EP2504820A1

EP2504820A1 - System for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines and automatic vending machine comprising such a displaying system

Info

Publication number: EP2504820A1
Application number: EP10805524A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonio Nicolini
Original assignee: Officine Meccaniche Fratelli Manea Srl; Officine Meccaniche F lli Manea Srl
Current assignee: MANEA VENDING S.R.L.
Priority date: 2009-11-27
Filing date: 2010-11-26
Publication date: 2012-10-03
Also published as: IT1396826B1; ITVI20090283A1; WO2011064809A1

Abstract

A system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines (4), wherein each automatic vending machine (4) includes a warehouse for containing the products, a delivery outlet (10) through which the products selected from the outside by the user for the purchase pass and at least one screen (5), which can be associated with a control and selection panel (9); the screen (5) is connected with an electronic memory, in turn connected with a microprocessor processing central unit and inside of which information data (6) and/or images (1 ), contained in at least one presentation card (2), are stored, which is associated with at least one of said products which can be distributed by the automatic vending machine (4) and can be displayed on the screen (5) by the user before buying the product.

Description

SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING INFORMATION RELATING TO PRODUCTS

DISTRIBUTED BY AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE COMPRISING SUCH A DISPLAYING

SYSTEM

The present invention relates generally to a system for displaying information relating to products, such as edible goods or durable goods of various kinds, which can be distributed by automatic vending machines and an automatic vending machine of the aforesaid products comprising such a displaying system.

More specifically, the invention concerns to a display mode of the price, ingredients, and traceability of products on sale through automatic vending machines.

As known, vending machines for rental and sale of durable goods, such as books, videotapes, CDs, DVDs and the like, and/or sale of edible products, such as sweet and salty snacks, sweets, sandwiches, ice-creams, beverages of various kinds or sale of products such as cigarettes, instant lotteries tickets or coupons and even more, are currently widely used. Specifically, these automatic machines of known type comprise a warehouse, arranged in several rows or lanes of housing, placed at various height levels or shelves, at each of which they are also facing each other.

The products to be supplied are placed inside a plurality of support seats defined in each of the lanes of housing according to configurations able to receive a wide range of products or goods different each other by shape and packaging.

When the products are intended for definitive distribution, such as edible goods, the automatic vending machines are provided with a transparent front door, revolvingly coupled with the box envelope which contains the warehouse, in order to allow the end user to see the products available and thereby operate its own choice.

Each lane of housing or even, in certain constructive solutions, each single support seat defined in the warehouse of these vending machines, is also marked by an alphanumeric code that the user types on a dedicated control panel, externally applied to the box envelope, in order to make the desired selection, of course after having paid the related amount, by means of special token machines or electronic supports of prepaid amount, such as rechargeable keys (with or without contact) and/or magnetic cards.

When the user has made the selection, the products aligned inside the lanes are moved, for a prefixed stretch, through transport means towards the transparent front door, so that the first product in the selected lane is released, usually by gravity, in a collection compartment made inside the box envelope and to which the user gains access by moving a safety door, provided below the door and which normally closes the inlet of the collection compartment.

During the collection of the selected good, the safety door also prevents the unlawful removal of goods from the display warehouse.

However, the use of such automatic vending machines for the sale of particularly fresh and/or healthy food products necessarily leads to provide the users, also abiding by the existing law directives, the possibility to get information about the products which can be distributed by the vending machine still before purchase.

This also with particular reference to possible food incompatibilities with certain ingredients, such as allergic and/or celiac diseases.

Currently, however, the conventional vending machines do not offer this possibility, both because it is not possible to clearly view from the outside the ingredients printed on the packaging of the products positioned inside the machine, and because some of the basic indications of the products on sale, such as those ones relating to the type and/or chain of production for the product traceability, sometimes, are not even provided.

It is, therefore, clear that, in these conditions, in order to known the type and ingredients of the various products, it is necessary to purchase them, with obvious waste and costs for the end user that it would be desirable to at least reduce or completely and definitively eliminate.

The present invention seeks to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art just complained and, in particular, main purpose of the invention is to make available a system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines, which allows to provide the vending machines users with all the information about the products on sale before their distribution.

Other purpose of the invention is to create a system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines and, in particular way, fresh and/or health products, such as prepared vegetables, sandwiches and/or dairy products, which allows the end user to control from the outside the ingredients of the various products, as well as the information on the type and/or chain of product production and distribution, so as to get its traceability before the purchase.

Further purpose of the invention is to provide an automatic vending machine which uses the aforesaid system for displaying information relating to the distributed products.

These and other purposes are achieved through a system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines, according to the attached claim 1.

Other technical features of detail of the displaying system of the invention are set forth in the corresponding dependent claims.

Integral part of the invention is also an automatic vending machine that uses such a system of displaying and contributes to achieve the above cited purposes, as to the appended claim 9.

Advantageously, the invention uses a hardware/software complex of low- cost type, which allows the automatic vending machines users with all the information on the products on sale inside the machine, such as type of product, ingredients, any traceability, price, remaining credit, and so on. This information can be obtained before making the actual purchase of the product and are quickly video accessible by the user, on a screen of the control panel associated with the automatic vending machine.

The screen of the control panel is also connected with an electronic memory able to store all data and images coming from an electronic data microprocessor (CPU) control unit.

The invention thus allows to manage a database of images, such as photographic icons and/or generalized drawings, accompanied by the descriptive and informative text referred to above, of a series of products on sale, which are then, associated with respective presentation cards of the product.

These cards are pre-loaded and available in the electronic memory of microprocessor unit, which also manages the other functions of the vending machine, so that the user can, by typing the code of the selected product on a keyboard, get the image and descriptive text of the product before purchasing it.

The purposes and advantages mentioned, as well as others that will be better highlighted in the following discussion, will appear to a greater extent by the description that follows, referring to a preferred embodiment of the system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines, which is object of the present invention, and provided as illustrative and preferred, but not limited way, also with reference to the attached figures, where:

- figure 1 shows a schematic view of a possible displaying of information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines, made through the system according to the present invention;

- figure 2 shows a schematic front view of an automatic vending machine comprising a system for displaying information according to the present invention.

With reference to the figures mentioned, an automatic vending machine is generically indicated with 4, which presents a substantially transparent front portion 8, a selection panel 9, a delivery outlet 10 of the products contained inside the front portion 8 and a colour and high resolution, preferably liquid crystal, screen 5.

According to the invention, it is possible to manage a database consisting of a set of cards 2 comprising the respective images 1 of a large number of general and/or known products, particularly of food kind, which can be contained within the automatic vending machine 4.

The images 1 can be produced in the shape of photographic icon or with generalized drawings and are associated, inside the related card 2, with a prefixed descriptive text 6, which can be directly plugged by the operator, which may include various items, such as name or type of product and/or description of ingredients and/or price and/or the remaining credit, and which can be placed above and/or below and/or laterally the image 1 of the product.

The different cards 2 are pre-loaded inside the database and are available in the memory of a microprocessor control unit (CPU), which also manages the other functions of the automatic vending machine 4.

A proper application software allows the operator of the automatic vending machine 4 to retrieve each card 2, with related image 1 and descriptive text 6, directly on the screen 5 of the panel 9 of the vending machine 4, through a programming menu 3, which allows to associate each card 2 with each distribution compartment or drawer of the vending machine, inside which products of same type are placed.

The programming 3 can be performed by scrolling the cards 2 available, through the function buttons 7 (usually the buttons of "arrow up" and "arrow down") of the selection keyboard 1 1 of the automatic vending machine 4 or through function buttons 7 of a special push-button panel 1 1 of the panel 9, confirming the desired card 2 (usually by an "enter" button on the keyboard or keypad) and also confirming the choice of the number or numbers of one or more compartments or drawers 2 of distribution of the automatic vending machine with which associate the given card 2, so that the aforesaid card 2 is automatically assigned at the selection of the correspondent product.

Once the operation is confirmed, the application software will automatically position the identification code of the following delivery compartment 12, which must be associated, through a further programming phase 3, with another card 2 selectable by the operator and containing the desired image 1 and descriptive text 6.

Such a programming 3 can also be performed on a remote PC and subsequently transferred to the automatic vending machine 4 through a serial port or a USB device.

In this way, the compartment or compartments 12 where the products under distribution are contained and, therefore, the related products are associated with the image 1 and descriptive text 6 of the selected card 2 and, once the choice of the card 2 suitable to the recognition of product on sale is confirmed, the card 2 of the product contained within the respective distribution compartment 12 resulting associated with such a card 2 will appear on the screen 5.

Then, each time the user, from the outside, selects the number or code related to the compartment 12 of the vending machine 4 where the desired product is contained, before purchasing such a product, will look on the screen 5 the related card 2 up, which displays the image 1 of the product and a text 6 describing the characteristics and/or reporting the price thereof.

Subsequently, the user, based on the information displayed, may or not finalize the purchase (through the normal payment procedure).

The imagine 1 (consisting of a photograph icon or drawing) for each selected product and descriptive text 6 of the product, which usually reports the ingredients of the product, its origin and other various information, arranged laterally, above and/or below the image 1 of the product, depending on the free fields present on each card 2, then, appear on the screen 5. Inside the descriptive text 6 may be introduced, in particular, all the elements of traceability of the respective product.

This function assumes even greater significance in case of fresh products, such as prepared vegetables, sandwiches and/or dairy products, that is all those products included in the chain of fresh products, for which it is essential to trace the path of the product from the initial producer to the final distributor.

Based on the foregoing, it is, therefore, understood as the system for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines, as well as the automatic vending machine integrating such a system, both object of the present invention, achieve the yet mentioned purposes and reach the advantages.

It also stated precisely that the system for displaying information, according to the invention, may include one or more control panels and/or screens, shaped in various shapes and sizes, as well as various types of displaying each product which can be distributed by the automatic vending machine.

In addition, in other constructive solutions, the displaying system of the invention may include photographic icons and/or drawings having setting different from that one described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, however, without affecting the advantages brought by the present invention.

It is, finally, clear that many other variations may be made to the system for displaying information and automatic vending machine, object of the invention, without departing from the principle of novelty intrinsic in the inventive idea expressed here, as it is clear that, in the practical implementation of the invention, materials, shapes and sizes of the illustrated details can be changed, as needed, and replaced with others technically equivalent.

Where the constructive features and techniques mentioned in the following claims are followed by reference numbers or signs, those reference signs have been introduced with the sole objective of increasing the intelligibility of the claims themselves and therefore they have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified, by way of example only, by these reference signs.

Claims

1. System for displaying information relating to products distributed by automatic vending machines (4), wherein each automatic vending machine (4) includes at least one warehouse for containing the products, at least one delivery outlet (10) through which the products selected for the purchase pass through and at least one screen (5), associated with a control and selection panel (9) of the automatic vending machine (4), characterized in that said screen (5) is connected with an electronic memory, which is also connected with a microprocessor processing central unit and inside of which information data (6) and/or images (1), contained in at least one presentation card (2), are stored, said presentation card (2) being associated with at least one of said products which are distributed by said automatic vending machine (4) and being displayed on said screen (5) before buying said product.

2. A display system as claim 1 , characterized in that said images (1) are constituted by photo-icons or by general drawings.

3. A display system as claim 1 , characterized in that said information data (6) include at least a description text, which is prefixed or entered by a user, containing at least one name and/or a product type, a description of the product ingredients and/or the purchase price and/or other elements of a product traceability.

4. A display system as claim 1 , characterized in that said information data (6) are placed on said presentation card (2), in an upper and/or bottom and/or side position with respect to said images (1 ).

5. A display system as claim 1 , characterized in that each presentation card (2) is viewable on said screen (5) by means a software which allows a user to make a programming phase (3), according to which, through said control and selection panel (9), each card (2) is associated with at least one containing compartment (12) of the warehouse of said automatic vending machine (4) where products of the same type are positioned.

6. A display system as claim 5, characterized in that said programming phase (3) is provided by a remote PC and then transferred to said automatic vending machine (4) through a serial port and/or USB devices.

7. A display system as claim 5, characterized in that each containing compartment (12) of said warehouse of the automatic vending machine (4) is selectable from the outside by inserting at least a code on said control and selection panel (9).

8. A display system as claim 1 , characterized in that said products are alimentary products and, in particular, are constituted by fresh products such as vegetable products, sandwiches and/or dairy products.

9. Automatic vending machine (4) comprising a system for displaying information relating to products as claimed in claim 1.