JP7777466B2 - Vending machines, sales methods and sales programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vending machine , a sales method , and a sales program that can realize a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the vending machine.

Subscription services, in which a fee is paid for the right to receive a product or service, have been well known. For example, subscription services that allow unlimited listening to music for a fixed fee and unlimited video viewing for a fixed fee are widely available.

Such subscription services are also beginning to be applied to vending machines that dispense beverages. For example, one known subscription service allows customers to sign a contract to pay a fixed monthly fee and receive one bottle of beverage every day by holding a mobile device with a dedicated app installed over the vending machine.

Technology that applies subscription services to the provision of products (food and drink) at restaurants is also known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology that allows a customer's terminal to receive and execute the names of restaurants that match the location information specified by the customer, as well as the minimum conditions required to receive special offers from those restaurants. Patent Document 2 also discloses technology that registers restaurant information for businesses wishing to open shared restaurants by day of the week or time of day, registers multiple types of products to be offered by each shared restaurant of each business, and outputs the registered restaurant information and product information to the customer's terminal.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-051350 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-096521

However, there are no subscription services that are applicable to establishments that use meal ticket vending machines to sell meal tickets. This is because meal ticket vending machines are devices that are originally designed for simple operation - simply insert money and press a button to issue a meal ticket - and are therefore not well suited to subscription services that require complex operations such as application.

Furthermore, meal ticket vending machines have the characteristic that "menus and prices change frequently depending on the season, trends, set menus, etc.", and applying a subscription service would make the settings complicated. Furthermore, meal ticket vending machines also have the characteristic that "there are holidays, consecutive holidays, on/off seasons, etc. that are decided by the store or customer, making it difficult to set them up according to the season."

On the other hand, in consideration of infection control measures, it is expected that the number of stores introducing meal ticket vending machines will increase in the future. Even for such restaurants, it is important to balance the needs of the store, which wants to "ensure continuous sales," with the needs of customers, who want to "receive products at a discount." For this reason, a major challenge is how to create meal ticket vending machines that can be used with subscription services.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional technology , and aims to provide a vending machine , a sales method , and a sales program that can realize a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the vending machine.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vending machine for selling food and beverages , comprising: a customer identification unit that identifies a customer; a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display unit that displays a selectable menu of items available for purchase; a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes the display unit to display menus that match the customer's subscription conditions set by the condition setting unit, and sells the selected menu if any of the menus is selected; and an input unit that allows the subscription conditions to be input, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display a fee according to the subscription conditions input by the input unit when applying for the subscription service, and accepts the fee; the input unit allows the customer to input their intention to cancel the subscription service after the application for the subscription service is accepted; and the control unit cancels the subscription service based on the intention to cancel input by the input unit, and, if a fee refund is available, causes the refund to be made .

The present invention also provides a vending machine for selling food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification unit that identifies customers; a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display unit that displays selectable menu items available for purchase; and a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes the display unit to display menu items that meet the customer's subscription conditions set by the condition setting unit, and sells the selected menu item when any of the menu items is selected, wherein a fee according to the subscription conditions is set according to the store's holidays.

The present invention also provides a vending machine for selling food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification unit that identifies customers; a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display unit that displays selectable menus for purchase; and a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes the display unit to display menus that meet the customer's subscription conditions set by the condition setting unit, and sells the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, wherein the period of the subscription conditions can be set excluding a specified period.

The present invention also provides a sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages , comprising: a customer identification step of identifying a customer; a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display control step of displaying selectable menus on a predetermined display unit; when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, a control step of displaying menus that match the customer's subscription conditions set in the condition setting step on the display unit and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected; and an input step of inputting the subscription conditions, wherein the control step displays on the display unit a fee according to the subscription conditions input in the input step when applying for the subscription service and accepts the fee; the input step inputs the customer's intention to cancel the subscription service after the application for the subscription service is accepted; and the control step cancels the subscription service based on the intention to cancel input in the input step, and, if a fee refund is available, issues a refund .

The present invention also provides a sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages , comprising:
The subscription service includes a customer identification procedure for identifying a customer, a setting procedure for setting subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer, a display control procedure for displaying selectable menus on a specified display unit, and a control procedure for, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, displaying menus that correspond to the customer's subscription conditions set in the setting procedure on the display unit and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, and an input procedure for inputting the subscription conditions, wherein the control procedure displays on the display unit a fee according to the subscription conditions input in the input procedure when applying for the subscription service and accepts the fee, and the input procedure inputs the customer's intention to cancel the subscription service after the application for the subscription service is accepted, and the control procedure causes a computer to execute a process of canceling the subscription service based on the intention to cancel input in the input procedure and refunding the fee if a refund is available .
The present invention also provides a sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification step of identifying a customer; a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display control step of displaying selectable menus on a predetermined display unit; and, when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, a control step of displaying on the display unit menus that meet the customer's subscription conditions set in the condition setting step, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, wherein a fee according to the subscription conditions is set according to the store's holidays.
The present invention also provides a sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification procedure for identifying a customer; a condition setting procedure for setting subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display control procedure for displaying selectable menus on a specified display unit; and, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, a control procedure for displaying on the display unit menus that meet the customer's subscription conditions set in the condition setting procedure, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, wherein the program causes a computer to execute processing in which a fee according to the subscription conditions is set according to the store's holidays.
The present invention also provides a sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification step of identifying a customer; a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display control step of displaying selectable menus on a predetermined display unit; and, when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, a control step of displaying on the display unit menus that meet the customer's subscription conditions set in the condition setting step, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, wherein the period of the subscription conditions can be set excluding a predetermined period.
The present invention also provides a sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising: a customer identification procedure for identifying a customer; a condition setting procedure for setting subscription conditions for a subscription service for each customer; a display control procedure for displaying selectable menus on a specified display unit; and, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, a control procedure for displaying on the display unit menus that meet the customer's subscription conditions set in the condition setting procedure, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected, wherein the program causes a computer to execute processing that allows the period of the subscription conditions to be set excluding a specified period.

According to the present invention , a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of a vending machine can be realized.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of the meal ticket vending machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external configuration of the meal ticket vending machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the meal ticket vending machine according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the customer data shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the subscription condition data shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the meal ticket vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram (part 1) showing an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying a period. FIG. 8 is a diagram (part 2) showing an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying a period. FIG. 9 is a diagram (part 3) showing an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying a period. FIG. 10 shows an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying a price. FIG. 11 shows an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying the number of times. FIG. 12 shows an example of a display screen for continuing, changing, or canceling the conditions. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the manager sets store holidays. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the administrator sets a target period. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the administrator sets a target menu. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the system configuration of a meal ticket vending system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the management device shown in FIG.

The following describes in detail embodiments of a vending machine , a vending method , and a vending program according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, Embodiment 1, the present invention is applied to a meal ticket vending machine, and in the following Embodiment 2, the present invention is applied to a meal ticket vending system consisting of multiple meal ticket vending machines and a management device.

<Definition of terms>
In this embodiment, "subscription" refers to a subscription service in which a fee is paid for the right to receive a product or service. In this embodiment, the terms "subscription service,""subscription," and "subscription" are used, but they all have the same meaning. Furthermore, in this embodiment, "menu" refers to a menu of food and drink such as a daily set meal or curry rice offered by a restaurant.

In this embodiment, "administrator" refers to a person who configures and manages the meal ticket vending machine, such as a restaurant manager or restaurant owner. In this embodiment, "subscription settings" refers to settings related to the subscription service, such as restaurant closing days, made by the administrator. In this embodiment, "subscription usage settings" refers to settings such as the usage period, price, number of times, etc., made by a customer using the meal ticket vending machine.

<Embodiment 1>
First, an overview of a meal ticket vending machine 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of a meal ticket vending machine according to the first embodiment. The meal ticket vending machine 10 according to the first embodiment is a device that provides a subscription service. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which a customer is identified using an IC card that stores a card ID. Note that instead of an IC card, a customer can also be identified using biometric information such as a magnetic card, a facial image, a fingerprint, or a palm print.

While there is prior art that applies subscription services to vending machines that provide beverages or restaurants that provide food and beverages, there is no prior art that applies subscription services to meal ticket vending machines.

One reason for this is that meal ticket vending machines are devices that are originally designed for simple operation - simply insert money and press a button to issue a meal ticket - and are therefore not well suited to subscription services, which require complex operations for applications. While it is possible to apply for a subscription service by accessing a website from a smartphone, there are a certain number of customers who use meal ticket vending machines who have difficulty accessing the web, and there are also likely to be a certain number of people who do not want to go to the trouble of accessing the web to apply for a subscription service. For this reason, subscription services for meal ticket vending machines are not currently anticipated.

Another characteristic of meal ticket vending machines is that "menus and prices change frequently depending on the season, trends, set menus, etc." This means that applying a subscription service would make configuration complicated. Another characteristic of meal ticket vending machines is that "there are holidays, consecutive weekends, on-season and off-seasons, etc., depending on the store or customer's circumstances, making it difficult to configure them according to the season."

For this reason, the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to this embodiment 1 allows customers to easily apply for, continue, change, or cancel subscription services using the meal ticket vending machine 10, and also allows administrators to set store closing days, etc.

As shown in Figure 1(a), Manager A performs subscription settings in advance (S1) before setting up subscription usage for customers. Such subscription settings include setting items such as store holidays. Here, it is assumed that basic subscription data such as the menu and prices of various food and drink items have already been registered. When Manager A holds his or her own IC card over the card reader of the meal ticket vending machine 10, the meal ticket vending machine 10 switches to administrator mode, allowing Manager A to perform subscription settings.

If Customer B subsequently wishes to apply for a subscription service, they will set up the subscription (S2). Specifically, if they select "Subscription" from the initial screen displayed on the display screen, a screen will appear where they can apply for the subscription service. On this screen, they specify the subscription conditions, apply for the subscription service, and the subscription conditions are registered. Such subscription conditions include conditions related to the period, and at least one of the maximum amount, maximum number of purchases, unit amount, and unit purchase number.

When such an application is made, the meal ticket vending machine 10 issues an IC card to customer B that stores a card ID that uniquely identifies customer B. Instead of issuing an IC card from the meal ticket vending machine 10, it is also possible to have customer B insert, for example, a transportation IC card that they possess, and use this IC card to identify the customer.

After that, as shown in Figure 1(b), when Customer B holds the IC card over the card reader (S3), the customer is identified based on the card ID stored on the IC card (S4), and menu items selectable by Customer B are identified (S5). A customer-specific screen including the identified menu items is displayed on the operation display unit (S6). Then, when Customer B selects one of the menu items displayed on the customer-specific screen (S7), a meal ticket corresponding to the selected menu item is ejected from the meal ticket outlet (S8).

In this way, the meal ticket vending machine 10 registers the subscription conditions selected by customer B in advance, and once customer B is identified, it displays menus that meet customer B's subscription conditions on the operation display unit, and when one of the menus is selected, it dispenses a meal ticket for the selected menu from the meal ticket outlet. Such subscription conditions include conditions related to the period, and at least one of the maximum amount, maximum number of purchases, unit amount limit, and number of unit purchases.

<External configuration of meal ticket vending machine 10>
Next, we will explain the external configuration of the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the external configuration of the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the surface of the housing of the meal ticket vending machine 10 is provided with an operation display unit 11, a card reader 12, a card issuing slot 13a, a meal ticket dispensing slot 14a, a bill deposit/withdrawal slot 15a, a coin insertion slot 16a, and a coin dispensing slot 16b.

The operation display unit 11 displays information using devices such as an LCD panel, display, or organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, and is an input and display device that accepts operational inputs using pressure-sensitive methods, etc. This operation display unit 11 displays a screen containing menus that customers can select from. The operation display unit 11 is used by administrators to set up subscriptions, customers to set up subscription usage, and other operations.

The card reader 12 is a reader unit that reads the card ID stored on the IC card. Here, the case where the card ID is read contactlessly is shown. The card issuing port 13a is an issuing port for ejecting IC cards issued to customers who have applied for subscription services.

The meal ticket outlet 14a is an outlet that dispenses meal tickets corresponding to the menu selected by the customer and allows the customer to remove the meal ticket. The bill deposit/withdrawal outlet 15a is an deposit/withdrawal outlet for depositing bills when applying for a subscription service, depositing bills when purchasing meal tickets with cash, withdrawing bills as change, and withdrawing bills when canceling a subscription service.

The coin slot 16a is used to deposit coins when signing up for a subscription service or when purchasing meal tickets with cash, while the coin outlet 16b is used to remove coins for change or when canceling a subscription service.

<Internal configuration of meal ticket vending machine 10>
Next, the internal configuration of the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment 1 will be described. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment 1. As shown in the figure, the meal ticket vending machine 10 has an operation and display unit 11, a card reader 12, a card issuing unit 13, a ticket issuing unit 14, a bill unit 15, a coin unit 16, a memory unit 17, and a control unit 18. The operation and display unit 11 has been described above.

The card reader 12 is a reader device that contactlessly reads the card ID stored on an IC card. Specifically, the card reader 12 generates a magnetic field, and when an IC card is held over the card reader 12, data is exchanged wirelessly via a coil built into the IC card that acts as an antenna.

The card issuing unit 13 is a processing unit that stores a card ID and issues an IC card that can be exchanged with the card reader 12 without contact. Such an IC card is issued to a new customer when the customer applies for a subscription service. However, instead of issuing an IC card from the card issuing unit 13, it is also possible to use an employee ID card, transportation IC card, or other card that the customer already has.

The ticket issuing unit 14 is a processing unit that issues a meal ticket (ticket) corresponding to the menu item selected by the customer by printing on a piece of paper using a small printer, cutting it, and discharging it through the meal ticket outlet 14a.

The banknote unit 15 has a banknote storage section and is a unit that performs banknote deposit and withdrawal processes, denomination determination, authenticity determination, etc. The coin unit 16 has a coin storage section and is a unit that performs coin deposit and withdrawal processes, denomination determination, authenticity determination, etc.

The memory unit 17 is a storage device consisting of a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory, and stores menu data 17a, customer data 17b, basic subscription data 17c, and subscription condition data 17d.

Menu data 17a is data consisting of various menu items offered by restaurants. This includes various menu items offered by restaurants, such as menu items that are only available during certain times of the day, such as lunch, or menu items that are only available during certain seasons. Such menu data 17a is set in advance by an administrator, etc.

Customer data 17b is data used to identify a customer, and is data that associates a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer, a card ID that uniquely identifies the IC card, and the customer's name, telephone number, etc. The reason the customer ID and card ID are provided separately is because multiple card IDs may be associated with one customer ID.

Figure 4 shows an example of customer data 17b shown in Figure 3. The figure shows a situation in which customer ID "A001" is associated with card ID "12345678," name "Yama Ichiro," and telephone number "070-1234-5678," and customer ID "A002" is associated with card ID "87654321," name "Xkawa Hanako," and telephone number "080-5678-9012."

Subscription basic data 17c is data containing basic details about subscription services, such as the menu contents and fees included in the multiple types of subscription services provided to customers. For example, basic data such as "10,000 yen" for using a menu that costs 500 yen per day for one month, or "4,500 yen" for using a menu that costs 500 yen per 10 times for one month may be included.

Subscription condition data 17d is data that associates the subscription acceptance date, subscription end date, subscription conditions, number of uses, etc. for each customer ID. By referencing this subscription condition data 17d, it is possible to confirm the customer's subscription conditions and determine what kind of subscription services can be provided to the customer.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the subscription condition data 17d shown in Figure 3. This figure shows a situation in which customer ID "A001" is associated with a subscription acceptance date of "2022/1/7", a subscription expiration date of "2022/2/7", a period of "1 month", a unit limit of "500 yen", the number of unit purchases "10 times", and the number of times used "2 times". Note that the subscription expiration date, one month after the subscription acceptance date, would normally be "2022/2/6", but due to one day of closure due to restaurant circumstances, the subscription expiration date has been set to "2022/2/7".

Furthermore, the following is associated with customer ID "A002": subscription acceptance date "2022/1/10", subscription end date "2022/4/12", period "3 months", maximum limit "1,000 yen", maximum number of purchases "1 time/day", and number of uses "1 time". The subscription end date, three months after the subscription acceptance date, would normally be "2022/4/9", but due to the restaurant's three closed days due to circumstances, the subscription end date has been set to "2022/4/12".

The control unit 18 is responsible for overall control of the meal ticket vending machine 10, and includes a menu management unit 18a, a card issuance processing unit 18b, a customer identification unit 18c, a banknote processing unit 18d, a coin processing unit 18e, a subscription setting unit 18f, a subscription usage setting unit 18g, a display control unit 18h, and a ticket issuance processing unit 18i.

The control unit 18 performs a series of controls related to the subscription service, specifically controlling procedures for applying for, continuing, changing, and canceling the subscription service, as well as the administrator's setting of store holidays, target periods, and target menus. The various controls of the subscription service performed by the control unit 18 will be described in detail below using the example display screens shown in Figures 7 to 15.

In addition, programs corresponding to the above-mentioned menu management unit 18a, card issuance processing unit 18b, customer identification unit 18c, banknote processing unit 18d, coin processing unit 18e, subscription setting unit 18f, subscription usage setting unit 18g, display control unit 18h, and ticket issuance processing unit 18i are stored in the memory unit 17, etc., and these programs are loaded into main memory and executed by the CPU, thereby executing the processes corresponding to each processing unit.

The menu management unit 18a is a management unit that manages the restaurant's menu using the menu data 17a. Specifically, it manages the menu items currently being offered by the restaurant from among the multiple menu items included in the menu data 17a.

The card issuance processing unit 18b is a processing unit that instructs the card issuance unit 13 to issue an IC card. Specifically, when an application for a subscription service is accepted from a new customer, it instructs the card issuance unit 13 to issue an IC card that stores a new card ID. Note that an employee ID card or transportation IC card held by the customer can also be used as the IC card to be used with the meal ticket vending machine 10. In this case, the card ID stored on the employee ID card or transportation IC card is read by the card reader 12, and this card ID is associated with the customer ID and registered in the customer data 17b.

The customer identification unit 18c is a processing unit that identifies the customer ID. Specifically, it reads the card ID stored on the IC card using the card reader 12 and performs processing to identify the customer ID from the card ID included in the customer data 17b.

The banknote processing unit 18d is a processing unit that uses the banknote unit 15 to process banknote deposits, dispense banknotes, determine denominations, verify authenticity, and control the transport of banknotes. The coin processing unit 18e is a processing unit that uses the coin unit 16 to process coin deposits, dispense coins, determine denominations, verify authenticity, and control the transport of coins.

The subscription setting unit 18f is a processing unit that sets subscription settings such as store holidays in response to operations by the administrator. Specifically, when the card reader 12 reads the card ID stored on an IC card held by the administrator, the meal ticket vending machine 10 transitions to administrator mode, enabling subscription settings. In this subscription setting enabled state, the administrator can set subscriptions.

The subscription usage setting unit 18g is a processing unit that performs subscription usage settings in response to customer operations. Specifically, when "Subscription" is selected on the operation display unit 11, the display screen appears on which the customer can apply for a subscription service, and subscription usage settings can be performed by repeating the selection operation as appropriate. Once subscription usage settings have been performed, the results are registered as subscription conditions in the subscription condition data 17d.

The display control unit 18h is a control unit that controls the display of information related to menus, subscription settings, or subscription usage settings on the operation display unit 11. The ticket issuance processing unit 18i is a processing unit that instructs the ticket issuance unit 14 to issue a meal ticket corresponding to the menu selected by the customer.

<Processing procedure of the meal ticket vending machine 10>
Next, the processing procedure of the meal ticket vending machine 10 will be described. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the meal ticket vending machine 10 shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 6, when the power of the meal ticket vending machine 10 is turned on, an initial screen is displayed on the operation and display unit 11 (step S101). Although not shown here for the sake of convenience, once a customer selects a menu item and pays the fee on this initial screen, a meal ticket is dispensed from the meal ticket outlet 14a as usual.

Furthermore, if the customer selects "Subscription" on the initial screen and the meal ticket vending machine 10 accepts the subscription application operation (Step S102; Yes), the subscription application acceptance process is performed (Step S103), followed by a payment acceptance process (Step S104), before proceeding to Step S101. This subscription application acceptance process will be explained in detail later using the display screen.

On the other hand, if the card reader 12 accepts the IC card (step S102; No, step S105; Yes), the card ID is read from the IC card (step S106), and the customer ID is identified by referring to the customer data 17b (step S107). Then, the subscription conditions corresponding to the customer ID are identified by referring to the subscription conditions data 17d (step S108), and a customer-specific screen including a menu that matches the subscription conditions is displayed on the operation display unit 11 (step S109).

This customer-only screen waits for subscription-related operations and menu selection operations (steps S110 and S111; No). If a menu selection operation is accepted (step S111; Yes), a meal ticket corresponding to the selected menu is issued (step S112), and the number of times the subscription condition data 17d has been used is updated (step S113). If the above series of processes is not to be completed (step S114; No), the system proceeds to step S101.

In response to this, if a subscription-related operation is accepted on the customer-only screen (Step S110; Yes), it is determined whether the subscription-related operation is "continue" (Step S115). As a result, if the subscription-related operation is "continue" (Step S115; Yes), subscription continuation processing is performed (Step S116) and processing proceeds to Step S114. This subscription continuation processing updates the "subscription end date" in the subscription condition data 17d.

Also, if the subscription-related operation is not "continue" (step S115; No), it is determined whether the subscription-related operation is "change" (step S117). As a result, if the subscription-related operation is "change" (step S117; Yes), a subscription change process is performed (step S118) and the process proceeds to step S114.

Also, if the subscription-related operation is not "change" (step S117; No), it is determined whether the subscription-related operation is "cancel" (step S119). As a result, if the subscription-related operation is "cancel" (step S119; Yes), the subscription cancellation process is performed (step S120) and the process proceeds to step S114. On the other hand, if the subscription-related operation is not "cancel" (step S119; No), the process proceeds directly to step S114.

<Subscription service application>
Next, an example of a display screen when applying for a subscription service will be described. Figures 7 to 9 show examples of display screens when applying for a subscription service by specifying a period.

If the customer selects "Subscription" on the initial screen shown in Figure 7(a), a message will be displayed asking "Do you want to apply for subscription service?" as shown in Figure 7(b). If the customer selects "OK," the selection screen shown in Figure 7(c) will be displayed.

This selection screen includes an "Automatic Course," which allows customers to apply for a subscription service by specifying their desired conditions, and a "Special Course," which allows customers to specify their desired conditions in detail. The "Automatic Course" includes "Choose by period," "Choose by price," and "Choose by number of sessions," and one of these can be selected. The "Special Course" includes "Adjust." An explanation of the "Special Course" will be omitted here.

[Select by period]
If the customer selects "Select by period" on the selection screen shown in Fig. 7(c), a selection box of "10 days,""1month,""3months,""6months," and "Specify period" is displayed as shown in Fig. 7(d). This "Specify period" is a selection box that allows the customer to specify any period they wish.

If a period of "1 month" is specified, a selection box for the amount per day will be displayed, as shown in Figure 8(a). Here, the following selection boxes are displayed: "¥300 per day," "¥500 per day," "¥1,000 per day," "¥1,500 per day," "All-you-can-eat (unlimited)," and "¥1 day (specify amount)." This "¥1 day (specify amount)" is a selection box in which the customer can specify any amount they wish. Note that below, "¥○○" will be written as "¥○○."

For example, if you select "500 yen per day," the subscription service start date selection screen shown in Figure 8(b) will be displayed. This example shows a situation where the options "Start today," "Specify date," and "Arrange" are displayed. If "Start today" is selected, the date of selection will be the start date of the subscription service.

In contrast, if "Specify Date" is selected, a calendar will be displayed as shown in Figure 8(c), and the start date can be selected from this calendar. This figure shows the situation where January 7, 2022 is selected as the start date. As a result, as shown in Figure 8(d), the following messages are displayed: "Up to ¥500 per day," "Can be used from January 7, 2022 to February 7, 2022," and "Payment is ¥10,000." The reason the end date is set to February 7 is because the store is closed for one month from January 7th.

If "OK" is selected here, the screen will move to a payment screen (not shown). In this first embodiment, we have described the case where payment is made with currency, but it is also possible to configure the system to accept payments with cash cards, debit cards, electronic money, etc.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 9(a), if "Arrange" is selected, the display will transition to a screen where the menu can be arranged, as shown in Figure 9(b). Here, it shows the situation where "Daily Special," "Noodles," and "Soft Drinks" are selected and "Confirm" is selected. As a result, as shown in Figure 9(c), the following messages are displayed: "Up to ¥500 per day," "2022/1/7-2022/2/7," "Can be used for daily specials, noodles, and soft drinks," and "Payment is ¥8,500."

[Select by price]
FIG. 10 shows an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying a price. When "Select by Price" is selected on the selection screen shown in FIG. 10( a), the screen transitions to the price selection screen shown in FIG. 10( b). This example shows a situation in which a selection box is displayed with the following options: "¥300/day,""¥800/day,""¥1,000/day,""¥1,500/day,""All-you-can-eat(unlimited)," and "¥1/day (specified price)." The "¥1/day (specified price)" option allows the customer to specify any price they wish. This selection screen is similar to the one shown in FIG. 8( a).

If "¥ per day (specified amount)" is selected, the screen will move to the amount specification screen shown in Figure 10(c). After entering the amount and specifying the period using the numeric keypad on the amount specification screen, the screen for selecting the start date of the subscription service shown in Figure 8(b) will be displayed.

[Select by frequency]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when signing up for a subscription service by specifying the number of times. When "Select by number of times" is selected on the selection screen shown in FIG. 11( a), the display transitions to the number of times selection screen shown in FIG. 11( b). This selection screen shows a situation in which a selection box for "5 times,""10times,""15times,""20times,""unlimitedtimes," and "□ times (specified number of times)" is displayed. When selecting by number of times, the period is "1 month" and the start date is "today." Therefore, the display reads, "Please select the number of times to be used from January 7, 2022 to February 7, 2022."

If "10 times" is selected here, the screen will transition to the "Amount per Use Selection Screen" shown in Figure 10(c). Here, a selection box for "¥500 per use (¥4,500)," "¥1,000 per use (¥8,500)," "Unlimited amount (¥12,000)," and "¥□ (Specify amount)" is displayed. If "¥500 per use (¥4,500)" is selected here, the screen will display, as shown in Figure 11(d), "Up to ¥500 per use, can be used 10 times between January 7, 2022 and February 7, 2022." The payment will be ¥4,500. If "Confirm" is selected here, the screen will transition to the payment screen (not shown).

<Continuation, changes, and cancellation of subscription services>
Next, we will explain how a customer who has applied for a subscription service can continue, change, or cancel the terms. Figure 12 shows an example of a display screen for continuing, changing, or canceling the terms. The customer holds their IC card over the card reader 12, which takes them to a customer-specific screen where they can continue, change, or cancel. Although not shown here for convenience of explanation, the customer-specific screen has a selection box for continuing, changing, or canceling the service.

When "Continue" is selected on the customer-only screen, the screen shown in Figure 12(a) is displayed. Here, the messages "Subscription for Mr./Ms. XX," "Up to ¥500 per day for one month (2022/1/7 - 2022/2/7)," and "Daily specials, noodles, soft drinks" are displayed, along with options to "Continue as is" or "Don't continue." By selecting from these options, customers can continue their subscription service with simple operations.

When "Change" is selected on the customer-only screen, the screen shown in Figure 12(b) is displayed. Here, the messages "Subscription for Mr./Ms. XX," "Up to ¥500 per day for one month (2022/1/7 - 2022/2/7)," and "Daily specials, noodles, soft drinks" are displayed, along with options for "Change period" and "Change price." By selecting from these options, customers can easily change the period or price of their subscription service.

If "Cancel" is selected on the customer-only screen, the screen shown in Figure 12(c) is displayed. This screen shows the following messages: "Cancellation is only possible if payment is made in cash at the time of application. Cancellation and refunds may not be possible depending on the contract terms.", "Contract of Mr./Ms. XX," "6 months 2022/1/7 - 2022/7/7 ¥50,000," and "We will refund ¥47,000 after deducting usage fees and processing fees up to January 11." If "Confirm" is selected here, "Cancellation" is executed and the system moves to the refund process (not shown). In this way, customers can cancel their subscription service with simple operations.

<Administrator changes to settings>
[Store holiday settings]
Next, we will explain how the administrator can change the settings. Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the administrator sets store holidays. The administrator holds an IC card over the card reader 12, which transitions to an administrator-only screen. If the "Settings" selection box included in this administrator-only screen is operated, the settings screen shown in Figure 13(a) is displayed. This settings screen shows a situation in which selection boxes for "Subscription-related,""AddMenu,""ChangeMenu," and "Other" are included.

If the administrator selects "Subscription-related" here, the screen will move to the selection screen shown in Figure 13(b). This selection screen includes "Store Holiday Settings," "Target Period," and "Target Menu." Of these, if "Store Holiday Settings" is selected, the screen will move to the store holiday designation screen shown in Figure 13(c). Here, January 11, 2022 is shown as a store holiday. Note that if additional store holidays are set due to restaurant circumstances, the subscription service provision period will be extended by the number of those store holidays. This ensures that customers will not suffer any disadvantages even if a store holiday occurs due to restaurant circumstances.

If the administrator selects "OK", a list of store holidays as shown in Figure 13(d) will be displayed. Here, the store holiday in January is the 14th (business day: 17th), the store holiday in February is the 10th (business day: 18th), and the store holiday in March is the 9th (business day: 22nd). If the administrator selects "OK", the store holidays will be registered.

[Setting the target period]
Next, setting the target period for a subscription service will be described. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when an administrator sets the target period. When the administrator selects "Target Period" on the selection screen shown in Fig. 14(a), the screen transitions to the selection screen shown in Fig. 14(b). This selection screen includes selection boxes for "Specify Target Period" and "Set Non-Target Period."

If "Specify blackout period" is selected, the screen shown in Figure 14(c) will appear. This screen includes a calendar, and the days that will be in the blackout period can be selected. If "OK" is selected, the screen shown in Figure 14(d) will be displayed. This screen displays the message, "The blackout period has been set to 1/1 to 1/11. Pricing will be set excluding 11 days." If "OK" is selected, the blackout period will be set. Note that if the blackout period is set after the customer has applied for the subscription service, this blackout period will be excluded from the subscription service provision period, and the customer will not be treated disadvantageously.

[Target menu]
Next, the setting of the target menu for the subscription service will be described. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the administrator sets the target menu. When the administrator selects "Target Menu" on the selection screen shown in Fig. 15(a), the screen transitions to the selection screen shown in Fig. 15(b). Here, a check mark is placed on the target menu to include it, and the check mark is removed to exclude it from the target menu.

If "OK" is selected, the screen shown in Figure 15(c) will be displayed. Here, the screen shows the message "All menus, including set menus, have been set as target menus." If "OK" is selected, the target menu will be set.

As described above, the meal ticket vending machine 10 according to this embodiment 1 is configured to register the subscription conditions selected by the customer in advance, and once the customer is identified, display menus that match the customer's subscription conditions on the operation display unit, and once one of the menus is selected, eject a meal ticket for the selected menu from the meal ticket outlet, thereby providing a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the meal ticket vending machine.

The subscription conditions also include conditions related to the period, and at least one of the maximum amount limit, maximum number of purchases, unit amount limit, and unit purchase number. Furthermore, subscription condition data 17d, which includes the subscription conditions for each customer, is stored in the memory unit 17, and when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit 18c, the subscription conditions for that customer are read from the memory unit 17 and a menu to be displayed on the operation display unit 11 is identified. This makes it possible to provide a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the meal ticket vending machine.

In addition, the operation display unit 11 accepts the customer's intention to cancel the subscription service from the screen, and the control unit 18 cancels the subscription service based on the intention to cancel and, if a refund is available, causes the refund to be made. The subscription conditions are configured to allow the customer to select whether or not to include set menus as menu items, making it possible to provide a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the meal ticket vending machine 10.

In addition, the fee according to the subscription conditions can be set according to the restaurant's holidays, and the subscription period can be set excluding specified periods, making it possible to provide a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the meal ticket vending machine 10.

In the above embodiment 1, a case was shown in which a customer (customer ID) was identified using a contactless IC card, but the present invention is not limited to this, and customers can also be identified using various types of biometric information such as face, fingerprints, and palm prints. Furthermore, customers can also be identified using a contact-type IC card or magnetic card instead of a contactless IC card.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, the case where the meal ticket vending machine 10 is operated independently is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to a meal ticket vending system that has multiple meal ticket vending machines 10 and a management device. For this reason, in the second embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a meal ticket vending system in a chain of restaurants is described.

First, the system configuration of the meal ticket vending system according to the second embodiment will be described. Figure 16 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the meal ticket vending system according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, this meal ticket vending system has a system configuration in which a meal ticket vending machine 10A, a meal ticket vending machine 10B, and a management device 20 are connected to a network N. Note that while the case where two meal ticket vending machines are installed will be described here, three or more meal ticket vending machines can also be installed.

Meal ticket vending machine 10A is installed in one restaurant, and meal ticket vending machine 10B is installed in another restaurant. However, if the restaurant is a large establishment, meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B can also be installed within the establishment. Such meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B have a configuration similar to the meal ticket vending machine 10 described in embodiment 1, and are equipped with a communication I/F unit that connects to network N, and a processing unit that receives menu data and basic subscription data notified from management device 20 and stores it in a memory unit. A detailed description of meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B will be omitted here.

Next, the management device 20 shown in Figure 16 will be described. Figure 17 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the management device 20 shown in Figure 16. As shown in the figure, the management device 20 has an input unit 21, a display unit 22, a communication I/F unit 23, a memory unit 24, and a control unit 25.

The input unit 21 is an input device such as a keyboard or mouse, and the display unit 22 is a display device such as an LCD panel, display, or organic EL display. The communication I/F unit 23 is a communication interface unit for communicating with the meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B via the network N.

The storage unit 24 is composed of a storage device such as a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory, and stores menu data 24a and basic subscription data 24b. The menu data 24a is similar to the menu data 17a in embodiment 1, and is data consisting of various menu items offered at each restaurant. This includes various menu items offered at restaurants, such as menu items offered only during certain times of the day, such as lunch, and menu items offered only during certain seasons.

Subscription basic data 24b is similar to subscription basic data 17c in embodiment 1 and is data containing basic information about subscription services. This subscription basic data 24b includes the menu contents and fees included in the multiple types of subscription services provided to customers.

The control unit 25 is a control unit that performs overall control of the management device 20, and has a menu management unit 25a, a menu data notification unit 25b, a subscription basic data management unit 25c, and a subscription basic data notification unit 25d. In practice, programs corresponding to the menu management unit 25a, menu data notification unit 25b, subscription basic data management unit 25c, and subscription basic data notification unit 25d are stored in the storage unit 24, etc., and these programs are loaded into main memory and executed by the CPU, causing the processes corresponding to each processing unit to be executed.

The menu management unit 25a is a management unit that manages the menus of each restaurant using the menu data 24a, and manages the menus offered by each restaurant from among the multiple menus included in the menu data 24a. The menu data notification unit 25b is a processing unit that notifies the meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B installed in each restaurant of the menu data 24a. The menu data notified to the meal ticket vending machine 10A can be different from the menu data notified to the meal ticket vending machine 10B.

The subscription basic data management unit 25c is a management unit that manages the subscription basic data 24b, and the subscription basic data notification unit 25d is a processing unit that notifies the subscription basic data 24b to the meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B installed in each restaurant.

As described above, in the meal ticket vending system according to embodiment 2, the management device 20 manages the menu data 24a and the subscription basic data 24b, and is configured to notify these data to the meal ticket vending machine 10A and the meal ticket vending machine 10B. This allows each meal ticket vending machine 10A and 10B to provide a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the meal ticket vending machine.

In this second embodiment, the management device 20 manages the menu data 24a and the subscription basic data 24b, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be configured to manage the customer data 17b and subscription condition data 17d described in the first embodiment. Furthermore, when performing subscription settings, subscription usage settings, etc., the meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B can query the management device 20, and the meal ticket vending machines 10A and 10B can be configured to process the settings in cooperation with the management device 20. By realizing this type of cloud service, customers can receive subscription services from meal ticket vending machines in multiple stores.

As described above, the vending machine , sales method , and sales program according to the present invention are suitable for realizing a subscription service that takes into account the characteristics of the vending machine.

A Administrator B Customer N Network 10, 10A, 10B Meal ticket vending machine 11 Operation display unit 12 Card reader 13 Card issuing unit 13a Card issuing port 14 Ticket issuing unit 14a Meal ticket take-out port 15 Banknote unit 15a Banknote deposit/withdrawal port 16 Coin unit 16a Coin slot 16b Coin take-out port 17 Memory unit 17a Menu data 17b Customer data 17c Subscription basic data 17d Subscription condition data 18 Control unit 18a Menu management unit 18b Card issuing processing unit 18c Customer identification unit 18d Banknote processing unit 18e Coin processing unit 18f Subscription setting unit 18g Subscription usage setting unit 18h Display control unit 18i Ticket issuing processing unit 20 Management device 21 Input unit 22 Display unit 23 Communication I/F unit 24 Storage unit 24a Menu data 24b Subscription basic data 25 Control unit 25a Menu management unit 25b Menu data notification unit 25c Subscription basic data management unit 25d Subscription basic data notification unit

Claims (9)

A vending machine for selling food and beverages ,
a customer identification unit that identifies a customer;
a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display unit that displays a menu of items available for purchase in a selectable manner;
a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes menus that meet the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting unit to be displayed on the display unit, and sells the selected menu when any of the menus is selected ;
an input unit for inputting the subscription conditions;
Equipped with
the control unit causes the display unit to display a fee according to the subscription conditions input via the input unit when applying for the subscription service, and causes the display unit to accept the fee;
the input unit allows the customer to input an intention to cancel the subscription service after accepting the application for the subscription service;
The control unit cancels the subscription service based on the intention to cancel inputted through the input unit, and if a fee refund is due, causes the refund to be made.
A vending machine characterized by : A vending machine for selling food and beverages,
a customer identification unit that identifies a customer;
a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display unit that displays a menu of items available for purchase in a selectable manner;
a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes menus that meet the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting unit to be displayed on the display unit, and sells the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Equipped with
A vending machine characterized in that the fee according to the subscription conditions is set according to the store's holidays. A vending machine for selling food and beverages,
a customer identification unit that identifies a customer;
a condition setting unit that sets subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display unit that displays a menu of items available for purchase in a selectable manner;
a control unit that, when a customer is identified by the customer identification unit, causes menus that meet the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting unit to be displayed on the display unit, and sells the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Equipped with
A vending machine characterized in that the period of subscription conditions can be set to exclude a predetermined period. A sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages , comprising:
a customer identification step of identifying a customer;
a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display control step of displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner ;
a control step of, when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, displaying on the display unit menus that correspond to the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting step, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
an input step of inputting the subscription conditions;
Including,
the control step causes the display unit to display a fee according to the subscription conditions input in the input step when applying for the subscription service, and to accept the fee;
the input step includes having the customer input an intention to cancel the subscription service after accepting the application for the subscription service;
The control step cancels the subscription service based on the cancellation intention input in the input step, and if a fee refund is due, causes the fee to be refunded.
A sales method characterized by : A sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages ,
a customer identification procedure for identifying the customer;
A setup procedure for setting subscription terms for each customer regarding the subscription service;
a display control procedure for displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner ;
a control procedure for, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, displaying on the display unit menus that correspond to the subscription conditions of the customer set in the setting procedure, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
an input step for inputting the subscription conditions;
Including,
the control step causes the display unit to display a fee according to the subscription conditions input in the input step when applying for the subscription service, and causes the display unit to accept the fee;
the input step includes having the customer input an intention to cancel the subscription service after accepting the application for the subscription service;
The control procedure cancels the subscription service based on the cancellation intention input in the input procedure, and if a fee refund is available, causes a refund.
A sales program that causes a computer to execute a process . A sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising:
a customer identification step of identifying a customer;
a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display control step of displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner;
a control step of, when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, displaying on the display unit menus that correspond to the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting step, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Including,
A sales method characterized in that the fee according to the subscription conditions is set according to the store's holidays. A sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages,
a customer identification procedure for identifying the customer;
A procedure for setting subscription terms for each customer regarding the subscription service;
a display control procedure for displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner;
a control procedure for, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, displaying on the display unit menus that meet the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting procedure, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Including,
A sales program that causes a computer to execute a process for setting the fee according to the subscription conditions in accordance with the store's holidays. A sales method for a vending machine that sells food and beverages, comprising:
a customer identification step of identifying a customer;
a condition setting step of setting subscription conditions for the subscription service for each customer;
a display control step of displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner;
a control step of, when a customer is identified by the customer identification step, displaying on the display unit menus that correspond to the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting step, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Including,
A sales method characterized in that the period of the subscription conditions can be set excluding a predetermined period. A sales program for a vending machine that sells food and beverages,
a customer identification procedure for identifying the customer;
A procedure for setting subscription terms for each customer regarding the subscription service;
a display control procedure for displaying the menu items available for purchase on a predetermined display unit in a selectable manner;
a control procedure for, when a customer is identified by the customer identification procedure, displaying on the display unit menus that meet the subscription conditions of the customer set by the condition setting procedure, and selling the selected menu when any of the menus is selected;
Including,
A sales program that causes a computer to execute a process that allows the period of the subscription conditions to be set excluding a predetermined period.