JP2000285294A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance handleability even for a user who can not reach his (her) hand to a selection key at an upper stage with a simple device configuration by selling a preliminarily specified article corresponding to the selection key at the upper stage corresponding to a selection key at a lower stage on condition that special operation is added when the selection key at the lower stage is depressed by a control part. SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine 10 is constituted by arranging for example, article racks 14 and article selection keys 15 over three stages, i.e., upper, middle and lower on the front surface of a door 12. And a special key 40 is provided within the reach of a person sitting on a wheelchair, etc., on the front surface of the door 12. Then, special selling operation to transport and sell preliminarily specified articles (A, E) corresponding to the selection keys 15 (for example, 15a, 15e) at the upper and middle stages corresponding to the article selection key (for example, 15i) at the lower stage on condition that the special operation is added by using the special key 40 when the article selection key 15i at the lower stage is depressed by the user by the control part 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vending machine for cigarettes and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vending machine for cigarettes or the like, selection buttons corresponding to respective products of a plurality of varieties are arranged at the top, bottom, left and right of a door, and a product corresponding to a selection button pressed by a user is displayed. They will be transported to the product reception and sold.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, since the selection buttons for a large number of varieties of products are arranged on the front of the door together with the product samples, the selection buttons extend over a wide range of up, down, left and right. In some cases, a user in a wheelchair cannot reach the selection button on the upper side (an upper place where a person in a wheelchair cannot reach) and cannot press it down. .

[0004] Incidentally, it is conceivable to add a special selection button dedicated to a user or the like in a wheelchair below the door. In this case, however, the same number of special selection buttons as the normal selection buttons above are arranged. Therefore, the device configuration becomes complicated. In addition, with a special selection button that is not accompanied by a product sample, the correspondence with the product is difficult to understand, and the usability is poor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple device configuration,
An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use vending machine even for a user who cannot reach the selection button on the upper side of the vending machine.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a selection button corresponding to each product of a plurality of types and a product selection operation by depressing the selection button receive the product. In a vending machine having a control unit to be conveyed to the mouth, when the selection buttons are arranged on the front, bottom, left and right of the vending machine, the control unit performs a special operation when the lower selection button is pressed. On condition that it is added, it is possible to sell a product corresponding to the upper selection button specified in advance corresponding to the lower selection button.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic vending machine having a control unit for transferring a product selected from a plurality of types to a product receiving port, wherein a bar code corresponding to the product desired to be purchased is provided. A readable bar code reader is disposed on the front of the vending machine, and the control unit is capable of selling a product corresponding to the bar code read by the bar code reader.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The user performs a special operation such as pressing down a special button or pressing down the selection button for a longer time than a certain time when the lower selection button which can be reached is pressed down.
Thereby, the control unit conveys the product corresponding to the upper selection button specified in advance corresponding to the lower selection button to the product receiving port, and the product corresponding to the upper selection button. Can be sold.

It is possible to sell a product corresponding to the upper selection button by a special operation of the user. For example, a number of special selection buttons are provided in the lower front of the vending machine or in a box of a separate type. There is no necessity, and the configuration of the apparatus is not complicated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The barcode reader can be placed on the front of the vending machine at a position that is accessible to users in a wheelchair. As a result, the user causes the barcode reader to read the barcode corresponding to the product desired to be purchased, using a product of the same kind on hand or a product code list provided in the vending machine. Thereby, the control unit conveys the product corresponding to the barcode read by the barcode reader to the product reception port, and enables the product to be sold.

By simply providing a bar code reader on the front of the vending machine, all the products handled by the vending machine can be sold, and the configuration of the apparatus is not complicated. In addition, the bar code reader is to read the same kind of product on hand or the bar code described in the product code list provided in the vending machine, so that the user can surely recognize the correspondence with the product. It will be a purchase operation, and it is convenient to use.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vending machine, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vending machine, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the vending machine of the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the vending machine of the third embodiment, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vending machine, and FIG. FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the control unit when the bar code reader of the vending machine is used.

(First Embodiment) (FIGS. 1 to 3) A vending machine 10 is provided with a door 12 on a front surface of a main body 11, as shown in FIGS. In addition, on the front surface of the door 12, a product display shelf 14 for displaying product samples 13 of a plurality of varieties A, B, C... Is provided, and a product selection corresponding to each of the sample products 13 immediately below each product sample 13 is provided. Button 15
And a sellable lamp (not shown) and a sold-out lamp (not shown) are built in each selection button 15. Also,
The price for each product is also displayed near the product sample or each selection button. Further, the vending machine 10 includes a coin slot 16, a bill slot 17, a return lever 18, a change return slot 19, a merchandise slot 20, and an amount display section 21 for displaying an inserted amount on the front surface of the door 12.

The vending machine 10 includes products A, B, C,... Corresponding to the product samples 13 on the product display shelf 14, respectively.
A plurality of product storage columns 22 capable of storing
And a product transport unit (not shown) for each column 22
Is provided. Further, the vending machine 10 is provided with a sold-out detection switch (not shown) in each product transport section, and in the product transport section 23, a sold-out state in which all the products stored in the column 22 are sold out. Sold out switch 24
Can be detected by turning on.

The vending machine 10 comprises a microcomputer as shown in FIG.
The control unit 30 includes an M and an I / O (input / output unit). Each of the commodity selection buttons 15 is connected to the control unit 30, and a coin mech 31 for detecting the number of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 16 for each denomination, and a bill of coins inserted from the bill insertion slot 17. Bill burrs 32 for detecting the number of sheets for each denomination, a setting display 33 used for management of the vending machine 10 and data input, etc., the return lever 18, the price display section 21, the goods transport section 23, and a sold-out detection switch 2
4 are connected. The setting display 33 for setting a denomination and the like is a handy remote control type, and can be attached to and detached from the back surface of the door 12.

The product sales operation of the vending machine 10 is performed as follows. (1) A user inserts money from the coin insertion slot 16 and the bill insertion slot 17.

(2) The control unit 30 turns on the sellable lamp of the selection button 15 corresponding to the product which can be sold with the total amount of the inserted money.

(3) When the user presses down the selection button 15 for purchase, the control unit 30 drives the product transport unit 23 corresponding to the selection button 15 and transfers the product to the product receiving port 20.
Take out to.

(4) The control unit 30 returns the coins to the change return port 19 and the bills to the bill validator 32 among the changes calculated by inputting signals from the selection button 15, the coin mech 31 and the bill validator 32.

(5) After the repetition of the above (1) to (4), in the product transport section 23 of the product storage column in which the control section 30 is provided, the product out-of-sale detection switch 2 provided in the product transport section 23 is provided.
When the control unit 30 detects that the product 4 has been turned on, the control unit 30 turns on the sold-out lamp of the product selection button 15 corresponding to the product transport unit 23.

In the vending machine 10, the above-mentioned merchandise display shelves 14 and the merchandise selection buttons 15 are arranged, for example, in the upper, lower, middle and upper three stages of the front surface of the door 12. The following configuration is provided in consideration of the convenience of a user who cannot reach the product selection buttons 15 on the upper and middle tiers, such as a user who is present.

That is, the vending machine 10 is provided with a special button 40 within a reach of a wheelchair or the like in front of the door 12.
Is provided. Then, the control unit 30 controls the product selection button 15i on the condition that the user performs the following special operation using the special button 40 when pressing the lower product selection button 15 (for example, 15i). The upper and middle selection buttons 15 (for example, 15
Products (A, E) corresponding to (a, 15e) are listed below in (1)-
Carry out and sell according to the procedure of (3).
For the user who can reach the upper and middle selection buttons 15, the above-described normal product selling operation without using the special button 40 is performed.

(1) A user who cannot reach the product selection buttons 15 on the upper and middle stages is required to enter the coin slot 16 and the bill slot 1
Money is inserted from 7. The control unit 30 turns on the sellable lamp of the selection button 15 corresponding to the product that can be sold with the total amount of the inserted money.

(2) When the user wants to purchase the upper product A, the special button 40 is pressed down, and then the lower selection button 15i below the upper selection button 15a corresponding to the product A is pressed. Thereby, the upper selection button 15
The sellable lamp a changes from lighting to blinking. Then, when the user depresses the special button 40 again, the product transport section 23 corresponding to the upper selection button 15a is driven, and the product A is carried out to the product receiving port 20 and sold.

(3) After the above (1), the user enters the middle product E
When the user wants to purchase, the lower selection button is again pressed while the sellable lamp of the upper selection button 15a is blinking due to the first depression of the special button 40 and the lower selection button 15i described in (2) above. By depressing 15i, the available lamp of the middle selection button 15e changes from lighting to blinking (the blinking of the available lamp of the upper selection button 15a returns to lighting). Then, when the user depresses the special button 40 again, the commodity transport section 23 corresponding to the middle selection button 15e is driven, and the commodity E is carried out to the commodity receiving port 20 and sold.

Therefore, the first embodiment has the following operations. When the user presses the lower selection button 15i which can be reached, the user performs special operations using the special button 40 as described in (2) and (3) above. As a result, the control unit 30 conveys the products A and E corresponding to the upper or middle selection buttons 15a and 15e specified in advance corresponding to the lower selection button 15i to the product receiving port 20. And the products A and E
Can be sold.

The user can sell products A and E corresponding to the upper or middle selection buttons 15a and 15e by the special operations (2) and (3) described above. There is no need to provide a large number of special selection buttons on the front of the device or on a separate type box, so that the device configuration is not complicated.

(Second Embodiment) (FIG. 4) The second embodiment is substantially different from the first embodiment in that the upper and middle selection buttons 15 are manually operated without using the special button 40. In order to ensure the convenience of the user who does not reach, the control unit 30 performs a special selling operation as described in the following (1) to (3).

(1) A user who cannot reach the upper and middle selection buttons 15 inserts money through the coin insertion slot 16 and the bill insertion slot 17. The control unit 30 turns on a sellable lamp of the selection button 15 corresponding to a product that can be sold with the total amount of the inserted money.

(2) When the user wants to purchase the upper product A, the lower-stage selection button 15i below the upper-stage selection button 15a corresponding to the product A is pressed for a predetermined time (for example, about three seconds) for a long time. Lower. As a result, the sellable lamp of the upper selection button 15a changes from lighting to blinking. Therefore, when the user presses the lower selection button 15i for a shorter time (instantaneously) than the above-mentioned fixed time under the blinking state of the upper selection button 15a, the upper selection button 15a corresponding to the blinking is selected. The product transport section 23 is driven, and the product A is carried out to the product receiving port 20 and sold.

(3) After the above (1), the user enters the middle product E
If you want to purchase a
While the long-time depression of 5i (for example, about 3 seconds) causes the sellable lamp of the upper selection button 15a to blink,
When the lower selection button 15i is once again depressed for a long period of time equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the sellable lamp of the middle selection button 15e changes from lighting to blinking (blinking of the sellable lamp of the upper selection button 15a). Returns to lighting). Therefore, when the user presses the lower selection button 15i for a shorter time (momentarily) than the above-mentioned fixed time under the blinking state of the middle selection button 15e, the lower selection button 15e corresponds to the blinking middle selection button 15e. The product transport section 23 is driven, and the product E is carried out to the product receiving port 20 and sold.

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the following operations are provided. When the user presses the lower selection button 15i which can be reached, the user performs special operations as described in (2) and (3) above, in which the pressing time of the selection button 15i is longer than a certain time. Thereby, the control unit 30 conveys the products A and E corresponding to the upper or middle selection buttons 15a and 15e specified in advance corresponding to the lower selection button 15i to the product receiving port 20. The products A and E can be sold.

The user can sell products A and E corresponding to the upper or middle selection buttons 15a and 15e by the special operations (2) and (3) described above. There is no need to provide a large number of special selection buttons on the front of the device or on a separate type box, so that the device configuration is not complicated.

(Third Embodiment) (FIGS. 5 to 8) The third embodiment is substantially different from the first embodiment in that a bar code reader 33C (setting) of a setting display 33 is used instead of the special button 40. Using a barcode reader independent of the display 33 is also possible, so that the convenience of a user who cannot reach the upper and middle selection buttons 15 can be secured.

That is, in the vending machine 10, the setting display 33 of the type of the handy remote controller as described above in the first embodiment includes a bar code reader 33C together with a liquid crystal display 33A and a numeric keypad 33B (FIG. 7). ). The setting display 33 is provided in a detachable hole 50 provided below the door 12.
Can be inserted from the back side of the bar code reader 33C.
Is a transparent cover 50 of a detachable hole 50 located in front of the door 12.
A can be set to face the outside world from A. Accordingly, when the user positions the bar code described in the product code (for example, A) or the product code list provided in the vending machine 10 on the front surface of the transparent cover 50A, the bar code reader 33C displays the bar. The code is read, and the read result is transferred to the control unit 30. The control unit 30 sets the following registration mode to sell a product (for example, A) corresponding to the barcode read by the barcode reader 33C,
Perform the special sales mode.

(Registration Mode) (FIG. 8 (A)) For each of a plurality of product storage columns 22 capable of storing products A, B, C... Corresponding to each product sample 13 on the product display shelf 14, The barcode specified in advance is registered for each of the products A, B, C,. That is, a column (N = 1) corresponding to the product A is selected (S01), and this column (N = 1)
The barcode is registered in (S02). Next, a column (N = 2) corresponding to the product B is selected (S03), and this column (N = 2) is selected.
The barcode is registered in 2) (S04). The barcode is registered in all the columns corresponding to all the commodities, and the process ends (S05).

(Special Sales Mode) (FIG. 8 (B)) (1) The user inserts money from the coin slot 16 and the bill slot 17 (S01). The control unit 30 turns on the sellable lamp of the selection button 15 corresponding to the product that can be sold with the total amount of inserted money, and turns on the barcode reader 33C of the setting display 33 in a readable state.

(2) The user causes the barcode reader 33C to read the barcode of the product desired to be purchased (for example, A) via the transparent cover 50A on the front of the door 12 (S02).

(3) The control unit 30 includes a bar code reader 33
The barcode read by C is searched from the above-mentioned registered data (S03). If the barcode has been registered (S04), the product transport unit 23 of the product storage column 22 registered with this barcode is driven. Then, the merchandise A is carried out to the merchandise receiving port 20 and sold (S05).

Therefore, according to the third embodiment, the following operations are provided. The barcode reader 33C is on the front of the vending machine 10,
It can be placed in a position that is accessible to users in wheelchairs. Thus, the user causes the barcode reader 33C to read the barcode corresponding to the product desired to be purchased, using a product of the same kind on hand or a product code list provided in the vending machine 10. Thereby, the control unit 3
0 indicates that the product corresponding to the barcode read by the barcode reader 33C is transported to the product receiving port 20, and the product can be sold.

By simply providing the bar code reader 33C on the front of the vending machine 10, all the products handled by the vending machine 10 can be sold, and the configuration of the apparatus is not complicated. In addition, the barcode reader 33C is used to read a product of the same kind that is on hand or a barcode described in a product code list provided in the vending machine 10, so that the user can reliably recognize the correspondence with the product. The purchase operation is performed while doing so, and the usability is also good.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the design may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is also included in the present invention. For example, in the vending machine 10 using the barcode reader 33C of the third embodiment, the selection button 15 is not necessarily provided on the front of the door 12, and the selling operation to all users is performed using the barcode reader 33C described above ( 1) through (3) sales modes.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vending machine which is easy to use even for a user who cannot reach the upper selection button of the vending machine with a simple apparatus configuration. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vending machine.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a vending machine according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a vending machine according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the vending machine.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vending machine.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of a control unit when a bar code of a vending machine is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vending machine 15 Selection button 20 Merchandise reception 30 Control unit 33C Barcode reader 40 Special button

Claims (2)

[Claims] An automatic vending machine having a selection button corresponding to each product of a plurality of types and a control unit for transferring the product to a product receiving port by selecting a product by pressing the selection button. In, when the selection button is arranged above and below the front of the vending machine, the control unit responds to this lower selection button on the condition that a special operation is added when the lower selection button is pressed. A vending machine capable of selling a product corresponding to the upper selection button specified in advance. 2. A vending machine having a control unit for transferring a product selected from a plurality of types to a product receiving port, wherein a bar code reader capable of reading a bar code corresponding to a product desired to be purchased is automatically sold. A vending machine arranged on the front of a vending machine, wherein the control unit is capable of selling a product corresponding to the bar code read by the bar code reader.