JP2002117445A - Commodity selection switch button device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity selection switch button for automatic vending machine allowing a user to auditorily discriminate whether a commodity selection button touched now is a purchase desired commodity or not by voice reporting the content of a commodity sample corresponding to the commodity selection button when touching the button and to perfectly solve the fear of a mistaken purchase of commodity by the wrong operation of the selection button. SOLUTION: This device comprises a voice information memory 3 for storing the content of each commodity sample 7 and each commodity selection button 6 equipped in conformation to each commodity sample 7. Each commodity selection button 6 comprises an outer case 61 mounted on the operation surface part 82 of a machine body 81, a movable body 62 movably fitted to the outer case, a first operation part 1 for voice reporting the content of the corresponding commodity sample 7 by touching the front part of the movable body, and a second operation part 2 for selecting the corresponding commodity sample 7 by pressing the movable body 62 to the outer case.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product selection switch button device for a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a product selection switch button of a conventional vending machine. The product selection switch button 9 is fitted in a mounting opening 83 provided on the front operation surface portion 82 of the body 81, and each product sample 7 corresponding to each product selection switch button is disposed above. I have.

The product selection switch button 9 is provided with a button case 91 having an upper opening and a bottom, a spring bowl 92 attached to the button case 91, and a fitting outside the spring bowl 92 and outside the mounting opening 83. Movable body (cap body) 9
3

The movable body 93 is opposed to the urging force of the spring bowl 92.
Is pushed down, the push protrusion 94 inside the movable body 93 descends together with the movable body 93. On the other hand, inside the button case 91, a circuit board 97 on which the LED 95, the tact switch 96 and the like are mounted is provided. Accordingly, the push protrusion shaft 94 that moves up and down is opposed to the tact switch 9 that faces through a slight gap.
Turn 6 on and off. When the tact switch 96 is turned on, the product sample 7 (the same product as the product) corresponding to the pressed product selection switch button 9 is selected and carried out.

[0005]

On the front operation surface of a vending machine, a large number of product samples are arranged in a horizontal line at a slight interval, and the product sample rows are vertically spaced at a small interval. Multiple rows are arranged in the direction. Further, a large number of each product selection button is arranged at a predetermined distance below the corresponding product sample, and the product sample and the product selection button are arranged in a vertical sandwich shape as a whole.

[0006] When purchasing a product, the consumer specifies a desired product to purchase by looking at a large number of product sample rows arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions at a slight interval. Next, the consumer moves his / her eyes from the product sample row to the lower selection button row, specifies the product selection button, and presses the selection button to purchase the product.

[0007] By the way, consumers who purchase products at vending machines are not only healthy people with good eyesight. People with low vision or people with visual impairments are also consumers. For example, in the case of a visually impaired person, a specific product can be purchased by storing the switch button position once taught.

However, since a product sample having a similar appearance (for example, a sample having the same appearance only by the difference between "call" and "hot") and a product selection button having exactly the same appearance are arranged in close proximity. However, even a healthy person with good eyesight has a disadvantage in that when he is in a hurry, he or she presses a product selection button different from the desired product and purchases the wrong product.

[0009] Furthermore, in the case of a consumer having impaired visual acuity, it is difficult to specify a product, and the risk of purchasing an incorrect product is extremely high. In particular, since a product sample in the aircraft is sometimes repositioned or replaced with a product sample, button identification based on memory of past product purchases has a high risk of erroneous product purchase, which is inconvenient in purchasing operations. There were disadvantages.

[0010] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and when a product selection button is touched, the contents of a product sample corresponding to the product selection button are notified by voice. Therefore, the present invention provides a product selection switch button device for a vending machine in which it is possible to determine whether or not the currently selected product selection button is a product desired to be purchased, and to eliminate the risk of erroneous product purchase due to erroneous button operation. .

[0011]

In order to achieve this object, a product selection switch button device of a vending machine according to the present invention has the following configuration. The product selection switch button device of the vending machine includes an audio information memory for storing the contents of each product sample, and each product selection switch button provided corresponding to each product sample. An outer case attached to the front operation surface portion of the vehicle, a movable body movably fitted inside the outer case, and a first product that sounds a corresponding product sample by touching the front surface of the movable body. And a second operation unit for selecting a corresponding product sample by pushing the movable body into the outer case.

In the vending machine product selection switch button device having such a configuration, when one of the product selection buttons in the product selection button row arranged below the product sample row is touched, the touched product selection button is pressed. The content of the upper product sample corresponding to is notified by voice.

Therefore, at the moment when the finger of the consumer touches, the contents (product information) of the product sample corresponding to the product selection button, for example, "cold barley tea", "cold lemon soda", "hot""Coffee" or "Hot tea." This allows
The consumer can discriminate whether or not the product corresponding to the switch button currently touching the finger is the product desired to be purchased.

By sequentially touching the product selection switch buttons and sequentially listening to the product contents (product information) to be notified by sound, when the desired purchase product content is notified, the product selection switch button (movable) touched at that time is notified. By pressing the body, the product sample specified by the audio alert (purchased product)
Is selected and carried out of the aircraft.

Therefore, not only a healthy user with good eyesight but also a user with visual impairment can easily perform the troublesome work of searching for and specifying a desired purchase product, and can also prevent the erroneous purchase of a product due to an erroneous push button operation. The disadvantage is completely eliminated.

[0016]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a product selection switch button device of a vending machine. The product selection switch button device includes a voice information memory 3 for storing the contents of each product sample 7 and each product selection switch button 6 provided corresponding to each product sample 7.

The product selection switch button 6 includes an outer case 61 attached to the front operation surface 82 of the body 81, and a movable body 62 movably fitted inside the outer case 61.
And a first operation unit 1 that sounds the content of the corresponding product sample 7 by touching the front surface of the movable body 62 and a corresponding product sample 7 that is pressed by the movable body 62 being pushed into the outer case 61. And a second operation unit 2 for selecting the

The outer case 61 is a synthetic resin-made cylindrical body having an open front surface, and a flange plate 61a is provided around the open surface. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the outer case 61 is attached and arranged in a fitting opening 83 provided on an operation surface portion 82 which is a front surface of a vending machine (machine body) 81.

The movable body 62 is a flat cylindrical hollow case body, the front surface of which is set to the conductive contact portion 11. In the embodiment, the conductive contact portion 11 of the movable body 62 is fitted into the outer case body 61 in a state where the conductive contact portion 11 slightly protrudes from the opening surface of the outer case body 61, and advances and retreats in the outer case body 61 in the front-rear direction. Deployed as possible.

In the embodiment, the first operating section 1 is composed of a conductive contact section 11 of the movable body 62 and an amplifier 12 electrically connected to the conductive contact section 11. It is a touch sensor.

The conductive contact portion 11 is made of a conductive material, for example, a metal plate (zinc, iron, etc.), a metal fiber (stainless steel ultrafine fiber), or a conductive plastic (ABS, P
S, PP, etc.) or a cap made of conductive rubber or the like, and is integrally attached to the front surface of the opening of the hollow case to form the movable body 62. This conductive contact portion 11 is connected to an amplifier 1 mounted on a circuit board 64 of an outer case body 61 described later.
2 are electrically connected.

The touch sensor (first operating section) 1 composed of the conductive contact section 11 and the amplifier 12 is adapted to operate the conductive contact section 11 when a user's finger touches the conductive contact section 11. Detect changes in electrostatic capacity. That is, at the moment when the conductive contact portion 11 is touched, electricity flows (the switch is set to O
N, OFF), product information (voice information) stored in the memory 3 described later is instantly notified.

The second operation unit 2 is provided in connection with the movable body 62 and turns on and off the tact switch 21 provided on the bottom surface of the outer case body 61. The second operation unit 2
A tact switch 21, a protruding shaft portion (switch pressing portion) 22 attached to the bottom surface of a movable body (movable case) 62, a distal end surface attached to the bottom outer surface of the movable body 62, and a base end side peripheral surface formed of an outer case body And a spring bowl body 23 attached to the inner bottom surface of the spring 61.

The spring bowl 23 constantly urges the movable body 62 forward. The protruding shaft portion 22 penetrates the distal end portion of the spring bowl 23 and is opposed to the tact switch (product selection switch) 21 mounted on the circuit board 64 with a slight distance therebetween.

The circuit board 64 on which various electronic components are mounted is electrically connected to a main circuit in the body 81 via a connector 63.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a specific circuit configuration of a product selection switch button device of a vending machine. The first operation unit 1 is a touch sensor [sensor (1)... Sensor (n)] provided corresponding to the number of product samples 7. When a finger touches any of the touch sensors (first operation unit 1), this detection signal is transmitted to the control unit (C
PU / central processing unit) 5.

The control unit (CPU) 5 has a function of writing / reading data (product information) to / from a storage area of the memory 3 to be described later and a function of the first operation unit 1 [sensor ( 1)... Sensor (n)]
, And the second operation unit 2 [switch (1)..., Based on the output signal of
Switch (n)], and has a function of driving and controlling the product identification and unloading mechanism in response to the signal.

The memory 3 stores contents for specifying a plurality of product samples 7. In the embodiment, voice is registered as digital data by voice storage means called a so-called voice memory. The memory 3 has a plurality of storage areas in a divided manner, and stores product contents (product information) of a plurality of product samples 7 for each area.

[0030] That is, for example, information for specifying product contents such as "〇〇 is a call coffee", "〇〇 is a hot coffee", "〇〇 is a cola", "is a lemon juice", and a product price. I remember.

When receiving a detection signal from the first operation unit (sensor) 1, the CPU 5 sends the signal to the sensor 1, that is, the button switch 6.
The content (product information) of the product sample 7 corresponding to the above is read from the memory 3. This data (digital signal) is converted into an electrical signal (analog signal) by a D / A converter, and the sound is notified from the speaker 4.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing another embodiment of the first operation unit 1. In this embodiment, the first operation unit 1 is constituted by an optical sensor. A light-emitting element 1a and a light-receiving element 1b are opposed to each other and are buried near the front surface 62a of the movable body 62 on the opening-side inner peripheral surface of the outer case body 61.

For example, in a normal state, the light receiving element 1b receives light emitted from the light emitting element 1a. When the consumer inserts the tip of a finger into the opening of the outer case body 61 in order to touch the movable body (front part 62a) 62, the light receiving element 1
When a does not receive light, the sensor switch is turned on, and a sound specifying the contents of the product sample 7 is notified.

In the vending machine product selection switch button device having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, any one of the six product selection buttons in the six product selection buttons arranged below the seven product sample columns. When the user touches (the front surface of the movable body 62, that is, the conductive contact portion 11) 6, the content of the upper product sample 7 corresponding to the touched product selection button 6 is notified by voice.

Therefore, at the moment when the finger of the consumer touches, the content (product information) of the product sample 7 corresponding to the product selection button 6, for example, "Cold tea barley. It is 120 yen."
-"Cold lemon soda. 110 yen."-"Hot 〇〇 coffee. 100 yen."-"Hot ミ ル ク milk tea. 110 yen." Is done. Thereby, the consumer can discriminate whether or not the product corresponding to the switch button 6 that is currently touching the finger is the product desired to be purchased.

Product selection switch button (conductive contact part 1)
1) Touching 6 sequentially, listening to the product contents (product information) to be sounded in order, and when the desired purchased product content is notified, the product selection switch button (movable body 62) 6 touched at that time. Is pressed, the product sample 7 (product to be purchased) specified by the voice notification is selected, and the
Is carried out from the product outlet 84 of the product.

Therefore, not only a healthy user with good visual acuity but also a visually impaired user can perform the troublesome task of searching for and specifying a desired purchased product very easily, and the erroneous operation of the push button causes the wrong product to be purchased. The disadvantage is completely eliminated.

[0038]

According to the present invention, as described above, the first operation section for giving a voice notification of the contents of the corresponding product sample by touching the front surface of the movable body, and the first operating section for pressing the movable body are used. When purchasing a vending machine product, the consumer positions the line of sight in the upper product sample row, and the user selects the product selection switch button with his / her finger. , The content of the product sample corresponding to the product selection switch button touched by the finger is notified by voice. Therefore,
As in the related art, there is no need to move the line of sight up and down, up and down and left and right to find a desired purchase product, and it is possible to specify a product sample and a corresponding product selection switch button very easily and reliably at the same time. When the product information notified by voice is the product desired to be purchased, the customer can execute the product selection by a simple operation of simply pressing the product selection button touched by the finger. Therefore, not only a person with normal vision but also a person with poor visual acuity such as amblyopia can achieve an excellent effect of attaining the object of the invention, such as erroneous button selection and erroneous operation to purchase an incorrect product. Have.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of a product selection switch button device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a product selection switch button device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of a product selection switch button device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a vending machine.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a product selection switch button of a conventional vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st operation part 2 2nd operation part 3 Voice information memory 4 Speaker 5 Control part 6 Product selection switch button 7 Product sample 11 Conductive contact part 12 Amplifier 21 Tact switch 61 Outer case body 62 Movable body

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masanori Nishikai 1-13-7 Motomachi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka Izumi Electronics Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3E044 AA01 CA02 EB08

Claims (5)

[Claims] An audio information memory for storing the contents of each product sample, and each product selection switch button provided corresponding to each product sample, wherein each product selection switch button is attached to a front operation surface portion of the machine body. An outer case, a movable body that is movably fitted in the outer case, and a first operation unit that sounds the corresponding product sample by touching the front surface of the movable body. A product selection switch button device for a vending machine, comprising: a second operation unit for selecting a corresponding product sample by pressing a movable body into a case. 2. The first operation unit according to claim 1, wherein the front surface of the movable body is a conductive contact unit, and the first operation unit is an electrostatic touch sensor that detects a change in capacitance. Vending machine product selection switch button device. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the first operation unit is an optical sensor including a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element disposed opposite to each other at an appropriate position on an inner peripheral surface of the outer case. Product selection switch button device. 4. The merchandise selection of a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein said second operation section is a tact switch which is provided in an outer case and is turned on / off by a protruding shaft section which advances and retreats together with a movable body. Switch button device. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice information memory is a voice memory for storing the contents of each product sample as voice information.