Vending machine
AssigneeSanden Corporation
InventorKatsumi Takahashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
When a non-contact IC card is detected, a card reader/writer immediately starts communications. The electronic money information stored on the non-contact IC card is transmitted to a control device of a vending machine. When merchandise is sold, the control device subtracts the price of the merchandise from the balance of the electronic money of the non-contact IC card, replaces the existing data with new data on the non-contact IC card, and releases the merchandise. To easily communicate with the non-contact IC card, the vending machine is provided with a holding unit.
Claims18
A vending machine, comprising:
- a selector for selecting merchandise;
- a merchandise carrying-out mechanism for releasing the selected merchandise;
- a card unit communicable with a non-contact IC card and having
- a detector for detecting the non-contact IC card storing electronic money information;
- and
- a controller for control of said card unit to start communications with the non-contact IC card when said detector of the card unit detects the non-contact IC card, control of determining whether or not the selected merchandise can be sold according to electronic money information received from the non-contact IC card when said selector selects the merchandise, and control of releasing the merchandise selected by said merchandise release when the merchandise can be sold.
A vending machine, comprising:
- a merchandise selector for selecting merchandise;
- a merchandise carrying-out mechanism for releasing the selected merchandise;
- a card unit communicable with a non-contact IC card storing electronic money information;
- and
- a controller for control of starting communications between said card unit and the non-contact IC card after said merchandise selector selects merchandise;
- control of determining whether or not the selected merchandise can be sold according to electronic money information received from the non-contact IC card;
- and control of releasing the merchandise selected by the merchandise release when the merchandise can be sold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.