KR102179630B1 - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a vending machine including: an enclosure having an opening surface formed in the front to accommodate an object therein; a door for opening and closing the opening surface of the enclosure; and an RFID reader disposed to be movable on at least one or more side surfaces of the interior of the enclosure to identify information and quantity of items. According to the present invention, a storage space for goods can be installed inside a sealed vending machine, and the vending machine can be easily managed.

Description

Vending machine {AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a vending machine having an improved structure in a vending machine including an RFID reader that enables received item information or inventory information.

A vending machine, that is, a vending machine, is a box that accepts goods, and at the same time, refers to a machine that allows a buyer to obtain the goods inside the box after paying with cash or credit card without the help of the seller.

For example, recently, food vending machines that sell foods that have been prepared and processed for easy consumption by people are being deployed in convenience stores, marts, PC cafes, and rest areas, and recently, labor costs, time, space restrictions, or Food vending machines are being developed that are considered to be able to operate these foods unmanned without a separate employee by business strategies.

As an example of such a vending machine, Korean Utility Model No. 20-2012-0008233 (name of the draft: multifunctional vending machine) discloses an unmanned vending machine 1 in which a reader 50, a display 60, etc. are arranged. .

However, such a conventional vending machine has a problem in which it is difficult to accurately grasp the type and/or number of articles accommodated in the enclosure.

Therefore, Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1349761 (name of the invention: inventory management method of shelf items) includes a scanning device 100 for mapping water pools loaded on a shelf cell, and a guide rail for moving the scanning device 100 (210) is published.

That is, each item is attached with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and the scanning device is an RFID reader unit so that the type or quantity of the item can be identified.

However, the RFID reader of such a conventional vending machine has a structure that cannot but be exposed to the outside, and has a structure that cannot be used inside a sealed enclosure such as a refrigerator, freezer, or a warmer whose interior is different from the external temperature.

In addition, if the RFID reader according to the conventional structure is mounted inside the vending machine, there is a problem that time and cost may be excessively consumed since the door must be opened to remove all internal items and the shelf must be removed, and then maintenance and repair may be performed.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine including an RFID reader having a structure that can be installed inside a vending machine in which an accommodation space for articles is sealed, and is easy to maintain and repair. In the offering.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a case in which an opening surface is formed in the front to accommodate an object therein; A door for opening and closing the opening surface of the enclosure; And an RFID reader disposed to be movable on at least one or more side surfaces of the interior of the housing to determine information and quantity of articles.

In addition, a bar-shaped cut surface may be formed on one side of the enclosure in a horizontal or vertical direction, and the RFID reader may be detachably disposed on the cut surface.

In addition, the RFID reader may include a transfer rail disposed inside the cut surface in a shape corresponding to the cut surface; A transfer motor disposed at one end of the transfer rail so as to be disposed outside the housing; A transfer block that is moved on the transfer rail by the transfer motor and is disposed inside the housing; An antenna fastened to the transfer block to determine information and quantity of articles disposed inside the enclosure; And a sealing housing that is detachably fastened to the cut surface on which the transfer rail is disposed to form the exterior of the housing.

In addition, the sealing housing is formed in a shape corresponding to the cut surface and an inner case in which a heat insulating material receiving groove is formed; An insulating material accommodated in the heat insulating material receiving groove; And an outer case coupled to the inner case to close the heat insulating material receiving groove.

In addition, the insulating material may be formed of Styrofoam.

In addition, it may further include a sealing member disposed between the sealing housing and the cut surface or between the transfer motor and the cut surface.

In addition, a smart panel disposed on the front surface of the door and on which a liquid crystal screen is disposed may be further included.

In addition, the information of the article identified by the RFID reader may be displayed on the liquid crystal screen.

In addition, the enclosure may further include a battlefield in which a driving unit for controlling the temperature of the internal space is disposed.

In addition, the enclosure may be characterized in that it is a refrigerator, freezer or warmer.

The present invention can provide a vending machine including an RFID reader that is easy to maintain and repair without taking up a large internal space of the vending machine as a fastening structure between the cut surface of the enclosure and the RFID reader.

In addition, according to the present invention, by including a sealing housing and/or a sealing member, it is possible to effectively preserve the temperature inside the enclosure, and to achieve efficient power consumption.

1 is a perspective view of a smart panel and a vending machine including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a view as viewed from another side of Figure 1;
3 is a view showing an open state of a door of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a smart panel and a vending machine including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view of a smart panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a partial exploded perspective view of a smart panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6.
8 is an exploded view of the RFID reader according to the embodiment of the present invention in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms in the present specification are the same as the general meanings of terms understood by those skilled in the art, and if terms used in the present specification conflict with the general meanings of the terms, the definitions used in the present specification are applied.

However, the invention to be described below is only for describing an embodiment of the present invention and not for limiting the scope of the present invention, and reference numerals used identically throughout the specification represent the same elements.

1 is a perspective view of a smart panel and a vending machine including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view viewed from another side of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view showing an open state of a door of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a smart panel and a vending machine including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a smart panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a view of the present invention A partial exploded perspective view of a smart panel according to an embodiment, FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a view in which the RFID reader according to the embodiment of the present invention is detached and disassembled in FIG. 2.

1 to 8, a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention may largely include a housing 100, an RFID reader 200, a smart panel 300, a locking device 400, and a sensor 500. And, it may further include a control unit 600.

The housing 100 has an opening 110 formed in the front so that an object can be accommodated therein, and the opening 110 of the housing 100 can be opened and closed with a door 120.

The door 120 may include a door frame and a window disposed at the center of the door frame.

In addition, the housing 100 is not limited to the illustrated shape, and may be formed in a showcase shape in which an upper side surface is opened and closed by sliding.

In addition, a bar-shaped cut surface 130 may be formed on one side of the enclosure 100 in a horizontal or vertical direction, and an RFID reader 200 to be described later may be detachably disposed on the cut surface 130. I can.

For example, as illustrated, a bar-shaped cut surface 130 may be formed on the rear surface of the housing 100, that is, the opposite surface of the opening surface 110 in the vertical direction.

The cut surface 130 may be cut from the upper side of the housing 100 to a position corresponding to the lowermost side where the article is disposed.

In addition, the enclosure 100 may further include a plurality of shelves 140 capable of efficiently dividing the inner space to place articles.

In addition, the enclosure 100 may further include a battlefield 150 in which a driving unit for controlling the temperature of the internal space is disposed, and this battlefield 150 is, for example, a space below the housing 100. Can be provided in

That is, the enclosure 100 may be implemented as a refrigerator, a freezer, or a warmer, and the driving unit disposed in the electric cabinet 150 may include a compressor, a condenser, a cooler, a heat exchanger, and the like for heat exchange.

In addition, a control unit 600 capable of controlling the driving unit or communicating wirelessly or wiredly, such as a smart panel 300, an RFID reader 200, and the like, which will be described later, may be further disposed in the battlefield 150. Such a control unit 600 ) May be formed to communicate wirelessly with an external device or the like.

Here, the wireless communication is 5G (5th generation), Bluetooth, long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), long term evolution (LTE), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), NFC, Zigbee, Z-wave, IrDA, etc. It can be implemented using a communication method.

In addition, the external device is a server, a personal computer (PC), a cellular phone, a PCS phone (Personal Communication Service phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a swap phone ( WAP phone; Wireless Application Protocao phone), a smart phone (Smart phone), or a tablet (tablet), but is not limited thereto.

The RFID reader 200 (Radio Frequency Identification Reader unit) is disposed to be movable on at least one or more side surfaces of the interior of the housing 100 to identify information and quantity of items.

Of course, each item inside the housing 100 is attached with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, and the RFID reader 200 can grasp the information and quantity of the item as it moves inside the housing 100.

Here, the product information may include the product type, expiration date, price, etc., and the product information identified by the RFID reader 200 will be displayed on the liquid crystal screen 340 of the smart panel 300 to be described later. I can.

The RFID reader 200 according to the present invention may be disposed in a low or high temperature environment, and may also include the following structural features because it is disposed inside the enclosure 100.

First, the RFID reader 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be detachably disposed on the cut surface 130 to enable easier maintenance and repair.

Specifically, the RFID reader 200 may include a transfer rail 210, a transfer motor 220, a transfer block 230, an antenna 240, a sealing housing 250, and a sealing member 260.

The transfer rail 210 may have a shape corresponding to the cut surface 130 and may be disposed inside the cut surface 130, and may be formed in an elongated bar shape as shown.

The transfer motor 220 may be disposed at one end of the transfer rail 210 so as to be disposed outside the housing 100, and may move the transfer block 230 to be described later by rotating it forward or backward.

The transfer block 230 is moved on the transfer rail 210 by the transfer motor 220 and is disposed inside the housing 100, and the antenna 240 is fastened to the transfer block 230 to be (100) Can identify the information and quantity of items placed inside.

In addition, the antennas 240 are disposed on both sides of the transfer block 230 with respect to the transfer rail 210, so that information on items accommodated in the housing 100 may be more effectively collected.

That is, the RFID reader 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a structure in which only the transfer block 230 and the antenna 240 are disposed inside the housing 100, thereby disposing the items in the interior space of the housing 100 Since the structure is minimally invaded, more efficient use of the space inside the enclosure 100 can be achieved.

The sealing housing 250 is detachably fastened to the cut surface 130 on which the transfer rail 210 is disposed to form the exterior of the housing 100, thereby maintaining the RFID reader 200 , Can be easily implemented.

Here, the sealing housing 250 and the transfer rail 210 have the same length as the length direction of the cut surface 130, and the sum of the widths of the sealing housing 250 and the transfer rail 210 is the cut surface It may have a width equal to or greater than the width of 130.

In addition, in order to effectively maintain the temperature inside the housing 100, the sealing housing 250 is formed in a shape corresponding to the cut surface 130, and the inner case 251 in which the insulating material receiving groove 251a is formed. And, it may include a heat insulating material 252 accommodated in the heat insulating material receiving groove 251a, and an outer case 253 coupled with the inner case 251 to close the heat insulating material receiving groove 251a.

In addition, the inner case 251 has a rectangular body 251c having an insulating material receiving groove 251a formed therein so that the insulating material 252 is accommodated, and extending outward from each side of the body body 251c It may include a bracket (251b) that is bolted to the housing 100.

Here, the bracket 251b may not be formed on a surface adjacent to the transfer motor 220.

In addition, the heat insulating material 252 may be formed of, for example, Styrofoam or a refrigerant, and it is possible to easily replace or supplement the heat insulating material by separating only the outer case 253.

In addition, in order to effectively maintain the temperature inside the housing 100, the RFID reader 200 is between the sealing housing 250 and the cut surface 130 or between the transfer motor 220 and the cut surface 130. It may further include a sealing member 260 disposed.

The sealing member 260 may be formed of an elastic material such as rubber.

In addition, the sealing member 260 is formed integrally, or as shown, a U-shaped rubber packing disposed between the bracket of the inner case 251 and the housing 100, and the transfer motor 220 Doedoe disposed between the housing 100 may include a plate-shaped rubber packing in which a hole corresponding to the transfer rail 210 is formed.

The smart panel 300 may be fastened to the door 120 of the enclosure 100, and the general enclosure 100 may be implemented as a vending machine by the smart panel 300.

In addition, considering that the size may be different for each enclosure 100, the smart panel 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a front housing 310, a side housing 320, an expansion unit 330, and a liquid crystal. It may include a screen 340, a card reader 350 and/or an elastic bar 360, and may include the following structural features.

Specifically, the front housing 310 is disposed on the front surface of the door 120 that opens and closes the enclosure 100, and the liquid crystal screen 340 and the card reader 350 may be disposed.

The liquid crystal screen 340 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS). ) It may be implemented as a display and an electronic paper display, and may be implemented as a touch screen.

The card reader 350 itself communicates with an external device or is connected to the controller 600 in a wired or wireless manner to communicate with the external device through the controller 600.

The side housing 320 may be disposed on both sides of the door 120 and fastened to the door frame.

The side housing 320 may be bent so as to be disposed between the door frame of the door 120 and the housing 100 to form a bent portion 323 that is bolted to the door frame.

The expansion unit 330 may be disposed on the front housing 310 or the side housing 320 to extend (333) or reduce the length of the front housing 310 or the side housing 320.

That is, the front housing 310 or the side housing 320 is disposed to be movable in the fixed cases 311 and 321 and the fixed cases 311 and 321 respectively so as to be extended and contracted by the expansion unit 330 It may include moving cases 312 and 322 that are moved as the expansion unit 330.

The moving cases 312 and 322 are arranged to be extendable on one side of the fixed cases 311 and 321 as in the side housing 320 shown, or in the front housing 310 As described above, each of the fixed cases 311 and 321 may be disposed so as to be extendable.

Under a structure in which the front housing 310 or the side housing 320 includes a fixed case 311, 321 and a moving case 312, 322, the telescopic unit 330 is attached to the fixed case 311, 321. It may include a pinion gear 331 that is rotatably disposed, and a rack gear 332 that is fixed to the moving cases 312 and 322 and meshes with the pinion gear 331.

In addition, the pinion gear 331 has a first key groove 331a formed at the center of rotation, and the fixing cases 311 and 321 have second key grooves 311a and 321a at positions corresponding to the first key groove 331a. ) Is formed, and the expansion unit 330 is inserted into the first keyway 331a and the second keyway 311a and 321a to rotate the pinion gear 331 by adding a key 333 Can contain.

The key 333 may have an approximately T-shape, and formed to have an end corresponding to the shape (eg, a rectangular parallelepiped shape) of the first and second key grooves 331a and 321a. Can be.

That is, when the user rotates the pinion gear 331 forward and reverse with the key 333, the rack gear 332 meshed with the pinion gear 331 is moved, and the rack gear 332 is fixed. The moved cases 312 and 322 may be moved by the moving distance of the rack gear 332.

In addition, in order to guide the movement of the rack gear 332, the fixed cases 311 and 321 are disposed adjacent to the rack gear 332 to guide the movement of the rack gear 332 , 321b) may be further included.

In addition, the expansion and contraction unit 330 of the present invention further includes a cap 334 and a spring 335 to fix (333) the moving cases 312 and 322 moved from the fixed cases 311 and 321 as they are. can do.

Specifically, the cap 334 accommodates the rack gear 332 and the pinion gear 331, and a meshing protrusion 334a that may be disposed between the teeth of the pinion gear 331 may be formed on the inner surface. have.

One side of the spring 335 is fixed to the fixing cases 311 and 321 and the other side is fixed to the inner surface of the cap 334 so that the engaging protrusion 334a engages the teeth of the pinion gear 331 Moving 333 of the cap 334 in the direction of the fixing cases 311 and 321 may provide a return force, and at least one or more may be disposed.

Under this structure, the end of the key 333 passes through the first keyway 331a and the second keyway 311a and 321a to separate the cap 334 from the fixing cases 311 and 321 (333 ) Can be formed with a length that can be pushed out in the direction.

That is, in the absence of the key 333, the engaging protrusions 334a of the cap 334 are fitted in the teeth of the rack gear 332, so that the moving cases 312 and 322 are not moved, and the key ( When 333 penetrates the first keyway 331a and the second keyway 311a, 321a and pushes the cap 334, the engaging protrusion 334a is separated from the teeth of the rack gear 332 The gear 332 can be moved.

In addition, the smart panel 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an elastic bar 360 disposed on the bent portion 323 formed by the front housing 310 and the side housing 320, The elastic bar 360 may be formed in, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and one side thereof may be fixed to the front housing 310 with an adhesive or the like.

Accordingly, the elastic bar 360 is elastically disposed between the front housing 310 and the door frame so that the smart panel 300 can be firmly and stably mounted on the door 120.

In addition, the smart panel 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a speaker 370 that is disposed on the front housing 310 or the side housing 320 to guide various information to the user or a removable SD card. It may further include (380).

The locking device 400 is disposed on the door frame to open the door 120 when the liquid crystal screen 340 is operated or when payment is made through the card reader 350, together with the smart panel 300 The general housing 100 may be implemented as a vending machine.

Specifically, the locking device 400 has a structure in which the locking pin is moved up and down under the control of the card reader 350 or the control unit 600, and is fastened to the inner surface of the door frame, so that the housing 100 ) May be configured to be inserted into the locking pin.

In addition, the locking device 400 may be disposed on the lower side or the upper side of the housing 100, or may be disposed on the upper side and the lower side, respectively.

The sensor 500 is disposed on the door frame or the housing 100 to detect whether the door 120 is opened or closed, and information on whether the door 120 is opened or closed is received by the control unit 600 Can be.

In addition, such a sensor 500 may be disposed on the RFID reader 200 to detect whether the transfer block 230 is moved, and when the RFID reader 200 malfunctions or fails, the controller 600 This information can be transmitted to an external device.

From the above description, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the embodiments, but claims It should be determined according to the scope and the scope equivalent thereto.

100: housing 110: opening surface
120: door 130: cut surface
140: shelf 150: battlefield
200: FID reader (Radio Frequency Identification Reader unit)
210: transfer rail 220: transfer motor
230: transfer block 240: antenna
250: sealed housing 251: inner case
252: insulation 253: outer case
260: sealing member 300: smart panel
310: front housing 320: side housing
311, 321: fixed case 312, 322: moving case
323: bend portion 330: expansion unit
331: pinion gear 332: rack gear
333: key 334: cap
335: spring 340: liquid crystal screen
350: card reader 360: elastic bar
370: speaker 380: SD card
400: locking device 500: sensor
600: control unit

Claims (10)

A housing including an electric room in which an opening surface is formed in the front, objects are accommodated therein, and a driving unit for controlling a temperature of the internal space is disposed;
A door for opening and closing the opening surface of the enclosure; And
Includes; an RFID reader disposed to be movable on at least one or more sides of the interior of the housing to determine information and quantity of goods,
One side of the enclosure has a bar-shaped cut surface in the horizontal or vertical direction,
The RFID reader includes a transfer rail disposed inside the cut surface in a shape corresponding to the cut surface so as to be detachably disposed on the cut surface, a transfer motor disposed at one end of the transfer rail to be disposed outside the housing, A transfer block that is moved on the transfer rail by the transfer motor and is disposed inside the housing, an antenna that is fastened to the transfer block to determine information and quantity of items placed inside the housing, and a cut-out in which the transfer rail is arranged It includes a sealing housing that is detachably fastened to the surface to form the exterior of the housing,
The enclosure is a refrigerator, a freezer, or a vending machine, characterized in that the warmer.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
The sealing housing,
An inner case formed in a shape corresponding to the cut surface and in which a heat insulating material receiving groove is formed;
An insulating material accommodated in the heat insulating material receiving groove; And
And an outer case coupled with the inner case to close the heat insulating material receiving groove.
The method of claim 4,
The insulating material is a vending machine formed of Styrofoam.
The method of claim 4,
A vending machine further comprising a sealing member disposed between the sealing housing and the cut surface or between the transfer motor and the cut surface.
The method of claim 1,
The vending machine further comprises a smart panel disposed on a front surface of the door and on which a liquid crystal screen is disposed.
The method of claim 7,
The information of the article identified by the RFID reader is displayed on the liquid crystal screen.
delete delete

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