JP2000030142A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically close a door after an article is sold, to automatically lock the door and to re-open the door when it is erroneously closed in an automatic vending machine where articles are stored in a plurality of storage rooms for every selling unit. SOLUTION: The doors of respective storage rooms are energized in a closing direction with springs. A locking means locking/unlocking the doors of the respective storage rooms is installed and a detection switch for detecting the opening/closing of the respective doors is installed. When the storage room is selected the storage room is unlocked a lock is closed when the door is opened within 30 seconds after locking is released, for example, and locking is released again when the door is closed until 60 seconds pass after locking is released for the first time, for example When five seconds pass without the door being opened again, for example, a selling operation is judged to complete and the lock is closed for example. When the door is opened within five seconds, for example, the door is judged to erroneously be closed and the door can repetitively be opened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a plurality of storage rooms, stores products in storage rooms for each sales unit, sets a selling price for each storage room, and allows a user to select a desired product. The present invention relates to a vending machine in which a storage room is selected, a door for each storage room is opened, and a product can be taken out, and an irregular-shaped product can be sold.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vending machine for easily selling vegetables, fruits, and the like collected on a private farmland as commodities, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-40458, a plurality of storage machines are provided. Combining the rooms, a door with a transparent window is provided on the front of each storage room so that the products inside can be viewed, and the desired product can be taken out, and
Each storage room is equipped with an electromagnetic lock pin that locks and unlocks the door, and in normal times, the door of each storage room is locked, coins are inserted into the cash slot, and it responds when the set amount is reached. The display lamps in the storage room to be lit at the same time, and when the purchaser tries to open it by putting his hand on one of the storage room doors, the sensor detects it and puts his hand first Conventionally, a door in which only the door of the storage room is unlocked by the electromagnetic lock pin and the door can be opened to take out the items inside has been devised.

[0003]

A vending machine for unmanned sales of vegetables, fruits, and the like, which are harvested on a private farm, etc., in a production area, stores different types of products in units of sales units, It is required that only the specific storage portion can be unlocked when the money is inserted, and that the product inside can be taken out, and that it can be manufactured at a low cost with a simple structure. . The vending machine disclosed in the above-mentioned publication as the prior art is intended to meet these demands.

[0004] In the case of this type of vending machine, the purchase operation ends when the purchaser opens the door and takes out the product inside the vending machine. After that, until the door is returned to the closed state. Is not required. However, if the door is left open after the sale of the product, the vending machine is often installed near the road, which hinders traffic and causes foreign objects to be thrown into the storage room. It can also cause mischief. In addition, the purchaser checks the inside of the arranged storage room door windows and selects the product to purchase, but if the door is left open, it is blocked by the open door. It may be difficult to see inside the other storage room, or it may be obstructive to move to the front of the other storage room. Therefore, it is required that the door be automatically closed after the product is sold.

[0005] After the product is sold, the door closes, and
Unless locked, mischief such as foreign matter cannot be completely eliminated. Therefore, it is required that the door be automatically closed and locked automatically after the product is sold.

Further, even if the door is automatically closed and locked after the product is sold, the purchaser will purchase the product if it detects that the opened door is closed and automatically locks the door. If the door is opened and the door is accidentally closed before the product is taken out, the door may be locked at that point and the product may not be taken out. Therefore, when locking the closed door, it is required that the purchaser does not lock the product before taking out the product.

In the vending machine described in the above publication, the door does not close automatically after the product is sold, but the door remains open unless the purchaser closes the door. , Which causes mischief, and the door that is left open interferes with obstructing the inside of another storage room, and also hinders movement to the front of another storage room.
In addition, the door of the vending machine is locked once it is closed and cannot be opened again, or it is not locked and remains openable.
If the door is not locked, it is not possible to eliminate mischief such as the insertion of a foreign object. Failure to do so will bother the buyer.

Accordingly, a plurality of storage rooms are provided, the products are stored in the storage rooms for each sales unit, the selling price is set for each storage room, and the user inputs predetermined money to obtain the desired product. By selecting a storage room, the lock is released only in a specific storage room, the door can be opened and the product can be taken out, and it is possible to sell irregular-shaped products, with a simple and inexpensive vending machine, The issue is that the door is automatically closed and locked automatically after the product is sold, and the door can be opened any number of times until the product is taken out, so that the product can be taken out without fail. .

[0009]

In a vending machine according to the present invention, a plurality of storage rooms for storing goods for each sales unit and setting a selling price for each are arranged in a plurality of rows in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, An automatic vending machine having a selection means for allowing a user to select a storage room storing desired products from a plurality of storage rooms by a user's operation, and having a door provided for each storage room and capable of being opened and closed for taking out products. Door urging means for urging the doors of each storage room in the closing direction, and always lock those doors, and when the selection of the storage room is completed, unlock the door of the selected storage room. And locking means for automatically locking the door upon judging the completion of the selling operation.

[0010] In the vending machine, when a user inserts a predetermined money and selects a storage room for a desired product, the lock is released only in a specific storage room, and in that state, the door is opened to open the door. Products can be taken out. After the product is taken out, the door is automatically closed by the urging in the closing direction.

The lock means detects a situation where the user can reliably determine that the product has been taken out, determines that the selling operation has been completed, and locks the door at that time. If the user accidentally closes the door before taking out the product, it is not determined that the selling operation has been completed, and therefore the product is not locked. Until the selling operation is determined to be completed and locked, the user can open the same door and take out the product as many times as necessary.

In this way, after the product is sold, the door is automatically closed and locked, so that the door does not remain open and hinders traffic, and no mischief such as foreign objects are introduced. In addition, the door that is kept open does not obstruct the inside of another storage room because it is obstructed, and does not obstruct the movement. Moreover, even if the door is accidentally closed before the product is taken out, the product can be taken out by opening the door again.

[0013] The determination of the completion of the selling operation is, for example, to determine that the selling operation has been completed when a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the door of the selected storage room was unlocked. Once is opened, the door is closed,
When the closed state has continued for a predetermined time or more, it is determined that the selling operation has been completed.

After the user selects the storage room, the operation of opening the door and taking out the product takes a certain time (for example, even if the door is accidentally closed and reopened several times). It is usually completed within 60 seconds). Therefore, when a certain time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses from the time when the door of the selected storage room is unlocked, it may be determined that the sales operation is completed, thereby ensuring the reliable removal of the product. can do.

If the user accidentally closes the door before taking out the product, a short time (usually within 5 seconds)
It is normal to try to open the door again. Therefore, once the unlocked door is once opened, the door is closed,
When the closed state continues for a certain period of time (for example, 5 seconds) or more, it is possible to determine that the selling operation has been completed. By doing so, if the door is accidentally closed, the door can be reopened many times and the product While ensuring that
After the sales operation is completed, it can be locked quickly to prevent mischief.

The vending machine can store not only fixed-size commodities such as boxes but also irregular-shaped commodities such as vegetables and fruits in the storage room for each sales unit, and can sell a plurality of types of commodities. It can be sold, has a simple structure, and can be manufactured at low cost.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. In this vending machine, two types of large and small storage chambers 2 and 3 for storing products for each sales unit are formed in a plurality of rows in the vertical and horizontal directions inside a substantially vertically box-shaped vending machine main body 1. It was done. The vending machine main body 1 has a size in which, for example, a total of 16 small storage rooms 2 can be arranged in two rows vertically and eight rows horizontally. The large storage room 3 has the same width and approximately twice the height as the small storage room 3, and can be arranged in place of any pair of small storage rooms 2 vertically adjacent to each other. In the example of FIG. 1, one large storage room 3 is arranged at the upper end side of the right column in the vertical direction when viewed from the front.

The vending machine main body 1 has a front surface opened and a main body door 4 provided so as to cover substantially the entire front surface. The main body door 4 can be opened and closed in the horizontal direction with the left end side in FIG. 1 as a fulcrum. The main body door 4 is normally locked in a closed state.

The main body door 4 has the large and small storage chambers 2,
Doors 5 and 6 are provided for each of the storage rooms 2 and 3 so that the front surfaces of the storage rooms 3 can be individually opened and closed. The doors 5 and 6 of these storage rooms are respectively fitted with transparent plate members 9 and 10 such as a transparent acrylic plate and glass from the inside into frame-shaped frames 7 and 8 respectively, as described later. And transparent windows so that the stored products can be viewed from the outside. A plate 11 displaying the number of each storage room and the selling price of the product is fixed to the doors 5 and 6 of each of the storage rooms 2 and 3 from the inside at one corner (upper left corner of FIG. 1) of the transparent window. I have.

At the upper right side of the front of the main body door 4, a coin slot 12, a bill slot 13, a return lever 14, a money amount display section 1
A money unit 16 provided with 5 and the like is arranged. A numeric keypad 17 is provided below the money unit 16 as means for selecting and confirming a storage room for a product that the user desires to purchase, and a coin return port 18 is provided below the numeric keypad 17. A keyhole 19 for opening and closing the main body door 4 is provided below. The money amount display unit 15 displays the amount of money to be inserted and, when selecting a storage room, the ten key 1
7 displays the number of the storage room input.

The numeric keypad 17 is, as shown in FIG.
It consists of number keys from 0 to 9, a cancel key and an enter key. When selecting a storage room for a product to be purchased, the user inputs the number of the storage room using the number key. Then, the number of the storage room displayed on the amount display section 15 is confirmed, and the enter key is input. With this, the storage room for the product to be purchased is determined. Until the enter key is input, the number input can be canceled by the cancel key.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, doors 5 and 6 of each of the storage rooms 2 and 3 in the vending machine are provided as shown in FIGS.
Shows the door 5 of the small storage room 2, but the door 6 of the large storage room 3 has the same structure except that it is vertically long. ), Transparent plate members 9 and 10 such as a transparent acrylic plate and glass are fitted into frame-shaped frames 7 and 8 from the inside to form transparent windows so that stored products can be viewed from the outside. Things. The doors 5 and 6 of each of the storage rooms 2 and 3 are provided at one corner of the transparent window (upper left corner when viewed from the front) and from the inside of each of the storage rooms 2 and 3.
The plate 11 displaying the number of the product and the selling price of the product is fixed. Each of the doors 5 and 6 is attached to the main body door 4 by a pair of hinges 20 with springs at the left end when viewed from the front, and can be opened and closed in the horizontal direction. Is provided with a handle 21 for the user to open the doors 5 and 6, and a stopper 22 for holding the closed doors 5 and 6 substantially flush with the surface of the main body door 4. The hinge 20 is spring-loaded as described above, and the door 5,
6 constitutes a door urging means for urging the door 6 in the closing direction.

The main body door 4 has a closed door 5,
A lock piece 23 is provided at a position facing the end face on the opening and closing side of 6, and a solenoid 24 for driving the lock piece 23 in the unlocking direction and a spring 25 for urging the lock piece 23 in the lock closing direction. Is provided. Further, the doors 5 and 6 are provided with lock engagement pieces 26 which engage with the lock pieces 23 when locked. The lock piece 23, the solenoid 24, the spring 25, the lock engagement piece 26, and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the energization of the solenoid 24, the door 5 of each of the storage chambers 2 and 3. , 6 for locking and unlocking.

The lock piece 23 has a main body portion made of a horizontally long metal plate, and has a key portion 23a protruding downward at one end of the main body portion, and has a key portion 23a at the other end portion from the upper edge side. A solenoid connecting portion 23b that extends in the horizontal direction and has a tip bent downward to be connected to the solenoid 24 is formed. A rocking shaft 27 is fixed in the horizontal direction substantially at the center of the main body of the lock piece 23. At the position of the main body portion of the lock piece 23 shifted from the swing shaft 27 by a predetermined distance toward the key portion 23a, the lock piece 23 extends horizontally from the lower edge side, and the key portion 23a side of the lock piece is attached downward. Spring connecting piece 2 for connecting the upper end of the spring 25 for biasing
3c is formed.

The rocking shaft 27 of the lock piece 23 is rotatably supported by a bracket 28 fixed to the main body door 4. The solenoid 24 is also supported by the bracket 28, and the spring 25 is also supported at the lower end by the bracket 28.

The lock engagement piece 26 is provided so that the main body portion protrudes in the horizontal direction from the end surfaces of the doors 5 and 6 on the open / close end side. The lock piece 23 has a lock hole 26a for engaging the key portion 23a.

When the solenoid 24 is energized, the solenoid 24 activates the solenoid connecting portion 23b of the lock piece 23.
Is pulled downward, the lock piece 23 swings about the swing shaft 27 as a fulcrum, the key portion 23a is lifted up, the engagement with the lock engagement piece 26 is released, and the lock is released. In this state, the doors 5 and 6 are unlocked and can be opened.

The lock piece 23 is always urged in the lock closing direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 4) by a spring 25, and when the power to the solenoid 24 is stopped, the key portion 23a is locked by the lock engagement piece. When the doors 5 and 6 are closed at this time, they are locked.
Even when the solenoid 24 is energized and the lock is once released and the doors 5 and 6 are open, the solenoid 2
When the energization of the lock piece 4 is stopped, the lock piece 23 is again held at the same position as the lock state by the urging force of the spring 25.
When the doors 5 and 6 are closed in this state, the lock engagement piece 26 pushes the lock piece 23 upward while contacting the tapered key portion 23a, and the lock engagement piece 26 engages with the key portion 23a. And the doors 5 and 6 are locked.

A detection switch 29 for detecting the opening and closing of the doors 5 and 6 of the storage chambers 2 and 3 is fixed to the bracket 28 of the main body door 4. This detection switch 29
Has a detection piece 29a which is pushed by the end of the lock engagement piece 26 when the doors 5 and 6 are closed, and swings when the doors 5 and 6 are open. 3 and 4, the doors 5 and 6 are pressed by the lock engagement pieces 26 when the doors 5 and 6 close, and swing to the position shown by the solid lines to detect the opening and closing of the doors. .

The operation of the lock means will be described with reference to FIG.

The locking means for locking and unlocking the doors 5 and 6 of the storage chambers 2 and 3 includes the lock piece 23, the solenoid 24, the spring 25, the lock engagement piece 26, and the solenoid 2 as described above.
The lock piece 23 is constantly urged in the lock closing direction by a spring 25,
The energization of the solenoid 24 is controlled so that the lock is closed when the power is not applied and unlocked when the power is applied.

When the user selects a desired product storage room with the numeric keypad 17 and confirms it, the control unit energizes the solenoid 24 of the lock means of the selected storage room,
unlock. After the lock is released, it waits until a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses, during which time the unlocked doors 5 and 6 are released by the detection switch 29.
If not detected by the solenoid 2 at that time
The power supply to 4 is stopped and the lock is closed.

Also, as shown in the patterns shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, after the lock is released, the unlocked door of the storage room is required until the predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses. When the opening of the solenoids 5 and 6 is detected, the power supply to the solenoid 24 is stopped at that point and the lock is closed once. When it is detected that the opened doors 5 and 6 are closed before a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses after the lock is first released (the opened doors 5 and 6 are opened). Normally, it is automatically closed by the action of the hinge 20 with a spring.) At that time, the solenoid 24 is energized again to release the lock, and waits for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). During that time, the doors 5, 6 can be opened again. Then, in this state, if a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) elapses (the pattern shown in FIG. 5A) without opening the doors 5 and 6 again, it is determined that the selling operation is completed at that time. Close the lock.

The opening of the doors 5 and 6 of the storage chamber is detected until the predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses after the lock is first released, and the energization of the solenoid 24 is stopped to lock. If it is not detected that the doors 5 and 6 are closed after the door is closed, it is determined that the selling operation is completed when a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses after the lock is released, and the lock is closed. .

Further, even if the user accidentally closes the doors 5 and 6 before taking out the product, it is not until the predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses after the doors 5 and 6 are unlocked. In this case, the doors 5 and 6 can be reopened as many times as possible to take out the product. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, after the storage room is selected and confirmed, and the lock of the selected storage room is released, the lock is unlocked until a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses. When it is detected that the doors 5 and 6 of the storage rooms 2 and 3 have been opened, the lock is temporarily closed. And that door 5,
6 for a predetermined time (for example, 6
If it is detected that the door is closed before the elapse of 0 second), the lock is released again, and the doors 5 and 6 can be opened.
If the time from when the doors 5 and 6 are closed to when they are reopened is within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), it is determined that the doors 5 and 6 are closed by mistake, and the lock is released first. The same operation is repeated any number of times until a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) elapses.

Next, the whole operation of selling and locking / unlocking of the vending machine will be described with reference to the operation flow shown in FIG.

Step S1: After turning on the power or at the time of resetting, as initialization processing, checking of ROM and RAM,
The product price, allocation of a large storage room, setting of a storage room to be discontinued, and the like are checked. When an abnormality is detected, each error code is displayed on the price display section 9.

Step S2: Waiting for coins and bills to be inserted into the money unit 16 (waiting for payment).

Step S3: When coins and bills are inserted, the input amount is stored and displayed on the amount display unit 15 as a depositing process.

Step S4: The number of the storage room is input by the ten keys 17, followed by the input of the enter key, and waits until the storage room of the product desired to be purchased is selected and confirmed.

Step S5: When there is further money input in a state where the selection of the storage room has not been determined, the flow returns to step S3 to perform the payment processing and update the amount display.

Step S6: Then, when the selection of the storage room is determined, the total amount of the inserted money (input amount) is compared with the price of the product in the selected storage room, and the input amount is equal to or more than the price of the product. If it is, proceed to the next step (S7),
Otherwise, the user is notified of the shortage of the input amount by a buzzer or the like, the selection of the storage room is invalidated, and the process returns to the state of waiting for the selection of the storage room (the routine of S3 to S5).

Step S7: When the selection of the storage room is confirmed and the input amount is equal to or more than the price of the product, it is determined whether or not the number input by the ten keys 17 is the number of the storage room where the product has been sold. If it is the number of the storage room where the product has been sold, the buzzer etc. informs the user that it has been sold and invalidates the selection of the storage room,
Return to the storage room selection waiting state (routine of S3 to S5),
Otherwise, it is determined that the storage room has been normally selected, and the process proceeds to the next step (S8).

Step S8: If it is determined that the storage room has been selected normally, it means that the money has been normally input and the selection of the storage room has been completed, and the selected storage room is processed as sold.

Step S9: When the input amount is larger than the commodity price of the selected storage room, a change refund process is performed.
The change is returned from the coin return slot 18.

Step S10: The solenoid 24 of the locking means of the selected storage room is energized to release the lock.

Step S11: In the unlocked state, the apparatus stands by in preparation for opening the door.

Step S12: If the detection switch 29 detects that the doors 5, 6 have been opened before a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses after the lock is released, it is determined that the user has opened the door. And the next step (S13)
When the predetermined time has elapsed without detecting the opening of the doors 5 and 6, the lock is closed and the process proceeds to a step of ending the selling operation (S19).

Step S13: If the doors 5 and 6 are detected to be open by a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) after the lock is released, and it is determined that the doors 5 and 6 are open,
The energization of the solenoid 24 is stopped, and the lock is closed.

Step S14: In a state in which the lock is closed, the apparatus stands by in preparation for closing the door.

Step S15: If the detection switch 29 detects that the doors 5 and 6 are closed before a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) has elapsed since the lock was first released, the next step ( Proceeding to S16), if the predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) has elapsed without closing the doors 5 and 6 due to a failure or other reasons, proceed to step (S19) assuming that the selling operation is completed.

Step S16: The selection of the storage room is completed,
After the door is unlocked for the first time in step S10, the doors 5, 6,
When the doors 5 and 6 are closed, the locks are released again so that the doors 5 and 6 can be opened again when the doors 5 and 6 are accidentally closed without receiving a product in the storage room.

Step S17: In the unlocked state, the apparatus stands by in preparation for opening the door.

Step S18: Doors 5, 6 once opened
Is opened before a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) elapses or more, the process returns to the state where the door can be opened (the routine of S13 to S17). Otherwise, when the door closed state continues for the predetermined time or more. Proceeds to the step (S19) of regarding the completion of the selling operation and closing the lock.

Step S19: When it is determined that the selling operation has been completed, the lock is closed, the doors 5 and 6 are locked, and the sales standby state (step of waiting for payment (S
Return to 2)).

[0057]

The vending machine according to the present invention has the following effects. In order to store different types of products for each sales unit in a plurality of storage rooms provided in the vending machine main body, when a predetermined amount of money is inserted, only a specific storage section is unlocked and the internal products can be taken out. Can be.

After the product is sold, the door of the storage room is automatically closed, so that the door is kept open to obstruct traffic, foreign objects are thrown into the storage room, and the inside of another storage room is visually recognized. It does not get in the way.

After the product is sold, the door of the storage room is automatically closed and automatically locked, so that mischief such as the insertion of foreign matter can be completely eliminated.

The door is not locked until it is determined that the selling operation is completed. Therefore, if the door is accidentally closed before the product is taken out, the product can be taken out by opening the door again.

After the product is sold, the doors of the storage rooms are automatically locked. When the main body door or the like is opened to refill the sold storage rooms with the products, the doors of the storage rooms in which the products have been refilled are closed. There is no need to relock one by one.

With a simple structure, it can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of a numeric keypad as a selection / determination means in the vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion constituting a door and a lock means of a storage room in the vending machine as viewed obliquely from above and behind.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion constituting a door of a storage room and a lock means in the vending machine.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a lock means in the vending machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of selling and locking / unlocking the vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine main body 2 Small storage room 3 Large storage room 5,6 Door 9,10 Transparent plate member 11 Plate 12 Coin slot 13 Bill insertion slot 14 Return lever 15 Money display unit 16 Money unit 17 Numeric keypad 18 Coins Return port 20 Hinge with spring 23 Lock piece 24 Solenoid 25 Spring 26 Lock engagement piece 29 Detection switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of storage rooms for storing products for each sales unit and setting a selling price for each unit are arranged in a plurality of rows in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and a user wants to purchase from the plurality of storage rooms by an operation of the user. In a vending machine having a selection means for selecting a storage room storing goods, the vending machine having a door provided for each storage room and capable of being opened and closed for taking out goods, the door is urged in a closing direction. Door urging means to lock the door at all times, and when the selection of the storage room by the selection means is completed, unlock the door of the selected storage room and determine the completion of the selling operation. A vending machine provided with locking means for automatically locking the door. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the lock means determines that the vending operation has been completed when a predetermined time or more has passed since the door of the selected storage room was unlocked. 3. A detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the door, wherein the locking means detects that the unlocked door is once opened and then detects that the door is closed. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine determines that the vending operation is completed when the closed state of the door continues for a predetermined time or more.