WO2002025613A2 - Video surveillance for vending machines - Google Patents

Abstract

Equipment for diagnosis of automatic points of sale (PV) provided with a system for diagnosis of operation, comprising: at least one sensor (S1-Sn) for detecting external events and for signalling the detected event or events to the diagnostic system of the point of sale; means (DVC1-DVCn) for digital acquisition of images related to the detected event, these means being switched on by a command from the diagnostic system and connected to a control centre (CVR) for the transmission of the acquired images to the latter.

Description

VIDEO EQUIPMENT FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF AUTOMATIC POINTS OF SALE

OF GOODS AND/OR SERVICES

Technical field

The present invention relates to video equipment for diagnosis of the correct operation of points of sale, such as automatic dispensers of goods or services.

In particular, the invention relates to automatic fuel dispensers.

Prior art

Various types of video equipment associated with automatic points of sale or dispensing points for goods (such as Bancomat® cash dispensers) are known at present.

However, the known equipment is limited to surveillance functions in which, following a fraudulent act, a video camera can take pictures of the perpetrators of the act and, if necessary, transmit the acquired images to a remote control centre.

This equipment, however, cannot be used to perform a true diagnosis, and cannot interact with the control system of the point of sale.

Consequently there is a manifest need for video equipment which can provide assistance to the diagnostic system of an automatic point of sale.

Object of the invention

A first object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks and limits of the known systems, by providing video equipment in which the video camera (or cameras) can interact with the diagnostic system in an active way and support it in all functions in which the observation of the environment is useful for the maintenance of the correct operating condition.

A second object is to provide video equipment capable of transmitting information content to the diagnostic system of the point of sale in such a way that the latter interprets the received information and can intervene appropriately and take any necessary action.

Summery of the invention

To achieve these objects, equipment has been devised according to the invention, as claimed in the attached main claims.

Further characteristics are claimed in the secondary claims.

List of drawings The advantages which are achieved will be made clear by the following description and by the attached drawings, provided by way of example and without restrictive intent, in which:

- Figure 1 shows a diagram of the equipment; - Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the equipment. Detailed description

With reference to the attached drawings, in a preferred embodiment the video equipment for diagnosis of automatic points of sale comprises at least one sensor S1-Sn and at least one digital video camera DVC1-DVCn, preferably incorporated in the point of sale and connected by suitable interfaces of a known type to the diagnostic system of the point of sale and to a control centre CTR. Preferably, the diagnostic system of the point of sale PV consists of a microprocessor unit μP, running diagnostic software which is "intelligent", in other words capable of detecting events and making choices accordingly to maintain the correct operation of the system or to prevent problems. By way of example,

- the sensors S1-Sn can be presence sensors, gas detectors, temperature sensors or any other sensors of external events related to the operation of the machine;

- the video cameras DVC are of the digital type, or are provided with analogue- digital converters.

In the case of a complex system provided with a plurality of points of sale (Fig. 2), each point of sale PV is also connected to a network NET, for example the Internet

(preferably via what is known as a virtual private network or "VPN"), and to a remote control centre CTR, which is also connected to the network and is provided with a database DB, containing, for example, the identification data of the different points of sale, the codes of possible events covered by the diagnosis, and any other useful information.

In a preferred embodiment, the link between PV and the network is protected by a protocol for encrypting the transmitted data. The diagrams of the attached figures also show lights L1-Ln which can optionally be provided to improve the efficiency of image acquisition by the DVC cameras.

In operation, one or more of the sensors S1-Sn detects an event, for example an attempted theft, or the presence of a fire, or failure to comply with predetermined conditions external to the point of sale, and sends information on this to the diagnostic system of the point of sale.

The diagnostic system, acting on the basis of its diagnostic program, interprets the event and switches on, or does not switch on, the video camera or cameras which are related to such events because of their location, together with any corresponding lights Li.

The video camera or cameras which are switched on capture one or more images and transmit them to the control centre CTR of the point of sale, which gives instructions for the corrective and/or preventive actions to be taken.

Advantageously, depending on the application of the equipment, the control centre can be inside the point of sale and can be integrated with the diagnostic system, or can be in a position remote from the point of sale.

The acquired images are then transferred directly from the point of sale to the control centre CTR together with any other information related to the event (for example an event code, or user data present at the point of sale at the time in question, such as the number of any credit card used for the transaction), and the control centre gives instructions for the necessary action to be taken for the operation of the point of sale in question. In a further embodiment, the control system of the point of sale is provided with image processing and recognition software, which enables the image received from the video cameras to be associated with data contained in a database of the point of sale for checking purposes.

For example, the image of a user who has been detected as possibly attempting a fraudulent act against the point of sale can be compared with a database of images of "trusted" customers, and then a decision can be taken as to whether or not to switch on an alarm.

In this application, the use of neural algorithms for biometric identification can be particularly effective. In a particularly advantageous solution for fuel dispensers, one of the sensors is sensitive to the presence of fire; this sensor consists of an infrared video camera, and can therefore act as both a sensor and a video camera. Additionally, in a further technical solution, the links between the sensors, the video cameras, and the point of sale can be of the wireless type (for example, bidirectional links using Bluetooth™ technology), and the link between the point of sale and the remote control centre can also consist of a wireless link (using a cellular network, for example), possibly enabled for Internet protocol transmission. The present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, but it is to be understood that equivalent modifications can be made without departure from the scope of protection provided by the present industrial patent.

Claims

I . Equipment for diagnosis of automatic points of sale (PV) provided with a system for diagnosis of operation, characterized in that it comprises:

- at least one sensor (S1-Sn) for detecting external events and for signalling the detected event or events to the diagnostic system of the point of sale;

- means (DVC1-DVCn) for digital acquisition of images related to the detected event, these means being switched on by a command from the diagnostic system and connected to a control centre (CVR) for the transmission of the acquired images to the latter.

2. Equipment according to Claim 1, in which said acquisition means consist of digital video cameras interfaced with said diagnostic system and with said control centre.

3. Equipment according to Claim 2, in which at least one video camera (DVC) is an infrared video camera with a temperature sensor function.

4. Equipment according to Claim 1 , in which said sensors comprise presence sensors, gas sensors, and temperature sensors interfaced with said diagnostic system.

5. Equipment according to Claim 1 , in which said diagnostic system consists of a microprocessor unit which can execute a program for diagnosing the operation of the automatic point of sale.

6. Equipment according to Claim 1 , in which said control centre is inside said point of sale and is integrated with said diagnostic system.

7. Equipment according to Claim 1 , in which said point of sale is connected to a remote control centre.

8. Equipment according to Claim 7, in which the images are transmitted by modem to said remote control centre.

9. Equipment according to Claim 7, in which said point of sale is connected to said remote centre via the Internet.

10. Equipment according to Claim 5, in which said microprocessor unit of the point of sale can process algorithms for processing and recognition of the acquired image in relation to comparison data contained in a database.

I I . Equipment according to Claim 10, in which said algorithms are neural algorithms.

12. Equipment according to Claim 1 , in which said acquisition means and/or said sensors are connected to the point of sale by a bi-directional wireless link.

13. Equipment according to Claim 7, in which said control centre is connected to said point of sale by a wireless link.

14. Equipment according to Claim 13, in which said wireless link consists of a cellular telephone network.

15. Equipment according to Claim 14, in which said link is enabled for the transmission of Internet protocols between said point of sale and said remote centre.