GB2154563A - Monitoring dispenser operation - Google Patents

Abstract

A dispenser for articles (5) of fixed shape, for example cartons of cigarettes comprises a housing (1) having a plurality of drawers (2) for storing a row or rows (4) of articles to be dispensed. Each drawer (2) is movable between a substantially closed position retracted within the housing and an open position in which it is partially removed from within the housing for loading of articles into the row or rows (4) in the drawer. The arrangement of the drawers (2) is such that only a single one of the articles (5) stored in each row can be removed at a time from the drawer when the drawer is in its closed position. Means are provided for sensing the removal of an article from each row (4) and providing a signal indicative of the removal. Means are provided for preventing or indicating insertion of an article into a row which is in its closed position, and there is means for receiving an article removal signal and maintaining a count of the total number of articles (5) removed from each row. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dispenser The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing articles of fixed shape, for example packets of cigarettes, boxes of sweets etc. In particular, however, the dispenser is particularly useful for dispensing packets of cigarettes.

A very common method of marketing packets of cigarettes is by way of vending machines into which the purchaser must insert the required amount of money before the cigarettes are vended to him by the vending machine. Such vending machines are common in bars and public houses for example, having been introduced primarily to overcome the problem of pilfering. However, as the vending machine has to be accessable by the customer directly, rather than by a member of staff, and as such vending machines are generally not an attractive article of furniture, such machines are usually located in a passageway or entrance lobby, which means that a customer buying a drink from the bar say, has to go elsewhere to purchase his cigarettes. Furthermore he has to have the correct coinage to do this which may involve a member of staff opening the till to change coins for the customer.

It can be seen therefore that whilst such vending machines may overcome the problem of pilferage by staff they do, by virtue of their location and appearance, tend to be a nuisance to the customer and off-putting to use. Furthermore, as vending machines are often located outside the main area of the bar or public house most of the time they are not in view of the staff and can therefore, be vandalised or broken into and the cigarettes stolen.

There is a desire therefore to move the point of sale of cigarettes back behind the bar whilst at the same time preventing staff pilferage.

Furthermore, with the increasing use of computerized stock-taking procedures there is a desire to be able to monitor the movement of stock such as cigarettes and also for that information to be passed automatically or at least semi-automatically to a computer for updating sales and stock records.

According to the present invention a dispenser for articles of fixed shape, for example, boxes, cartons or tins, comprises a housing; a plurality of drawers for storing a row or rows of articles to be dispensed, each drawer being moveable between a substantially closed position retracted within the housing and an open position in which it is partially removed from within the housing for loading of articles into the row or rows in the drawer, the arrangement being such that only a single one of the articles stored in each row can be removed at a time from the drawer when the drawer is in its closed position; means for sensing the removal of an article from each row and providing a signal indicative of the removal; means for preventing or indicating insertion of an article into a row which is in its closed position; and means for receiving an article removal signal and maintaining a count of the total number of articles removed from each row.

By means of such a dispenser an accurate count of the number of articles removed from each row can be maintained so that, by checking the cash till figures against the dispenser count any pilfering can be spotted quickly. Furthermore, by preventing or monitoring the insertion or re-insersion of an article when the drawers are in closed positions, an effective method of preventing staff from selling their own products is provided.

Preferably, of course, the drawers are lockable in their closed position and are loaded from their sides when in the open position, the drawers being angled forwardly and downwardly and positioned above one another so that, by means of the angling, a front part of each drawer is accessible from above to enable removal of an article even while the drawer is in the closed position. Advantageously a number of drawers constituting a given column may be combined into a single drawer module for simplicity of construction or a number of rows of the articles in a line or row across the machine may be located in a common drawer running across a substantial width of the dispenser.

If desired the sizes of the walls defining and/or width of each of the rows may be adjustable or, alternatively, the walls and base of different rows may be of varying sizes to suit articles of different shapes and sizes to be dispensed. The front of each drawer can be transparent if desired so that the front article within each drawer is able to be seen and provide its own advertising.

The means for sensing the removal of an article from a drawer may comprise a pair of microswitches adjacent to the front of the drawer and arranged to sense the presence or absence of the front article. Alternatively the sensors may each comprise a light emitter and receiver, the path between which is interrupted by the presence of the article and which becomes uninterrupted by removal of the front article, or the position of the rear article in the or each row might be sensed likewise to provide an indication of removal from the front of the drawer. Preferably each row has a back stop which is biased against the rear article either by gravity or by spring pressure in a conventional fashion.

The signals provided by the means for sensing the removal of articles can be fed to a simple counting unit which can maintain a count of the number of articles removed from each row. Alternatively, preferably, the dispenser incorporates a microprocessor with suitable controls for setting into memory the price of the article in each row, a digital display to indicate the price set and thus to aid the setting of the price of articles for each row, a memory for retaining a count of articles sold and their costs. An output may be fed directly to the cashtill so that as an article is removed its sales value is entered into the memory of the cashtill. By this means, and by carrying out the usual cashtill check to establish that the correct amount of money listed is actually in the till, any pilfering can be spotted immediately.

The dispenser may incorporate a standby electrical power supply in order to maintain the contents of its memory or the memory may be maintained in a non-volatile chip or other memory device which does not require power input to maintain its contents.

The device may also incorporate an output port which can be connected to a hand-held data recorder by means of which the contents of memory can be transferred to the recorder and subsequently transferred by an operator to a computer used, for example, for order-processing and centralised stock control.

Alternatively, the output port may be permanently connected to a modem or other communications controlling device so that information held in memory in the dispenser can be read remotely from a central computer. This may be done, for example, by connection to the Outstation Communications Controller of a British Telecom "Bitstream" data line which is capable of providing low speed data communications for telemetoring, telecontrol and telemonitoring. A central computer may poll a number of such data lines during slack periods, for example overnight, so as to obtain data from the dispensor to enable re-ordering and the like as well as the stock control, and the dispenser may incorporate an alarm circuit, the actuation of which can also be detected by the central computer which may be programmed to alert the police or other security services automatically.

One example of a dispenser constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above, front and one side; Figure 2 is a block diagram of the control circuitry of the dispenser; and, Figure 3 is a diagram of the keyboard and display of the dispenser.

The dispenser comprises a housing 1 which has three elongate drawers 2 which extend across the greater part of the width of the housing 1. The three drawers have transparent front panels 3 to enable the front face of an article being dispensed to be displayed to a customer and each of the drawers 2 contains, in the example six, rows 4 of articles 5.

Each of the drawers 2 is slidable along an inclined plane outwardly and downwardly of the housing 1 and it can be seen that the front faces 3 of each of the drawers 2 are likewise inclined, the inclination and position of each drawer being such as to enable a single article from one of the rows 4 in the drawer beneath to be removed at a time when the drawers are in the position showing Figure 1 in which they are locked into the housing. A lockable door 6 provides access to a lock for locking the drawers 2 in place and also to a keypad and alpha-numeric display (see Figure 3). When the drawers are in the withdrawal position (not shown) articles, such as the packets of cigarettes shown can be loaded into the rows in the respective drawers.

Each of the drawers may contain a moulded plastics tray which provides separating walls 7 and a base (e.g. 8 in lowest drawer 2) so that articles of different sizes can be displayed in different row positions, any change in the article being dispensed being accommodated, in necessary, by a change in the tray.

At the front of each row on the front of the drawer 2 a label 9 is provided to indicate the cost of the item in that particular row.

To sense the removal of an article from a row and also to ensure that any re-insertion of articles is logged, a pair of micro-switches are provided so as to be actuated by the front article in each row. A first switch is located at the front of the row below each article so as to be contacted by the bottom surface of the article and the second switch is located in the side wall of the respective row so as to be contacted by the side wall of the first article in the row. Thereafter, when an article is lifted out of the row to be sold the first switch is actuated first followed by the second switch as the article is withdrawern and thereafter the first and second switches de-actuated by the movement forward of the next article to be sold into the front position.

By positioning the switches in this arrangement the insertion or re-insertion of an article can be monitored by the dispensor electronics. This is because on removal of an article the base switch is actuated first followed by the switch in the side of the row whereas on insertion of an article the side switch will be de-actuated first followed by actuation of the switch in the base of the row. The different order of actuationide-actuation of the two switches can be sensed by the microprocessor controlled system.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the electronic control system or monitoring system.

The system comprises a plurality of input port integrated circuit chips, known as PlO's, and numbered IC1 to IC6. The thirty six switches located in the rows of the dispenser are each connected to respective terminals of IC1-lC4 and the alpha numeric display DS and keyboard KB (shown in Figure 3) are connected as inputs to IC6. ICS enables the connection of simple security circuits AL which can be wired up in a particular location to provide an alarm signal in the event of unauthorised entry or the like, again the switches being simple make and break type switches actuated to provide an alarm signal.

IC9 and IC10 comprise UART's or universal asynchronous receive/transmit integrated circuit chips to provide for connection to a cash register CR and "Bitstream" OCC BT for remote data monitoring.

IC13 comprises a CMOS-Z80 microprocessor and IC11 and IC12 comprise suitable EPROM and RAM memory respectively, suitable address decoders IC8 and IC17 being provided to control data flow. A power supply unit PS providing voltage regulation, battery backup and clock signals is provided and a further clock IC7 provides signals for display of date and time on the display DS.

The keyboard and display unit shown in Figure 3 comprises a key switch unit and segmented alpha numeric display containing appropriate keys to enable entry of user identity and, thereafter, input and output of data onto the display by an authorised user.

Preferably there will be three levels of authorised use, the first of which will be able to reallocate passwords for the second and third and which will also allow entry to all system functions.

A user will be able to define the particular row of articles to be worked upon by entry of a drawer number and row-in-drawer or column number and thereafter functions such as number of articles sold and cash equivalent will be able to be displayed or the price changed etc.

It is envisaged that level 3 users will be able only to display information and not clear accumulated data for any of the selected articles where level 2 users will be able to clear resettable items only such as the number of pack sales and the equivalent cash, where the priority 1 user will be able to clear and reset total pack sales and equivalent cash.

As seen the no. of "cheats" for a particular article or for the whole dispenser can be displayed by use of the appropriate key after selection of the desired drawer and row-in-drawer or column.

Provision of the UART's and connection to a cash register CR and Bitstream OCC BT enables, in the first case, the value of an article sold to be entered automatically in the cash register without the operator having to insert the value of the article and in the second case enables remote monitoring of data held in the dispenser for checking by a central computer by polling the dispenser at suitable regular times. This type of function will preferably be carried out at night or, less frequently, during the day and will enable monitoring of the alarm circuits and consequential actuation of an alarm to be detected by the central computer which in turn will enable security services to be alerted.

If desired the control system may be configured to sense external sales data, such as optic sales of spirits.

Claims (11)

1. A dispenser for articles of fixed shape, for example, boxes, cartons or tins, comprising a housing; a plurality of drawers for storing a row or rows of articles to be dispensed, each drawer being movable between a substantially closed position retracted within the housing and an open position in which it is partially removed from within the housing for loading of articles into the row or rows in the drawer, the arrangement being such that only a single one of the articles stored in each row can be removed at a time from the drawer when the drawer is in its closed position; means for sensing the removal of an article from each row and providing a signal indicative of the removal; means for preventing or indicating insertion of an article into a row which is in its closed position; and means for receiving an article removal signal and maintaining a count of the total number of articles removed from each row.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the drawers are lockable in the closed position.

3. A dispenser according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the drawers are angled forwardly and downwardly and positioned above one another so that, by means of the angling, a front part of each drawer is accessible from above to enable removal of an article even while the drawer is in the closed position.

4. A dispenser according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sizes of the walls defining and/or width of each of the rows is adjustable.

5. A dispenser according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the walls and base of at least some of the rows are of different sizes to suit articles of different shapes and sizes to be dispensed.

6. A dispenser according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the means for sensing the removal of an article from a drawer comprises a pair of microswitches adjacent to the front of the drawer and arranged to sense the presence or absence of the front article.

7. A dispenser according to any of claims 1 to 6, which incorporates a microprocessor with suitable controls for setting into memory the price of the article in each row, a digital display to indicate the price set and thus to aid the setting of the price of articles for each row, and a memory for retaining a count of articles sold and their costs.

8. A dispenser according to claim 7, which includes an output which can be fed directly to the cashtill or electronic point-of-sale unit so that as an article is removed its sales value is entered into the memory of the cashtill.

9. A dispenser according to claim 7 or claim 8, which includes an output port which can be connected to a hand-held data recorder by means of which the contents of memory can be transferred to the recorder.

10. A dispenser according to any of claims 7 to 9, which includes an output port for connection to a modem or other communications controlling device so that information held in memory in the dispenser can be read remotely from a central computer.

11. A dispenser substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.