Vending unit
Use the vending unit feature to configure a coil-operated device, such as a ticket dispense unit, that allows a user to purchase products from the device.
Important
The vending unit feature is available from Connect on-Device version 3.27.0.
Before configuring the vending unit, you must enable it in Connect on-Device Studio.
For more information, see Action menu wizard — Additional devices.
In Connect on-Device Studio, you can change the COM port for the vending unit if needed.
For more information, see Action menu wizard — Connection.
Start Connect on-Device Studio.
On the Action menu, select Wizard.
Go to the Additional devices page.
Select the VU checkbox.
Select Next until you reach the final page.
Select Finish.
Permissions required by the vending unit
These are the permissions you need to enable before starting to use the vending unit.
VU_PURCHASE — Enables the purchase screen. Also requires the SHOW_USER_BALANCE permission to show the purchase screen.
VU_REFILL — Enables the refill screen and the control of the machine. Requires the Admin role.
VU_SHOW_BALANCE — Allows the user to see their balance on the receipts. Without this permission, the machine has no idea how much money the user has. Also requires the SHOW_USER_BALANCE permission to show the purchase screen.
For more information, see Permissions M–Z.
Refilling and purchasing processes
Before using the vending unit, you must set up the refilling and purchasing processes. The vending unit has a dedicated configuration file.
The file has two sections:
Coils — In the Coils section, you configure the product you want to have for a specific coil.
Example:
Coil.10=Product110=The first coil of the first rowProducts — In the Products section, you configure the currency and the value of the product. You also configure the number of pieces that are available in the coil.
Example:
Product.currency=EUR Product.value=100 Product.pieces=5In this case, there are 5 products in the coil and they are sold for €1.00.
The product identifier is directly tied to the translation file. For example, Resources_en.properties.
In the translation file, you specify the user-friendly name you want to display for the product. Example: orchard.VENDING UNIT.Product1=TicketU where TicketU is the product name You can also configure the translation of the product fromConnect on-Device Studio.
When the file has been configured and Connect on-Device is started, a file that holds all the data of cash units within the vending unit is created and filled with data based on the configuration file.
By default, all coils/cash units are created empty so, after logging in, you need to fill the vending unit.
Sign in to Connect on-Device.
Select FILLING/EMPTYING.
Select VENDING UNIT REFILL.
Select REFILL.
Select YES.
Select DONE.
The maximum refill value per coil is configurable up to 25. It isn’t possible to exceed 25 pieces per coil. You configure the maximum number of pieces per coil in the ../resources/static/configuration/Read.repository file.
You can configure the layout of the vending unit. There are three properties relevant to the vending unit:
defaultTrayCount — This is the number of columns (maximum 7)
defaultSpringCount — This is the number of rows (maximum 8)
ThresholdProperties — This is the number of pieces per coil. By default, 25 means Full, 20 means High, 5 means Low, and 0 means Empty.
Sign in to Connect on-Device.
Select FILLING/EMPTYING.
Select VENDING UNIT REFILL.
Select REFILL COIL.
Select YES.
Select DONE.
It’s not mandatory to add products to all the coils. If there is no configuration for a coil, it isn’t possible to fill that coil.
Select VU PURCHASE.
Select the product you want to purchase.
Select the number of items you want to purchase. Use + to add more of the same item and - to remove items.
Select CONTINUE.
Make your payment.
The products are dispensed.
Note
The product names that show up in the list are the product names added to the translation file.
For more information, see Vending menu.
Error management
If the product a user has purchased isn't dispensed, a receipt is still printed. The receipt doesn’t show that the dispense failed. The reason for printing a receipt even though there was an error is that the user needs a way to show that a purchase was made and money was withdrawn from the account. An operator needs to go to the vending unit and manually confirm that the coil didn’t dispense the purchased products.
When the last dispense from a coil is unsuccessful, the coil is automatically disabled. A disabled coil has a red frame in the REFILL screen in Connect on-Device. When a coil is disabled, the next dispense is done from the next coil that hasn’t reported an error. The REFILL screen shows an error code and the date and time when the error occurred. The error code is specific to the vending unit.
When you are aware there is some technical issue with a coil, you can manually lock that coil. When a coil has been locked, it is no longer possible to dispense from that coil.
Sign in to Connect on-Device.
Select FILLING/EMPTYING.
Select VENDING UNIT REFILL.
Select the frame around the coil to open the context menu.
Select the Lock button.
Confirm that you want to lock the coil.
A locked coil has an orange frame in the Vending unit management panel in Connect on-Device. When the error has been resolved, you can test the coil from the Vending unit management panel
Print — prints a receipt with information about the products, the quantity, the value of the products, and the total value of all the products in the machine.
Reset — resets the machine to the original configuration.
Note
The only way to clear an error is from the REFILL screen.
Errors are stored in the VU.1.status file. The file is used by Connect on-Device to keep track of the errors in the vending unit.
These are the error codes a vending unit can return:
Column Empty - 0x02
Column Disabled - 0x04
Column Temp. Disabled - 0x08
After clearing an error, you can test the coil. The Test coil operation spins the coil a single time.
Sign in to Connect on-Device.
Select FILLING/EMPTYING.
Select VENDING UNIT REFILL.
Select the coil you want to test.
Select the TEST COIL button.
Select YES to confirm that you want to test the coil.