JP2002042229A - Automatic ticket vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce vending cost and to improve the convenience of purchase by automatically vending various tickets of different sizes and vending prices. SOLUTION: Various tickets such as gift certificates and admission tickets are sealed in envelopes 3 of a fixed size, one or several sheets each, and the respective envelopes are sorted by contents, put in cassette trays 1a-1p and arranged in the vending machine. The vending machine is provided with a means for displaying the vending price of the tickets sealed in each envelope, and a merchandise pay-out mechanism 12 for selecting and paying out each envelope when money equivalent to the vending price is thrown in.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for tickets such as various kinds of gift certificates and admission tickets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Vending machines for gift certificates, admission tickets, lotteries, telephone cards, tickets, and the like have been conventionally known. By the way, many so-called cash voucher shops have recently opened in Japan that sell various gift certificates, admission tickets, and the like at a lower price than regular prices.

[0003] However, these conventional ticket dealers deal with dozens or hundreds of tickets, and the size and the selling price of the tickets are various, so that they must be sold face-to-face to customers. There was no situation.
That is, since the conventional vending machines are mainly configured for single item sales, they cannot be used for selling various kinds of tickets. For this reason, it is necessary for sales staff to be resident in the store, which increases labor costs and sales costs and limits business hours,
There was a problem that convenience was lacking even for users.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above inconveniences and to provide vending machines suitable for various forms of ticket sales.

[0005]

For this purpose, the ticket vending machine of the present invention encloses one or several tickets, such as a gift certificate and an admission ticket, in an envelope of a fixed size. Envelopes were sorted according to their contents, placed in a cassette tray and placed in a vending machine. Means for displaying the selling price of the ticket enclosed in each of the envelopes, and money corresponding to the selling price were input. A merchandise payout mechanism for selecting and paying out each of the envelopes.
Further, in the ticket vending machine according to the present invention, the cassette tray has a shelf plate shape with an open front surface,
A large number of partition plates are set up adjacent to each other at a predetermined interval, and a large number of envelopes with tickets enclosed therein can be inserted side by side in a standing state in a space between the partition plates. It is characterized by the following. The present invention also provides a ticket vending machine in which a plurality of cassette trays are arranged in upper and lower rows with their front faces aligned, and an envelope gripper moves up, down, left and right in front of the cassette trays in accordance with a payout command. Characterized in that the envelope is gripped and dropped to the payout port.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a ticket vending machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. Reference numerals 1a to 1p denote the cassette tray, which is a shelf plate having an open front surface as shown in a perspective view in FIG. It is established adjacently. Then, various tickets such as a gift certificate and an entrance ticket are enclosed in one or several sheets in an envelope 3 of a fixed size such as a paper envelope or a vinyl envelope. One card can be inserted side by side in a standing position. A predetermined address is assigned to each of the envelope storage portions of each cassette tray partitioned by the partition plate 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a notch formed to expose the envelope 3 above the front edge of each partition plate 2.

The cassette trays 1a to 1p are arranged in the vending machine by opening a door plate 5 provided on the back surface of the vending machine so as to be openable and closable so that the front surfaces thereof are aligned. A transparent acrylic plate 6 is provided on the front of the vending machine. Reference numeral 7 denotes a display such as a CRT provided on the front of the vending machine for displaying product information and the like, 8 denotes a touch operation panel, 9 denotes a cash slot, 10 denotes a change outlet, and 11 denotes a product outlet. .

Reference numeral 12 denotes a cassette tray 1 in a vending machine.
A merchandise dispensing mechanism configured as a two-axis robot arm so that the envelope gripper 15 moves up, down, left and right in front of a to 1p.
b so that the screw shaft is driven to rotate by a motor.
b and 14c are screwed together so that the longitudinal axis 14a moves horizontally, the envelope gripper 15 is supported vertically movably along the longitudinal axis 14a, and a screw shaft 14d is provided between the bridging members 14b and 14c. The screw shaft 14d is attached to the envelope gripper 15
The envelope gripper 15 is moved up and down by rotating the screw shaft 14d by a motor 14e so that the envelope gripper 15 can be stopped at a desired position in front of the cassette trays 1a to 1p. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the envelope gripper 15 is provided with a pair of fingers 18 on a slide plate 17 provided with an operating shaft that is moved back and forth by a reciprocating motor 16. The finger 18 is advanced so as to be opened and closed by the operation of. The finger 18 is advanced and closed, so that the portion of the envelope 3 exposed in the notch 4 can be grasped.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system for operating the ticket vending machine. A main control circuit board 20 composed of a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM is provided on the display 7, the touch operation panel 8, the commodity dispensing mechanism 12, an envelope. The gripper 15 is connected via an input / output device, a keyboard 21 for inputting product information, a storage device 22, and a voice guidance mechanism 2.
3, a money receiving / dispensing management mechanism 24, a receipt issuing machine 25, and a security mechanism 26 such as an interpersonal sensor, a security sensor, and an automatic dial communication unit are connected.

Therefore, the type of ticket in the envelopes 3 placed in the cassette trays 1a to 1p and merchandise information such as the selling price thereof are determined by using the keyboard 21 in accordance with the addresses assigned to the respective envelope storage portions of the respective cassette trays. Then, the merchandise information is stored in the storage device 22 and set up for the vending. As a result, the product information can be displayed on the display 7.

If the user stops for 3 seconds or more before this ticket vending machine, the interpersonal sensor detects and activates the voice guidance mechanism 23, "Welcome. This is a cheap ticket vending machine. Please give voice guidance such as "Please." Then, the user operates the touch operation panel 8
By operating, various tickets and their selling prices are displayed on the display 7, and the desired ticket can be selected. When money corresponding to the selling price is inserted into the cash slot 9, The main control circuit board 20 confirms that the cash-in / pay-out management mechanism 24
Instruct 2 to address the address of the envelope containing the ticket and pay out the envelope.

In response to the dispensing instruction, the commodity dispensing mechanism 12 moves the envelope gripper 15 to that address and stops, moves the finger 18 forward, grasps the corresponding envelope, and retreats. The envelope is discharged from the commodity discharge port 11 by carrying the sheet onto a continuous discharge hopper and opening the finger 18. And the money deposit and withdrawal management mechanism 2
4 discharges the change from the change discharge port 10 as needed.
The sales of the ticket are stored in the storage device 22 and the inventory of the ticket is recorded and managed, and can be displayed on the display 7.

As described above, according to the present invention, a ticket is put in a predetermined size envelope in advance and set at a predetermined address of a cassette tray, so that even if the ticket has various shapes and selling prices, there is no problem. Since it can be sold automatically, it is most suitable for automatic sales of voucher shops handling various kinds of tickets.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the ticket vending machine according to the present invention. In this vending machine, a plurality of push buttons 30 on the front surface of which are displayed product contents and their selling prices. Is provided, the user inserts necessary money into the cash slot 9 and operates a push button of a desired product, whereby the envelope containing the ticket is paid out to the product outlet 11 as described above. I am trying to be.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, one or several tickets such as a gift certificate and an entrance ticket are enclosed in an envelope of a fixed size, and each of the envelopes is enclosed by its contents. Means for displaying the selling price of the ticket enclosed in each of the envelopes, and placing each of the envelopes when money corresponding to the selling price is inserted. Since the system is provided with a commodity payout mechanism for selectively paying out, various kinds of tickets having different sizes and selling prices can be automatically sold, so that the selling cost can be reduced and the convenience of purchase is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette tray showing the embodiment of the ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an envelope gripper showing an embodiment of a ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a to 1p Cassette tray 2 Partition plate 3 Envelope 7 Display 9 Money inlet 11 Merchandise outlet 12 Merchandise payout mechanism 15 Envelope gripper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Envelopes of various sizes, such as gift certificates and admission tickets, are enclosed in envelopes of a certain size for one or several addresses, and the envelopes are sorted according to their contents and placed in a cassette tray. A means for displaying the selling price of the ticket enclosed in each of the envelopes, which is arranged in the vending machine, and a commodity payout mechanism for selecting and paying out each of the envelopes when money corresponding to the selling price is inserted. A ticket vending machine characterized by being provided. 2. The cassette tray has a shelf-like shape with an open front surface, and a number of partition plates are set up adjacent to each other at predetermined intervals, and a ticket is sealed in the interval between the respective partition plates. 2. The ticket vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a large number of envelopes can be inserted one by one side by side in a standing posture. 3. A plurality of cassette trays are arranged in a vending machine at the upper and lower stages with their fronts aligned, and an envelope gripper moves up, down, left and right in front of the cassette trays in accordance with a dispensing command to grip an intended envelope. 3. The ticket vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the ticket vending machine is dropped to a commodity discharge port.