JP2000099812A - Automatic vending machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine system which automates jobs of replenishing an automatic vending machine with merchandise/changes and of collecting proceeds on the basis of sales information of the automatic vending machine. SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine 3 is equipped with a merchandise storage, a change storage and a proceeds storage and at the same time, a function for transmitting sales information and storage information of each of the storages. Apart from the automatic vending machine 3, a warehouse 2 equipped with a merchandise storage, a change storage and a proceeds storage is provided. When a collection instruction is received from a control device 1, proceeds of the proceeds storage of the automatic vending machine 3 are carried by an automatic carrier device 6 to the proceeds storage of the warehouse 2. When a replenishment instruction from the control device 1 is received, the merchandise in the merchandise storage of the warehouse 2 or changes in the change storage are carried by the automatic carrier device 6 to the merchandise storage or the change storage of the automatic vending machine 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a replenishment supply of goods and change to a vending machine which sells food, drink and other goods.
The present invention relates to a vending machine system for automatically collecting sales proceeds from a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a vending machine is installed, it has been necessary to replenish merchandise, change, and collect sales in addition to maintenance of the main body.

[0003]

When refilling a vending machine with merchandise such as canned beverages and small coins at a time, or collecting sales proceeds, a considerable amount of money, weight and volume are required. Amount. Therefore, replenishment of merchandise and change, and collection of sales proceeds have to carry heavy goods, and are operations involving the danger of theft.

[0004] In particular, when a transportation vehicle cannot be mounted at a location where a vending machine is installed, such as in a station or a building premises, the carriage is moved from the parking location of the transportation vehicle to the location of the vending machine. It had to be used and carried, which was a tough task. Also, even if such patrols are made, when the sales are small, the amount of replenishment and collection is small, and the work efficiency deteriorates. The present invention, in order to eliminate these disadvantages,
An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine system that automates the operation of replenishing goods and change to a vending machine and collecting sales proceeds based on sales information of the vending machine.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a merchandise storage for storing one or more types of commodities and a change storage for storing one or more types of change. Vending machine that has a function of transmitting sales information and inventory information of each storage, a product storage that stores one or more types of products, and storing one or more types of change. A warehouse provided with a change storage and a sales vault, connected between the vending machine and the warehouse, and a vending machine sales vault when a collection command is received from the control device. To the sales money storage of the warehouse, and when the replenishment command is received from the control device, the goods in the goods storage in the warehouse and / or the change in the change storage are changed to the goods storage or / and change in the vending machine. Automatic transfer equipment to transfer to storage A control device for receiving sales information and inventory information of each storage transmitted from the vending machine, and transmitting a sales collection command and a product replenishment command to the automatic transport device based on the information; A communication line connected between the apparatus and the vending machine and the automatic transporting apparatus for transmitting information and instructions between the two.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the warehouse and the control device are mounted on a vehicle, and the vehicle is laid on a vending machine. The automatic transfer device and the communication line are detachably connected to each other by a connection portion provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a fixed warehouse is provided separately from the vehicle, and the goods, change, and sales are also provided between the vehicle and the fixed warehouse as in the vending machine. It is characterized by replenishment and collection of gold.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes a control device 1, a warehouse 2, a vending machine 3, a vending machine 4, an information communication line 5, and an automatic transport device 6. The vending machine 3 sells four types of products (products A to D), stores the price of the products received by the customer as sales, and if necessary, three types of money (change A to change C). ) Is returned to the customer for the required amount.

The vending machine 4 has three types of products (products A to A).
The product C) is sold, the price of the product received by the customer is stored as sales, and if necessary, the required amount of change from two types of money (change A and change B) is returned to the customer. is there. The warehouse 2 separates and stores four types of products (products A to D), sales proceeds, and three types of money (changes A to C) in dedicated storages. The information communication line 5 connects the control device 1, the vending machines 3 and 4, the warehouse 2, and the automatic transport device 6, and transmits information such as sales and operation instructions.

[0010] Based on the information received from the vending machines 3 and 4, the warehouse 2, and the automatic transport device 6 received through the information communication line 5, the control device 1 controls the vending machines 3 and 4, the warehouse 2, 6, the system issues an operation instruction such as replenishment of merchandise, replenishment of change, and collection of sales to control the entire system. The automatic transport device 6 transports a specified quantity of goods or money or other articles from a designated storage to another designated storage in accordance with an instruction sent from the control device 1 via the information communication line 5. It is. The transfer of the goods can be performed between the warehouse 2 and the vending machines 3 and 4, or between different vending machines.

Next, the operation of the system will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an operation when refilling a product to the vending machine 3 and an exchange of information and articles. Assume that the vending machine 3 sells one commodity A with a unit price of 110 yen, deposits one 100 yen coin and one 50 yen coin, and returns four changes of ten yen coins (change A) (order). A1). The vending machine 3 transmits this sales information to the control device 1, and the control device 1
Receives the sales information from the vending machine 3 (order A2).

The control device 1 transmits command information to the automatic transport device 6 to "supply one commodity A to the vending machine 1", and the automatic transport device 6 receives the command information (order A3).
The automatic transport device 6 transports one product A from the product A storage in the warehouse 2 to the product A storage in the vending machine 3 (order A).
Four). The automatic transport device 6 transmits the "supply end" information to the control device 1, and the control device 1 receives the "supply end" information (order A5).

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an operation when replenishing change to the vending machine 4 and an exchange of information and articles. In the vending machine 4, it is assumed that the storage amount of the change B becomes less than or equal to a prescribed amount due to the sale of the product to the customer (order B).
1). The vending machine 4 transmits the change shortage information to the control device 1, and the control device 1 receives the change shortage information from the vending machine 4 (order B2). The control device 1 includes an automatic transfer device 6
, The command information is transmitted so as to “supply the change v to the vending machine 4 in the specified quantity”, and the automatic transport device 6 receives the command information (order B3). The automatic transport device 6 transports the change B from the change B storage of the warehouse 2 to the change B storage of the vending machine 4 in a specified quantity (order B4). The automatic transport device 6 transmits “supply end” information to the control device 1, and the control device 1 transmits “supply end” information.
Receive information (order B5).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation when collecting the sales proceeds from the vending machine 4 and the exchange of information and articles. In the vending machine 4, it is assumed that the storage amount of the sales vault is equal to or larger than a specified amount (order C1). The vending machine 4 transmits this over-sales information to the control device 1, and the control device 1 receives the over-sales information from the vending machine 4 (order C2). The control device 1 transmits command information to the automatic conveyance device 6 to perform “collection of sales proceeds of the vending machine 4”,
The automatic transport device 6 receives the command information (order C3).

This sales information collection command information is transmitted from the control device 1 to the automatic transporting device 6 at a predetermined collection cycle even if the sales-excess information is not transmitted from the vending machine 4 ( Order C3). The automatic transfer device 6
All sales proceeds from the vending machine 4 are transferred from the sales vault of the vending machine 4 to the sales vault of the warehouse 2 (order C4).
The automatic transport device 6 transmits the “collection end” information to the control device 1, and the control device 1 receives the “collection end” information (order
C5).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system comprises a control device 11, a warehouse 12, an information communication line 13
Supply / recovery vehicle 10 loaded with an automatic transport device 14, an information communication line connection portion 15, and an automatic transport device connection portion 16
A vending machine 20 having an automatic transfer device 21, an information communication line connection portion 22, an automatic transfer device connection portion 23, and an information communication line 24, an automatic transfer device 31, an information communication line connection portion 32, and an automatic transfer device It comprises a fixed warehouse 30 having a connection section 33 and an information communication line 34. Normally, both the vending machine 20 and the fixed warehouse 30 are independently installed, and are connected to the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10 periodically to replenish goods, replenish change, and collect sales proceeds.

Next, the operation of the system will be described.
FIG. 6 shows an outline of the operation and information / article exchange when the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10 and the vending machine 20 are connected and the vending machine 20 performs replenishment of goods, replenishment of change, and collection of sales. FIG. The administrator puts the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10 on the vending machine 20 at regular intervals and connects the information communication line connecting portions 15 and 22 and the automatic transport device connecting portions 16 and 23 to each other (order D1). ).

The vending machine 20 transmits the sales information for a certain period to the control device 11 in the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10 via the information communication lines 24 and 13, and the control device 11 receives the sales information (order D2). . Based on the received sales information, the control device 11 transmits "replenishment" command information to the automatic transport devices 14, 21, and the automatic transport devices 14, 21 receive the command information (order D3). The automatic transporters 14 and 21 transport the merchandise A to the merchandise D and the change A to the merchandise A to the respective storages of the vending machine 20 by the shortage quantity, and transmit the "replenishment end" information (order D4). The control device 11 receives “replenishment end information”.

The control device 11 transmits "collection" command information to the automatic transport devices 14 and 21 based on the sales information (order D5). The automatic transfer devices 14 and 21 are provided in the vending machine 2
The sales money in the sales money storage of No. 0 is conveyed to the sales money storage of the warehouse 12, and the “collection end” information is transmitted (order D6).

FIG. 7 shows the operation, information, and information when the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10 is connected to the fixed warehouse 30 to perform replenishment of goods, replenishment of change, and collection of sales for the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10. It is the figure which showed the outline of exchange of articles. The manager lays the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10, which has performed the replenishment and collection of the vending machines 20, sideways on the fixed warehouse 30, and connects the information communication line connection portions 15 and 32 and the automatic transport device connection portion 16. , 33 are connected to each other (order E1).

The control device 11 in the mobile supply / recovery vehicle 10
Sends "replenishment" command information to the automatic transporters 14, 31 based on the sales information of all the vending machines replenished and recovered by the mobile replenishment and recovery vehicle 10 for a certain period (order E2). The automatic transporters 14 and 31 receive the “replenishment” command information (order E3). The automatic transfer devices 14 and 31 transfer the goods A to D and the change A to C from the respective storages of the fixed warehouse 30 to the respective storages of the warehouse 12 in the mobile replenishment and recovery vehicle 10 by a shortage amount. And "end replenishment"
Transmit the information (order E4).

The control device 11 transmits "collection" command information to the automatic transport devices 14 and 31 based on the sales information (order E5). The automatic transporters 14 and 31 receive the "collection" command information (order E6). The automatic transport devices 14 and 31 transport the sales in the sales warehouse in the mobile supply and collection vehicle 10 to the sales warehouse in the fixed warehouse 30 and “collection is completed”.
Transmit the information (order E7).

[0023]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the replenishment of merchandise for vending machines, which has previously relied on manual labor,
Normal operations such as replenishment of change and collection of sales proceeds are automated, so that the operating costs of vending machines are also greatly reduced. In addition, the vending machine operation manager simply performs normal operations such as replenishment of goods, replenishment of change, and collection of sales only in the warehouse, and all vending machines in the vending machine system are out of stock. Since the system is operated without running out of change or change, the utilization rate of the vending machine can be improved, that is, sales can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even for a vending machine which is not always connected to the automatic transfer device, the replenishment of goods, replenishment of change, and collection of sales can be performed simply by connecting a mobile replenishment and recovery vehicle. Automatic operation can be performed, and the operation cost of the vending machine can be significantly reduced even in the conventional traveling operation mode.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the replenishment of goods, the replenishment of change, and the collection of sales can be automatically performed on the mobile replenishing and collecting vehicle, and the operating cost of the vending machine can be reduced. Can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a processing operation of replenishing merchandise to a vending machine in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a processing operation of replenishing change to a vending machine in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a processing operation of collecting sales proceeds from a vending machine in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a processing operation of replenishing merchandise and change and collecting sales proceeds in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of a processing operation of replenishment of goods and change and collection of sales proceeds in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control device 2 warehouse 3 vending machine 4 vending machine 5 information communication line 6 automatic transportation device 10 mobile replenishment and collection vehicle 11 control device 12 warehouse 13 information communication line 14 automatic transportation device 15 information communication line connection part 16 automatic transportation device Connection unit 20 Vending machine 21 Automatic transfer device 22 Information communication line connection unit 23 Automatic transfer device connection unit 24 Information communication line 30 Fixed warehouse 31 Automatic transfer device 32 Information communication line connection unit 33 Automatic transfer device connection unit 34 Information communication line

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A merchandise storage for storing one or more types of goods, a change storage for storing one or more types of change, and a sales money storage, and also transmits sales information and stock information of each storage. A vending machine with a function, a goods vault that stores one or more types of goods, a warehouse that has a change vault that stores one or more types of change, and a warehouse that has a sales vault, a vending machine and a warehouse Connected to the system, and when receiving a collection command from the control device, transfers the sales proceeds from the sales vault of the vending machine to the sales vault of the warehouse and receives a replenishment command from the control device. An automatic transfer device for transferring the goods in the goods storage of the warehouse or / and the change in the change storage to the goods storage or / and the change storage of the vending machine, and the sales information transmitted from the vending machine and Inventory information for each storage A control device for receiving and transmitting a sales collection command and a product replenishment command to the automatic transport device based on the information; connected between the control device, the vending machine and the automatic transport device, and A vending machine system comprising: a communication line for transmitting information and instructions. 2. The vending machine system according to claim 1, wherein the warehouse and the control device are mounted on a vehicle, and the vehicle is mounted on both the vehicle and the vending machine in a state where the vehicle is laid sideways on the vending machine. A vending machine system characterized in that the automatic transfer device and the communication line are detachably connected by a connecting portion. 3. The vending machine system according to claim 2, wherein a fixed warehouse is provided separately from the vehicle, and the goods, change, and sales are also provided between the vehicle and the fixed warehouse as in the vending machine. Vending machine system characterized by the replenishment and collection of waste.