JP2001243535A - Automatic vending machine and method for controlling it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine and a method for controlling it capable of selling various kinds of merchandise. SOLUTION: A chain 34 is driven by a drive 46 and when a detection signal is inputted from a sensor 61, driving is stopped to return the chain 34 to a reference position. After then, the chain 34 is additionally driven to judge the positional information of each hook 38 (the address of a hook 38 to which column numbers m, m+1, m+2,..., m+n are set) based on a detection signal from a sensor 58 and to detect the presence/absence of the merchandise G at each pertinent hook 38 based on a detection signal from a sensor 50. Consequently, sold out merchandise or unsold merchandise can be grasped easily and the merchandise can be managed properly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly, to a vending machine having a hanging rack capable of selling various kinds of goods, and capable of seeing through the goods and the selling operation thereof. It relates to the control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vending machines capable of seeing through products in a warehouse and their selling operations have been provided because they can further stimulate the willingness to purchase the products. Such a vending machine is provided with a rack for storing and transporting goods in the refrigerator,
As the type of the rack, a so-called spiral rack, a conveyor rack, a pusher type rack, and the like are known depending on the form of transporting the product.

[0003] Each of these racks is configured to be able to hold the same type of product at a predetermined pitch, and to convey the product by sending out the spiral, the conveyor, and the pusher by the pitch based on a sales command. Have been.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned spiral rack, conveyor rack, and pusher type rack are suitable for selling the same kind of product having the same shape and size, but they are different from those of various kinds. There is a problem that it is not suitable for sale of a special product. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has provided a vending machine capable of selling a wide variety of products (Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-034253,
Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-034254), and the provision of a control method thereof has been desired.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling a vending machine capable of selling a variety of products.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vending machine according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an endless carrier for swingably holding a hook for hanging a product, A carrier driving device for driving the carrier, a reference position detector for detecting a drive reference position of the carrier, a hook position detector for detecting a position of a hook held by the carrier, and the carrier Hanging rack having hook posture detecting means for detecting the posture of the hook held by the hook, and a hook swinging device for swinging based on the position information and the posture information of the hook and dropping the suspended product It is provided with.

The provision of the reference position detecting means, the hook position detecting means and the hook attitude detecting means makes it possible to detect the reference position of the carrier, the address of the hook, and the presence / absence of a product on the hook. Products can be sold efficiently.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a vending machine, wherein a carrier is driven by a carrier driving device, and when a detection signal is inputted from a reference position detecting means, the carrier is driven. After returning to the reference position by stopping the driving, the carrier is further driven from the reference position, the position information of each hook is determined based on the detection signal from the hook position detecting means, and the hook posture detection is performed. The presence or absence of a product at each hook is detected based on a detection signal from the means.

When the carrier returns to the reference position,
Based on the reference position information, it becomes easy to process the position information and posture information of each hook, and it is possible to detect the presence or absence of a product at each hook based on such information. This allows
It becomes easy to grasp sold-out products, unsold products, etc., and appropriate product management becomes possible.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vending machine control method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which column numbers are set on hooks of a hanging rack according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of detecting a rotation reference position of a chain. Is a flowchart showing a hook position detecting operation when the chain is rotated forward, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a hook position detecting operation when the chain is reversed, and FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an operation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a main part of the vending machine, FIG. 7 is a side view showing a hanging rack, and FIG.
Is a plan view showing a hanging rack, FIG. 9 is a front view showing a hook, FIG. 10 is a side view showing a hook, and FIG.
Plan view showing a chain structure for hanging a hook (a)
FIG. 12 is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) showing another chain structure, and FIG. 13 is a plan view (a) and a side view showing a chain structure for a home position. 14 (b) and FIG. 14 are front views schematically showing a vending machine, FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state where an outer door of the vending machine is opened, and FIG. 16 shows a main part of a hanging rack. FIG.

First, the overall structure of a vending machine is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The main body case 1 is for storing and preserving goods, and carrying them out as necessary.
An outer door 2 having a transparent plate 2a and an inner door 3 having a transparent plate 3a are provided so as to be openable and closable. Also, the main body case 1
Two hanging racks 4 are provided on the upper inner wall surface 1a, and a spiral rack 5 and a conveyor rack 6 are provided below them. The spiral rack 5 and the conveyor rack 6 are connected to the rack support plate 1 provided on the main body case 1.
b so that the installation positions can be changed with each other.

Inside the inner door 3, there is provided an XY transport mechanism 7 in which the front surfaces of the racks 4, 5, and 6 are XY coordinate planes. The XY transport mechanism 7 is provided with each of the racks 4, 5, 6
An X-axis transport unit (not shown) that moves horizontally with respect to
A Y-axis transport unit (not shown) that moves in the vertical direction is controlled by a mechanical control unit 86 described later. The X-axis transport unit is provided with a bucket 8 for receiving a product.

On the front face of the outer door 2, a numeric keypad button 18, a display 19, a bill insertion slot 20, a coin slot 21, a coin return lever 22, a coin return slot 23,
The hanging rack rotation button 24 for moving the goods in the hanging rack 4 to confirm the desired product for purchase, the carry-out door 1
A product outlet 17 that communicates with the product 6 is provided. On the other hand, on the back of the outer door 2, a bill validator (not shown) for identifying and storing inserted bills, a coin processing mechanism 25 for identifying and storing coins, and a cash box 2 for collecting coins
6, a keyboard 27 for performing an input operation to a main control unit 80 described later, and the like.

Next, the hanging rack 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
Includes a main body 30 having a substantially trapezoidal planar shape, a sprocket 32 rotatably disposed at four corners of the main body 30, an endless chain 34 rotated along the periphery of the main body 30 by the sprocket 32, and a sprocket 32. A chain drive mechanism 36 that applies a driving force to the chain 34 to rotate the chain 34 forward and backward, a hook 38 that is disposed detachably and swingably at a predetermined pitch with respect to the chain 34, and that suspends the product G, And a hook swinging mechanism 40 for swinging the hook 38 to drop the product G.

The main body 30 is provided with a locking hole 30a, a screw hole 30b, and a locking piece 30c for locking to locking pieces 1c and 1d protruding from the upper inner wall surface 1a. The chain drive mechanism 36 includes a motor 41, a pulley 42 provided therethrough via a speed reduction mechanism, a pulley 43 provided coaxially on one sprocket 32, and a driving force of the motor 41 from the pulley 42 to the pulley 43. And a belt 44 to be transmitted to The chain drive mechanism 36 is controlled by a mechanical control unit 86 described later.

The hook swinging mechanism 40 comprises a driving device 46 for reciprocating a shaft 45 and a slide plate 48 having a rear end connected to the shaft 45 and sliding on a base plate 47 of the main body 30. . The distal end of the slide plate 48 has a pressing piece 48a formed so as to press the pressed piece 38a of the hook 38 when the slide plate 48 is operated. In addition, a display 89 for displaying product information (product price and the like) is provided on the front surface of the main body 30.

The hook 38 is formed of resin, and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the pressed piece 38a,
8b, a backing plate 38d, a hook portion 38c, and a protruding piece 38e. The engagement protrusion 38b is formed so as to be detachably and swingably engaged with an engagement recess 52a of the chain component 52 described later. The protruding piece 38e
The hook 38 protrudes to allow the sensor 50 to detect that the hook 38 has been flipped up by the pressing piece 48a (such as a sold-out state of the product).

The chain 34 is formed of a resin, and is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, the required number of chain members 52 for hanging the hooks 38, other chain members 53, and one chain member 54 for detecting the home position are connected to each other. It is configured. The engagement concave portion 52a of the chain component 52 is
Eight engagement projections 38b are formed so as to be detachably and swingably engaged. The concave portion 52b is provided with a leaf spring (not shown) for holding the posture of the hook 38 when the hook 38 is flipped up.

The guide pieces 52c, 53a, 54a of the chain members 52, 53, 54 and the contact surfaces 52d,
53c and 54c are provided for stabilizing the operation of the chain 34. The protruding piece 52e is provided so as to allow the sensor 58 to detect position information (address) of the hook 38. The projecting piece 54d is provided so as to allow the sensor 61 to detect reference position information (home position) of the chain 34. The guide pieces 53a,
The 54a and the projecting piece 54d are attached to the chain members 53 and 54 by screws 53b and 54b, but may be formed by integral molding.

Each hook 38 of the hanging rack 4 thus formed has a different selection number, that is, a column number (m, m + 1, m + 2, m +), as shown in FIG.
3,..., M + n; m and n are integers).

The control block diagram of the vending machine configured as described above is as shown in FIG. In the figure,
The members already described are given the same reference numerals. The main control unit 80 controls various data (for example, price, time, product hook address,
Based on the recommended products, etc., it controls the entire vending machine in addition to the mechanical control unit 86. The door switch 82 detects the open / closed state of the outer door 2 (or the inner door 3), and is provided on the main body case 1. The human sensor 84 is for detecting whether or not there is a product purchaser in front of the outer door 2, and is provided on the outer door 2, for example. The mechanical control unit 86 controls the hanging rack 4 based on the transmission data from the main control unit 80.
Also, control information from the mechanical control unit 86 (for example, column number, price data, sales data, address, etc.)
Can be stored in memory means.

Next, a control method of the vending machine will be described. Hereinafter, the operation of the hanging rack 4, which is a main part of the present invention, will be described, and the description of the operation of the spiral rack 5 and the conveyor rack 6 will be omitted.

First, the operation of returning the chain 34 to the reference position (home position) will be described with reference to FIG. The motor 41 of the hanging rack 4 is operated to rotate the chain 34 (Step S10). Then, the chain 34 continues until the chain 61 for detecting the home position is detected by the sensor 61 (Step S).
11 No), it rotates. When the home position is detected (Yes at Step S11), the motor 41 is stopped (Step S12), and the home position of the chain 34 is determined.

Next, the operation of detecting the position (address) of the hook 38 will be described for the case where the chain 34 is rotated forward and the case where the chain 34 is rotated reversely. When the chain 34 is rotated forward, the number of movements to the target hook is set as shown in FIG.
20), the motor 41 of the hanging rack 4 operates (step S21). If there is an input from the sensor 58 that detects the rotational position of the chain 34 (step S22)
Affirmative), the data of the count number is subtracted (step S).
23), the movement count number up to the target hook is determined (step S24).

When the count number at the current position becomes 0, it is determined that the target hook has been reached. If the count has reached the target hook (Yes at step S24),
The motor 41 is stopped (step S25), and enters a standby state (step S26). If there is no input from the sensor 58 (No at Step S22), the data of the count number is not subtracted. As described above, if the count has not reached the target hook (No at Step S24), the above operation is repeated until the count reaches the target hook, whereby the position of the hook 38 is detected.

On the other hand, when the chain 34 is rotated in the reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 4, the only difference is that the data of the count number is added (step S33).

Next, the operation of detecting the presence / absence of a product at each hook 38 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the motor 41 of the hanging rack 4 is operated to rotate the chain 34 (Step S40). Then, if there is an input from the sensor 58 (Yes at step S41), it is determined whether or not there is a product of the hook 38 based on the presence or absence of the input (product sold-out signal) from the product presence / absence detection sensor 50 (step S42).

If there is an input from the sensor 50 for detecting the presence or absence of a product (Yes at step S42), the column m (see FIG. 1)
Is set to the data of no product (step S43),
The column number is added (step S44), and it is determined whether the chain 34 has returned to the home position (step S45). On the other hand, if there is no input from the sensor 50 (No at Step S42), the column number is added (Step S44), and it is determined whether or not the chain 34 has returned to the home position (Step S45).

When the chain 34 returns to the home position (Yes at step S45), the motor 41
Is stopped (step S46), and a standby state is set (step S47). The above operation (steps S41 to S4
4) is repeated until the chain 34 returns to the home position (No at Step S45). Thus, the presence or absence of the product G is detected for each hook 38.

As described above, according to the vending machine and the control method thereof according to this embodiment, the reference position (home position) of the chain 34, the position (address) of the hooks 38, and the presence / absence of a product of each hook 38 are determined. Simple and quick detection is possible with a simple configuration.

[0033]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention (claim 1), an endless transport body for swingably holding a hook for hanging a product, and the transport body A carrier driving device to be driven, reference position detecting means for detecting a drive reference position of the carrier, hook position detecting means for detecting a position of a hook held by the carrier,
A hook posture detecting means for detecting a posture of the hook held by the carrier, and a hook swinging device for swinging based on the position information and the posture information of the hook, and for dropping the suspended product. Since the hanging rack is provided, it is possible to detect the reference position of the carrier, the address of the hook, and the presence / absence of a product at the hook, and it is possible to efficiently sell a wide variety of products.

Further, according to the vending machine control method of the present invention (claim 2), the carrier is driven by the carrier driving device, and when the detection signal is input from the reference position detecting means, the carrier is driven. After returning to the reference position by stopping the driving of the carrier, the carrier is further driven from the reference position, and the position information of each hook is determined based on the detection signal from the hook position detecting means, Since the presence / absence of a product at each hook is detected based on a detection signal from the hook attitude detecting means, subsequent position information and attitude information of each hook can be easily processed based on the reference position information of the carrier. In other words, the presence or absence of a product at each hook can be detected based on the information. Therefore, it becomes easy to grasp sold-out products, unsold products, etc., and appropriate product management becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which column numbers are set on hooks of a hanging rack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of detecting a rotation reference position of a chain.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of detecting a hook position when the chain is rotated forward;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of detecting a hook position when the chain is reversed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of detecting the presence or absence of a product at each hook.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a main part of the vending machine.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a hanging rack.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a hanging rack.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a hook.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a hook.

11A and 11B are a plan view and a side view showing a chain structure for hanging a hook.

FIG. 12 is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) showing another chain structure.

FIG. 13 is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) showing a chain structure for a home position.

FIG. 14 is a front view schematically showing a vending machine.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state where an outer door of the vending machine is opened.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a main part of a hanging rack.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Hanging Rack G Product 34 Chain 36 Chain Drive Mechanism 38 Hook 38e Projection 40 Hook Swing Mechanism 41 Motor 46 Drive 50, 58, 61 Sensor 52, 53, 54 Chain Constituent Body 52e, 54d Projection 80 Main Control Unit 86 Mechanical control unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Tamura 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Kawakami 1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-ku, Kanagawa No. 1 Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3E044 AA01 BA01 BA02 CA01 CA02 CA03 CC03 CC10 DB05 EA03 FB01 FB05 FB07 FB09 3E046 AA04 BB01 CB01 CB03 CB06 CB10 CC03 DA03 DA07 EA01 EA11 EA13 EB01 FA04 FA01 GA03

Claims (2)

[Claims] An endless carrier for swingably holding a hook for hanging a product; a carrier driving device for driving the carrier; and a reference position detecting means for detecting a drive reference position of the carrier. Hook position detecting means for detecting the position of the hook held by the carrier; hook position detecting means for detecting the posture of the hook held by the carrier; and based on the position information and the posture information of the hook. A vending machine provided with a hanging rack having a swinging device for swinging the product and dropping the suspended product. 2. An endless carrier for swingably holding a hook for hanging a product, a carrier driving device for driving the carrier, and a reference position detecting means for detecting a driving reference position of the carrier. Hook position detecting means for detecting the position of the hook held by the carrier; hook position detecting means for detecting the posture of the hook held by the carrier; and based on the position information and the posture information of the hook. And a hook swinging device for dropping a suspended product, and a vending machine provided with a hanging rack having: a driving device for driving the carrier by the carrier driving device; After returning to the reference position by stopping the driving of the carrier when a detection signal is input from the reference position detection unit, the carrier is further driven from the reference position,
The position information of each hook is determined based on a detection signal from the hook position detecting means, and the presence or absence of a product at each hook is detected based on a detection signal from the hook attitude detecting means. Characteristic vending machine control method.