JP2001023019A - Display device for quantity of remaining commodity of vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device for an automatic vending machine capable of easily confirming the quantity of remaining commodities of every commodity storage part. SOLUTION: This display device consists of a sale enable lamp 13 and a sold-out lamp 14, i.e., the display parts which are arranged corresponding to every commodity selection button 8, a remaining quantity detection part 15 which detects the quantity of remaining commodities of every commodity storage part 3 corresponding to each button 8 and a control part 17 which shows the quantity of remaining commodities of the part 3 detected by the part 15 by means of both lamps 13 and 14. In such a constitution, the quantity of remaining commodities of the parts 3 can be simultaneously displayed by means of the lamps 13 and 14 corresponding to the buttons 8 respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for displaying the remaining amount of goods in a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various vending machine confirmation methods have been developed for vending machines so that installers and patrol staff of vending machines can easily confirm the remaining amount of commodities in each commodity storage unit. For example, there is a configuration in which the number of items stored in each product storage unit is stored in advance, and is subtracted each time a product is paid out.

[0003]

However, in all of the conventional methods for checking the remaining amount of goods, the front door is opened and a predetermined input operation is performed using a keyboard provided on the back of the front door, so that a display near the keyboard is displayed. 1 for each product
Since each item is displayed one by one, it takes time and effort, it is difficult to know which product is low in the remaining amount, and the operation method is complicated and hard to remember.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product remaining amount display device of a vending machine which can easily confirm the product remaining amount in each product storage section.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a vending machine product remaining amount display device, comprising: a display unit provided corresponding to each product selection button; The remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the commodity in each commodity storage section corresponding to each commodity selection button, and the display section and the remaining amount detecting means are provided, and are detected by the remaining amount detecting means. And a control unit for displaying the remaining amount of the product in each product storage unit on each display unit.

According to the above arrangement, the control section performs a preset simple operation which is recognized as a remaining amount display instruction, so that the remaining amount of each product detected by the remaining amount detecting means can be changed for the product. Can be displayed on the display unit corresponding to the item selection button of the item, and it is possible to easily confirm which item is low in the remaining amount. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for displaying the remaining amount of goods of a vending machine, wherein the display unit is provided with an existing lamp built in each product selection button such as a sold-out lamp or a sellable lamp. It is characterized by having done.

According to the above configuration, the remaining amount of the product can be displayed using the existing lamp, so that the device configuration can be simplified. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the device for displaying the remaining amount of a vending machine according to the first or second aspect, the control means may include a display state of a lamp provided with a remaining amount of the product on the display unit. Characterized by the following.

According to the above configuration, a predetermined range of the remaining amount of the commodity is preliminarily allocated to the display state of the lamp, that is, one of lighting, blinking, and extinguishing of one lamp, or when there are a plurality of lamps, to each lamp. By doing so, you can know the approximate remaining amount of the product just by looking at the lamp. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for displaying a remaining amount of goods of a vending machine.
In the configuration according to any one of the third aspects, the control means is configured to display the remaining amount of the commodity when the front door is opened.

According to the above configuration, the remaining amount of the product can be displayed by a simple operation of opening the front door. The product remaining amount display device of the vending machine according to claim 5,
In the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control means is configured to display the remaining amount of the product when the change return lever is kept in the rotating position for a predetermined time or more.

According to the above configuration, the remaining amount of the product can be displayed by a simple operation of rotating the change return lever.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the vending machine main body 1 stores a plurality of products 2 (2a, 2b,...) Of the same type, and has a product payout function of paying out products in the order of replenishment. A product storage unit 3 (3a, 3b,...) Is provided, and an inner door 4 that opens and closes an opening including a product replenishment port of each product storage unit 3 and a plurality of product samples 5 (5a, 5b,. The front door 6 displayed on the reception side is attached.

A display input unit 7 having a display unit 7a and an input key 7b is provided on the back surface of the front door 6, and a product storage of the product 2 corresponding to each product sample 5 is provided below each product sample 5 on the front surface. A plurality of product selection buttons 8 (8a, 8b,...) Associated with the unit 3 are provided, and a product payout exit 9, a charge receiving unit 10, a change return lever 11, and a refund unit 12 are provided. Each product selection button 8 is provided with a sellable lamp 13 for indicating a sellable product whose amount is equal to or less than the input amount, and a sold-out lamp 14 for indicating a sold-out state.

The vending machine main body 1 also includes a remaining amount detecting unit 15 for detecting the remaining amount of commodities in each commodities storage unit 3 and a front door 6.
A front door opening / closing detection sensor 16 for detecting the opening / closing of the vehicle, and a control unit 17 having a calculating unit and a comparison determining unit are provided. The control unit 17 controls each product storage unit based on output signals from the input key 7b, each product selection button 8, the fee reception unit 10, the change return lever 11, the remaining amount detection unit 15, and the front door open / close detection sensor 16. 3. The display unit 7a, the refund unit 12, each available lamp 13, and each sold-out lamp 14 are operated as follows.

When the merchandise 2 is refilled so that the merchandise 2 is full, for example, both the sellable lamp 13 and the sold-out lamp 14 are turned off. When the user deposits money in the fee receiving unit 10, the payment information and the fee information of the commodity 2 corresponding to each commodity sample 5 are compared in the control unit 17, and as a result, the commodity 2 having a deposit amount or less, for example, the commodity 2a, The sellable lamps 13a and 13b of the product selection buttons 8a and 8b corresponding to 2b are turned on. In this state, for example, when the product selection button 8a corresponding to the product 2a is operated, the output signal is recognized by the control unit 17, and as a result, the product 2a of the product storage unit 3a corresponding to the product selection button 8a is set to the product payout exit. 9 and the sellable lamps 13a and 13b are turned off. Change is paid out to the refund unit 12 in response to the operation of the change return lever 11.

While a product is sold, for example, a product 2
When a is sold out, the remaining quantity detection unit 15 detects the remaining number of products in the product storage unit 3a, and outputs the output signal to the control unit 1.
As a result of the recognition by 7, the sold-out lamp 14a of the product selection button 8a corresponding to the product storage section 3a is turned on.
In order to avoid such a sold-out state, the installer of the vending machine or the patrol member appropriately checks the remaining amount of the product in each product storage unit 3. At that time, when the front door 6 is opened, the opening operation is detected by the front door opening / closing detection sensor 16, and the output signal is recognized as a remaining amount display instruction signal by the control unit 17, and the output signal is recognized by each product storage unit 3. The lamp of the selected product selection button 8 is continuously lit or blinked. Taking the product storage unit 3a as an example, when the remaining number of the products 2a is zero, the lighting of the sold-out lamp 14a is continued, and when the number is less than a predetermined number, the sold-out lamp 14a blinks and exceeds the predetermined number. In this case, the sellable lamp 13a blinks.

As described above, by opening the front door 6, the approximate remaining amount of the product 2 in each of the product storage sections 3 can be automatically displayed at the same time. Not. Further, since the sold-out lamp 14 and the sellable lamp 13 which are conventionally provided in the product selection button 8 are used as the display unit, the device configuration including the product selection button 8 can be simplified, and the manufacturing can be simplified. An increase in cost can also be prevented.

Note that, instead of the above-described configuration in which the opening operation of the front door 6 is linked to the remaining amount display instruction, the operation of holding the change return lever 11 in the rotating posture for a predetermined time or more is linked to the remaining amount display instruction. There are various operations associated with the remaining amount display instruction. In the method using the change return lever 11, the remaining amount can be checked without opening the front door 6, so that the trouble and time can be further saved, the number of checks can be increased, and the product can be appropriately replenished.

Since the display of the remaining amount is only required to be understood by the vending machine installer or the patrol staff, that is, it is not necessary to consider the user, and therefore, various indications are made according to the number and type of lamps corresponding to the product selection button 8. Is possible. For example, in the above-mentioned commodity selection button 8a, when the remaining number of commodities is zero, the sold-out lamp 14a continues to be lit. The sellable lamp 13a may blink when the predetermined remaining number R1 is greater than R0, and the sellable lamp 13a may be continuously lit when the predetermined remaining number R1 is exceeded.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a remaining amount display lamp 18 is separately provided, and when the number of remaining goods is zero, the sold-out lamp 14 continues to be lit. Indicates that the remaining amount display lamp 18 flashes at short intervals, the remaining amount indicator lamp 18 flashes at long intervals when the predetermined remaining number R0 is greater than the predetermined remaining number R1, and when the remaining amount exceeds the predetermined remaining number R1. The remaining amount display lamp 18 may be continuously lit.

The remaining amount detecting section 15 is provided with a detecting means for outputting when the payout operation is performed in each product storage section 3, and as described above, the number of stored products 2 in each product storage section 3. Therefore, the payout number 1 may be subtracted every time there is an output from the detection means, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, by opening the front door 6 and performing a predetermined operation with the input keys 7 b of the display input unit 7, the remaining amount of the product 2 in each product storage unit 3 is displayed by the lamp of each product selection button 8. You may comprise.

When each product storage unit 3 is refilled with the product 2,
By performing a predetermined operation using the input keys 7b of the display input unit 7 with the front door 6 opened, the number of remaining products 2 in each product storage unit 3 can be sequentially confirmed on the display unit 7a. Is also good.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the display unit provided corresponding to each product selection button and the remaining unit for detecting the remaining amount of the product in each product storage unit corresponding to each product selection button are provided. Since the quantity detection means and the quantity detection means are linked and connected via the control means,
By performing a predetermined simple operation recognized as the remaining amount display instruction in the control unit, the remaining amount of each product detected by the remaining amount detecting unit is displayed on the display unit corresponding to the product selection button for that product. Can be displayed. Therefore, compared with the conventional device in which the product recognition input and the remaining amount are sequentially displayed on the back side of the front door, the operation is easier, it takes less time and effort, and the remaining amount of any product is reduced. Is displayed all at once, making it easy to understand.

Further, by using an existing lamp as a display unit, the structure of the vending machine can be simplified, and an increase in manufacturing cost can be prevented. By configuring the control means to indicate the remaining amount of the product by the display state of the lamp provided on the display unit, a predetermined range of the remaining amount of the product can be assigned to each display state, and the remaining amount of the product can be easily understood.

By configuring the control means to display the remaining amount of the product when the front door is opened, the remaining amount of the product can be displayed by a simple operation of opening the front door. By configuring the control means to display the remaining amount of the product when the change return lever is held in the rotating position for a predetermined time or more, the simple operation of rotating the change return lever allows the remaining amount of the product to be reduced. Can be displayed. In this case, since the remaining amount can be checked without opening the front door, the trouble and time can be further reduced, the number of times of checking can be increased, and the product can be appropriately replenished.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional type vending machine provided with a product remaining amount display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the vending machine of FIG. 1 with a door opened.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a product storage state in the vending machine of FIG. 1.

4 is an explanatory diagram showing a control mechanism in the vending machine in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a product selection button included in the product remaining amount display device of the vending machine of FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a product selection button included in a product remaining amount display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Product 3 Product storage unit 8 Product selection button 13 Available lamp 14 Sold-out lamp 15 Remaining amount detection unit 17 Control unit 18 Remaining amount display lamp

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A display unit provided corresponding to each product selection button, remaining amount detection means for detecting a remaining amount of products in each product storage unit corresponding to each product selection button, And vice versa, wherein the vending machine is provided in connection with the amount detecting means, and has a control means for displaying the remaining amount of the product in each product storage unit detected by the remaining amount detecting means on each display unit. Commodity remaining amount display device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is an existing lamp built in each product selection button such as a sold-out lamp and a sellable lamp. . 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to indicate a remaining amount of the commodity by a display state of a lamp provided on a display unit. Commodity display device. 4. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means displays the remaining amount of the commodity when the front door is opened. Commodity remaining amount display device. 5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to display the remaining amount of the commodity when the change return lever is kept in the rotating posture for a predetermined time or more.
Item display device for a vending machine according to any one of the above.