JP2001266238A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set vending conditions such as different prices per a storage part and to vend different kinds of articles having different size at the same time by cyclically moving plural partitioned storage parts to a taking-out port. SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine is equipped with a rotary drum 4 provided with the partitioned storage parts 8 which contain articles 31 respectively and cyclically move to the taking-out port 12, a discriminating means which discriminates a storage part 8 at the taking-out port 12, and a condition setting means which sets vending conditions for the discriminated storage parts 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine in which a plurality of storage sections for storing articles are provided inside a partitioned area, and a specific storage section is circulated to an exit to sell articles. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this kind of article selling apparatus, there is an apparatus using a turntable. In this method, a turntable in which a storage section is formed in an outer frame provided with an outlet is intermittently rotated in a horizontal direction about a main shaft to convey articles to the outlet.

[0003]

However, in a conventional vending machine in which a plurality of storage units of this kind move around to an outlet, all the articles stored in each storage unit are of the same type and the same size. , The selling price was also set to a certain amount. Therefore, it was not possible to store different articles in different storage sections and sell them at different prices.

[0004] Therefore, the present invention, in which a plurality of compartments formed in a partitioned manner are circulated to an outlet for sale, different selling conditions such as prices can be set for each compartment.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of simultaneously selling articles of different types and sizes.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine comprising: a main body having a plurality of storage portions for storing articles in a partitioned area and moving around to an outlet; And a condition setting means for setting sales conditions for each of the storage units determined by the determination unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine in which the main body according to the first aspect is rotated about a main shaft, and a plurality of storage portions are defined by partition plates arranged in a radial direction. It consists of drums.

In a vending machine according to a third aspect, the storage section discriminating means according to the first or second aspect detects the contacts arranged in a different combination for each storage section and the contacts. And a detector for judging each storage section from the detected arrangement state of the contacts.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Vending machine 1 is box-shaped outer frame 2
A rotating drum 4 that rotates vertically around a main shaft 3 in a horizontal direction is accommodated therein. The rotating drum 4 is configured to rotate a pulley 7 attached to the main shaft 3 via a drive belt 6 by manually rotating a handle 5 attached to a take-out side of the article 31, and to rotate vertically. Has become. The rotary drum 4 can be rotated forward or backward by a predetermined angle using known means such as a motor, or can be continuously rotated once. Here, the rotating drum 4
Corresponds to the main part of the claim.

The rotary drum 4 has a pair of opposed discs 4.
a inner circumferential wall 4b forming a bottom wall of the storage portion 8
Are provided concentrically with the main shaft 3. The inner peripheral wall 4b
In the present embodiment, fifteen partition plates 4c are radially arranged at equal intervals on the outer surface. Therefore, 15 storage portions 8 are also provided, all of which are formed in the same size and the same shape. However, the sizes and shapes of the storage portions 8 may be different from each other. The projecting end of the partition plate 4c is slightly retracted toward the center axis side from the outer peripheral ends of both discs 4a, and an opening closing belt 9 described below, which contacts the projecting end of the partition plate 4c, is located on the side from the disc 4a. It is prevented from getting out. The inner space defined by each partition plate 4c, the circular plate 4a, and the inner peripheral wall 4b forms a storage portion 8 in which the article 31 is stored, and only the outer peripheral opening 10 is opened for the entry and exit of the article 31. ing.

On the other hand, a plurality of guide rollers 11 are disposed around the outer periphery of the rotary drum 4, and an endless opening / closing belt 9 is loopably wrapped around the guide rollers 11. The opening / closing belt 9 is formed to have the same width as the outer peripheral opening 10 of the storage unit 8, and abuts on the protruding end of the partition plate 4 c at the outer peripheral part of the rotary drum 4 to close the entire outer peripheral opening 10 and rotate with the rotation. The storage section 8 in which the article 4 is stored moves downward, and the article 4 is
From falling off.

On the other hand, an outlet 12 is formed on the front side of the outer frame 2, and the outlet 12 is made of a transparent plate or a semi-transparent plate which opens and closes forward with an opening shaft 14 attached to the upper portion thereof as an axis. Cover 13. Although not shown, the open / close door 13 is provided with a well-known locking mechanism to prevent unauthorized opening by others, and locks / unlocks in response to a signal from a control unit (not shown).

A display unit 15 for switching and displaying an article name, a price, and the like of the article 31 that has reached the outlet 12 is provided at an upper portion on the front side of the outer frame 2. Then, on the upper right side, a decision switch 16 for determining the article 31 by pressing when the article 31 to be purchased arrives at the outlet 12
And a money input unit 17 for inserting money corresponding to the price of the article 31. The decision switch 1
Although not shown, 6 and money input unit 17 are connected to a control unit having a built-in computer by a cable.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, four points 22 are provided on the outer surface of one disk 4a of the rotating drum 4 on a radial straight line for each storage portion 8. They are arranged at intervals, and a predetermined point 2
2, a contact 23 is arranged, and four detectors 24 are linearly arranged at arbitrary positions on the side of the outer frame 2 so as to face the point 22. In this embodiment, the contact 23 uses a terminal protrusion, and the detector 24 uses a limit switch that is turned on and off by contacting the contact 23. However, a non-contact type sensor such as an infrared sensor can be used as the detector 24, for example. These points 22, contact 2
The detector 3 and the detector 24 constitute a discriminating mechanism 21 as discriminating means.

In the present embodiment, fifteen storage portions 8 are formed, and correspondingly, the points 22 are 4
There are a total of 15 rows, each of which is a row. On the other hand, four detectors 24 are juxtaposed. When the rotary drum 4 is rotated to move the points 22 in the circumferential direction, each of the detectors 24 is determined by whether or not the contact point 23 exists on each point 22. The switch 24 sends an ON signal due to the contact with the contact 23 to the control unit. Here, in this embodiment, 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 15 combinations can be made by changing the arrangement according to the number and positions of the contacts 23 provided at the points 22 per row. Therefore, if only four detectors 24 are mounted on the outer frame 2 in one row, 15 different combinations of signals are transmitted to the control unit depending on the number and arrangement of the contacts 23 of each storage section 8 passing through this part. it can. Here, if it is assumed that the contact 23 that has passed through the detector 24 corresponds to the storage section 8 in the outlet 12, it is possible to determine which storage section 8 is moving to the outlet 12.

Next, setting and display of conditions such as the selling price of the article 31 in each storage section 8 will be described. In order to set sales conditions such as the selling price of the article 31 for each storage section 8, the handle 5 is manually turned in any one direction or while being appropriately inverted, and the rotary drum 4 is rotated via the drive belt 6. Alternatively, the storage unit 8 whose conditions are to be set can be moved to the outlet 12 by automatically rotating the storage unit 8. Then, since the combinations of the arrangements of the contacts 23 provided for each of the storage sections 8 are different from each other, a signal of the detector 24 that comes into contact therewith is sent to the computer of the control unit, and the storage section 8 in the outlet 12 is
Is specified. Therefore, the article 3 is stored in each of the specified storage units 8.
The sales amount and other sales conditions according to 1 are set and stored in the computer. The sales condition data stored in this manner is transmitted to the display unit 15 for each storage unit 8, whereby the sales price, the product name, and other sales information of the article 31 in the storage unit 8 at the outlet 12 are displayed. 15 is displayed.

Next, the purchase of an article by the vending machine of the embodiment constructed as described above will be described. The purchaser manually turns the handle 5 in one direction, or
In the case of automatic operation, a switch (not shown) is pressed to rotate the rotating drum 4. Therefore, the purchaser confirms the type, price, etc. of the article 31 displayed on the display unit 15 at a time, or confirms the article 31 stored through the opening / closing door 13, and selects the article 31 to be purchased. The decision switch 16 of the frame 2 is pressed. Then, the money displayed on the display unit 15 is inserted into the money input unit 17. Then, since the locking of the door 13 is released, the door 13 is opened and the opening 12 is opened.
Is taken out of the article 31.

Here, when the rotary drum 4 rotates, the articles 31 in the storage portion 8 which substantially fall on the lower half of the rotary drum 4 try to drop by their own weight. Since the belt 9 covers the outer peripheral opening 10 of the storage section 8, the article 31 is prevented from falling.

In the above-described embodiment, the opening closing belt 9 is provided along the outer periphery of the rotary drum 4 in order to prevent the article 31 from dropping by its own weight from the outer opening 10 of the storage section 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an immovable cylindrical cover plate may be attached slightly away from the outer peripheral opening 10 of the storage unit 8 to cover the outer peripheral opening 10 of the storage unit 8. However, in the case of such a structure in which the partition plate 4c and the cover plate move relative to each other, a part of the article 4 bites into the gap between the projecting end of the partition plate 4c and the cover plate, which hinders rotation. May cause damage. Therefore, in this embodiment in which the rotating drum 4 rotates in the vertical direction, it is preferable to provide the opening closing belt 9, and in this case, the rotating drum 4 rotates smoothly.

As described above, the vending machine according to the present embodiment is provided with a rotary drum 4 provided with a plurality of storage sections 8 which are sectioned, store therein the articles 31 and move around to the take-out port 12.
And a condition setting means for setting a sales condition for each storage part 8 determined.

Therefore, by rotating the rotary drum 4, the storage section 8 located at the outlet 12 is determined, and sales conditions such as an article name and a price are set correspondingly, and sales information for each storage section 8 is displayed. It is displayed on the unit 15. As a result, articles 3 having different types, sales prices, and the like are stored in each storage section 8.
1 can be stored, and one vending machine 1 can sell many kinds of articles 31.

In the above embodiment, the vending machine 1
Is designed to rotate the rotary drum 4 in the vertical direction. However, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rotary drum 4 may be rotated in the horizontal direction. The vending machine 1 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is basically different from the vending machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 only in the direction of rotation of the rotary drum 4. In the case where the rotating drum 4 rotates in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG.
It is not necessary to provide the opening / closing belt 9 along the outer periphery of the rotary drum 4, and the outer periphery of the rotary drum 4 can be covered with a cover slightly apart from the partition plate 4 c except for the outlet 12. .

In each of the above embodiments, the storage section 8 is
However, these numbers can be set arbitrarily when the present invention is implemented.

Further, the vending machine 1 of each of the above embodiments has a structure in which the rotating drum 4 is provided with a plurality of storage portions 8 and rotates about the main shaft 3, but in the case where the present invention is implemented,
The vending machine 1 is not limited to this, and can be a vending machine 1 having various structures that can move a plurality of storage sections, such as reciprocating.

[0024]

As described above, the vending machine of the present invention is
A main body provided with a plurality of storage sections for storing articles inside the compartments and circulating to an outlet, determining means for determining the storage sections in the outlet, and storing sections determined by the determining means And condition setting means for setting a sales condition for each. Therefore, the storage section located at the outlet is determined by circulating the main body,
Sales conditions such as an article name and a price are set correspondingly. Thereby, each storage unit can store different types of articles such as types and sales prices, and one unit can sell many types of articles.

In the vending machine according to the third aspect of the present invention, the storage section discriminating means includes a contact arranged in a different combination for each storage section and a detector for detecting the contact. Each storage section is determined from the arrangement state of the contacts. Therefore, in particular, each storage section can be determined with a simple configuration and at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a side view of the vending machine of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vending machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a vending machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the inside of the vending machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the vending machine of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 3 Main shaft 4 Rotary drum 4c Partition plate 8 Storage unit 12 Outlet 21 Discrimination mechanism 23 Contact 24 Detector

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body provided with a plurality of storage sections for storing articles inside a compartment formed therein and circulating to an outlet, determining means for determining the storage section in the outlet, and the determining means A vending machine comprising condition setting means for setting a vending condition for each of the discriminated storage units. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body rotates about a main shaft.
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine includes a rotary drum having a plurality of storage sections defined by partition plates arranged in a radial direction. 3. The storage section discriminating means includes a contact arranged in a different combination for each storage section and a detector for detecting the contact, and each storage section is determined based on the detected arrangement state of the contact. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the unit is determined.