JP2005227900A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely find a slope of an article shelf at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: An automatic vending machine is equipped with a contactless sensor which is provided to a bucket and detects presence of the region of the article shelf on the side of a head article when the bucket vertically moves and a control part which controls a horizontal driving mechanism and a vertical driving mechanism so that the bucket moves vertically from two or more different movement start positions in a horizontal direction, finds the slope of the article shelf based upon the detection output of the contact less sensor detecting the region of the article shelf when the bucket moves vertically from the two or more movement start positions, and determines the vertical stop position of the bucket for the article shelf according to the slope of the article shelf. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique that is effective when applied to a vending machine that sells a product by acquiring a product from a product row with a bucket, and particularly to a see-through type vending machine.

The see-through type vending machine is a multi-stage product case (product shelf) provided in the vertical direction in the product storage, and the product line placed on these multi-stage product cases. A product transport mechanism that transports the product to the product side, a bucket that can move in the horizontal and vertical directions, and a bucket that moves in the horizontal direction in order to acquire and pay out the first product in the product line transported by the product transport mechanism It has a horizontal drive mechanism and a vertical drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the vertical direction. The customer confirms the actual product group displayed through the transparent window (glass, resin, etc.) provided over a wide area of the front door (door panel) and designates the product to be purchased. . As a result, the bucket driven by the vertical drive mechanism moves to the merchandise transport mechanism that transports the corresponding merchandise to acquire the merchandise, and then moves to the merchandise payout exit to pay out the merchandise. It will be.
JP 2000-113306 A

  In the product storage, there is a rail mechanism etc. that allows multiple product cases to be taken in and out at each stage, such as rootman pulling out the product case for the purpose of exchanging and replenishing products, It will be stored. Here, when the vending machine is manufactured, the arrangement of the product cases in the product storage is not always horizontal due to factors such as assembly variations, component variations, and secular changes in the manufacturing process. For example, when the vending machine is viewed from the front, the product case itself may be inclined with respect to the horizontal position. When the bucket is moved to face the product case having such an inclination and the bucket is stopped at a fixed position in a predetermined vertical direction with respect to the product case, the product transport mechanism and the bucket are appropriate. As a result, the bucket may not be able to acquire the product.

  Therefore, conventionally, a pair of protrusions are provided on both sides of each product case in the horizontal direction, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element are provided on both sides on the same horizontal plane of the vertical drive mechanism for moving the bucket in the vertical direction. A pair of optical sensors forming an optical path is provided. Specifically, the pair of projecting pieces is provided at a position where the optical path of the pair of photosensors can be blocked when the vertical movement mechanism moves in the vertical direction. That is, when a pair of projecting pieces provided in a certain product case cut off the optical path of a pair of optical sensors, the position of the vertical movement mechanism at this time in the vertical direction means that the bucket should receive the product from the product case. This is the vertical stop position.

  The vertical movement mechanism has a pulse generation mechanism that generates the number of pulses corresponding to the movement distance of the vertical movement mechanism. Therefore, when the vertical movement mechanism starts to move in the vertical direction from the standby position (for example, the vertical lower limit position), the number of pulses increases in accordance with this movement. For example, the number of pulses when one projecting piece protruding from a predetermined product case blocks the optical path of one photosensor, and the other projecting piece projecting from the product case blocks the optical path of the other photosensor When the number of pulses is different, the product case is inclined. In this case, the difference between the two pulse numbers is calculated, the inclination of the product case is obtained according to this difference, and the stop position according to the inclination of the vertical drive mechanism in the vertical direction is determined.

  However, since a pair of protrusions must be provided on both sides of each product case, the manufacturing cost of the product case increases, and a pair of optical sensors must be provided on both sides of the vertical drive mechanism. However, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the vertical drive mechanism is increased, which increases the cost of the vending machine itself.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can obtain the inclination of a product shelf with high accuracy at low cost.

  The main invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a product shelf provided in a product storage, a product transport mechanism for transporting a product row placed on the product shelf to the top product side, and the product transport A bucket that is movable in the horizontal and vertical directions, a horizontal drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the horizontal direction, and a bucket that moves in the vertical direction in order to acquire and pay out the first product in the product row conveyed by the mechanism. A non-contact sensor provided in the bucket for detecting the presence or absence of a portion of the product shelf on the top product side when the bucket moves in a vertical direction. And controlling the horizontal drive mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism so that the bucket moves in the vertical direction from two or more different movement start positions in the horizontal direction. When the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf when moving in the vertical direction from the two or more movement start positions, the inclination of the product shelf is obtained based on the detection output when the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf. And a controller that determines a stop position of the bucket in the vertical direction with respect to the product shelf according to the inclination of the product shelf. According to this vending machine, in order to obtain the inclination of the product shelf by moving the bucket in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the pair of protrusions provided on both sides of the product shelf and the pair of pairs provided on both sides of the vertical drive mechanism It is possible to provide a vending machine that does not require a configuration such as an optical sensor and that can accurately obtain the inclination of the product shelf at low cost.

  Further, in the vending machine, the vertical drive mechanism has a pulse generation mechanism that generates a number of pulses corresponding to a movement distance of the bucket in the vertical direction, and the control unit is configured such that the non-contact sensor is the product. The inclination of the product shelf is obtained based on the number of pulses generated by the pulse generation mechanism when the part of the shelf is detected. According to this vending machine, since the number of pulses corresponding to the moving distance of the vertical drive mechanism is used, the inclination of the merchandise shelf can be obtained with high accuracy.

  In addition, according to the vending machine, the movement start position is at both ends in the horizontal direction in which the bucket can move, and is a vertical lower limit position or a vertical upper limit position at the both ends. To do. According to this vending machine, since the bucket vertically moves at the both end portions where the inclination of the product shelf is best understood, the inclination of the product shelf can be obtained with higher accuracy. In this case, when the control unit detects the inclination of the product shelf, the bucket moves up one end of the both ends in the vertical direction, the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf, and the bucket Moves horizontally toward the other end of the both ends, the bucket descends the other end of the both ends in the vertical direction, and the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf. It is effective to control the drive mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism.

  Further, according to the vending machine, a plurality of the product transport mechanisms are provided in a direction intersecting a direction of transporting the product row to the top product side on the product shelf, and the non-contact sensor includes the bucket. When moving in the horizontal direction, the position of the product transport mechanism in the horizontal direction is detected, and the control unit detects the position relative to the product shelf based on a detection output when the non-contact sensor detects the product transport mechanism. The horizontal stop position of the bucket is determined. According to this vending machine, the non-contact sensor can be used for both the determination of the stop position in the vertical direction of the product shelf and the determination of the stop position in the horizontal direction of the product transport mechanism. Can be provided.

  In addition, the vending machine further includes a storage unit that stores information related to the horizontal and vertical stop positions of the bucket with respect to the commodity shelf determined by the control unit. Further, when selling the product, the control unit reads information on the stop position in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the bucket stored in the storage unit, and the bucket designated by the read information is specified. The horizontal drive mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism are controlled so as to face the commodity conveyance mechanism. According to this vending machine, information on the stop position of the bucket in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction once determined is stored in the storage unit, and thereafter, based on the information on the stop position read from the storage unit, the commodity transport mechanism The bucket can be effectively moved to an accurate position opposite to the.

  Further, in the vending machine, the control unit is configured to drive the horizontal drive so as to determine a horizontal and vertical stop position of the bucket every time a door for storing the product in the product storage is opened and closed. The mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism are controlled. According to this vending machine, each time the door is opened and closed, the information regarding the horizontal and vertical stop positions of the bucket is updated and stored in the storage unit. Thereby, even when the product shelf is inclined due to aging of the vending machine, external factors, etc., the bucket stop position is periodically updated, so that the bucket can reliably acquire the product.

  In addition, a product shelf provided in the product storage, a product transport mechanism for transporting a product train placed on the product shelf to the top product side, and the product train transported by the product transport mechanism In a vending machine having a bucket that can move in the vertical direction and a vertical drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the vertical direction in order to acquire and pay out the top product, the vending machine is provided at two locations in the horizontal direction of the bucket. , When the bucket moves in the vertical direction, a non-contact sensor for detecting the presence or absence of two parts on the head product side of the product shelf, and the bucket to move in the vertical direction from the movement start position Detection when the non-contact sensor detects the two parts of the product shelf when the vertical drive mechanism is controlled and the bucket moves in the vertical direction from the movement start position Based on the power, determine the slope of the shelf, according to the inclination of the shelf, characterized by comprising a control unit which determines the vertical stop position of the bucket relative to the shelf. According to this vending machine, in order to obtain the inclination of the product shelf by moving the bucket in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the pair of protrusions provided on both sides of the product shelf and the pair of pairs provided on both sides of the vertical drive mechanism It is possible to provide a vending machine that does not require a configuration such as an optical sensor and that can accurately obtain the inclination of the product shelf at low cost. In addition, the inclination of the product shelf can be obtained in a short time during which the vertical drive mechanism moves in one direction in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, the inclination of the product shelf can be obtained with high accuracy at low cost.

  At least the following matters will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

=== Vending machine configuration ===
As illustrated in the front view of FIG. 1, the vending machine of the present embodiment includes, for example, cans, bottles, plastic bottles, beverages enclosed in paper packs, dairy products contained in containers such as cups, Products 40 having various shapes and sizes, such as confectionery, can be sold. The external configuration of the vending machine according to the present embodiment mainly includes a housing 10 and a door-type front panel 13 (door) provided on the front surface of the housing 10 so as to be openable and closable. In addition, since the vending machine according to the present embodiment is a so-called see-through type, the front panel 13 has a transparent plate incorporated therein, and the customer 40 stores the product 40 stored in the vending machine. Sales operations etc. can be seen through from the outside. Further, on the portion other than the transparent plate of the front panel 13, an operation panel 14 that is operated by the customer when selecting the product 40 to be purchased, and a display panel 15 on which various information such as the input amount, change amount, and product number are displayed. , A cash receiving device 16 for receiving bills and coins, a product paying unit 17 for a customer to take out the product 40, a change paying unit 18 for returning change, a locking device 19, and the like.

  The product storage 12 inside the vending machine is formed from a plurality of storage shelves 50 extending vertically (Y direction). Each storage shelf 50 stores a product case 30 (product shelf) slidable in the front-rear direction (Z direction) of the vending machine. A partition plate 65 that partitions the space in the product case 30 in the left-right direction (X direction) is provided inside the product case 30, and a plurality of spaces that are spaces for storing the product 40 by the partition plate 65. A product column 39 is formed. The product 40 is accommodated in the product column 39 in a state of being lined up in the front-rear direction. Further, in the space between the front panel 13 and the front end of the storage shelf 50, a bucket 90 is provided for moving in this space in the X and Y directions and for transporting the product 40 to the position of the product delivery unit 17. Yes.

<<< Example of product transport mechanism >>>
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of the above-described product case 30 and its peripheral portion as viewed from the front side obliquely upward. The product case 30 mainly includes a bottom plate 31 having a substantially rectangular shape, a back plate 32 having a predetermined height formed at the rear end portion of the bottom plate 31, and predetermined portions formed at both ends of the bottom plate 31. And a side plate 33 having a height. The partition plate 65 described above has a substantially rectangular shape, and has substantially the same length as the depth length of the product case 30 in the front-rear direction (Z direction). In addition, the partition plate 65 is formed with an L-shaped key portion 66 at a predetermined position at the lower end, and a protruding plate portion 67 is formed at the rear end. Furthermore, the partition plate 65 inserts the key portion 66 into the slit 35 provided on the bottom plate 31 of the product case 30, and the projecting plate portion 67 on the slit 34 formed on the back plate 32 of the product case 30. The product case 30 is attached by being inserted. With such a configuration, the partition plate 65 can be easily attached to an arbitrary position of the product case 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a conveyor unit 41 (product transport mechanism) for moving the product 40 in the front-rear direction (Z direction) is attached to the bottom of the product case 30.

  The conveyor unit 41 includes an endless belt 43 that is driven in the front-rear direction, and a conveyor base 45 that supports the belt 43. The belt 43 is for placing the product 40 and transporting it forward (in the + Z direction). A belt-like woven fabric of synthetic fibers is connected in a ring shape, and along its both ends, for example, a backrest plate described later Sprocket holes 44 for fixing 60 to a predetermined position of the belt 43 are provided at regular intervals. The belt 43 is stretched around a driving pulley 54 and a driven pulley 55 provided on the front end side and the rear end side of the conveyor base 45, respectively. In addition, an L-shaped key portion 42 is provided at the lower portion of the conveyor base 45, and the conveyor unit 41 is configured to fit the bottom plate 31 of the product case 30 by fitting the key portion 42 into the slit 35 of the product case 30. It can be attached to. That is, the conveyor unit 41 can be mounted at an arbitrary position of the product case 30 according to the size of the product 40, the type of the product 40, and the like. From the above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of conveyor units 41 can be attached to the product case 30 at regular intervals or at different intervals.

  Further, a belt gear 53 that receives power for driving the belt 43 from the bucket 90 side is fixed to the drive pulley 54 provided at the front end of the conveyor unit 41 coaxially therewith. The belt gear 53 is engaged with a gear mechanism 99 (FIGS. 4 and 5) provided in the bucket 90 and transmits power for moving the belt 43 from the bucket 90. In addition, a movable stopper 70 for stopping the product 40 (leading product) at the front end of the follower unit at the front end position of the conveyor unit 41 is provided at the front end portion of the conveyor unit 41 via a delivery member 71 described later. It has been. 2 illustrates a state in which the movable stopper 70 is positioned on the upper side (+ Y side) so as to restrict the position of the product 40.

  The backrest plate 60 is mounted on the conveyor base 45 in an upright state, and the product 40 is fed forward (+ Z side) by a pressing force from the backrest plate 60. The backrest plate 60 has a projection (not shown) at the bottom, and is fitted to the conveyor base 45 by fitting the projection into the sprocket hole 44 of the belt 43. Further, the backrest plate 60 moves in the forward direction as the belt 43 is driven while contacting the product 40 placed at the end of the product row. Thereby, the goods 40 are reliably delivered to the front side of the vending machine.

  Furthermore, the side plates 51 a and 51 b erected in the Y direction from both sides of the storage shelf 50 hold the product case 30 slidably. That is, the product case 30 is pulled out in the + Z direction and stored in the −Z direction.

  As illustrated in the front view of FIG. 3, the delivery member 71 described above has a concave shape so as to cover the drive pulley 54 and is fixed to the front end portion of the conveyor unit 41. On the front surface of the delivery member 71, a support surface 72 a that supports the movable stopper 70 and a reflection surface 72 h described later are formed on the lower side (−Y side) of the support surface 72 a. The reflecting surface 72h has a substantially square shape, the vertical side P serves as a reference for determining the mounting position of the conveyor unit 41 in the X direction with respect to the product case 30, and the horizontal side H is the conveyor for the product case 30. This is a reference for determining the mounting position of the unit 41 in the Y direction.

<<< Example of bucket >>>
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bucket 90 as viewed from the product acquisition port side. The bucket 90 includes a storage portion 91 that forms a space in which the product 40 pushed in the front direction (+ Z direction) by the belt 43 from the conveyor unit 41 is stored. Further, the bucket 90 includes a lever mechanism 95 for retracting the movable stopper 70 to the lower side of the conveyor unit 41. The lever mechanism 95 includes a lever member 93 made of a substantially square plate shown on the lower side (−Y side) of the accommodating portion 91 in FIG. 4, and the lever member 93 is connected to the lever member shaft portion 93a. It is moved to the right side (-X side) in the figure while rotating around. The bucket 90 includes a gear mechanism 99 that meshes with the belt gear 53 of the conveyor unit 41 when the bucket 90 is positioned at the front end of the conveyor unit 41, and an appropriate mechanism for driving the gear mechanism 99. And an electric motor (not shown). Further, the bucket 90 includes a bucket belt drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the bucket belt 92 when the commodity 40 accommodated in the accommodating portion 91 is dispensed to the commodity dispensing portion 17 (FIG. 1). ing. Further, the bucket 90 includes a position detection sensor 902 (non-contact sensor) at the lower center portion of the bucket belt 92, and projects the light so as to face the reflecting surface 72 h of the delivery member 71 of the conveyor unit 41. The reflected light from 72h is received.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the gear mechanism 99 of the present embodiment protrudes from the lower side (−Y side) of the product acquisition port of the bucket 90 and meshes with the belt gear 53 of the conveyor unit 41, and After the conveyance, the bucket 90 is retracted to the lower side. By such an operation of the gear mechanism 99, a force in the transport direction (Z direction) does not act between the gear mechanism 99 and the belt gear 53. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the arrangement of the bucket 90 and the conveyor unit 41 when the bucket 90 faces the conveyor unit 41.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the position detection sensor 902 of this embodiment includes a light emitting element 902a and a light receiving element 902b that receives reflected light from the light emitting element 902a. The light emitting element 902a and the light receiving element 902b are juxtaposed at different Y direction positions at the same X direction position. Accordingly, when the infrared light (IL in FIG. 5) projected from the light emitting element 902a is reflected by the reflecting surface 72h of the delivery member 71, and the reflected infrared light is received by the light receiving element 902b. In addition, the position detection sensor 902 outputs a detection signal. Here, the position detection sensor 902 is disposed so as to be inclined in the + Z direction so that the pair of the light emitting element 902a and the light receiving element 902b is parallel to the reflecting surface 72h in order to effectively detect the reflecting surface 72h. Yes. Note that the position detection sensor 902 receives infrared light from the light emitting element 902a on the side 31a (part) on the Z direction side of the bottom plate 31 constituting the product case 30 in order to obtain the inclination of the product case 30 in the X direction. Whether the light is reflected and received by the light receiving element 902b is also detected.

  On the other hand, as described above, in the space between the front panel 13 of the vending machine and the front end of the storage shelf 50, the bucket 90 moves in the XY direction, that is, over the entire front side of the plurality of conveyor units 41. (See FIG. 1). That is, in the case 10 of the vending machine, a later-described horizontal drive mechanism that moves the bucket 90 in the width direction (X direction) of the vending machine, and a movable frame that moves the bucket 90 up and down (Y direction). 81, and the bucket 90 is supported by these mechanisms.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bucket 90 is movable in the X direction by rolling four rotatable rollers 950 provided on the bucket 90 on the guide rail 81a.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the bucket 90 is provided with an electric motor 910 on the lower side (−Y side) of the bucket belt 92. The rotational driving force of the electric motor 910 is transmitted from the gear 912 to the gear 918a by a pinion mechanism portion that is also provided below the bucket belt 92 and meshes with each other. Here, the pinion 918b shown in FIG. 7 is fixed coaxially to the gear 918a shown in FIG. 6B, and rotates together. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the electric motor 910 is transmitted to the pinion 918b. As shown in FIG. 7, the pinion 918b meshes with a rack 810 laid on the guide rail 81a. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the electric motor 910 rotates a predetermined number of times, the pinion 918b also rotates a predetermined number of times by the transmission of the driving force described above, and the bucket 90 is rotated a predetermined distance in the X direction with respect to the guide rail 81a. It is supposed to move.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the bucket 90 is provided with a pulse encoder 920 (pulse generator) facing the gear 914. The pulse encoder 920 includes a rotor 920a having a radial encoder slit 920b, and an encoder photodetector 920c that generates a pulse signal each time light passing through the encoder slit 920b is detected. It is composed of The pulse signal is output by the pulse encoder 920 with a number corresponding to the amount of rotation of the electric motor 910 of the present embodiment, but is not limited to this. For example, if the electric motor 910 shown in FIG. 7B is a stepping motor, the stepping motor has a function of outputting a pulse signal with a number corresponding to its rotation amount. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to provide the pulse encoder 920 in particular. Due to the configuration of the horizontal drive mechanism described above, the bucket 90 can move on the guide rail 81a in the X direction by a distance corresponding to the number of pulse signals. On the other hand, the vertical drive mechanism having the guide rail 81a is also moved by a predetermined distance in the Y direction by the rotation operation of the motor unit 704 (see FIG. 8) incorporating the electric motor, similarly to the horizontal drive mechanism. A pulse encoder 704a (see FIG. 9).

<<< Example of vertical drive mechanism >>>
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part showing an example of a vertical drive mechanism applied to the vending machine shown in FIG.
In FIG. 8, the movable frame 81 on which the bucket 90 is supported so as to be movable in the X direction has both ends in the X direction fixed to the fixed plates 700a and 700b. In the vending machine, vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b are provided which stand in the Y direction and sandwich the product case 30 and the side plate 33. A motor unit 704 is provided on the upper part of the vertical movement side plate 702a disposed on the left side in the X direction. The motor unit 704 has a motor (not shown) with a pulse encoder, for example. Pulleys 708a and 708b are pivotally supported through the shaft 706 on the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b. The rotational force from the motor unit 704 is transmitted to the pulley 708a, and is also transmitted to the pulley 708b via the shaft 706. That is, when the motor unit 704 is driven, the pulleys 708a and 708b rotate synchronously at the same speed in the same direction.
Ended belts 710a and 710b are stretched around these pulleys 708a and 708b. A part of the fixing plate 700b is fixed to one end of the belt 710b, and a weight 712b is fixed to the other end of the belt 710b. Although the belt 710a is not shown, the fixed plate 700a and the weight 712a (not shown) symmetrical to the weight 712b are fixed to the belt 710a similarly to the fixed plate 700b and the weight 712b. Thus, when the motor unit 704 is driven to rotate in the forward direction, the fixed plates 700a and 700b are lifted in the Y direction while being supported by the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b, that is, the movable frame 81 is moved in the Y direction. The weights 712a and 712b are lowered in the −Y direction while being supported by the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b. On the contrary, when the motor unit 704 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the fixed plates 700a and 700b are supported by the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b and descend in the −Y direction, that is, the movable frame 81 is − The weights 712a and 712b are lifted in the Y direction while being supported by the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b. Here, it is difficult to move the movable base 81 and the bucket 90 in the Y direction only by the driving force of the motor unit 704 because the load is too large. Therefore, weights 712a and 712b are provided in order to reduce this load and to apply appropriate belt tension to the pulleys 708a and 708b.
The partition plate 714 is a partition plate that partitions the product shelf 30 that handles the cooled product and the product shelf 30 that handles the heated product. The partition plate 714 can be removed when the product storage 12 has only the cooled product or only the heated product. It is a possible heat shield. Further, the partition plate 716 includes a space corresponding to the product shelf 30 that handles the cooled product in the space between the product storage / conveyance column 400 and the door panel 13, that is, the space where the bucket 90 moves in the XY direction, and the heated product. It is a heat-insulating member that partitions the product shelf 30 and the corresponding space portion. The partition plate 716 is supported by the vertical movement side plates 702a and 702b, and stops at the position shown in FIG. 8 when no external force is applied. However, when the bucket 90 acquires the product 11 on the upper part of the partition plate 716, the movement of the bucket 90 is blocked while the partition plate 716 is stopped. Therefore, when acquiring the product 11 above the partition plate 716 where the bucket 90 is stopped, the upper surfaces 718a and 718b of the fixed plates 700a and 700b push up the partition plate 716 when the movable frame 81 moves in the Y direction. As a result, the partition plate 716 moves in the Y direction together with the movable base 81. That is, the bucket 90 can acquire the product 11 above the partition plate 716 without being blocked by the partition plate 716. Further, the partition plate 716 descends with the lowering of the movable frame 81 in the −Y direction, and stops after being separated from the movable frame 81 when lowered to the position of FIG. 8. In the case where only the cooled product is stored and sold in the product storage 12, the partition plate 716 has a mechanism fixed to the upper surface of the space.

=== Vending machine control configuration ===
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control means for identifying the position of the product storage / unload column 400 in the present embodiment.

  The control unit 200 shown in FIG. 9 receives a detection signal when the position detection sensor 902 irradiates the reflection surface 72h with infrared light in the process of moving the bucket 90 in the horizontal direction, and a pulse encoder for the X direction. The above pulse signal is received from 920, and the movement of the bucket 90 in the X direction is controlled. Further, the control unit 200 receives a detection signal when the position detection sensor 902 irradiates the side 31a of the bottom plate 31 of the product case 30 with infrared light in the process in which the bucket 90 moves in the vertical direction, and the Y direction The pulse signal is received from the pulse encoder 704a, and the movement of the bucket 90 in the Y direction is controlled. The control unit 200 according to the present embodiment performs identification control for identifying the position of the product column 39 in the product case 30 by moving the bucket 90 and also sells the product 40 in the product acquisition port of the bucket 90. Is controlled to move to the opening of the product column 39 to control the sales mechanism 202.

The RAM 204 stores the number of X and Y direction pulse signals corresponding to the positions of all the commodity columns 39 facing the bucket 90, and the ROM 206 is an appropriate program for operating the control unit 200 described above. Is memorized.
When the position of the product column 39 is changed, for example, when the vending machine is shipped or when the product is changed, the remote controller 210 allows the operator, such as a route man, to send data related to the changed position to the control unit 200. It is a terminal for input. The remote controller 210 includes an identification button 212 for inputting a request signal for requesting the control unit 200 to identify the position of all the product columns 39 in the X direction and the Y direction.

=== Product Positioning Mechanism Horizontal Position Detection Operation ===
An operation in which the control unit of the vending machine having the above-described configuration moves the bucket 90 to detect the horizontal position (X direction) of the conveyor unit 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining the relationship between the product case 30 and the bucket 90 of the vending machine according to the present embodiment. For example, eight rows of conveyor units 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, and 418 are juxtaposed in the product case 30 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the product case 30 is partitioned by the partition plate 65 so that the conveyor units 411 to 418 have a certain width in the X direction. However, the positions of the conveyor units 411 to 418 with respect to the product case 30 are not limited to this, and can be arranged at different positions in the X direction together with the partition plate 65. The position in the X direction of the bucket 90 on the guide rail 81a is represented by the number of pulse signals from the pulse encoder 920 that increases from the right end (BR) in FIG. Here, for example, when the bucket 90 depresses a right limit switch 81e provided on the guide rail 81a, the movement of the bucket 90 in the X direction is stopped at the right end (BR). Similarly, for example, when the bucket 90 depresses the left limit switch 81f provided on the guide rail 81a, the movement of the bucket 90 in the X direction is stopped at the left end (BL). When the bucket 90 moves in the X direction within the range from BR to BL, the position detection sensor 902 controls the detection signal when the light receiving element 902b senses light with a light receiving intensity equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. To the unit 200 (FIG. 9).

  In the example indicated by “BC” in FIG. 10, the bucket 90 is in a position where the product acquisition port of the bucket 90 faces the opening of the conveyor unit 414. At this time, the position detection sensor 902 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 200 when the light receiving element 902b receives the reflected light from the reflecting surface 72h of the delivery member 71 of the conveyor unit 414. The control unit 200 that has received this detection signal causes the RAM 204 to store the number of pulse signals corresponding to the number of rotations of the electric motor 910 from the pulse encoder 920.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a detection signal from the position detection sensor 902 and a pulse signal from the pulse encoder 920 when the bucket 90 moves from the initial position at the right end to the −X direction from the conveyor unit 418 to the conveyor unit 411. is there. Note that the value of the pulse signal of the pulse encoder 920 is reset each time at the initial position of the right end when the bucket 90 moves from the right end to the left end. According to the figure, for example, the detection signal C4 changes from a low level to a high level at the 28th pulse, and from a high level to a low level at the 32nd pulse. In other words, when the position detection sensor 902 moves to the position of the vertical side P on the right side of FIG. 4 of the reflector 72h and receives reflected light, the detection signal C4 changes from low level to high level, while the position detection sensor When 902 further moves to the position of the vertical side P on the left side of FIG. 4 of the reflecting plate 72h and the reflected light cannot be received at a predetermined threshold value or more, the detection signal C4 changes from the high level to the low level. Based on an appropriate program stored in the ROM 206, the control unit 200 generates, for example, the average value “30 (= (28 + 32) / 2) pulses” of the “28 pulses” and “32 pulses” as a conveyor unit. In association with the fact that 414 is “fourth” attached from the left end of the product case 30 in FIG. 10, for example, “30” is stored in association with the RAM 204. The number of pulses (average value) in the X-direction mounting position information of the conveyor units 411 to 418 stored in the RAM 204 is the number of pulses indicating the intermediate position between the right and left vertical sides P of FIG. It is.

=== Example of Vertical Position Detection Operation of Product Conveyance Mechanism ===
The product case 30 is pulled out of the storage shelf 50 for the purpose of replenishing the product 40 (+ Z direction), or stored in the storage shelf 50 after the product 40 is replenished (−Z direction). However, regarding the mounting of the storage shelf 50 and the product case 30 in the product storage 12, the dimensional error in manufacturing the product storage 12, the storage shelf 50, and the product case 30 itself, the storage shelf 50 in the product storage 12 When the product case 30 is stored in the storage shelf 50 due to factors such as changes in the shape of the product storage 12, the storage shelf 50, and the product case 30 due to assembly errors during assembly, and the secular change of the vending machine, The 30 bottom plates 31 are not necessarily horizontal. If the product case 30 is tilted in the X direction of FIG. 1, the gear mechanism 99 of the bucket 90 may be connected to each product column 39 of the conveyor unit 41 even if the horizontal position of the product column 39 can be detected. The belt gear 53 at the position is not meshed at an appropriate position, and as a result, the product 40 may not be conveyed to the bucket 90. Therefore, when the position of each product column 39 of each product case 30 is detected and the stop position in the X direction and the Y direction when the bucket 90 acquires the product 40 is determined, the horizontal direction (X direction) of the product case 30 is determined. It is necessary to consider whether there is a slope at.

  Hereinafter, the operation for obtaining the inclination of the product case 30 in the horizontal direction will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an operation for obtaining the inclination of the product case 30 in the horizontal direction with the front panel 13 being opened. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a case where the uppermost product case 30 is inclined, for example. FIG. 14 shows table data of the number of pulses corresponding to the stop positions of the bucket 90 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to all the product columns 39, and this table data is stored in the RAM 204, for example.

  First, when an operator such as a route man opens the front panel 13 and operates the identification button 212 of the remote controller 210 provided on the back surface of the front panel 13, the 8-stage product case 30 is inclined in the horizontal direction. The bucket 90 moves in the X direction and the Y direction, as will be described later, in order to detect whether or not it is tilted and at what rate it is tilted.

  The bucket 90 is initially waiting at the standby position P1. At this time, the number of pulses by the X-direction pulse encoder 920 and the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a is reset. From this position, the bucket 90 moves in the Y direction between the right end position of the lowermost product case 30 and the position of the conveyor unit 41 that can be disposed on the rightmost side in the product case 30. The X direction is moved so that it can be done (movement position P2). In addition, although the arrangement | positioning position of the conveyor unit 41 with respect to the merchandise case 30 can be changed, since the attachment position of the merchandise case 30 with respect to the storage shelf 50 is fixed, it can be arranged at the right end position of each merchandise case 30 and the rightmost position X position corresponding to the position where the conveyor unit 41 is disposed, and the X position corresponding to the position between the left end position of each product case 30 and the position where the conveyor unit 41 can be disposed on the leftmost side. The number of pulses generated by the direction pulse encoder 920 (the number of pulses generated and added when the bucket 90 moves from the right end in the X direction to the left end in the X direction) can be stored in the RAM 204 in advance. Thereby, the bucket 90 can move by referring to the data of the number of pulses stored in the RAM 204 with respect to the positions P1 to P9 by transmitting the driving force of the horizontal driving mechanism and the vertical driving mechanism. .

  In FIG. 12, the width in the X direction of the lower five-stage product case 30 is the same. In addition, conveyor units 441 to 445 are arranged in the product case 30 at the fifth stage from the bottom, and conveyor units 451 to 455 are arranged in the product case 30 at the fourth stage from the bottom, and the third stage from the bottom. Conveyor units 461 to 465 are disposed in the product case 30, conveyor units 471 to 475 are disposed in the product case 30 in the second stage from the bottom, and the conveyor units 481 to 481 are disposed in the bottom product case 30. 485 is disposed. The bucket 90 at the position P2 rises in the Y direction toward the position P3. In the process from the position P2 to the position P3, the position detection sensor 902 provided in the bucket 90 is a product in the lowest stage, the second stage from the bottom, the third stage from the bottom, the fourth stage from the bottom, and the fifth stage from the bottom. The infrared light reflected from the side 31 a of the bottom plate 31 in the case 30 is sequentially detected, and the number of pulses generated and added by the Y-direction pulse encoder 704 a at this time is associated with each product case 30. It is stored in the RAM 204.

  Next, the bucket 90 has a position between the right end position of the product case 30 in the third stage from the top and the position of the conveyor unit 41 that can be disposed on the rightmost side of the product case 30 from the position P3. The X direction is moved to the right so that it can be moved in the Y direction (movement position P4). At this time, the number of pulses of the X-direction pulse encoder 920 is subtracted. Conveyor units 431 to 437 are disposed in the product case 30 in the third stage from the top. Then, the bucket 90 at the position P4 rises in the Y direction toward the position P5. In the process from the position P4 to the position P5, the position detection sensor 902 provided in the bucket 90 detects infrared light reflected from the side 31a of the bottom plate 31 in the third-stage product case 30 from above. The number of pulses generated and added by the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a is stored in the RAM 204 in association with the third-stage product case 30 from the top.

  Next, the bucket 90 has a position between the right end position of the product case 30 in the second stage from the top and the disposition position of the conveyor unit 41 that can be disposed on the rightmost side in the commodity case 30 from the position P5. The X direction is moved to the right side so that it can be moved in the Y direction (movement position P6). At this time, the number of pulses of the X-direction pulse encoder 920 is subtracted. Note that the X-direction widths of the uppermost product case 30 and the uppermost product case 30 are the same, and the conveyor unit 421 to 428 are arranged in the second product case 30 from the top, so that the uppermost product case 30 30 includes conveyor units 411 to 418. And the bucket 90 in the position P6 raises the Y direction toward the position P7. In the process from the position P6 to the position P7, the position detection sensor 902 provided in the bucket 90 sequentially receives infrared light reflected from the side 31a of the bottom plate 31 in the second-stage product case 30 from the top. The number of pulses detected and added by the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a at this time is stored in the RAM 204 in association with the second and uppermost product cases 30 from the top.

  Thereby, the bucket 90 becomes an upper limit position that can move in the vertical direction. At this time, the number of pulses in the Y direction on the right side of each product case 30 is stored in the RAM 204.

  Next, it is necessary to detect the side 31a of the bottom plate 31 of each product case 30 in FIG. Therefore, the bucket 90 starts from the position P7 between the left end position of the uppermost product case 30 and the position of the conveyor unit 41 that can be disposed on the leftmost side of the product case 30 in the Y direction. The X direction is moved to the left so that it can be moved to (moving position P8). At this time, the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 920 for the X direction increases. Note that the left ends of the product cases 30 from the top to the bottom are aligned. Therefore, the bucket 90 at the position P8 descends in the Y direction toward the position P9. In the process from the position P8 to the position P9, the position detection sensor 902 provided in the bucket 90 sequentially detects infrared light reflected from the side 31a of the bottom plate 31 in all the product cases 30, and the Y direction at this time The number of pulses generated and subtracted by the pulse encoder 704a is stored in the RAM 204 in association with all product cases 30.

  Thereby, the bucket 90 becomes a lower limit position that can move in the vertical direction. At this time, the number of pulses in the Y direction on the left side of each product case 30 is stored in the RAM 204. The number of pulses of the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a is added when the bucket 90 is raised, and is subtracted from the number of pulses added when the bucket 90 is lowered when the bucket 90 is lowered. Therefore, the number of pulses corresponding to the right and left sides 31a of each product case 30 is an absolute number from the time when the bucket 90 is reset at the standby position P1. After the number of pulses corresponding to the right side and the left side of all the product cases 30 is stored in the RAM 204, the bucket 90 moves in the X direction from the position P9 to the standby position P1, and the movement operation of the bucket 90 itself ends.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 13, the uppermost product case 30 is taken as an example. The number of pulses of the pulse encoder 704a for the Y direction at the vertical position A of the side 31a on the right side of the product case 30 obtained by the detection result of the position detection sensor 902 in the process of raising the bucket 90 in the Y direction is, for example, 1000 When the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 704a for the Y direction at the vertical position B of the side 31a on the left side of the product case 30 obtained by the detection result of the position detection sensor 902 in the process of moving down in the Y direction is, for example, 1014. Think. In this case, the average pulse number of the difference between the vertical positions A and B can be used as the stop position in the Y direction of the bucket 90 with respect to the uppermost product case 30. As a result, the gear mechanism 99 on the bucket 90 side meshes with the belt gear 53 of the conveyor unit 411 provided on the left side of the uppermost product case 30 and the conveyor unit 418 provided on the right side with the same error, corresponding to 16 pulses. Therefore, the inconvenience that the product 40 is not delivered to the bucket 90 can be eliminated. The same can be said for the product cases 30 in the second and subsequent stages from the top.

  Further, when the arrangement position of the conveyor unit 41 with respect to the product case 30 is fixed in advance, the number of pulses obtained by dividing the difference between the pulse numbers of the vertical positions A and B in accordance with the arrangement position of each conveyor unit 41 in the X direction. Can be employed as a stop position for each conveyor unit 41 in the Y direction of the bucket 90. For example, when eight conveyor units 411 to 418 in the uppermost product case 30 are arranged at equal intervals, the number of pulses corresponding to the stop position of the bucket 90 in the vertical direction with respect to the conveyor unit 411 is 1014. The number of pulses corresponding to the stop position in the vertical direction of the bucket 90 with respect to 412 is 1012, the number of pulses corresponding to the stop position in the vertical direction of the bucket 90 with respect to the conveyor unit 413 is 1010, and the stop position in the vertical direction of the bucket 90 with respect to the conveyor unit 414 1008, the number of pulses corresponding to the vertical stop position of the bucket 90 relative to the conveyor unit 415 is 1006, the number of pulses corresponding to the vertical stop position of the bucket 90 relative to the conveyor unit 416 is 1004, the conveyor Number of pulses corresponding to the vertical stop position of the bucket 90 relative to knit 417 1002, the number of pulses corresponding to the vertical direction of the stop position of the bucket 90 relative to the conveyor unit 418 may be a 1000. In this case, the gear mechanism 99 on the bucket 90 side meshes with the belt gear 53 of each conveyor unit 411 to 418 with almost no error, and the bucket 90 reliably receives the product 40 from the conveyor units 411 to 418. It becomes possible to receive. The calculation for determining the stop position of the bucket 90 in the vertical direction is executed by the control unit 200. This eliminates the need to provide a pair of protrusions on both sides of each product case, and further eliminates the need to provide an optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the protrusions. It is possible to provide a vending machine capable of reliably detecting the above.

  When the arrangement position of the conveyor unit 41 can be made variable with respect to the product case 30, after determining the vertical stop position of the bucket 90 with respect to each product case 30, the controller 200 determines the product case 30. After stopping the bucket 90 at the vertical position, the operation of FIG. 10 may be executed to determine the stop position of the bucket 90 in the X direction.

  The number of pulses corresponding to the stop position in the X direction and the Y direction of the bucket 90 for each product case 30 determined in this way is calculated by the control unit 200 and then stored in the RAM 204 as table data as shown in FIG. Will be. For example, when the average pulse number of the difference between the pulse encoders 704a for the Y direction as shown in FIG. 13 is adopted, the number of pulses corresponding to the stop positions of the bucket 90 in the X direction and the Y direction in the conveyor unit 414 is (30, 1007).

  In the present embodiment, the position detection sensor 902 detects the reflection of infrared light from the side 31a, but the position detection sensor 902 detects the reflected light from the side 31a with certainty. A part of the side 31a facing 902 may have a length in the Y direction. Further, if there is a conveyor unit 41 disposed at a fixed position with respect to the product case 30, it is also possible to detect the vertical position of the product case 30 using the reflection surface 72h of the conveyor unit 41. . Further, since the number of pulses corresponding to the stop positions in the X direction and Y direction of the bucket 90 obtained as described above is stored in the RAM 204, when the product 40 is actually sold, information on the number of pulses is stored from the RAM 204. By reading, the bucket 90 is opposed to the designated conveyor unit 41 at an appropriate position, the gear mechanism 99 on the bucket 90 side is meshed with the belt gear 53 on the conveyor unit 41 side, and the product 40 is removed from the product delivery unit 17. It becomes possible to pay out. Here, a program for executing the number of pulses corresponding to the stop positions of the bucket 90 in the X direction and the Y direction each time the front door 13 is opened and closed may be stored in the ROM 206 in advance. As a result, it is possible to reliably cope with the secular change of the vending machine.

=== Other Embodiments ===
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

<<<< Other Examples of Buckets >>>>
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a bucket having a position detection sensor 902 different from the bucket 90 of FIG. 4 as viewed from the product acquisition port side. In FIG. 15, the same components as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In place of the position detection sensor 902 provided below the bucket belt 92 of the bucket 90 of FIG. 4, the bucket 90 a is arranged on both sides in the X direction of the bucket 90 a, particularly near the outside in the X direction of the bucket belt 92. A pair of position detection sensors 903a and 903b (non-contact sensors) are provided. When the position of the conveyor unit 41 in the horizontal direction of the product case 30 shown in FIG. 10 is detected using the pair of position detection sensors 903a and 903b, the left-side conveyor of FIG. 10 is used using the position detection sensor 903a. Since the position of the unit 41 can be detected and the position of the conveyor unit 41 on the right side of FIG. 10 can be detected using the position detection sensor 903b, the width of the vending machine in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to provide a slim vending machine.

<<<< Other Examples of Vertical Position Detection Operation of Product Conveyance Mechanism >>>>
Hereinafter, the operation for obtaining the inclination of the product case 30 in the horizontal direction will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an operation for obtaining the inclination of the product case 30 in the horizontal direction using the bucket 90a of FIG. 15 with the front panel 13 opened. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a case where the uppermost product case 30 is inclined, for example.

  First, when an operator such as a route man opens the front panel 13 and operates the identification button 212 of the remote controller 210 provided on the back surface of the front panel 13, the 8-stage product case 30 is inclined in the horizontal direction. In order to detect whether or not it is further tilted, the bucket 90a moves in the X direction and the Y direction as will be described later.

  The bucket 90a is initially waiting at the standby position P1. At this time, the number of pulses by the X-direction pulse encoder 920 and the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a is reset. From this position, the bucket 90a is moved to the left in the X direction so that the position detection sensors 903a and 903b can move in two directions in the horizontal direction of all the product cases 30 where the conveyor unit 41 and the partition plate 65 are not provided. Move in the direction (movement position P2). For example, the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 920 for the X direction corresponding to two horizontal positions where the conveyor unit 41 and the partition plate 65 in the horizontal direction of each product case 30 are not provided is assigned to the conveyor unit 41. After installation, it can be stored in the RAM 204 in advance using the remote controller 210. In FIG. 16, it is assumed that the conveyor units 41 are arranged at equal intervals with respect to each product case 30. That is, as the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 920 for the X direction, it is sufficient that the RAM 204 only stores the number of pulses related to one arbitrary product case 30. As a result, the bucket 90 can move by transmitting the driving force of the horizontal driving mechanism and the vertical driving mechanism by referring to the data of the number of pulses stored in the RAM 204 for the positions P1 to P3. .

  The bucket 90 at the position P2 rises straight in the Y direction toward the position P3. In the process from the position P2 to the position P3, the position detection sensors 903a and 903b provided in the bucket 90 move from the lowermost product case 30 toward the uppermost product case 30 of the bottom plate 31 in each product case 30. Infrared light reflected from two different sides 31a is sequentially detected, and the number of pulses generated and added by the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a at this time is stored in the RAM 204 in association with each product case 30. Let me.

  As a result, the bucket 90 becomes the upper limit position that can move in the vertical direction, and at this time, the number of pulses in the Y direction at two different locations of each product case 30 is stored in the RAM 204. The number of pulses of the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a is added when the bucket 90 is raised, and is subtracted from the number of pulses added when the bucket 90 is lowered when the bucket 90 is lowered. Accordingly, the number of pulses corresponding to two different places on the side 31a of each product case 30 is an absolute number from the time when the bucket 90 is reset at the standby position P1. After storing the number of pulses corresponding to two different locations of the sides 31a of all the product cases 30 in the RAM 204, the bucket 90 moves from the position P3 via the position P2 or directly to the standby position P1, and the bucket 90 itself End the move operation.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 17, the uppermost product case 30 is taken as an example. The number of pulses at the vertical position D is the number of pulses of the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a when the position detection sensor 903a receives reflection of infrared light. The number of pulses at the vertical position C is the number of pulses of the Y-direction pulse encoder 704a when the position detection sensor 903b receives infrared light reflection. Consider a case where the number of pulses at the vertical position C is 1008 and the number of pulses at the vertical position D is 1012. In this case, according to the ratio between the distance between the position detection sensors 903a and 903b in the horizontal direction and the length of the uppermost product case 30, the number of pulses corresponding to the right end and the left end of the product case 30 in the vertical direction is set. The average pulse number of the difference between the pulse numbers can be adopted as the information on the stop position in the vertical direction of the bucket 90a. Accordingly, the gear mechanism 99 on the bucket 90a side meshes with the belt gear 53 of the conveyor unit 411 provided on the left side of the uppermost product case 30 and the conveyor unit 418 provided on the right side with the same error, and the difference of 4 pulses is obtained. Since the vertical distance error corresponding to the number of pulses of a product greater than 1 (the ratio) is not engaged, the inconvenience that the product 40 is not delivered to the bucket 90a can be solved. The same can be said for the product cases 30 in the second and subsequent stages from the top.

  In addition, when the arrangement position of the conveyor unit 41 with respect to the product case 30 is fixed in advance, the difference in the number of pulses indicated by the product of the number of pulses between the vertical positions C and D and a number greater than 1 according to the ratio. Can be divided according to the arrangement position of each conveyor unit 41 in the X direction, and this number of pulses can be used as a stop position for each product column 39 in the Y direction of the bucket 90a. In this case, the gear mechanism 99 on the bucket 90a side meshes with the belt gear 53 of each of the conveyor units 411 to 418 with almost no error, and the bucket 90a reliably receives the product 40 from the conveyor units 411 to 418. It becomes possible to receive. The calculation for determining the stop position of the bucket 90a in the vertical direction is executed by the control unit 200. Thereby, it is not necessary to provide a pair of protrusions on both sides of each product case 30, and further, it is not necessary to provide an optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the protrusions. It is possible to provide a vending machine capable of reliably detecting the inclination.

  When the arrangement position of the conveyor unit 41 can be made variable with respect to the product case 30, after determining the vertical stop position of the bucket 90 a with respect to each product case 30, the controller 200 determines the product case 30. After stopping the bucket 90a at the vertical position, the operation of FIG. 10 may be executed to determine the stop position of the bucket 90a in the X direction. In particular, in the case of FIG. 16, since the bucket 90a can determine the inclination of the product case 30 only by raising in one direction from the position P2 to the position P3, when determining the horizontal position of the conveyor unit 41 in each product case 30, There is no need to go back to the standby position P1. That is, the bucket 90a may be made to execute the operation of FIG. 10 from the upper limit position where it can move in the vertical direction toward the lowermost product case 30 by the control unit 200. Thereby, the control sequence and operation sequence for obtaining the positions of the conveyor unit 41 in the X direction and the Y direction are simplified.

  The number of pulses corresponding to the stop position in the X direction and the Y direction of the bucket 90a for each product case 30 determined in this way is calculated by the control unit 200, and then as table data similar to the table data shown in FIG. It is stored in the RAM 204.

  In FIG. 16, the bucket 90 a rises in a straight line from the position P <b> 2 to the position P <b> 3 in a straight line, but is not limited to this, and the inclination of each product case 30 may be obtained by zigzag.

It is a front view which shows the external appearance structure of the vending machine concerning this Embodiment. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the goods case concerning this Embodiment from front diagonally upward. It is a front view which shows the delivery member concerning this Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the bucket of this embodiment from the goods acquisition mouth side. It is a side view of the bucket and conveyor unit of this Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the bucket and guide rail of this Embodiment. It is another perspective view of the bucket and guide rail of this Embodiment. It is a principal part perspective view which shows an example of the vertical drive mechanism applied to the vending machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of this Embodiment. It is a top view for demonstrating the relationship between the conveyor unit of this Embodiment, and a bucket. It is a figure which shows the detection signal from the position detection sensor at the time of the bucket movement of this Embodiment, and the pulse signal from a pulse encoder. It is a figure which shows an example of the movement path | route of the bucket at the time of the position detection of the conveyor unit of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows that the uppermost product case inclines. It is a figure which shows an example of the data regarding the position of the conveyor unit of this Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the other example of the bucket from the goods acquisition mouth side. It is a figure which shows an example of the movement path | route of the bucket at the time of the position detection of the conveyor unit using the bucket of FIG. It is another figure which shows that the uppermost product case inclines.

Explanation of symbols

30 Product case 39 Product column 40 Product 41 Conveyor unit 50 Storage shelf 81 Movable rack 81a Guide rail 90, 90a Bucket 200 Control unit 202 Sales mechanism 204 RAM
206 ROM
210 Remote control 212 Identification button 704 Motor unit 704a Pulse encoder 902 Position detection sensor 903a, 903b Position detection sensor 910 Drive motor 920 Pulse encoder

Claims (9)

A product shelf provided in the product storage, a product transport mechanism for transporting a product row placed on the product shelf to the top product side, and a top product in the product row transported by the product transport mechanism Vending machine having a bucket that can move in the horizontal and vertical directions, a horizontal drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the horizontal direction, and a vertical drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the vertical direction In the machine
A non-contact sensor provided on the bucket, for detecting the presence or absence of a portion on the top product side of the product shelf when the bucket moves in a vertical direction;
The bucket controls the horizontal drive mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism so that the bucket moves in the vertical direction from two or more different movement start positions in the horizontal direction, and the bucket moves in the vertical direction from the two or more movement start positions. When the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf, the inclination of the product shelf is obtained based on the detection output, and the bucket is perpendicular to the product shelf according to the inclination of the product shelf. A control unit for determining a stop position in the direction;
Vending machine characterized by having The vertical drive mechanism has a pulse generation mechanism that generates a number of pulses corresponding to a movement distance of the bucket in the vertical direction,
The said control part calculates | requires the inclination of the said product shelf based on the pulse number which the said pulse generation mechanism generate | occur | produces when the said non-contact sensor detects the said site | part of the said product shelf. Vending machine as described in.   3. The automatic operation according to claim 1, wherein the movement start position is a horizontal end portion in which the bucket can move, and is a vertical lower limit position or a vertical upper limit position at the both end portions. Vending machine.   When the control unit detects the inclination of the product shelf, the bucket moves up one end of the both ends in the vertical direction, the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf, and the bucket detects the both ends. Moving the horizontal direction toward the other end of the unit, the bucket descends the other end of the both ends in the vertical direction, and the non-contact sensor detects the part of the product shelf, The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the vertical driving mechanism is controlled. A plurality of the product transport mechanisms are provided in a direction crossing a direction of transporting the product row to the top product side on the product shelf,
The non-contact sensor detects the position of the commodity transport mechanism in the horizontal direction when the bucket moves in the horizontal direction,
The control unit determines a horizontal stop position of the bucket with respect to the product shelf based on a detection output when the non-contact sensor detects the product transport mechanism.
The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein   The vending machine according to claim 5, further comprising: a storage unit that stores information related to horizontal and vertical stop positions of the bucket with respect to the commodity shelf determined by the control unit.   When the control unit sells a product, the control unit reads information on the horizontal and vertical stop positions of the bucket stored in the storage unit, and the product transport in which the bucket is designated based on the read information The vending machine according to claim 6, wherein the horizontal driving mechanism and the vertical driving mechanism are controlled to face the mechanism.   The control unit controls the horizontal drive mechanism and the vertical drive mechanism to determine the horizontal and vertical stop positions of the bucket each time a door for storing products in the product storage is opened and closed. A vending machine according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: A product shelf provided in the product storage, a product transport mechanism for transporting a product row placed on the product shelf to the top product side, and a top product in the product row transported by the product transport mechanism In a vending machine having a bucket that is movable in the vertical direction and a vertical drive mechanism that moves the bucket in the vertical direction to acquire and pay out
A non-contact sensor that is provided at two locations in the horizontal direction of the bucket, and detects the presence or absence of two portions on the top product side of the product shelf when the bucket moves in the vertical direction;
The bucket controls the vertical drive mechanism so that the bucket moves in the vertical direction from the movement start position, and when the bucket moves in the vertical direction from the movement start position, the non-contact sensors are located at the two parts of the commodity shelf. Based on the detection output when detecting, the control unit for obtaining the inclination of the product shelf, and determining the vertical stop position of the bucket with respect to the product shelf according to the inclination of the product shelf;
Vending machine characterized by having

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