JP2005031722A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine for securing safety by preventing mischief, and for reducing costs by simplifying the configuration of this device, and for smoothly selling merchandise. <P>SOLUTION: This vending machine for extracting merchandise conveyed out of a merchandise column 16 to a merchandise outlet 3 from an opening faced to the outside is provided with a merchandise conveying device 11 for receiving the merchandise ejected from the merchandise column 16 at a stand-by position, and for conveying the merchandise to the merchandise outlet 3 after moving to the conveyance position, driving means 13 and 15 for driving it, a merchandise outlet door 4 by which the opening faced to the outside of the merchandise outlet 3 is closed so as to be freely opened/closed, an article detecting means 25 for detecting whether or not merchandise or the other articles exist in the merchandise outlet 3, an outlet door opening/closing detecting means 26 for detecting the opening/closing status of the merchandise outlet door 4 and a merchandise conveyance control means 27 for controlling the driving means 13 and 15 based on the detection results of an article detecting means 25 and the outlet door opening/closing detecting means 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine that includes a product carry-out device for carrying out a product dispensed from a product column to a product take-out unit, and that can take out the product carried out to the product take-out unit through an opening facing the outside. It is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As such conventional vending machines, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-157470 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-135270 are known.
In the former publication, the product delivered from the product column is received by the bucket part of the product delivery device in the standby position, the bucket part rises to the product take-out part, and is provided on the lower part of the bucket part. The conveyed belt is driven to rotate, the product in the bucket portion is delivered to the product take-out unit, and the take-out door that closes the opening of the product take-out unit is opened by the customer, so that the product is taken out. Here, even if the partition plate is provided between the product take-out portion and the bucket portion that moves up and down, interposed between the bucket portion and the product take-out portion, even if a hand is inserted from the product take-out port It is formed so as not to reach the bucket part. In addition, the product take-off section is provided with an exit door opening / closing detection switch for detecting the opening / closing of the product exit door. When this exit door open / close detection switch detects the open state of the product exit door, The operation of the product carry-out device is stopped. That is, by providing the partition plate and the door open / close detection switch in this way, tampering is prevented and safety is ensured.
[0003]
Also, the latter publication discloses that the product delivered from the product rack is cooked in the built-in microwave oven and then transferred onto the stage of the product delivery device at the standby position, so that the elevator of the product delivery device When the stage on which the product is placed by the mechanism is moved upward to the product delivery portion having a predetermined height, the door that closes the opening facing the outside of the product delivery portion is unlocked, and the product can be taken out freely. Is. Here, the lock of the door of the product delivery unit is not unlocked except when the stage is raised to the product delivery unit having a predetermined height in conjunction with the operation of the product delivery device. In other words, this prevents tampering and ensures safety.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2003-157470 A [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-135270
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the vending machine as described above, when a partition plate is provided between the bucket portion and the product take-out unit of the product take-out device, or a lock device interlocked with the product take-out device is provided at the door of the product take-out unit, This causes a problem that the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated. In addition, these partition plates and locking devices need to be formed firmly so as not to be easily broken, so that the cost increases. In addition, in the case where the operation of the product takeout device is stopped when the open state of the product takeout door is detected, when the customer confirms the delivery of the product by opening the product takeout door, the operation of the product takeout device is stopped. As a result, problems such as product not being paid out easily occur.
[0006]
In order to solve such problems, the present invention can prevent mischief and ensure safety, simplify the configuration of the device, reduce the cost, and the customer opens the product outlet door to make the product It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine that can smoothly sell a product without stopping the operation of the product carry-out device even if the delivery of the product is confirmed.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is configured to carry out a product stored in a product column to a product takeout unit, and take out the carried out product through an opening facing the outside of the product takeout unit. A vending machine that enables the product to be discharged from the product column at a standby position and then moved to a delivery position to carry the product to the product take-out unit; and the product delivery Drive means for driving the apparatus, a product outlet door for freely opening and closing a desired opening outside the product take-out part, and an article detection for detecting whether or not a product or other article is present in the product take-out part Means, outlet door opening / closing detection means for detecting the open / closed state of the product outlet door, and commodity delivery control means for controlling the driving means based on detection results of the article detection means and the outlet door opening / closing detection means The Obtain.
[0008]
According to this, the conventional partition plate and the outlet door lock device are eliminated, and the drive of the product carry-out device is controlled based on the detection results of the article detection means and the outlet door opening / closing detection means, thereby preventing mischief. To ensure safety.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, the merchandise take-out control means detects the open state of the merchandise outlet door, and the article detection is detected by the outlet door opening / closing detection means. When the means detects the presence of goods or other goods, the operation of the driving means is stopped, so that even if the customer opens the product outlet door during the delivery of the goods and confirms the delivery of the goods, If a hand or the like is not inserted into the section, the product can be carried out without stopping the operation of the product carry-out device.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first or second aspect, the article detection means detects the presence of a commodity or other articles, and thereafter the outlet door opening / closing detection means is the When the open state of the product outlet door is not detected, the product take-out control means enables the operation of the drive means, leaving the product delivered to the product take-out section as it is, and the product take-out section again. You can pay out goods.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the back side of the front door of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the main body internal structure of a vending machine.
As shown in FIG. 1, the front door 2 covers the front surface of the main body 1 of the vending machine, and inputs a brand panel 31 on which the form of the product is printed, a product selection switch 32 including a numeric keypad, and coins and bills. Money input ports 33a and 33b, an indicator 34 that displays the input amount and the selected product number, a change return lever 35, a coin return port 36 that returns change coins, and a product take-out for the selected product to be paid out The product 3 is provided with a part 3, a product outlet door 4 for closing the desired opening outside the product take-out part 3 so as to be openable and closable, and a lock device 37 for fixing the front door 2 to the main body 1. The brand panel 31 is provided with a sellable display unit 31a that is turned on when a coin or banknote is inserted and reaches its selling price, and a soldout display unit 31b that is turned on when the product is sold out.
[0011]
On the back side of the front door 2, as shown in FIG. 2, a product paid out from a payout outlet 7 provided in an inner door 6 on the main body 1 side, which will be described later, is received at a standby position and raised to a predetermined position. A product transport mechanism unit (product transport device) 11 for sending the product to the product take-out unit 3 is provided. Further, a rear panel 39 including a plurality of fluorescent lamps 38 is provided on the rear side of the brand panel 31, and the brand panel 31 is irradiated with the fluorescent lamps 38 from the rear.
As shown in FIG. 3, a product storage 5 surrounded by a heat insulating wall is provided in the main body 1, and a plurality of product columns 16 for storing products are provided in the product storage 5. Further, below the product column 16 is provided a product delivery chute 10 that guides the product delivered from the product column 16 toward the product transport mechanism 11 through the delivery port 7.
[0012]
In addition, a filling door 9 and an inner door 6 that close the opening on the front surface of the product storage 5 are provided at the front of the main body 1. More specifically, the former filling door 9 has a heat insulating property, closes the upper opening of the front of the product storage 5 and is opened when the product is stored in the product column 16. Further, the latter inner door 6 is similarly heat-insulating and closes the lower opening of the front of the product storage 5 and is opened during maintenance and inspection of the product delivery chute 10 and the internal cooler 18 provided on the inner side. Is done. Further, the inner door 6 is provided with a discharge outlet 7 for discharging the product sliding down on the product discharge chute 10 to the product transport mechanism unit 11, and further, the discharge outlet 7 is a heat insulating material that opens and closes it based on a sales command. A payout exit door 8 having the characteristics is provided.
[0013]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an outline of a device configuration relating to a product sales operation of the vending machine having the above-described configuration, and FIG. 5 is a control block diagram showing control of the product sales operation.
As shown in the figure, the product transport mechanism unit 11 of the present embodiment includes a transport conveyor 12 that sends products to the product delivery unit 3 and an elevator 14 that moves the transport conveyor 12 up and down. The conveyor 12 includes a conveyor belt 12b suspended between the pulleys 12a and 12a, a conveyor motor (driving means) 13 that drives the conveyor belt 12b, and a product passage that detects the delivery of the product to the product take-out unit 3. It consists of a detection sensor 21 and the like. The elevator 14 supports one end of the conveyor 12 and guides it in the vertical direction. An elevator drive motor (driving means) 15 moves the conveyor 12 up and down by the guide 14a. Is composed of an elevator lower limit sensor 22 and an elevator upper limit sensor 23 for detecting the standby position and the upper delivery position.
[0014]
The product take-out section 3 is provided with an article detection sensor (article detection means) 25 for detecting an article existing inside the product, such as a product sent from the conveyor 12, and opens and closes the opening of the product take-out section 3. The open / close state of the product outlet door 4 that is freely closed is detected by an outlet door sensor (outlet door opening / closing detection means) 26.
Next, the merchandise sales operation of the vending machine of the present invention configured as described above will be described. First, when a predetermined amount of coins and bills are inserted into the money insertion slots 33a and 33b, the amount of money inserted is displayed on the display 34, and the saleable display section 31a of the brand panel 31 of the product that can be purchased is turned on. The product is ready for sale. In this state, the product number is input to the product selection switch 32 including the product selection numeric keypad to select the purchased product. When a product is selected, the sales control unit (product unloading control means) 27 drives the drive motor 17 of the product column 16 and also drives the payout door motor 28 that opens and closes the payout door 8, thereby driving the inner door 6. Is opened. Then, the product delivered from below the product column 16 by the rotation of the drive motor 17 falls on the product delivery chute 10 and slides toward the delivery outlet 7, passes through the delivery outlet 7 and reaches a predetermined standby position. It is placed on the transport conveyor 12 of the product transport mechanism 11 that is on standby. When it is detected that a product is placed on the conveyor 12, the payout door motor 28 is driven and the payout port 7 is closed by the payout door 8. And the elevator drive motor 15 which drives the elevator 14 which raises / lowers the conveyance conveyor 12 is driven, and the conveyance conveyor 12 raises to the sending position which carries out goods to the goods extraction part 3. FIG. When the elevator upper limit sensor 23 detects that the conveyer 12 has reached the upper limit position, the drive of the elevator drive motor 15 is stopped and the conveyer belt 12a of the conveyer 12 is driven by the conveyer motor 13. The product placed on the belt 12 a is sent to the product takeout unit 3. After the product is delivered, the conveyor conveyor 12 is lowered by the drive of the elevator drive motor 15 and returns to the standby position. When the elevator lower limit sensor 22 detects the standby position of the conveyor, the drive of the elevator drive motor 15 is stopped. . In this way, the merchandise is carried out to the merchandise take-out unit 3 and the merchandise sales operation is completed. Then, the products delivered to the product takeout unit 3 are taken out by the customer with the product delivery door 4 opened.
[0015]
By the way, in such a vending machine of the present embodiment, for example, when a product is delivered from the product column 16 and placed on the conveyor 12 and rises toward the product take-out unit 3, the product is picked up by the customer. When the exit door 4 is opened and a hand is inserted into the product take-out unit 3, the take-out unit door sensor 26 detects the open state of the product take-out door 4, and the product detection sensor 25 is a hand in the product take-out unit 3. The sales controller 27 stops driving the conveyor motor 13 and the elevator drive motor 15 of the commodity conveyor mechanism 11 based on the detection results of the take-out door sensor 26 and the article detection sensor 25. As a result, it is possible to prevent tampering with the device during operation, prevent injury due to pinching of the inserted hand, etc., and ensure safety. Moreover, since the sales control part 27 can stop operation | movement of the goods conveyance mechanism part 11 based on the detection result of this goods detection sensor 25 and the taking-out part door sensor 26, it can prevent mischief and can ensure safety conventionally. Thus, a partition plate and a door lock device for preventing hand insertion are not required, and the configuration of the device can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
[0016]
Further, for example, when the customer opens the product outlet door 4 and looks into the product to confirm the delivery of the product, the article detection is performed even if the takeout door sensor 26 detects the open state of the product outlet door 4. Since the sensor 25 does not detect the article until the merchandise is paid out, the driving of the transfer conveyor motor 13 and the elevator drive motor 15 is not stopped. That is, since the product dispensing operation is not stopped each time the product take-out door 4 is opened as in the prior art, the product can be smoothly carried out to the product take-out unit 3.
In the vending machine according to the present embodiment, coins and banknotes of a predetermined amount are inserted into the money insertion ports 33a and 33b, a product is selected and sent to the product extraction unit 3, and then the product outlet door 4 is selected. As long as is not opened, the product can be paid out from the product column 16 and sent to the product take-out unit 3 again. That is, when the article detection sensor 25 detects the presence of a product or the like in the product take-out unit 3 and then the take-out unit door sensor 26 does not detect the open state of the product take-out door 4, the sales control hand unit 27 The conveyance mechanism unit 11 can be driven, and the product can be discharged again while leaving the product in the product take-out unit 3. Therefore, this enables the customer to purchase a plurality of products collectively. When the product outlet door 4 is opened after the product is sent to the product take-out unit 3, the sales control unit 27 is connected to the product transport mechanism unit 11 until the product is completely taken out from the product take-out unit 3. Stop driving. As a result, it is possible to prevent mischief such as forgetting to take the product or placing a foreign object on the product take-out unit 3.
[0017]
As described above, the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the present embodiment, and can naturally be modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention. .
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the conventional partition plate and the door locking device are eliminated, and the drive of the commodity carry-out device is controlled based on the detection results of the article detection means and the door opening / closing detection means. Thus, mischief can be prevented and safety can be ensured. Therefore, this can simplify the configuration of the apparatus and reduce the cost.
Further, according to the invention according to claim 2, in the vending machine according to claim 1, even if the customer opens the product outlet door and confirms the delivery of the product during the delivery of the product, Since you can carry out the product without stopping the operation of the product delivery device if you do not present your hand etc., the product will be smoothly delivered without stopping the product dispensing operation each time the door is opened. It can be carried out to the take-out part.
[0019]
Further, according to the invention according to claim 3, in the vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, it is possible to leave the merchandise delivered to the merchandise take-out section as it is and pay out the merchandise to the merchandise take-out section again. As a result, customers can purchase multiple products at once.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure on the back side of the front door of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the main body of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an apparatus configuration relating to a product sales operation of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a control block diagram showing control of merchandise sales operation of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
3 Product take-out part 4 Product take-out door 11 Product transport mechanism (product take-out device)
13 Conveyor motor (drive means)
15 Elevator drive motor (drive means)
16 commodity column 25 article detection sensor (article detection means)
26 Extraction part door sensor (extraction door open / close detection means)
27 Sales Control Unit (Commodity export control means)

Claims (3)

A vending machine that carries out the product stored in the product column to a product take-out unit, and allows the taken-out product to be taken out through an opening facing the outside of the product take-out unit,
After receiving the product paid out from the product column at the standby position, the product unloading device that moves to the delivery position and unloads the product to the product take-out unit, driving means for driving the product unloading device, and the product A product outlet door that freely opens and closes an opening desired to the outside of the take-out part, an article detection means for detecting whether or not a product or other article exists in the product take-out part, and opening and closing of the product take-out door A vending machine comprising: an exit door opening / closing detection means for detecting a state; and a commodity delivery control means for controlling the driving means based on detection results of the article detection means and the outlet door opening / closing detection means. . The product carry-out control means is configured such that when the take-out door opening / closing detection means detects the open state of the product take-out door, and the article detection means detects the presence of a product or other articles, the operation of the drive means The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine is stopped. When the article detection means detects the presence of a product or other article, and thereafter the outlet door opening / closing detection means has not detected the open state of the commodity outlet door, the commodity delivery control means The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that operation of the driving means is enabled.

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