JP2000298761A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit a subsequent purchaser to use a vending machine, even if a merchandise which is forgotten to be take out or a foreign material is left in a merchandise take-out part by detecting that the merchandise or the foreign material exists in the merchandise take-out part prior to the transfer of the merchandise at sales time and displaying effect to take out the merchandise or the foreign matter at the time of opening an opening/closing door. SOLUTION: When a subsequent purchaser supplies money, a cash detection device detects it (S1). A merchandise which is forgotten to take out is discriminated to exist in a bucket or not from the detection signal of merchandise/ foreign material sensor. When the merchandise/foreign material sensor is in an on state, it is discriminated that the merchandise which is forgotten to take out and the like exists in the bucket (S2). Then, an opening/closing door and a bucket door are opened after discrimination (S3), and warning sound is rung by a buzzer. At the same time, a message to take the merchandise out which was left there forgotten to take it out is displayed by a display unit (S4). Thus, the subsequent purchaser is requested to take out the merchandise which was forgotten to take out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for taking out a product to a product take-out unit and opening / closing an opening facing the outside of the product take-out unit at the time of sale so that the product taken out can be taken out through the opening. Vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vending machine of this type has a product take-out section having an opening on a front face, and the opening is always closed.
It has an opening / closing door that opens at the time of sale, and an opening / closing door driving mechanism that drives the opening / closing door. In such a vending machine, a product is sold as follows. That is, first, when the purchaser inserts money and presses a selection button for a desired product, the selected product among the products stored in the vending machine is carried out to the product takeout unit. Thereafter, the opening / closing door, which has closed the opening of the product take-out section, is driven by the opening / closing door drive mechanism to open the opening. Then, after the product is taken out from the product takeout unit by the purchaser, the opening / closing door closes the opening of the product takeout unit, and the sale is completed.

[0003] In such a vending machine, for example, when the purchaser collectively purchases a plurality of commodities before completing the sale of the commodities, specifically, before removing the commodities from the commodities take-out unit by the purchaser. In some cases, some commodities may remain in the commodity removal section without being removed. In such a case, if a subsequent purchaser (hereinafter “subsequent purchaser”) attempts to purchase the product,
The goods of the succeeding purchaser carried out to the goods take-out section are appropriately used by the goods take-out section by being used as the goods that the previous purchaser has left behind (hereinafter, referred to as “forgotten goods” in the present specification). It may not be carried out. In addition, when such goods are stuck, the vending machine itself usually recognizes that the goods have been removed, so that subsequent purchasers cannot receive the goods, Not returned, causing trouble. For this reason,
In the vending machine as described above, usually, when a forgotten product remains in the product removal section, the sale of the product is immediately stopped. In addition, when foreign matter such as dust is thrown into the product take-out section due to mischief when the opening of the product take-out section is opened, the vending machine immediately stops selling the product because of the same as described above. It has become.

[0004]

As described above, in the above-mentioned vending machine, if a product left unremoved in the product take-out section or a foreign substance is thrown in, the sales of the product are immediately stopped. Therefore, the subsequent purchaser cannot use the vending machine, while the vending machine itself misses a sales opportunity. Of course, when a product that has been left behind remains in the product take-out section, the opening of the product take-out section can be kept open until the product is taken out, so that the sale of the product can be stopped. However, if the opening of the product take-out portion is left open, the above-described mischief may be further induced.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Even if a product is left in the product take-out section or a foreign object due to mischief is thrown in, a subsequent purchaser can provide the product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine which can use a vending machine and can secure a sales opportunity as much as possible.

[0006]

A vending machine according to the present invention carries out a product to a product take-out section at the time of sale,
A vending machine capable of taking out a conveyed product through the opening by opening and closing an opening facing the outside of the product take-out section, the driving mechanism and a drive mechanism driven by the driving mechanism to open and close the opening. Door, product / foreign matter detection means for detecting whether or not a product or foreign matter other than the product is present in the product takeout section, and the product or foreign matter is present in the product takeout section prior to carrying out the product at the time of sale. Can be
Control means for controlling the drive mechanism so as to open the opening / closing door when detected by the product / foreign matter detecting means; and when the opening / closing door is opened by the control means, the product or foreign matter should be taken out of the product take-out section. And display means for displaying a message indicating the fact.

[0007] According to this configuration, prior to carrying out the commodity to the commodity take-out section at the time of sale, when the commodity / foreign matter detecting means detects that the commodity or foreign matter is present in the commodity take-out section, the driving mechanism is activated. By driving the opening / closing door, the opening of the product take-out section is opened, and the display means indicates that the product or foreign matter should be taken out of the product take-out section. As a result, if a product that was forgotten from the product takeout unit in the previous sales (forgotten product) or a foreign substance that was put into the product takeout unit due to mischief is taken out by the subsequent purchaser, it can be used as a product that was forgotten. ,
It is possible to prevent a failure of the subsequent purchaser to carry out the product to the product take-out unit, and as a result, unlike the related art, it is possible to continue selling the product without immediately stopping the sale of the product. Therefore, even if a product is forgotten to be taken out by the product takeout unit, the subsequent purchaser will take it out,
The vending machine can be used, while the vending machine itself can secure sales opportunities as much as possible.

[0008] In this case, the apparatus further comprises a cash slot for inserting money, and money detecting means for detecting whether or not money has been inserted into the money slot, and the money detecting means inputs money. It is preferable to execute opening of the open / close door and display by the display means when the product / foreign matter detection means detects that the product or foreign matter is present in the product take-out section.

According to this configuration, when the money detecting means detects that money has been inserted into the cash slot, that is, in front of the vending machine, there is a purchaser who wants to purchase a product. Occasionally, the door is opened, and the purchaser is requested to take out the forgotten items. Therefore, it is possible to open the opening of the product take-out section and request the take-out only for the purchaser, not for the person who wants to mischief the vending machine.

In these cases, after the opening of the door, when the commodity / foreign matter detecting means continuously detects the presence of the commodity or foreign matter in the commodity take-out section for a predetermined time, the control means opens the opening / closing door. Preferably, the drive mechanism is controlled to close.

[0011] According to this configuration, after the opening of the opening / closing door, when the commodity / foreign matter detecting means continuously detects the presence of the commodity or the foreign matter in the commodity take-out section for the predetermined time, that is, from the commodity take-out section. After the predetermined time elapses without removing the left-for-taken product or the like, the opening / closing door is closed. Thereby, induction of mischief can be suppressed as compared with the case where the opening / closing door is kept open.

In this case, there is further provided a sales stop means for stopping the sale of the goods, and the sales stop means is provided when the number of closing of the opening / closing door by the control means reaches a plurality of predetermined times. Is preferably stopped.

According to this configuration, when the number of times the control means closes the opening / closing door reaches the plurality of predetermined times, the sale of the goods is stopped. When the vending machine is not taken out, more sales opportunities can be secured than in the case where the vending machine is immediately discontinued.

In the above case, there is further provided an obstacle detecting means for detecting whether or not an obstacle has been inserted into the product take-out portion from the outside through the opening. It is preferable that the control means controls the drive mechanism so as to open the opening / closing door when an obstacle is detected.

According to this structure, when the obstacle detecting means detects that an obstacle has been inserted into the product take-out section from the outside through the opening while the door is being closed, the door is opened. I do. In other words, the door that is being closed is not stopped or kept closed in that state, but is driven to the position where the opening is opened. Thereby, when the opening and closing door is stopped in the middle of closing, the end of the opening and closing door (for example, the front end portion in the closing direction when the opening and closing door is configured to slide and close) by a tampering person. ) May be easily grasped and the opening / closing door itself may be deformed. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, by driving the opening / closing door to a position where the opening is opened, the end of the opening / closing door is closed. This makes it difficult for the user to grasp the part, thereby suppressing the above-mentioned mischief. Further, for example, when the opened door is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed, at the timing when the door is started to close, the purchaser tries to take out the product and puts his hand in the product takeout unit through the opening. Also, when the hand (obstacle) is detected by the obstacle detecting means, the opening / closing door which has once been closed is opened, so that the purchaser can safely take out the product.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vending machine 1 is a large-sized vending machine capable of selling a large number of items S, and the products S are
This is a so-called see-through type that can be seen from the front through transparent sliding doors 2 and 2 on the front and is used as a display. In addition, the vending machine 1 carries out the product S to the product take-out section 3 at the time of sale, and automatically opens and closes an opening (hereinafter referred to as “product take-out port”) 4 facing the outside of the product take-out section 3. , The purchaser can take out the product S through the product outlet 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine 1 includes a vending machine main body 5 in which a product S is stored, and a product unloading device 6 (see FIG. 2) for discharging the product S to the product unloading section 3. )
And a control circuit (control means and sales stop means) comprising a microcomputer (not shown) for controlling the product unloading device 6 and the product unloading section 3.

The vending machine main body 5 is formed in a box shape,
Two sliding doors 2 on the open front,
2 are installed. Each sliding door 2
It is normally closed and locked, and is opened when the product S is replenished or the like, so that the product S is replenished from the front. Inside the vending machine main body 5, a box-shaped product storage 11 having an open front surface and defined by heat insulating walls is provided.
In the product storage 11, two left and right storage rooms 11 a,
11a are formed, and a horizontal product rack 12 of 10 rows and 9 rows is arranged inside each of them.

On each product rack 12, a plurality of partition walls 13 extending in the front-rear direction are juxtaposed at appropriate intervals in the left-right direction, and products S of the same item are placed between the partition walls 13, 13. A merchandise passage (not shown) for storing the merchandise in the front-rear direction is formed. On the right side of each partition wall 13, a pusher (not shown) is provided, which faces the product passage and is movable in the front-rear direction. This pusher moves forward at the time of sale, so that the products S arranged in the front-back direction
The whole is pushed from the rear, and the foremost product S is paid out to the front of the product path.

As shown in FIG. 2, the product unloading device 6 receives the goods S paid out from the goods passage and stores them in the inside, and drives the buckets 15 in the vertical and horizontal directions at the time of sale. By doing so, a bucket driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the product between the carry-out position behind the product outlet 4 and the product path in which the selected product S is stored is provided.

The bucket 15 is formed in a box shape, and has an opening (not shown) from the upper wall 15a to the rear wall 15b that allows the commodity S paid out from the commodity passage to pass therethrough. I have. Therefore, the commodity S paid out from the commodity passage is stored in the bucket 15 through the opening (not shown). Also, in the bucket 15,
A bucket door 16 is provided which always closes the front surface and opens at the time of sale. The bucket door 16 is formed in a “J” side cross section, and opens and closes the front surface of the bucket 15 by rotating around a vertex of a fan-shaped side plate 16 a provided at a side end. . Further, the inside of the bucket 15 is always gently inclined forward (see FIG. 2).
), When the bucket door 16 is opened.
A chute 17 is provided which rotates together with the motor and inclines to a steep forward drop (see FIG. 3). The chute 17 supports the commodity S delivered from the commodity passage from the lower side when the commodity S is received from the commodity passage, and accommodates the commodity S to the front side in the bucket 15. It is easy to take out.

The bucket 15 has a product S inside.
Alternatively, a commodity / foreign matter sensor 18 (commodity / foreign matter detecting means) for detecting whether or not foreign matter other than a commodity, for example, a mischief is present in the bucket 15.
have. The product / foreign matter sensor 18 is electrically connected to the control circuit (not shown). It consists of an optical sensor. The product / foreign matter sensor 18 is disposed slightly above the chute 17, and when the product S or the foreign matter exists on the chute 17, the light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is blocked by the product S or the like. By doing, the goods S etc. are stored in the bucket 1
5 is detected.

As described above, the merchandise take-out section 3 is a part for the vending machine 1 to carry out the merchandise S at the time of sale and to allow the purchaser to take out the merchandise S.
The product outlet 4, the open / close door 19 for opening and closing the product outlet 4, an open / close door drive mechanism (drive mechanism) (not shown) for driving the open / close door 19, and the bucket when located at the carry-out position 15 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the product outlet 4 is formed in the front wall 5a of the vending machine main body 5 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction to communicate the outside with the inside of the vending machine main body 5. The product S is formed in a rectangular shape large enough to take out the product S. On the side walls 4a constituting the left and right edges of the product outlet 4, there are obstacles (hereinafter referred to as "obstacles") such as hands of a purchaser or a mischief, which hinder the closing of the opening / closing door 19. An opening sensor 20 (obstacle detecting means) for detecting whether or not the product is inserted into the product take-out section 3 (inside the vending machine main body 5) from outside through the product take-out port 4 is provided. The aperture sensor 20 is composed of three optical sensors (similar to the above-mentioned commodity / foreign matter sensor) arranged at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction, and all of the optical sensors are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown). It is connected. Therefore, when an obstacle is inserted from the outside into the product take-out section 3 through the product take-out port 4, light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is thereby blocked, so that the obstacle is removed. Is detected.

The opening / closing door 19 is formed in a plate shape slightly larger than the size of the product outlet 4, and is disposed on the back side of the product outlet 4, and is vertically moved by the opening / closing door driving mechanism (not shown). The product outlet 4 is opened and closed by being slid. Specifically, the product outlet 4 is opened and closed by sliding downward when opened and sliding upward when closed. Also, the opening / closing door 19
A rubber cushioning member 19a is attached to the upper end of the rubber member. Thereby, when the purchaser takes out the product S from the product take-out section 3, even if the upper end of the opening / closing door 19 hits the purchaser's hand, the impact can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 1, an operation section 21 operated by a purchaser is provided on the front wall 5a of the vending machine main body 5. The operation unit 21 includes a coin slot 22 for inserting money or a prepaid card, and a bill slot 2.
3 and a card insertion slot 24, a display 25 (display means) for displaying characters of the inserted money and a message for the purchaser, and buttons (numeric keys) 26a on which characters 0 to 9 are respectively written. , A selection button group 26 for inputting a product number given to each product item, a return lever 27 for returning the inserted money, and a return port 28 for returning coins. Instead of the display 25 or together with the display 25, a voice output device for transmitting a message to the purchaser by voice may be provided.

The vending machine body 5 also has a cash detector (not shown) for detecting whether or not money or a prepaid card has been inserted into the coin insertion slot 22, bill insertion slot 23 or card insertion slot 24. (Money detecting means) is provided. The money detecting device is electrically connected to the control circuit (not shown), and outputs an electric signal to the control circuit when the purchaser inputs money or the like.

Further, the vending machine main body 5 is provided with a buzzer (not shown) for generating a warning sound. The buzzer emits a warning sound at the time of sale, for example, when the conveyed product S is not taken out of the bucket 15 even after a lapse of a predetermined time, or when the purchaser makes a later-described take-out request.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the operation of the vending machine 1 at the time of sale will be described focusing on the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 of the product take-out section 3. In the following description, first, sales of normal products (hereinafter, referred to as “normal sales”) will be described, and thereafter, a product S that has been forgotten in a previous sale or a foreign object introduced by mischief will be stored in the bucket 15. The operation of the vending machine 1 when it is present will be described.

At the time of normal sales, first, the purchaser inserts money into the coin insertion slot 22 or the like, or
After the prepaid card is inserted into the, the selection button group 26 is operated to select the product S to be purchased.
Then, the bucket 15 is driven forward and stops in the product passage storing the product S, and stores the product S paid out from the product passage. In this case, the commodity / foreign matter sensor 18 provided in the bucket 15 switches from OFF to ON by detecting the contained commodity S.
Thereafter, the bucket 15 is driven to the carry-out position and stopped. In this case, it is determined that the bucket 15 is located at the unloading position by switching the unloading position switch (not shown) provided behind the product outlet 4 from OFF to ON.

Immediately after the unloading position switch is switched to ON, the opening / closing door 19 starts sliding downward,
When the upper half of the product outlet 4 is opened, the bucket door 16 starts opening. Then, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 are completely opened, and the inside of the bucket 15 and the outside communicate with each other via the product outlet 4.

Thereafter, when the purchaser reaches his / her hand in the bucket 15, the opening sensor 20 changes from OFF to ON.
Is detected by switching to. When the purchaser takes out the product S from the inside of the bucket 15, the product / foreign matter sensor 18 is switched from ON to OFF.
Switches from ON to OFF. About one second after the switching of the opening sensor 20, the bucket door 16 starts closing, and when almost half of the front surface of the bucket 15 is closed, the opening / closing door 19 starts closing. And opening and closing door 1
After vending machine 9 completely closes product exit 4, vending machine 1
Is in a sales standby state, and can be used (purchase of a product) by a subsequent purchaser.

In the above case, if the product S is not taken out of the bucket 15 within about 5 seconds after the opening and closing door 19 is opened, the buzzer (not shown) continuously sounds a warning sound, The display 25 displays a message such as "Please take out the product". After the opening of the opening / closing door 19, even if about 20 seconds have passed, the product S
Is not taken out, the bucket door 16 and the opening / closing door 19 are closed, and the vending machine 1 enters a sales standby state. As described above, since the opening and closing door 19 is opened and is securely closed after the elapse of a predetermined time, the induction of mischief is suppressed as compared with the case where the opening and closing door 19 is kept open until the product S is taken out of the bucket 15. be able to.

Next, the above-mentioned merchandise S that has been forgotten in normal sales as described above, or a foreign substance that has been introduced due to mischief (hereinafter, these are collectively abbreviated as “forgotten merchandise S”). The operation of the vending machine 1 when the vending machine 1 exists in the bucket 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this case, it is assumed that both the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 are closed during standby for sales.

First, when the subsequent purchaser inserts money into the coin insertion slot 22 or the like, this is detected by a money detection device (not shown) (S1: Yes). Immediately after this, it is determined from the detection signal of the product / foreign matter sensor 18 whether or not the product S or the like that has been left behind is present in the bucket 15 (S2). Specifically, when the commodity / foreign matter sensor 18 is in the ON state, the commodity S or the like that is forgotten is taken out of the bucket 15.
(S2: Yes). After this determination, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 are opened (S3), a warning sound is sounded by the buzzer (not shown), and a message to the effect that the forgotten product S or the like should be taken out is displayed on the display 25. As a result (S4), a request is made to the subsequent purchaser to take out the forgotten goods S or the like. In step 2 (S2), the product
When the foreign object sensor 18 is in the OFF state, that is, when there is no commodity S or the like left in the bucket 15, the normal sale is performed (S 7).

In the case where the above-mentioned removal request is made and the following purchaser removes the item S or the like left behind from the bucket 15 (S5: Yes), the opening sensor 20 is turned on as in the case of the normal sale. After switching from to OFF, about 1 second later, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 are closed (S6). Then, the vending machine 1 can select the product S, and when the subsequent purchaser selects the product S that he / she wants to purchase, the vending machine 1 performs the same operation as that of the normal vending (S7).

On the other hand, irrespective of the above retrieval request,
When about 20 seconds have elapsed after the opening and closing of the opening / closing door 19 in a state where the forgotten goods S and the like are not taken out from the inside of the bucket 15 (S8: Yes), the opening and closing door is opened similarly to the case where the forgotten goods and the like are taken out. 19 and the bucket door 16 are closed (S9). Thereafter, in the vending machine 1, the money input by the subsequent purchaser is returned (S10).

In this case, the number of times N of closing the opening / closing door 19 in the above-mentioned take-out request is counted by the control circuit (not shown) (S11). Then, when the number of closings N reaches the preset maximum number of times Nmax (S12: Yes), that is, even if the above-described takeout request is made N times, the items S that are forgotten to be taken are stored in the bucket 15.
If it is not taken out from the inside, the control circuit as the sales canceling means stops selling the product S of the vending machine 1 (S13). Thus, when a product S or the like that has been left unremoved is not taken out by one take-out request, the vending machine 1
More sales opportunities can be secured than in the case where sales are stopped immediately. The opening and closing door 1
9 is less than Nmax (S12: N
In o), the vending machine 1 returns to the sales standby state.

Further, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 1
When an obstacle such as the hand of a purchaser or a mischief is inserted from the outside into the product take-out section 3 through the product take-out port 4 during the closing of each of the doors 6, the operations of the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 are changed. Is controlled as follows. That is, when an obstacle is inserted through the product outlet 4, the opening sensor 20 switches from OFF to ON, and the insertion of the obstacle is detected. Then, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 which have begun to close open again. That is, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 do not stop in the state of being closed or keep closing.
Each of them is driven to a position where the front surfaces of the product outlet 4 and the bucket 15 are opened.

Thus, when the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 stop in the state of being closed, the upper ends thereof are easily grasped by a mischief, and the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 themselves are deformed. On the other hand, by opening the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16, it is difficult to grasp the upper ends thereof, and the above-described mischief can be suppressed. In addition, even if the purchaser attempts to take out the product S at the timing when the opening / closing door 19 or the like starts to close, even if the purchaser puts his hand in the product take-out section 3, the opening / closing door 1 once started to close.
9 is open, so that the purchaser can safely take out the product S.

As described above in detail, according to the vending machine 1 of the present embodiment, even if a commodity S or a foreign substance is left in the commodity take-out section 3, it is possible to carry out the commodity S to the commodity take-out section 3. Prior to this, by making a request to take out the forgotten product S or the like and having the subsequent purchaser take out the product, it is possible to continue selling the product S without immediately stopping the sale of the product S. This allows the subsequent purchaser to use the vending machine 1, while
The vending machine 1 itself can secure a sales opportunity as much as possible. In addition, only when there is a purchaser who wants to purchase the product S in front of the vending machine 1, the opening / closing door 19 and the bucket door 16 can be opened, and a request to take out the forgotten product S or the like can be made. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modes. For example, it is not limited to see-through vending machines,
The present invention is applicable to various vending machines in which a product outlet is automatically opened and closed. Alternatively, the bucket door provided on the front surface of the bucket may be omitted, and the bucket may be configured so that the product in the bucket can be taken out only by opening and closing the product opening through the opening / closing door.

Further, in the embodiment, when a forgotten product or foreign matter is present in the product removal section, the sale of the product is not immediately stopped. In addition to this, the vending machine installer or the administrator For example, in the above case, a switch setting may be made so as to immediately stop selling the product. Thus, in the above case, whether to immediately stop selling the product can be selectively set according to the situation, and the degree of freedom in setting the operation of the vending machine can be increased.

Further, the opening / closing door may be made of a transparent material. In this case, the purchaser can view the forgotten commodities and foreign materials in the product take-out section from the outside through the opening / closing door before purchasing the commodity, that is, before the opening / closing door is opened. Accordingly, even the purchaser who uses the vending machine for the first time as described above can easily understand the meaning of the above-described takeout request. In other words, for example, if the product is already in the product removal unit, the product is not the product purchased by the purchaser, but is simply forgotten or put in mischief. That it means taking out the product,
It can be easily understood by the buyer.

Further, the details of the product outlet, the opening and closing door, the bucket and the bucket door shown in the embodiment are merely examples, and can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

[0046]

As described in detail above, the vending machine of the present invention can be used by a subsequent purchaser even if a product is left in the product take-out section or a foreign object is thrown in by mischief. In addition to this, it has the effect of enabling the use of the product and securing as many sales opportunities as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state immediately after a bucket containing goods has stopped at a carry-out position.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state immediately after an opening / closing door and a bucket door are opened.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing opening / closing control of an opening / closing door and a bucket door.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing opening / closing control of the opening / closing door and the bucket door at the time of sale.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 3 Merchandise take-out part 4 Merchandise outlet (opening) 15 Bucket 16 Bucket door 18 Merchandise / foreign matter sensor (commodity / foreign matter detecting means) 19 Opening / closing door 20 Opening sensor (obstacle detecting means) 25 Display (display means) ) S product

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaki Nakayama 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Tomoya Azumi 2-chome Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kei Kaneko 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 3E044 AA01 CC10 DD01 EA08 EA20 EB01 FB03 FB17

Claims (5)

[Claims] At the time of sale, an automatic vending machine which unloads a product taken out through the opening by opening and closing an opening facing the outside of the product unloading unit while unloading the product to a product unloading unit. A drive mechanism, an opening / closing door driven by the drive mechanism to open and close the opening, and a product for detecting whether or not a product or a foreign substance other than the product is present in the product removal unit. Foreign matter detection means, prior to carrying out the goods at the time of sale, that the commodity or foreign matter is present in the commodity take-out section, when the commodity / foreign matter detection means detects, to open the open / close door, Control means for controlling the drive mechanism; and when the control means opens the open / close door,
Display means for displaying that a product or foreign matter should be taken out of the product take-out section. 2. A cash slot for inserting money, and money detecting means for detecting whether or not money has been inserted into the money slot, wherein the money detecting means inputs money. Is detected, and
The opening of the opening / closing door and the display by the display unit are performed when the product / foreign matter detection unit detects that a product or a foreign substance is present in the product removal unit. Item 5. The vending machine according to Item 1. 3. After the opening of the opening / closing door, when it is detected by the product / foreign matter detecting means that a product or foreign matter is present in the product take-out section for a predetermined time, the control means: The drive mechanism is controlled so as to close the opening / closing door.
Vending machine described in. 4. A sales stop means for stopping sales of a product,
4. The automatic selling apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: when the number of times the control means closes the opening / closing door reaches a plurality of predetermined times, the selling stop means stops selling the product. Vending machine. 5. An obstacle detecting means for detecting whether an obstacle has been inserted into the product take-out part from the outside through the opening, and wherein the obstacle is detected during the closing of the opening / closing door. The control means controls the driving mechanism so as to open the opening / closing door when the obstacle is detected by the means.
The vending machine according to any one of the above.