JP2005142032A - Lighting system for vending machine, and vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system for a vending machine in which frequency of maintenance can be reduced and the illuminated object can be illuminated using a color such as a warm color system or a cold color system, and a vending machine. <P>SOLUTION: In the lighting system 40, when a power supply switch which is not illustrated here is switched on, electric power is supplied to the lighting system 40 and an LED lamp 43 is lighted. The emitted light of the LED lamp 43 enters from the incident face 41a into a light guide member 41 and advances by reflecting inside the light guide member 41. The advancing light becomes to be an irregular reflection light by being changed its advancing direction by the slanted faces 47a of V-grooves 47, and is emitted from the whole surface of the emitting face 41e. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine lighting device and a vending machine, and more particularly to a vending machine that can reduce the frequency of maintenance and can illuminate an object to be illuminated with a color such as a warm color or a cold color. The present invention relates to lighting equipment and vending machines.

  A vending machine installed near the entrance of a store, near a sidewalk or the like has an exhibition space on the front side where a sample of canned drinks to be sold, photographs, etc. are displayed. And at night, the lamp is turned on to illuminate samples and photos, and vending machines are installed, and the contents of the goods sold are devised so that the user can know (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a conventional vending machine. The vending machine 1 automatically sells various types of beverages such as coffee, cola, juice, oolong tea, etc. according to the insertion of coins and banknotes, and stocks a large number of products therein. The vending machine 1 has a substantially box-shaped vending machine body 2 as a casing, and a main door 3 serving as a front panel is provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 2. The main door 3 can be opened and closed because it is hinged on the front surface of the vending machine main body 2, and is opened and closed at the time of sample exchange, product replenishment, product exchange, and the like.

  The main door 3 is provided with a transparent panel 31 as a front cover, and an exhibition space 32 is secured inside thereof. In the exhibition space 32, sample stands 33 are provided in three stages in the vertical direction, and a plurality of samples 4 as product samples are placed on each sample stand 33. Above each sample stage 33, a fluorescent lamp 34 for irradiating the sample 4 with light is disposed, and a reflective cover 35 is provided so that the light does not enter the eyes of the user.

  On the front surface of the sample table 33, a sub-panel 5 displaying the type and price of a product such as COLD and HOT is provided. On the surface of the transparent panel 31, a selection button 6 for selecting a product is provided. The main door 3 has a bill insertion slot 7 for inserting bills, a coin insertion slot 8 for inserting coins, a return lever 9 for returning inserted bills and inserted coins, a change return port 10 for returning change, and change A display 11 for displaying the cut-out and the amount of money to be inserted, a product sales port 12 for taking out the product, and a door lock 13 for locking the opening operation of the main door 3 by locking are provided.

Sample 4 is made of semi-transparent resin material to have an appearance and size according to the actual product by molding, and has a cylindrical shape resembling the actual product or a substantially semi-cylindrical shape with a reduced depth. . The surface is printed or labeled with the same notation and color scheme as the product to be sold. By making the material used for the sample 4 translucent, shadows of light are less likely to occur, and the entire individual sample 4 can be easily seen. Above the sample 4, a straight tube type daylight color or white fluorescent lamp 34 is installed in the horizontal direction, and it lights when the surroundings are dark, illuminates the interior of the exhibition space 32, and also illuminates the sample 4. To do. In FIG. 12, only one fluorescent lamp 34 is drawn so that it can be seen, but it is provided below each sample stage 33.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-228756 (FIG. 7)

  However, according to the conventional vending machine, since the exhibition space is illuminated with fluorescent lamps, maintenance work such as fluorescent lamp replacement work is required at least once a year in consideration of the lifetime.

  In addition, since fluorescent lamps emit light that is close to white, the emission color cannot be changed unless a color filter or the like is used. Therefore, the illumination target is unified with warm or cold colors using only fluorescent lamps. It was difficult to do.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine illumination device that can reduce the frequency of maintenance and can illuminate an illumination target with a color such as a warm color or a cold color without using a color filter or the like. And to provide vending machines.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transparent or semi-transparent light guide member that propagates light incident on one end face to the other end face while totally reflecting the light on a plurality of side faces, and the one of the light guide members. An LED light source that makes the light incident on an end surface, and is formed on at least one of the plurality of side surfaces of the light guide member, receives the light incident from the LED light source, generates reflected light, and reflects the light There is provided a lighting device for a vending machine, comprising: a reflecting portion that emits light to the outside from a side surface other than the at least one side surface among the plurality of side surfaces.

  According to this configuration, when the incident light travels while reflecting the plurality of side surfaces, the reflected light generated by the reflection unit is radiated to the outside from the side surface where the reflection unit does not exist.

  In the above configuration, the LED light source includes both lamp-like and chip-like ones.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vending machine having a product display space formed by a transparent panel provided on the front surface and a rear panel arranged in parallel with the transparent panel at a predetermined interval. An automatic vending machine comprising a light guide plate as the back panel and a light source that causes light to enter the light guide plate to emit light as the illumination panel.

  According to this configuration, since the light guide plate as the back panel is used as the illumination panel, the entire back panel emits light.

  According to the present invention, since the reflection portion formed on the side surface of the light guide member serves as a surface light source, an LED light source can be used as a light source instead of a fluorescent lamp. Moreover, since the LED light source has a long life and can be used semipermanently, the frequency of maintenance can be reduced.

  Furthermore, it is possible to illuminate using a color such as a warm color or a cold color by replacing the LED light source that emits a single color with an LED light source that emits a different color.

  FIG. 1 shows a vending machine to which the illumination device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. This vending machine 1 automatically sells various types of beverages such as coffee, cola, juice, oolong tea, etc. according to the insertion of coins and banknotes, and stocks many products inside. The vending machine 1 includes a substantially box-shaped vending machine body 2 and a main door 3 in which an exhibition space 32 is secured inside a transparent panel 31 as a front cover of the vending machine body 2.

  The main door 3 can be opened and closed because it is hinged to the front surface of the vending machine main body 2, and is opened and closed when the sample 4 is replaced, the product is replenished, the product is replaced, and the like. The main door 3 includes a charge insertion port 7A for inserting bills and coins, a change return port 10 for returning change, a product sales port 12 for taking out products, and a lighting board 15 for displaying advertisements and the like. Prepare.

  The exhibition space 32 is provided with three stages of sample tables 16 on which the sample 4 is placed. On the front surface of the sample table 16, a sub-panel 5 displaying the type and price of a product such as COLD and HOT is provided. On the surface of the transparent panel 31, a selection button 6 for selecting a product is provided. A lighting device 40 that illuminates the inside of the exhibition space 32 is provided behind the exhibition space 32.

  FIG. 2 shows a front view of the lighting device 40. The illuminating device 40 includes a light guide member 41 made of an acrylic plate or a glass plate, a plurality of LED lamps mounted on a substrate as a light source (not shown), and an end of the light guide member 41, and is mounted on the substrate. And an LED case 42 that houses a plurality of LED lamps.

  3 shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the illumination device 40. The light guide member 41 is formed with a V-groove 47 which is a reflection portion for generating reflected light of the incident LED lamp 43, particularly irregularly reflected light, on a part of side surfaces along the light traveling direction. A reflection sheet 46 is stuck on the surface on which 47 is formed. The depth of the V groove 47 located near the LED lamp 43 is shallow, and the depth of the V groove 47 located away from the LED lamp 43 is deep. The light guide member 41 includes a light incident surface 41 a on which the light emitted from the LED lamp 43 is incident at the upper and lower edges thereof.

  The reflection sheet 46 is a white plastic sheet having a high reflectance. It is desirable to make the reflection sheet 46 and the light guide member 41 as close as possible. The reflection sheet 46 may be a reflection mirror. Further, if the light guide member 41 uses a highly reflective paint, a reflection sheet is not necessary.

  The LED lamp 43 is mounted on the substrate 44 and receives power from the substrate 44 through the leads 45. An LED case 42 that houses an LED lamp 43 mounted on a substrate 44 is attached to one opposite end face of the light guide member 41. The exit end of the LED lamp 43 is provided close to the light incident surface 41a. The light emission color of the LED lamp is, for example, white.

  The illuminating device 40 includes a light guide member 41 and a substrate 44 disposed so that the emission ends of the LED lamps 43 are positioned on the upper and lower light incident surfaces 41 a of the light guide member 41, and a part of the substrate 44 and the light guide member 41. LED case 42 is covered so as to cover.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the heating device or the cooling device is activated to warm or cool the product. In addition, the interior of the exhibition space 32 is illuminated by the lighting device 40. Further, the LED lamp is turned on or a predetermined display is performed for a predetermined display of the selection button 6 or the sub panel 5. Moreover, the lighting board 15 which displays an advertisement etc. is illuminated.

  Here, regarding the lighting device 40, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on, power is supplied to the lighting device 40, and the LED lamp 43 is lit. The light emitted from the LED lamp 43 is incident on the light guide member 41 from the light incident surface 41 a and travels while reflecting through the light guide member 41. The traveling light is changed in its traveling direction by the inclined surface 47a of the V-groove 47, becomes irregularly reflected light, and is emitted from the entire surface of the light emitting surface 41e. Here, the arrow indicates the traveling direction of light.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(A) Since the amount of light is large in the portion close to the LED lamp 43, the depth of the groove of the V groove 47 is shallow in order to suppress the diffuse reflectance, and the amount of light is small in the portion away from the LED lamp 43, so that the diffuse reflectance is increased. Since the depth of the groove is deeply formed, light is uniformly emitted from the entire surface of the light emitting surface 41e, so that the entire display space 32 can be illuminated brightly.
(B) Since the LED lamp 43 is used as the light source, the life of the lamp is dramatically increased compared to the fluorescent lamp, so that the maintenance cost associated with lamp replacement can be reduced. Moreover, power consumption can be reduced and the running cost of the vending machine 1 can be reduced.
(C) Since the light of various colors can be used by changing or combining the emission colors of the LED lamps 43, the advertising effect can be further improved by illuminating the illumination target in various modes. Can be increased. For example, in summer, samples are illuminated with light blue and blue light emitting colors that are cold images, and in winter, samples are illuminated with yellow and orange light emitting colors that are warm images, giving a sense of the season. be able to.
(D) Since the LED lamp 43 is mounted on the substrate 44, the LED lamp 43 can be easily assembled to the lighting device 40.
(E) By bringing the reflection sheet 46 and the light guide member 41 into close contact with each other as much as possible, the reflection efficiency can be increased and the amount of light emitted from the light guide member 41 to the outside can be increased.

  FIG. 5 shows a part of the lighting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this illumination device 40, a curved surface portion 41b is formed on the light incident surface 41a of the light guide member 41, and light emitted from the LED lamp 43 is incident from the curved surface portion 41b.

  According to the second embodiment, since the incident light of the LED lamp 43 is dispersed by the curved surface portion 41b, the entire display space 32 can be illuminated brightly by the light guide member 41.

  FIG. 6 shows a light guide member of an illumination device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the light guide member 41, all the formed V grooves 47 have the same cross-sectional shape, and the pitch p between the V grooves 47 in the part close to the light incident surface 41a is wide, and the part is far from the light incident surface 41a. The pitch p between the V grooves 47 is narrow.

  According to the third embodiment, the pitch p between the V grooves 47 located near the light incident surface 41a is wide, and the pitch p between the V grooves 47 located far from the light incident surface 41a is narrow. For this reason, since the amount of light is large at the portion close to the LED lamp 43, the diffuse reflectance is suppressed low, and the amount of light is small at the portion far from the LED lamp 43, so that the diffuse reflectance is high. The light becomes uniform.

  FIG. 7 shows a light guide member of an illumination apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This light guide member 41 is formed by printing a plurality of circular reflection members 41c on one surface of a light guide member with a white reflective paint, and the pitch between the reflection members 41c located near the light incident surface 41a. The pitch between the reflecting members 41c located far from the light incident surface 41a is narrow.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the pitch between the reflecting members 41c located near the light incident surface 41a is wide, and the pitch between the reflecting members 41c located far from the light incident surface 41a is narrow. For this reason, since the amount of light is large near the LED lamp 43, the diffuse reflectance is kept low, and since the amount of light is small at the portion far from the LED lamp 43, the diffuse reflectance is increased. It becomes uniform.

  FIG. 8 shows a light guide member of a lighting apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The light guide member 41 is formed by forming a textured portion 41 d on one surface of the light guide member 41.

  According to the fifth embodiment, since the light incident from the light incident surface 41a is irregularly reflected by the textured portion 41d made of randomly formed uneven portions, it is possible to reduce the uneven brightness of the emitted light. The light emitted from the entire surface of the light emitting surface 41e is uniform.

  FIG. 9 shows an illuminating device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The illuminating device 40 includes an LED lamp 43 mounted on a substrate 44 as a light source, a light guide member 41 that allows light emitted from the LED lamp 43 to enter from a light incident surface 41a and travel while reflecting the inside, and a light guide member And a reflection sheet 46 formed on one reflection surface. The light guide member 41 is formed so that the thickness on the light incident surface 41 a side is thick, and the light guide member 41 is formed so that the thickness of the light guide member 41 decreases as the distance from the LED lamp 43 increases.

  According to the sixth embodiment, the reflection sheet 46 provided on a part of the side surface of the light guide member 41 sequentially reflects the light emission surface 41e of the light guide member 41, and the reflected light is guided. The light is emitted from the light emitting surface 41e of the member 41 almost uniformly.

  FIG. 10 shows an illumination apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The lighting device 40 includes a first light guide member 41A on which an advertisement or the like is displayed and a part of the first light guide member 41A cut out, and a logo mark 50 is formed on the portion with a reflective member such as a groove or paint. The formed second light guide member 41B, the LED lamp 43a mounted on the substrate 44 as the light source of the first light guide member 41A, and the LED lamp mounted on the substrate 44 as the light source of the second light guide member 41B 43b. The emission color of the LED lamp 43a is, for example, blue, and the emission color of the LED lamp 43b is, for example, a different emission color, such as red. Here, the first light guide member 41 generates irregularly reflected light of the incident LED lamp 43 on a part of side surfaces along the light traveling direction, similarly to the illumination device according to the first embodiment. A V-groove, which is a reflective portion, is formed, and a reflective sheet 46 is stuck on the surface where the V-groove 47 is formed.

  According to the seventh embodiment, the first light guide member 41A displays a product advertisement or the like with the light emission color of the LED lamp 43a set to blue, and the second light guide member 41B includes the LED lamp 43b. Since the seller's logo 50 can be displayed by setting the emission color to red, it is possible to enhance visual effects such as advertising. In addition, the sample and the exhibition space can be illuminated with a color scheme according to the season.

  FIG. 11 shows a vending machine to which the illumination device according to the eighth embodiment is applied. Since the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same parts, the details are omitted. As described above, this lighting device includes a light guide member and an LED lamp, and a light scattering portion such as a V-groove and a reflection member are provided on the light guide member. The lighting device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a lighting device in the illumination of the exhibition space 32. In this embodiment, the lighting device is used as an advertisement for the lighting plate 15A. Etc. are provided on the back side. Moreover, a lighting device is provided in the change return port 10A and the merchandise sales port door 12A.

  According to the eighth embodiment, since it is possible to illuminate from the back side of an advertisement or the like, it can be arranged on the front side of the main door 3 and the advertisement or the like is easy to see. In addition, when the change return port 10A is provided with an illumination device, when a change return button (not shown) is pressed, the LED lamp of the illumination device is turned on in synchronization with a change occurrence signal sent from a control unit (not shown). Thus, since the change return port 10A can be illuminated, forgetting to remove a part of the change can be prevented. In addition, when the product sales door 12A is provided with an illumination device, after the product selection button is pressed, the LED lamp of the illumination device is turned on in synchronization with a product discharge signal sent from a control unit (not shown). Since the mouth is illuminated, the product can be easily recognized when the product is conveyed to the product sales port 12.

  In addition, as a light guide member, what consists of transparent or semi-transparent materials other than the above-mentioned glass and an acrylic board may be sufficient. In addition, the shape of the groove has been described as a triangular groove as the V groove, but may be a sawtooth wave shape or a wave shape such as a sine wave. In addition, when the reflecting portion is formed by a plurality of circular reflecting members, the amount of light reflected and emitted according to the distance from the light incident surface can be made uniform by changing the area of the circular reflecting member. Good.

  In addition to white light, the LED lamp can use any color such as red, blue, and green. In addition, different LED elements such as a red LED element, a green LED element, and a blue LED element may be provided in one LED lamp. Not only the LED lamp but also a chip shape may be used.

It is a figure which shows the vending machine to which the illuminating device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the front view of the illuminating device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the illuminating device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a part of illuminating device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the light guide member of the illuminating device which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the light guide member of the illuminating device which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the light guide member of the illuminating device which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the illuminating device which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the illuminating device which concerns on the 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the vending machine to which the illuminating device which concerns on the 8th Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional vending machine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Vending machine main body 3 Main door 4 Sample 5 Sub panel 6 Selection button 7 Bill insertion slot 7A Charge insertion slot 8 Coin insertion slot 9 Return lever 10 Change return slot 10A Change return slot 11 Display 12 Product sales slot 12A Product sales door 13 Door lock 15 Light plate 15A Light plate 16 Sample stand 31 Transparent panel 32 Exhibition space 33 Sample stand 34 Fluorescent lamp 35 Reflective cover 40 Illumination device 41 Light guide member 41A First light guide member 41B Second Light guide member 41a Light incident surface 41b Curved portion 41c Reflective member 41d Textured portion 42 LED case 43 LED lamp 43a LED lamp 43b LED lamp 44 Substrate 45 Lead 46 Reflective sheet 47 Groove 47a Slope 50 Logo mark

Claims (11)

A transparent or translucent light guide member that propagates to the other end surface side while totally reflecting light incident on the one end surface on a plurality of side surfaces;
An LED light source that makes the light incident on the one end face of the light guide member;
The light guide member is formed on at least one of the plurality of side surfaces, receives reflected light from the LED light source, generates reflected light, and reflects the reflected light to the at least one of the plurality of side surfaces. An illumination device for a vending machine comprising a reflecting portion that radiates outside from a side surface other than one side surface.   The LED light source is a monochromatic LED lamp such as red, green and blue, a white LED lamp, or an RGB LED lamp including a red LED element, a green LED element and a blue LED element. Item 3. An illumination device for a vending machine according to Item 2. The light guide member has the other end surface as the light introduction surface together with the one end surface;
The illumination device for a vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising another LED light source that makes the light incident on the other end surface of the light guide member.   The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is formed so as to be thinner as it is farther from the LED light source.   The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting portion includes a plurality of grooves formed on the at least one side surface and having different depths or pitches.   The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting portion is formed by a plurality of point-like reflecting members having different pitches as the distance from the LED light source increases.   The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting portion is formed of a random uneven portion formed on the at least one side surface.   The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is provided in the vicinity of a product sample, and illuminates the product sample with the reflected light. The LED light source is lit in synchronization with the change generation signal,
The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is provided in a change return port. The LED light source is lit in synchronization with the product discharge signal,
The lighting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the light guide member is provided in a product sales outlet. In a vending machine having a product display space formed by a transparent panel provided on the front surface and a rear panel arranged in parallel with the transparent panel at a predetermined interval,
A light guide plate as the back panel;
A vending machine comprising a light source for causing light to enter the light guide plate and causing the light guide plate to emit light as an illumination panel.

Images