operation.

Next, the lottery process (Step 4) of the management device 4 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 32.

When the management device 4 receives a request to start the lottery process from the terminal 3 (Step 301), the lottery processing unit 622 draws a lottery based on a predetermined probability and determines the lottery level (Step 302).

The lottery processing unit 622 determines to transmit a device ID input screen including a discount amount according to the lottery level, which is the lottery result, to the terminal 3 as lottery result information (Step 303), and transmits the device ID input screen to the terminal 3 (Step 304). Furthermore, the lottery processing unit 622 transmits the lottery level to the settlement price determination unit 624 (Step 306).
This concludes the explanation of the lottery process (Step 4) of the management device 4.

Next, the supply determination process (Step 10) of the management device 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The item supply device determination unit 621 of the management device 4 acquires the device ID transmitted from the terminal 3 (Step 101). In this example, the acquired device ID is "7832".

The item supply device determination unit 622 determines the device ID using the item supply device data D1 (Step 102). The device ID determination is made by determining whether the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1. If the acquired device ID is included in the item supply device data D1, it determines that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is the item supply device 1 that will supply item 2 to the user who won the lottery, and identifies the item supply device 1 that will send the supply permission signal (Step 103: Yes). In this example, since the acquired device ID "7832" exists in the item supply device data D1, the item supply device that will send the supply permission signal is identified as the item supply device 1 with the device ID "7832".

Furthermore, the item supply device determination unit 622 checks the inventory quantity associated with the received device ID (Step 104). If the item supply device determination unit 622 determines that the acquired device ID is not included in the item supply device data D1 (Step 103: No), or if it determines that the inventory quantity associated with the acquired device ID is 0 (Step 104: Yes), it sends an error notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 107). The steps up to this point are the same as the flow in Figure 18 described in the above embodiment.

When it is determined that the item supply device 1 with the device ID acquired by the user is capable of supplying item 2 (Step 104: No), the payment price determination unit 623 determines the payment amount by reading the payment amount from the discount data D2 based on the lottery level received from the lottery processing unit 621, and transmits it to the supply control unit 6624 (Step 108).
The supply control unit 624 transmits a supply guidance screen including the received payment amount to the item supply device 1 identified by the acquired device ID (Step 105). In this example, the supply guidance screen is transmitted to the item supply device 1 having the device ID "7832".
Furthermore, the supply control unit 624 transmits first payment price change information for changing the payment price of the item supply device 1 identified by the acquired device ID and a supply permission signal to the item supply device 1 identified by the acquired device ID (Step 109). In this example, the first payment price change information and the supply permission signal are transmitted to the item supply device 1 having the device ID "7832".
This concludes the explanation of the supply determination process (Step 10) of the management device 4.

Next, the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 3 will be explained using Figure 34.

When the control unit 24 of the item supply device 3 receives the first payment price change information and the supply permission signal (Step 1211), it notifies the cash acceptance unit 26 of this, and the cash acceptance unit 26 switches the function of the coin sorting unit, which sorts the inserted coins, from an off state to an on state (Step 1208).
The payment price setting control unit 241 sets the discount price as the payment price in the payment price setting unit 241 based on the first payment price change information, and changes the payment price (Step 1212).

The cash detection unit 243 detects the amount (coins) inserted through the cash acceptance unit 26 and detects whether the inserted amount reaches the set payment price (Step 1209). If the inserted amount reaches the payment price of the item, the cash detection unit 243 sends a payment completion notification to the lock control unit 244, and the lock control unit 244 unlocks the lock unit 22 (Step 1202). This allows operation of the handle 16. The lock control unit 244 determines whether the handle 16 of the operation unit 23 has been operated (e.g., one rotation) (Step 1203). When the handle 16 is operated (e.g., one rotation), one item 2 is supplied from the item supply unit 21 to the outlet 17 (Step 1204). The lock control unit 244 then locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

On the other hand, if the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No), the control unit 24 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205). If the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No) and a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205: Yes), the control unit 24 locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

If item 2 is supplied normally, the control unit 24 issues a supply report indicating that item 2 has been supplied normally; if item 2 is not supplied, the control unit 24 issues a supply report indicating that item 2 has not been supplied (Step 1207). Furthermore, the function of the coin sorting unit, which sorts inserted coins, is switched from an off state to an on state (Step 1210).

When the payment price setting control unit 241 receives the second payment price change information (Step 1213: Yes), it sets the regular price as the payment price in the payment price setting unit 241 and changes the payment price (Step 1214).
This concludes the explanation of the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 1 of the first modified example.

The item supply device 1 of this embodiment has the excellent effect of being able to change the payment price of the item 2, allowing users who have the right to purchase at a discount to pay for the item 2 at a discounted price, and allowing users who do not have the right to purchase at a discount to pay for the item 2 at the retail price.

In this embodiment, it goes without saying that if the discount amount is set to the regular price (retail price), the user is essentially granted the right to purchase the item.

<Fourth embodiment>
A fourth embodiment will now be described.
In the first and second embodiments, the reward for winning the lottery is the right to acquire an item (item acquisition right), and in the third embodiment, the reward for winning the lottery is the right to acquire an item at a discounted price (item acquisition right). In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the reward for winning the lottery is the right to purchase an item (limited purchase right). Note that, as in the first embodiment, the trigger information in this embodiment includes request information. Furthermore, the item supply device 1 will be described using the configuration shown in FIG. 20.

The operation of the item supply system in this embodiment will be described. Since the operation is the same as the above embodiment except for the supply process (Step 12), the supply process (Step 12) will be described using Figure 35. Note that in the following description, the function of the coin sorting unit of the item supply device 3 is normally turned off.

When the control unit 24 of the item supply device 3 receives the supply permission signal (Step 1201), it notifies the cash acceptance unit 26 of this, and the cash acceptance unit 26 switches the function of the coin selection unit that selects the inserted coins from OFF to ON (Step 1208). The cash acceptance unit 26 then checks whether the amount of money inserted reaches the set price of the item 2 (Step 1209). If the amount of money inserted reaches the set price of the item 2 (Step 1209: Yes), the cash acceptance unit 26 sends an unlock signal to the control unit 24.

When the control unit 24 receives the unlock signal, it unlocks the lock unit 22 (Step 1202). This allows the handle 15 to be operated. The control unit 24 determines whether the handle 15 of the operation unit 23 has been operated (e.g., one rotation) (Step 1203). When the handle 15 has been operated (e.g., one rotation) (Step 1203: Yes), one item 2 is supplied from the item supply unit 21 to the outlet 16 (Step 1204). The control unit 24 then locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

On the other hand, if the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No), the control unit 24 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205). If the handle 15 has not been operated (Step 1203: No) and a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has passed since the lock was released (Step 1205: Yes), the control unit 24 locks the lock unit 22 (Step 1206).

If the item 2 is supplied normally, the control unit 24 issues a supply report to the effect that the item 2 has been supplied normally, and if the item 2 is not supplied, the control unit 24 issues a supply report to the effect that the item 2 has not been supplied (Step 1207). Furthermore, the function of the coin sorting unit that sorts inserted coins is switched from an on state to an off state (Step 1210).
This concludes the description of the supply process (Step 12) of the item supply device 1 of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, only users who win the lottery can purchase item 2, so users can perceive item 2 as being worth more than its purchase price.

<First Modification of the Fourth Embodiment>
In the above embodiment, a cash settlement configuration has been described, but in Modification 1, a configuration for electronic settlement will be described.
36 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 3 in this embodiment. The calculation unit 51 further includes a payment unit 512. The payment unit 512 performs processing related to payment for the goods 2 through communication with the management device 4.

Figure 37 is a block diagram showing an example functional configuration of the management device 4 in Variation 1 of Embodiment 4. The processing unit 62 further includes a payment management unit 624. The payment management unit 624 performs processing related to payment for the item 2 through communication with the terminal 3. The storage unit 61 further stores user management data D3, which is payment data for each user. For example, as shown in Figure 38, the user management data D3 stores user identification information (user ID), password, and electronic money balance in association with each other.

In the first embodiment described above, the item supply device determination unit 622 of the management device 4 sent a supply guidance screen to the terminal 3 when it determined that the item supply device 1 having the device ID sent from the terminal 3 was capable of supplying the item 2. In this embodiment, the item supply device determination unit 622 sends a payment input screen instead of the supply guidance screen. An example of the payment input screen is shown in Figure 39.

<Operation>
The operation of the item supply system of this embodiment will be described using the sequence diagram of Fig. 40. Note that the process up to Step 9 of transmitting the device ID is the same as that up to Step 9 in the sequence diagram of Fig. 10 for the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described here.

When a payment input screen is sent from the supply device determination unit 623 of the management device 4 during the supply determination process in Step 10, the information guidance unit 511 of the terminal 3 displays the payment input screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 16).

The user enters their user ID and password on the displayed input screen (Step 17). The payment unit 513 of the terminal 3 sends the entered user ID and password to the management device 4 (Step 18).

The management device 4 receives the user ID and password and performs payment processing (Step 19). Details of the payment processing will be described later. Here, payment is made using the received user ID and password. Once payment is complete, a supply guidance screen is sent to the terminal 3. If the payment result is appropriate, a supply permission signal is sent to the item supply device 1.

The payment process in this embodiment will be described using the flow diagram in Fig. 41. For simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that the regular price of the item 2 is determined in advance and stored in the payment management unit 624 of the management device 4.
When the payment management unit 624 receives the user ID and password entered by the user on the payment input screen (Step 2701), it settles the price using the received user ID and password and the information on the regular price of the item 2 (Step 2702). In the payment process, it first determines whether the user ID and password are valid using the user management data D3, and if they are valid, it updates the balance corresponding to the received user ID in the user management data D3 by the amount obtained by deducting the regular price of the item 2.

If the payment is completed successfully (Step 2703: Yes), the payment management unit 624 sends a guidance screen corresponding to the successful result to the terminal 3 (Step 2704). Here, the user is informed that payment has been completed, that the user should operate the handle 15 of the item supply device 1 to receive the item, and that the handle 15 will lock in one minute. The supply control unit 623 then sends a supply permission signal to the terminal 3 (Step 2705).

In addition, if an error occurs during payment, the payment management unit 624 sends an error information screen to terminal 3 informing the user that payment could not be made along with the details of the error (user ID and password not registered, insufficient balance, etc.) (Step 2706).
This concludes the explanation of the supply determination process.

The supply process in this modified example will be described.
In this modified example, the control unit 24 is the same as in the above embodiment, except for the case where the handle 15 of the item supply device 1 is not operated. If the handle 15 is not operated for a predetermined time after unlocking, the control unit 24 performs a predetermined error process and then locks the lock unit 22. The error process includes a refund process for refunding the payment amount. In the refund process, for example, the control unit 24 sends a request (including, for example, the device ID) to the management device 4 to refund the payment amount for the item 2. The management device 4 may then use the device ID as a key to identify the most recent payment that has been completed and cancel that payment (returning the electronic money balance of the user ID to the amount before the payment amount was deducted). Another refund process may involve, for example, discharging coins equivalent to the price of the item 2 from the outlet to refund the user.
The process other than the above differences is the same as the supply process in the above embodiment.

The electronic payment process described in the above modification can be applied to any of the first to third embodiments.
According to the goods supply system of the modified example of this embodiment, since it is configured to execute electronic payment, a user who has acquired exclusive purchase rights through a lottery can acquire goods through electronic payment.

Fifth Embodiment
A fifth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, an example will be described in which the type of item provided to the user as a reward varies depending on the winning level. Note that the same components as those in the above embodiments will be assigned the same numbers, and detailed descriptions will be omitted.

Figure 42 is a schematic diagram of the item supply system in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the item supply devices 1 of the first to fourth embodiments function as a single unit, and one item supply device 1 is made up of multiple units 70 and one display unit 71.

The unit 70 is similar to the article supply device 1 described in the above embodiment, but differs in the following respects.
Each unit 70 does not display (mount) trigger information.
Each unit 70 is provided with a light-emitting element 72, such as an LED, that is visible to the user. When the control unit 24 receives a supply permission signal, it causes the light-emitting element 72 to blink (or light up) to notify the user that the unit 70 is able to supply the item 2.
Each unit 70 supplies a different item 2 .

The display unit 71 is installed at the top of the multiple units 70, and displays the trigger information 11 and the group ID. Here, the group ID is not the device ID of each item supply device (unit 70), but a group ID that uniquely identifies a group of multiple item supply devices (units 70). The display unit 71 also displays that, of the multiple units 70, the unit 70 whose light-emitting element 72 is flashing is capable of supplying item 2.

The management device 5 differs in the configuration of the item supply device data D1 and the configuration of the item supply device determination unit 621. It also differs in that it has winning level data D4.
The item supply device data D1 stores the device ID of the unit 70, the item ID that uniquely identifies the item 2 in that unit 70, and the inventory quantity of the item 2 in that unit 70, all of which are associated with one another, and these are associated with a group ID, which is the ID of a group that groups multiple units 70. This group ID is the group ID displayed on the display unit 71. Figure 43 is an example of the item supply device data D1 of the fifth embodiment. In the example of Figure 43, the device IDs of multiple units 70 are associated with one group ID "101." In other words, multiple units 70 with device IDs that belong to the group ID "101" constitute one item supply device 1 (group ID "101"). The item supply device data D1 of this embodiment is prepared for each group.
The winning level data D4 stores the winning level and the item ID in correspondence with each other. FIG. 44 is an example of the winning level data D4. FIG. 44 shows an example in which there are four winning levels, from 0 to 3. The item ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the item 2 that is the reward for winning. In the example shown in FIG. 44, winning level 0 is associated with the item ID "Null," meaning that no item 2 is provided, i.e., the player has lost. At winning level 1, an item 2 assigned with an item ID of "G001" is provided as the lottery reward; at winning level 2, an item 2 assigned with an item ID of "G002" is provided; and at winning level 3, an item 2 assigned with an item ID of "G003" is provided as the lottery reward.

In this embodiment, the lottery processing unit 621 executes the lottery processing when a transmission request that triggers the execution of the lottery processing is sent from terminal 3. The lottery processing unit 621 selects one of the winning levels in the winning level data D4 based on a predetermined lottery probability. The lottery processing unit 621 reads out the item ID associated with the winning level selected by lottery and notifies the item supply device determination unit 622. If the read item ID is not "Null", the lottery processing unit 621 sends a group ID input screen to terminal 3. On the other hand, if the read item ID is "Null", the lottery processing unit 621 sends a losing notification screen to terminal 3. When the lottery processing unit 621 receives a notification of a re-draw from the item supply device determination unit 622, it performs the lottery processing again.

The item supply device determination unit 621 acquires the group ID transmitted from the terminal 3. When the item supply device determination unit 622 receives the item ID from the lottery processing unit 621, it searches for the item ID in the item supply device data D1 of the acquired group ID and checks the inventory quantity of the item associated with the searched item ID. If there is inventory, the item supply device determination unit 622 specifies the destination of the supply permission signal as the unit 70 having the device ID associated with the item ID. Once the specification is complete, the item supply device determination unit 622 transmits a supply guidance screen to the terminal 3, providing guidance on the supply of items.
On the other hand, if the inventory quantity associated with the item ID searched from the item supply device data D1 is 0, the item supply device determination unit 622 notifies the lottery processing unit 621 to perform a new lottery.

When the control unit 24 of the article supply device 1 receives a supply permission signal from the management device 4, it causes the light emitting element to blink.
The user receives a supply of goods by operating the handle of the goods supply device 1 whose light-emitting element is flashing.

The operation of the item supply system in this embodiment will be explained. Figure 45 is a sequence diagram of the item supply system in this embodiment.

The user goes to the location where the item supply device 1 is installed and acquires the information display of the trigger information 11 displayed on the display unit 71 (Step 1). The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires request information from the photographed information display of the trigger information 11 (Step 2). In this example, the acquired request information is the URL of the management device 4, which is the request destination for requesting transmission of a lottery process start screen.
The information display acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 requests the management device 4, which is the link destination (URL) indicated by the acquired request information, to send a lottery processing start screen, and the information guidance unit 511 displays the lottery processing start screen sent in response to this request on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 3).
When the operation input unit 301 detects that the user has tapped the start button in the lottery process start screen displayed on the image display unit 304, the information presentation unit 511 transmits a lottery process start request to the management device 4, and the lottery process is executed in the management device 4 (Step 20). Details of the lottery process will be described later.

The communication unit 306 of the terminal 3 receives the group ID input screen or the loss notification screen sent from the management device 4 as lottery result information resulting from the lottery process, and the information guidance unit 511 displays it on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 5). At this time, if the loss notification screen indicating a confirmed "loss" is received as lottery result information (Step 6: No), the information guidance unit 511 displays the loss notification screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 14).

On the other hand, when a group ID input screen indicating confirmation of "winning" is received from the management device 4 (Step 6: Yes), the information guidance unit 511 displays the group ID input screen on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 (Step 21). The user stands in front of the display unit 71 at the location where the item supply device 1 is installed and acquires the information display of the group ID information using the terminal 3 (Step 8). The information acquisition unit 510 of the terminal 3 acquires the group ID information from the photographed information display and sends it to the management device 4 (Step 22). In this example, it is assumed that the acquired device ID information is "101".

The management device 4 receives the group ID information and performs a supply determination process (Step 23). The supply determination process will be described in detail later.
When the terminal 3 receives the supply guidance screen from the management device 4, it displays the supply guidance screen (Step 11). Fig. 46 is an example of the supply guidance screen displayed on the terminal 3. In the example of Fig. 46, the user is prompted to operate the handle 15 of the unit 70 whose light-emitting element is flashing to receive the item, and that the handle 15 will lock in one minute.

Meanwhile, upon receiving the supply permission signal from the management device 4, the unit 70 executes a supply process to supply the item (Step 24). The user operates the item supply device 1 whose light-emitting element is flashing in accordance with the supply guide screen displayed on the terminal 3 to receive the supply of the item. The unit 70 then sends a supply report to the management device 4. Details of the supply process (Step 24) will be described later.

The supply control unit 623 of the management device 4 receives the supply report, and if the supply report indicates that the item has been supplied normally, subtracts one from the inventory quantity of the corresponding device ID in the item supply device data D1 (Step 13).
The above is a description of the overall operation of this embodiment.

Next, the lottery process (Step 20) of the management device 4 will be described. Figure 47 is a flowchart of the lottery process (Step 20) of the management device 4. Note that the process up to the reception of a lottery process start request in Step 33 is the same as the flow diagram shown in Figure 11, and therefore will be omitted.

When the management device 4 receives a request to start the lottery process from the terminal 3 (Step 33), the lottery processing unit 621 selects a winning level from the winning level data D4 based on a predetermined lottery probability, and reads out the item ID associated with the selected winning level (Step 39).
If the read item ID is other than "Null" (Step 40: Yes), the lottery processing unit 622 notifies the item supply device determination unit 622 of the read item ID (Step 41). Furthermore, the lottery processing unit 622 determines that the item ID is a "winner" and determines to send a group ID input screen to the terminal 3 (Step 42).

On the other hand, if the read item ID is "Null" (Step 40: No), the lottery processing unit 622 determines that the "losing" has been confirmed and decides to send a losing notification screen to the terminal 3 (Step 37).
The lottery processing unit 622 transmits the group ID input screen or the unsuccessful selection notification screen to the terminal 3 as lottery result information (Step 38).
This concludes the explanation of the lottery process (Step 20) of the management device 4.

Next, a description will be given of the supply determination process (Step 23) of the management device 4. FIG. 48 is a flowchart of the supply determination process (Step 23) of the management device 4.
The item supply device determination unit 621 of the management device 4 receives the item ID from the lottery processing unit 621 (Step 1009). Furthermore, the item supply device determination unit 621 acquires the group ID transmitted from the terminal 3 (Step 1010).

The item supply device determination unit 622 checks the inventory quantity associated with the received item ID from the item supply device data D1 of the acquired group ID (Step 1011). If the inventory quantity is not 0 (Step 1011: No), a supply guide screen is sent to the terminal 3 (Step 1012). At this time, a supply guide screen such as that shown in FIG. 46 is displayed on the terminal 3. Furthermore, the item supply device determination unit 622 identifies the unit 70 with the device ID associated with the received item ID as the unit 70 that will send a supply permission signal (Step 1013). The supply control unit 623 sends a supply permission signal to the unit 70 identified by the item supply device determination unit 622 (Step 1014).

On the other hand, if the inventory quantity is 0 (Step 1011: Yes), the item supply device determination unit 622 notifies the lottery processing unit 621 to re-run the lottery (Step 1015). The lottery processing unit 621, which has been notified to re-run the lottery, starts processing from Step 39 in FIG. 47.
This concludes the explanation of the supply determination process (Step 23) of the management device 4.

Next, we will explain the supply process (Step 24) of unit 70 that has received the supply permission signal. Figure 49 is a flowchart of the supply process (Step 24) of unit 70.

When the control unit 24 of the unit 70 receives the supply permission signal (Step 1201), it causes the light emitting element to blink (Step 1215).
The subsequent operations are the same as Step 1202 to Step 1207 in Fig. 19, and therefore will not be described further. This concludes the description of the supply process (Step 24) of unit 70.

Typically, the item supply device 1 may store one type of item 2 or multiple types of items 2. When one type of item 2 is stored, the item supply device 1 can reliably supply that type of item 2 to the user. On the other hand, when multiple types of items 2 are stored, due to the structure of the item supply device 1, the item supply device 1 randomly supplies one type of item from the multiple types of items stored to the user. Therefore, when the type of item supplied to the user varies depending on the winning level, as in this embodiment, a single item supply device 1 cannot reliably supply the type of item corresponding to the winning level to the user.
In this embodiment, one item supply device 1 is made up of multiple item supply devices (units 70), and each unit 70 stores one type of item 2, so that one type of item can be reliably supplied to a user from among multiple types of items. As a result, a lottery can be held in which the type of item supplied to a user varies depending on the winning level, increasing the user's interest in the lottery.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the trigger information 11 and the group ID were displayed on separate information displays. However, the trigger information 11 and the group ID may be configured on a single information display, and the management device 4 may acquire both the trigger information 11 and the group ID at once by reading the information display once. In this case, there is no need to read the group ID after winning, as in the above embodiment.

Sixth Embodiment
In the first to fifth embodiments described above, all users who read the display 11 of the trigger information displayed on the goods supply device 1, i.e., all users who acquired the trigger information, were able to enter the lottery, but it is also possible to limit the users who can enter the lottery by granting each user the right to enter the lottery.

In such a configuration, the lottery ticket may be awarded by, but not limited to, purchasing a product other than the product 2 supplied to the user, participating in an event by the user, or entering a lottery. That is, the lottery ticket may be awarded to the user if some action by the user satisfies a predetermined condition. Here, the lottery ticket acquired when the user's action satisfies the predetermined condition must be authenticated in some form. A typical example is identification information that proves that the lottery ticket has been acquired. Examples of identification information that proves that the lottery ticket has been acquired include identification information that is awarded when the user purchases a product other than the product 2, identification information that is awarded when the user participates in an event, and identification information that is awarded when the user wins a lottery.
In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which a lottery ticket acquired by a user purchasing a product other than the item 2 is authenticated.

FIG. 50 is a schematic diagram of an item supply system according to this embodiment.
Product 4 is a product supplied to a user by company Y, which is different from company X that supplies item 2. The type of product is not important. Examples of products include books such as magazines, food items such as drinking water, and stationery. In this embodiment, the product is described as a magazine. When a user purchases a magazine (product 4), they can obtain a lottery ticket. A serial code 13 is displayed on the magazine (product 4). This serial code 13 is information used to authenticate the user's lottery ticket in order to grant the lottery ticket to a user who purchases the magazine (product 4). For example, the serial code 13 is a unique serial code that differs for each magazine. Such a serial code can be generated using a check digit or the like.

Fig. 51 is a block diagram of terminal 3 in this embodiment. Terminal 3 differs from terminal 3 shown in Fig. 7 described in the first embodiment in that it has a serial code acquisition unit 513.
The serial code acquisition unit 513 requests the management device 4 to transmit a serial code input screen based on the trigger information 11 acquired by the information display acquisition unit 510. Then, the serial code input screen is received, and the serial code input screen is displayed on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52. The serial code input on the serial code input screen is also transmitted to the management device 4.
The information presentation unit 512 displays the result of authentication of the serial code from the management device 4 on the image display unit 304 via the image generation unit 52 .

52 is a block diagram of the management device 4 in this embodiment. The terminal 4 differs from the management device 4 shown in FIG. 8 described in the first embodiment in that it has a lottery right authentication unit 625.
The memory unit 61 stores serial code data D4. The serial code data D4 is a stored serial code printed on magazine 4 sold by company Y. A unique serial code is assigned to each magazine 4, and the serial code is a unique code number. Such a serial code can be generated using a check digit or the like. FIG. 53 is a diagram showing an example of serial code data D6. As shown in FIG. 53, the serial code data D6 is stored in association with a unique serial code and an authentication flag. As will be described later, when the lottery right authentication unit 625 authenticates the user's lottery right using the serial code and the lottery processing unit 621 completes the lottery processing, an authenticated flag indicating that authentication has been completed is assigned to the authentication flag field of the serial code.

Upon receiving a request from terminal 3 to send a serial code input screen, the lottery right authentication unit 625 transmits the serial code input screen to terminal 3 so that a serial code input screen like the one shown in FIG. 54 is displayed on terminal 3. The lottery right authentication unit 625 compares the serial code entered on the input screen with the serial code in serial code data D4. If the serial code entered on the input screen is included in serial code data D4 and the authentication flag is not set for that serial code, the serial code entered on the input screen is authenticated and the user's lottery right is authenticated. The lottery right authentication unit 625 then notifies the lottery processing unit 621 that the user's lottery right has been authenticated. Note that, if an expiration date is set for the serial code, the lottery right authentication unit 625 also authenticates the expiration date of the serial code entered on the input screen. If the lottery right authentication unit 625 cannot authenticate the serial code (including when the expiration date has expired and authentication is not possible), it transmits an error screen to terminal 3 informing the user that the serial code (lottery right) could not be authenticated. Figure 55 is an example of an error screen informing users that their serial code (lottery ticket) could not be authenticated.

Fig. 56 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the item supply system in this embodiment. Compared to the flow diagram in Fig. 10 explained in the first embodiment, this differs in that Step 20 and Step 21 are added between Step 2 and Step 3.
Step 20 is a process for authenticating the serial code. Step 21 is a step for transmitting the serial code entered on the serial code entry screen to the management device 4. In this example, it is assumed that the entered serial code is "1VB3588".
The authentication process in Step 20 will be described.
When the lottery right authentication unit 625 receives the serial code entered on the input screen (Step 106), it performs authentication processing for the acquired serial code (Step 107). In this example, since the entered serial code is "1VB3588", the serial code "1VB3588" becomes the object of authentication.

The lottery right authentication unit 625 compares the input serial code with the serial code in the serial code data D4, and if the input serial code is included in the serial code data D4 and the authenticated flag is not set for that serial code, it authenticates the acquired serial code and determines that the user's lottery right has been authenticated (Step 108). If an expiration date is set for the serial code, the lottery right authentication unit 625 also authenticates the expiration date of the serial code entered on the input screen. If the expiration date of the serial code is valid and the serial code is authenticated, the lottery right authentication unit 625 sends a supply guidance screen regarding the supply of goods (Step 109).

On the other hand, the lottery right authentication unit 625 compares the input serial code with the serial code in serial code data D4, and if the acquired serial code is not included in serial code data D4, or if the acquired serial code is included in serial code data D4 but has an authenticated flag attached to it, or if an expiration date has been set for the serial code and the expiration date has expired, it determines the acquired serial code to be inappropriate and does not authenticate it. If the lottery right authentication unit 625 cannot authenticate the serial code (including if the expiration date has expired and authentication is not possible), it sends an error screen to terminal 3 informing terminal 3 that the serial code (lottery right) could not be authenticated (Step 110).

In this example, the input serial code is "1VB3588", which is included in serial code data D4 and has not been assigned an authenticated flag. Furthermore, no expiration date is set for the serial code. Therefore, the lottery right authentication unit 625 determines that the acquired serial code "1VB3588" has been authenticated, and that the user's right to acquire item 2 has been authenticated, and notifies the lottery processing unit 621 that the lottery right has been authenticated.
This concludes the description of the authentication process.
Steps other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore details will be omitted.

For companies that provide products such as magazines, giving away gifts can also increase users' desire to purchase the products.
Therefore, this embodiment can realize a collaboration (joint project) that is beneficial not only for the user who receives the goods, but also for the company that supplies the goods to the user and the company that supplies the product to the user. As a result, this embodiment can meet the needs of various consumers, including not only the user who receives the goods, but also the companies that intend to use the goods supply device.

The present invention has been described above using preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments and can be implemented in various modifications and combinations within the scope of its technical concept.

1 Item supply device 2 Item 3 Terminal 4 Management device 5 Communication network

Claims (9)

An article supply device capable of supplying articles,
a display unit that displays lottery information for executing the lottery;
An operation unit;
a storage section for storing an item;
a supply unit that supplies the items stored in the storage unit;
a control unit that controls the supply unit to supply the goods under the following conditions: acquisition of the lottery information; execution of a lottery based on the acquired lottery information; a user who wins the lottery winning a discount purchase right that allows the user to purchase the goods at a discounted price; payment of the discounted price of the goods using the discount purchase right; and operation of the operation unit;
Equipped with
the lottery information includes information for identifying the item supply device,
The probability of winning the discount purchase right varies depending on the installation location of the specified item supply device.
Goods supply device. the discount purchase rights include discount levels with different discount amounts;
The probability of winning each discount level is a probability that varies based on environmental information.
The article supply device according to claim 1 . The lottery information includes at least request information for executing a lottery for the supply of the item.
The article supply device according to claim 1 or 2 . An item supply system capable of supplying items,
An article supply device and a terminal,
The article supply device is
a display unit that displays lottery information for executing the lottery;
An operation unit;
a storage section for storing an item;
a supply unit that supplies the items stored in the storage unit;
a control unit that controls the supply of articles by the supply unit;
Equipped with
The terminal
an acquisition unit capable of acquiring lottery information;
a transmitting unit that transmits a request to execute a lottery based on the acquired lottery information;
Equipped with
a control unit of the item supply device enables the supply unit to supply items on the conditions that the lottery information is acquired, a lottery is held based on the acquired lottery information, a discount purchase right that allows a winning user to purchase an item at a discounted price is won in the lottery, the discounted price of the item using the discount purchase right is paid, and the operation unit is operated ;
the lottery information includes information for identifying the item supply device,
The probability of winning the discount purchase right varies depending on the installation location of the specified item supply device.
Goods supply system. Further comprising a management device,
The management device
an identification unit that identifies an item supply device that can supply the item on condition that the request has been received ;
a lottery unit that executes a lottery for the discount purchase right with a probability that varies depending on the installation location of the identified item supply device;
a supply control unit that controls the control unit of the identified item supply device to enable payment of the price of the item after the discount on the list price of the item using the discount purchase right, on the condition that the lottery executed by the lottery unit is won and an item supply device that supplies the item is identified;
The article supply system according to claim 4 , comprising: the discount purchase rights include discount levels with different discount amounts;
the lottery unit varies the probability of winning for each discount level according to a probability that varies depending on the installation location of the identified item supply device;
The article supply system according to claim 5 . The lottery information includes at least request information for executing a lottery for the supply of the item.
7. The article supply system according to claim 5 or claim 6 . A management device that manages the supply of goods in an goods supply device,
an identification unit that identifies an item supply device that can supply the item, on the condition that a request to execute the item supply lottery, which is transmitted upon acquisition of lottery information displayed on the item supply device, is received;
a lottery unit that executes a lottery for a discount purchase right that allows a selected user to purchase an item at a discounted price, with the probability varying depending on the installation location of the identified item supply device;
a supply control unit that controls a control unit of the identified item supply device to enable payment of the price of the item after the discount on the list price of the item using the discount purchase right, on the condition that the lottery executed by the lottery unit is won and an item supply device that supplies the item is identified;
Equipped with
the lottery information includes information identifying the item supply device;
Management device. the discount purchase rights include discount levels with different discount amounts;
the lottery unit varies the probability of winning for each discount level according to a probability that varies depending on the installation location of the identified item supply device;
The management device according to claim 8 .