JP2001344639A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a barrier-free automatic vending machine allowing anybody regardless of adult, child and the handicapped riding a wheelchair to purchase merchandise. SOLUTION: The automatic vending machine is equipped with a merchandise display part, a merchandise selecting button, a coin feeding port, a return lever and a merchandise take-out port on the front surface of a cabinet 1. The machine carries the merchandise selected by a customer to the merchandise take-out port from the merchandise housing part within the cabinet, based on a sales command. Selection buttons 5, the coin feeding port 6, the return lever 7 and merchandise samples 4 are mounted on a vertically moving type operation part 2 arranged on the front surface of the cabinet 1 so as to move the operation part down to an easy-to-operate position corresponding to the height of the customer from a high home position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in a general vending machine configuration currently on the market, a door outside the front of a main body cabinet having a product storage section is concentrated on an upper surface area of the door. Product display section (display room), product selection buttons, and coins (coins, bills,
And a card (such as a prepaid card)) slot and a return lever are provided, and a product outlet is opened at the bottom of the door.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional vending machine, a product selection button, a coin slot, a return lever, and the like operated by a user with his / her own hand when purchasing a product are provided by an adult. It is laid out in a position that is easy to operate according to the average height and is fixedly arranged. Disabled people in wheelchairs, short children etc. can not reach the money slot and product selection button, There is a problem with services such as the inability to purchase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and solves the above-mentioned problems, thereby making it possible to easily purchase goods without separating adults, children, and disabled persons in wheelchairs.・ To provide free vending machines.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a product display unit, a product selection button, a currency slot, a return lever, and a product outlet on the front of a cabinet. In a vending machine that takes out a product selected by a customer from a product storage section in a cabinet warehouse to a product take-out outlet based on a sales order, the above-mentioned product selection button, coin slot, and return lever are collectively placed on the front of the cabinet. It is mounted on a movable operating unit arranged so that the operating unit is moved from a home position to a position where it can be easily operated according to the height of the user when selling goods (claim 1).
Specifically, it can be configured in the following manner.

(1) The operation unit is a vertically movable box that can be moved up and down, and a product selection button, a coin slot, a return lever, and a product sample are provided in the box. (2) The operation unit is a drum type box that can be rotated and moved, and a product selection button, a money insertion slot, a return lever, and a product sample are dispersedly arranged around the box (claim 3).

(3) Detecting the height of the user when selling the product,
Control means is provided for moving the operation unit from the home position to a position where the user can easily operate based on the detection signal (claim 4). (4) There is provided control means for automatically returning the operation unit from the moving position to the home position after the end of the selling operation (claim 5).

According to the above configuration, even a short person, a child, and a handicapped person in a wheelchair can purchase a desired product by inputting money and operating a product selection button with his / her own hands without being separated. it can. In particular, by providing the control means (3) and (4), the usability of the vending machine is further improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. [Embodiment 1] FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (d) show an embodiment corresponding to claims 1 and 2 of the present invention, in which a cabinet 1 in which a product storage section (not shown) is mounted in a refrigerator. A vertically movable operation unit 2 is provided on the front surface, and a product outlet 3 for taking out products taken out of the product storage unit is opened at a lower portion of the cabinet 1. Here, the operation unit 2 has the following configuration. That is, an elevating mechanism (not shown) combining a rail, a chain, a wire, and the like is provided on the front surface of the cabinet 1.
The vertical box is guided and supported so as to be able to move up and down, and a product sample 4, a selection button 5, a coin slot 6, a return lever 7 and the like are collectively arranged side by side in the vertical box. Although not shown, in a vending machine in which a prepaid card, an electronic money card expected to be widely used in the future, or the like can be used, a card slot is provided in the operation unit 2 in parallel with the coin slot 6. Can be. Further, in the illustrated example, a lifting operation lever 8 is
, So that the operation unit 2 can be moved to a height position that can be reached by manual operation.

With this configuration, when the vending machine is on standby for sale, the operation unit 2 waits at the home position (height position corresponding to the height of the adult) at the height shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). ing. When a short child or a disabled person in a wheelchair purchases a product by himself, the operation unit 2 is grasped by pulling down the operation lever 8 and pulled down, for example, as shown in FIG. Move to the low position shown in (d). As a result, the money input port 6 and the selection button 5 can be easily reached even with a short child or in a wheelchair, so that the product can be purchased without any inconvenience.

Further, by displaying a plurality of product advertisements on the front area of the cabinet 1 by dividing the advertisement into upper and lower rows, an advertising surface behind the operation section 2 comes to the front as the operation section 2 moves up and down. For example, a display effect with a high appeal can be obtained, and the entire front surface of the cabinet can be used as an advertising surface. Embodiment 2 FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) show an applied embodiment corresponding to claim 3 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the operation unit 2 has a rotary drum type structure, and the front surface of a drum type box supported rotatably (rotatably) on the front surface of a cabinet 1 via a bearing support mechanism (not shown) is provided with a transparent light. Parts such as a product sample 4, a selection button 5, a money slot 6, a return lever 7 and the like are arranged as shown in the figure while being covered with a plate and dispersed in a peripheral area in the box. Each product sample (for example, a can product) 4 is suspended and supported on the back of the box via the hook 4a in a hanging posture with the center of gravity down, and is always displayed vertically regardless of the rotation position of the operation unit 2. The posture is maintained, and the selection button 5 is arranged at the outer peripheral position of the product sample 4.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the home position of the operation unit 2, and the operation unit 2 normally stops at this position and sells. On the other hand, FIGS. 2 (c) and 2 (d) show the operation unit 2 rotated 90 ° clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 2 (a) so that even a child or a disabled person in a wheelchair can reach the money slot 6. Indicates the state. That is, a short child or a disabled person in a wheelchair inserts money at a position where the money inlet 6 is at the lowest position as shown in the figure, and then further presses the selection button 5 corresponding to the desired product sample 4. The product is sold by turning the operation unit 2 (drum-type box) and pressing the selection button 5 so that the product can be reached.

In this embodiment, as the product sample 4 arranged on the upper side of the operation unit 2 moves to the lower side, the rear panel portion of the operation unit 2 hidden behind the product sample 4 is removed. Since it becomes visible from the front, this part can also be used as an advertising surface. [Embodiment 3] Next, an embodiment according to claim 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, there is provided a control means for automatically moving the operation unit 2 from the home position to a position where it can be easily operated according to the height of the user of the vending machine. As shown in FIG. The control means includes a human body detector 9 for detecting that the purchaser has approached the front of the vending machine, and a height detector 10 for detecting the height of the purchaser.
And an electric drive unit 11 for moving the operation unit 2, and the signals of the detection units 9 and 10 are taken in and the drive unit 11 is operated.
And a control unit 12 for giving a movement command of
FIG. 3B shows a flowchart of the control operation.

That is, when the human body detecting section 9 detects the purchaser approaching the vending machine in step S1, the height detecting section 10 detects the height (height of the head) of the purchaser in the following step S2. I do. Also, based on the detection signal, step S3
In a position where the drive unit 12 can easily operate the operation unit 2 from the home position in accordance with the height of the purchaser according to a command from the control unit 11, for example, if the purchaser is a person in a wheelchair, the first embodiment described above is used. , 2, the operation unit 2 is moved from the home position shown in FIG. 1 (a) or FIG. 2 (a) to the position shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 2 (c). This eliminates the need for the purchaser to pull down the operation unit 2 with his / her own hand, greatly improving the usability on the operation side.

Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, when the operation unit 2 is moved from the home position by a manual operation or the like at the time of selling the product, the operation unit 2 remains stopped at the movement position and does not return to the home position even after a predetermined time has elapsed. Is automatically added to the home position. Therefore, FIG.
(a) In addition to the drive unit 11 and the control unit 12 described in (a), a position detection unit 13 that detects the position of the operation unit 2 and a timer unit 14 that starts a timed operation when the operation unit 2 moves from the home position. To form a control circuit for automatic return, and FIG. 4B shows a flowchart of the operation.

That is, in step S1, the position detection unit 13
Detects the movement of the operation unit 2, the timer unit 14 starts in step S2. In steps S3 and S4, it is determined whether or not the operation unit 2 has returned to the home position within the timer time set by the timer unit 14. Here, the operation unit 2 is returned to the home position by the user. Then, the timer section 14 is cleared (reset), the time limit operation is stopped, and the operation returns to the sales standby state. If the operation unit 2 remains at the moving position even after the lapse of a predetermined timer time, the control unit 12 gives a command to the driving unit 11 by forcing the operation unit 2 to the home position after the timer time ends. Let it return.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a mechanism such as a product selection button, a coin slot, a return lever, etc., directly operated by a customer when purchasing a product, is collectively arranged on the front of the cabinet. It is mounted on an operation unit of the formula, and when the product is sold, the operation unit is moved from the home position to a position that is easy to operate according to the height of the user, so that even short children or handicapped people in wheelchairs It is possible to provide a barrier-free vending machine that can purchase products without inconvenience.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where (a) and (b) are a front view and a side view, respectively, in a state where an operation unit is at a standby position at a home position; (c),
(d) is a front view of the state where the operation unit is moved down,
And side view

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a vending machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) and (b) are a front view and a side view, respectively, in a state where an operation unit is at a standby position at a home position; (c),
(d) Front and side views with the operation unit moved from the home position.

FIG. 3 shows control means corresponding to a third embodiment of the present invention,
(a) is a block diagram of the control circuit, and (b) is a flowchart showing the control operation.

FIG. 4 shows control means corresponding to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
(a) is a block diagram of the control circuit, and (b) is a flowchart showing the control operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cabinet 2 Operation part 3 Product exit 4 Product sample 5 Selection button 6 Money slot 7 Return lever 8 Elevation operation lever 9 Human body detection part 10 Height detection part 11 Drive part 12 Control part 13 Position detection part 14 Timer part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A product display unit, a product selection button, a money slot, a return lever, and a product outlet are provided on the front of a cabinet, and a product selected by a customer from a product storage unit in the cabinet storage based on a sales order. In the vending machine which takes out the product to the product exit, the above-mentioned product selection button, money insertion slot, and return lever are collectively mounted on a movable operation portion arranged on the front of the cabinet, and the operation portion is operated when selling the product. A vending machine characterized in that it is configured to move from a home position to a position that is easy to operate according to the height of a user. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is a vertically movable box which is provided with a product selection button, a coin slot, a return lever, and a product sample. Vending machine characterized. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is a drum-type box rotatable and movable, and is distributed around a peripheral area of the box to select a product, a coin insertion slot, a return lever, and a product sample. A vending machine characterized by disposing. 4. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the height of the user is detected at the time of selling the product,
A vending machine comprising control means for moving an operation unit from a home position to a position where a user can easily operate based on the detection signal. 5. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising control means for automatically returning the operation unit from the moving position to the home position after the vending operation is completed. And vending machine.