JP2006004286A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine for preventing an act of stealing articles by providing an entry preventing lid for closing an article passing port through which articles falling from a hanging rod pass. <P>SOLUTION: An article output port 7 is closed by its own weight when no load is given to an outlet lid 34 by providing the outlet lid 34 and an entry preventing lid 36 rotatably supported at specified angles to a front panel 2A of a casing 2. On the other hand, when the outlet lid 34 is rotated and the article output port 7 is left open, the entry preventing lid 36 which rotates inwardly by linking to the outlet lid 34 is abutted to a plate part 37 to close the article passing port 38. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that transports a selected product to a product storage unit and enables the product stored in the product storage unit to be taken out from the product outlet, and in particular, an outlet lid that opens and closes the outlet. The present invention relates to a vending machine that prevents theft of merchandise by providing an entry prevention lid that opens and closes the merchandise passage in conjunction with the operation.

Conventionally, various vending machines have been proposed that display products to users and sell products displayed based on money that has been input. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-116386, a spiral rack is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle by a motor, so that the product holder suspended at the top of the spiral rack is released from the suspended state and its tip is released. The machine is configured to drop together with the product from the bag, and is sent from the corresponding receiving port to the product outlet through the product shooter consisting of the sloped portion and the inclined guide portion, and the desired bagged product is delivered to the customer's hand. Vending machines are listed.
By the way, in such a vending machine, there is a case in which a theft is performed such that a hand, a stick or the like enters through a product outlet, and a product stored inside is illegally extracted. Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-346231, an anti-theft plate is provided between the outlet and the sales door, and when the product is thrown out and the sales door opens, the anti-theft plate closes the outlet and prevents unauthorized acquisition of the product. A vending machine configured to prevent is described.
JP-A-10-116386 (pages 3 to 5, FIG. 3) JP 2003-346231 A (page 3 to page 5, FIGS. 4 to 7)

However, in the vending machine described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, no shielding means is provided between the product outlet provided outside and the product installed inside, and the product pickup is not provided. It has become possible to forcibly drop a product suspended on a spiral rack by allowing an arm, a thin stick, or the like to enter from the exit, thereby obtaining the product illegally. Therefore, it is necessary to take a crime prevention measure to prevent such theft.
In addition, in the vending machine described in Patent Document 2, the sales door is pushed open from the inside by the weight of the discharged product, and the product is put into the product receiver. When throwing out a light product, the sales door could not be pushed open, and the product could be clogged at the outlet.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and by providing an ingress prevention lid that opens and closes a product passage port through which a product passes, the product is placed inside the housing for an unauthorized purpose from the product outlet. A vending machine that prevents intruders from coming into contact with the product suspended on the hanging rod, prevents theft of the product, and allows the product to be discharged without clogging inside the device. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to claim 1 includes a housing (for example, housing 2) that stores a plurality of products (for example, a product case 3), and a product stored in the housing. Among them, selection means for selecting one product (for example, the product selection unit 12), product transport means for transporting the product selected by the selection means (for example, product carry-out units 23A to 23J), and the product transport means A product storage unit (for example, storage unit 19) that stores the product conveyed by the product, and a product outlet (for example, product outlet 7) that takes out the product stored in the product storage unit out of the housing. In the vending machine (for example, the DVD vending machine 1), the product storage unit passes the product transported by the transport unit and stores the product passed through the product storage unit (for example, the product storage unit). A product outlet 38), and the product outlet operates in conjunction with an outlet lid (for example, outlet lid 34) that opens and closes the product outlet, and the opening and closing operation of the outlet lid. An entry prevention lid (for example, an entry prevention lid 36) that opens and closes the product, and the entry prevention lid closes the product passage port when the takeout cover opens the product takeout opening, and the takeout cover When the product outlet is closed, the entry prevention lid opens the product passage port.

  A vending machine according to a second aspect is the vending machine according to the first aspect (for example, the DVD vending machine 1), wherein the commodity transport means (for example, the commodity carry-out units 23A to 23J) has an axial center. And a hanging rod (for example, the hanging rod 18) that has a helical groove (for example, the helical groove 50) formed in a spiral shape and is capable of supporting a plurality of the products by suspending them inside the housing, Drive means (for example, drive motor 22) for rotating the suspension rod about its axis.

  Furthermore, the vending machine according to claim 3 is the vending machine according to claim 1 or 2 (for example, the DVD vending machine 1), wherein the outlet lid (for example, the outlet lid 34) is the product. The entry prevention lid (for example, the entry prevention lid 36) is rotatably supported with respect to the take-out port (for example, the product take-out port 7). It is characterized in that it is rotatably supported by the housing (for example, the housing 2) at an angle.

In the vending machine according to claim 1, the selected product is allowed to pass, and the product passage opening for storing the passed product in the product storage unit is opened and closed in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the take-out lid that opens and closes the product take-out port. The entrance prevention lid closes the product passage when the product outlet opens the product outlet, so foreign objects that enter the inside of the housing for illegal purposes from the product outlet are placed in the housing. To prevent contact with used goods. Therefore, theft of the product by forcibly discharging the product in the housing is prevented, and a high crime prevention effect is exhibited.
In addition, when the product outlet is closed, the product passage opening is opened, so there is no risk of the product being discharged coming into contact with the ingress prevention lid inside the housing and being reliably discharged. Become.

  The vending machine according to claim 2 opens and closes the outlet lid that opens and closes the commodity outlet for the commodity passing port through which the commodity dropped from the hanging bar is allowed to pass and the passed commodity is dropped into the commodity storage section. The entrance prevention lid that opens and closes in conjunction with the doorway and the entry prevention lid closes the product passage when the exit lid opens the product exit. Prevents the product from coming into contact with the product suspended by the suspension rod. Therefore, theft of the product by forcibly dropping the suspended product is prevented, and a high crime prevention effect is exhibited.

  Furthermore, in the vending machine according to the third aspect, since the outlet cover and the entry prevention lid are rotatably supported on the casing at a predetermined angle by the same rotation shaft, the removal cover and the entry prevention are prevented by a simple structure. The lid can be operated in conjunction with it, and the product can be stolen by forcibly discharging the product in the housing by closing the product passage through the entry prevention lid in conjunction with the operation of the outlet lid. To prevent. Therefore, a high crime prevention effect can be exhibited at a low cost.

Hereinafter, a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied for a DVD vending machine.
First, a schematic configuration of a DVD vending machine according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a DVD vending machine according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the DVD vending machine according to this embodiment.
Note that the DVD vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment suspends a product case enclosing a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) as a product on each of a plurality of suspension rods 18 to be described later, and a user sets in advance for each product. When the amount of money (for example, 1500 yen) is thrown, the hanging rod is rotated in a predetermined rotation direction, and the hung product is moved toward the tip of the hanging rod. Then, the product dropped from the tip of the hanging rod can be taken out by a user from an outlet provided in the lower part of the casing. In addition, the products sold in these DVD vending machines are not limited to DVDs, and it is naturally possible to sell CDs (Compact Discs), home game machines, PC game software, books, magazines, etc. It is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the DVD vending machine 1 stores and sells a plurality of product cases 3 in which DVDs are enclosed in a casing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The housing 2 is composed of a front panel 2A, left and right side panels 2B and 2C, a rear panel 2D, a top panel 2E, and a bottom panel 2F. The panels 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, A suspension rod 18 for suspending a product case 3 to be described later, a drive motor 22 and the like are installed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space formed by 2E and 2F (see FIG. 3).

  Further, about 2/3 of the left side of the front panel 2A of the housing 2 is covered with the glass member 4, and the user can visually recognize the product case 3 stored inside the housing from the outside through the glass member 4. It has become. In addition, an operation panel 5 is provided at the center on the right side of the front panel 2A so that the user can perform various operations when purchasing a product. Furthermore, the return port 6 which returns change etc. and the goods outlet 7 for taking out the purchased goods are provided in the lower end part of 2 A of front panels.

  Further, the bottom panel 2F of the housing 2 is provided with fixed legs 9 at four places corresponding to the corners, and the height of the fixed legs 9 is adjusted so that the DVD vending machine 1 is placed horizontally with respect to the installation surface. Install safely.

In the operation panel, a card insertion slot 15, a money amount display section 10, a key insertion slot 11, a product selection section 12, a bill insertion slot 13, and a coin insertion slot 14 are provided in this order from the top.
The card slot 15 is a slot into which a card having a monetary value such as a prepaid card is inserted. The card inserted from the card insertion slot 15 is sent to a card reading section (not shown) provided inside the housing 2, and the current card balance is stored in a storage area (for example, an IC chip or a magnetic band). At the same time, when the product is purchased, the balance obtained by subtracting the price of the purchased product is overwritten in the storage area of the card.
The monetary amount display unit 10 is composed of 7 segment LEDs, and displays the current total amount of money inserted from the bill insertion slot 13 and the coin insertion slot 14 or the balance of the prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 15 by numerical numbers. To do.
The key insertion slot 11 is an insertion slot for inserting an opening / closing key (not shown) for opening / closing the front panel 2A of the housing 2, and the store side inserts the opening / closing key into the key insertion slot 11 in a predetermined direction. The front panel 2A can be opened with respect to the housing 2 by rotating. Thereby, replenishment of the product case 3 and collection | recovery of the inserted banknote and coin can be performed.

  In addition, the product selection unit 12 is provided with aligned push buttons having numbers “1” to “10” written on the surface thereof. Each push button is suspended by ten suspension rods 18 (see FIG. 3) provided in the housing 2, and corresponds to each of the ten types of product cases 3 displayed. When a button having a number corresponding to the product case 3 in which the DVD to be purchased is enclosed is pressed among the product cases 3 displayed in the body 2, a predetermined hanging rod 18 is rotated and used as described later. The product case 3 of the kind desired by the person is dropped from the tip of the hanging rod and sent to the storage unit 19 (see FIG. 3) provided at the bottom of the housing 2. The product in the storage unit 19 can be taken out from the product take-out port 7.

The banknote insertion slot 13 is an insertion slot into which banknotes designated in advance (for example, 1000 yen bill, 5000 yen bill, and 10000 yen bill) are inserted. A bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 13 is sent to a bill recognition device (not shown) provided inside the housing 2 to determine authenticity, and then a stocker (not shown) which is a money storage unit. Stored inside.
The coin slot 14 is a slot into which coins designated in advance (for example, four types of 10 yen coin, 50 yen coin, 100 yen coin, and 500 yen coin) are inserted. The bills inserted from the coin insertion slot 14 are sent to a coin selector (not shown) provided inside the housing 2 and judged authentic, and then stored in the stocker.

  Next, the internal structure of the DVD vending machine according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the DVD vending machine according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the front panel 2A, the left and right side panels 2B and 2C, the back panel 2D, and the top panel 2E of the housing 2 are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, a partition panel 21 that divides the inside of the housing 2 at a ratio of about 1: 2 is provided inside the DVD vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment. In the product installation space 20 formed between the partition panel 21 and the left side panel 2B, a product carrying out composed of a hanging rod 18 and a drive motor 22 that rotates the hanging rod 18 about its axis. Units 23A to 23J are arranged at a predetermined interval. The product carry-out units 23A to 23J are arranged in a total of 10 places, 5 rows in the vertical direction and 2 rows in the horizontal direction. It is lowered.
Here, a product case 3 in which the same type of DVD is enclosed is suspended from one product carry-out unit (any one of 23A to 23J). On the other hand, in each of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J, a product case 3 in which basically different types of DVDs are enclosed is suspended.
Therefore, in the DVD vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display and sell the product case 3 enclosing a maximum of 10 types of DVDs by providing each product carry-out unit 23A to 23J at 10 locations. ing. It is not always necessary to suspend the product case 3 in which different types of DVDs are enclosed for each of the product delivery units 23A to 23J. For example, the product delivery units 23A and 23B, the product delivery units 23C and 23D, and the product delivery units 23E and 23F. The product case 3 in which the same kind of DVD is enclosed in the product carry-out units 23G and 23H and the product carry-out units 23I and 23J may be suspended. At that time, a product case 3 enclosing five types of DVDs will be exhibited and sold.

  A back wall 24 is provided between the hanging rod 18 and the drive motor 22. The back wall 24 is a plate-shaped member having a rectangular shape, and covers the front surface of the drive motor 22. Thereby, when a user looks inside the housing | casing 2 from the glass member 4, it becomes impossible to visually recognize the drive motor 22, and it looks good. Further, on the back side surface of the back wall 24, shelves 26 are attached at five positions at equal intervals, and two drive motors 22 are fixed to the shelves 26, two in total.

  Furthermore, a flapper 25 is provided in front of the hanging bar 18 of each of the commodity carry-out units 23A to 23J. The flapper 25 is a plate-like member that is attached to the housing 2 at a predetermined angle, and the product case 3 dropped from the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J provided above is suspended from the suspension bar 18. It protects against contact with other product cases 3. Further, on the front side front surface of the flapper 25, the type and price of the DVD enclosed in the product case 3 suspended by the suspension rod 18 located immediately below the flapper 25, and the number used when the product selection unit 12 selects ( A plate (not shown) on which “1” to “10”) are described is attached.

  An illumination light (not shown) is attached to the back side of the flapper 25. The illumination light is a cold cathode tube having a diameter of about 5 mm and a length of about 25 cm. The illumination light irradiates the product case 3 located immediately below and illuminates the plate from the back side surface. Therefore, even when the surroundings become dark at night or the like, the product case 3 and the plate are illuminated brightly, and there is no possibility that the user will make a mistake in the product to be purchased. Moreover, various illumination effects can be exhibited using an illumination light to attract the user's attention.

  Next, the storage part 19 provided in the bottom part of the housing | casing 2 is demonstrated. The storage unit 19 is a place where the product case 3 dropped from the product carry-out units 23A to 23J is temporarily stored. The storage portion 19 is formed by a partition panel 21, a left side panel 2B, and a wall portion 30 formed by bending a plate-like member at a predetermined angle into a substantially “U” shape. A product passage port 38 through which the product case 3 dropped from above passes is formed at the upper end portion of the storage unit 19.

  Further, a sensor light emitting unit 31 and a sensor light receiving unit 32 are provided at equal intervals around the product passage opening 38. Here, at the product passage port 38, the sensor light receiving unit 32 always receives the light emitted from the sensor light emitting unit 31, and when the product case 3 passes through the product passage port 38, the light is blocked and the product case. 3 passes can be detected. Accordingly, when selling the product case 3 to the user, the product case 3 suspended by the suspension rod 18 rotating in a predetermined direction is moved, and the product case 3 is stored from the suspension rod 18. However, if the sensor light receiving unit 32 detects that the product case 3 has passed through the product passage port 38, the suspension rod 18 stops rotating and the product case 3 does not fall any more. To control. As a result, the product cases 3 can be reliably dropped and sold one by one.

  In addition, a buffer material 33 is provided on the bottom surface of the storage unit 19. The buffer material 33 is an impact absorbing member formed in a substantially rectangular shape by polyurethane foam or the like, and is attached so as to cover substantially the entire bottom surface of the storage unit 19. By providing the buffer material 33, it is possible to reduce the impact of the drop of the product case 3 that has fallen into the storage unit 19, and prevent the product case 3 and the DVD enclosed in the product case 3 from being damaged. .

On the other hand, the product outlet 7 for taking out the product case 3 that has fallen into the storage unit 19 from the outside of the housing is covered from the inside by an outlet lid 34 whose upper edge is rotatably supported with respect to the front panel 2A of the housing 2. Has been. Furthermore, the entrance lid 34 is provided with an entry prevention lid 36 that is attached at a predetermined angle (45 degrees in this embodiment) with respect to the exit lid 34 around the rotation axis of the exit lid 34.
Here, the outlet cover 34 and the entry prevention cover 36 rotate in conjunction with each other based on the same rotation axis. That is, when the user takes out the product case 3 in the storage unit 19 and rotates the outlet cover 34 of the product outlet 7 toward the inside of the housing 2, the intrusion prevention cover 36 also rotates accordingly, and the end portion Is configured to block the product passage port 38 by contacting the flat plate portion 37 of the wall portion 30. Accordingly, an arm or a rod is inserted from the product outlet 7 to illegally obtain the product case 3 suspended from the suspension rod 18 of the product carry-out units 23I and 23J located at the lowest stage of the product installation space 20. In addition, since the product passage opening 38 is blocked by the entry preventing lid 36 when the take-out cover 34 is opened from the product take-out opening 7 and an arm, a stick or the like is inserted, the arm, the stick or the like enters above the storage unit 19. I can't do it. Thereby, each fraud can be prevented.

  A unit selection button 28A, a forward rotation button 28B, a reverse rotation button 28C, and a selection unit display unit 29 are provided on the surface of the partition panel 21 on the product installation space 20 side.

  The unit selection button 28A is a button for the store side to designate a hanging rod 18 to be rotated by a forward rotation button 28B and a reverse rotation button 28C, which will be described later, from among the product carry-out units 23A to 23J. A number (any one of “1” to “10”) corresponding to the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J is displayed on the selection unit display unit 29. Each time the store side presses the unit selection button 28A, the number is switched in the order of “1” → “2” → “3” →... And designates the product carry-out units 23A to 23J.

The forward rotation button 28B and the reverse rotation button 28C are start buttons for rotating the hanging rods 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J corresponding to the numbers designated by the unit selection button 28A. Specifically, when the forward rotation button 28B is pressed, the hanging rod 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J corresponding to the designated number rotates in the forward rotation direction. Here, the forward rotation direction is a rotation direction in which the hung product case 3 is moved in a direction (leftward in FIG. 8) to drop the storage case 19 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).
When the reverse rotation button 28C is pressed, the hanging rod 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J corresponding to the designated number is rotated in the reverse rotation direction. Here, the reverse rotation direction is a rotation direction in which the suspended product case 3 is moved in the depth direction (right direction in FIG. 11) in which the drive motor 22 is provided (see FIGS. 10 and 11).

  The selection unit display unit 29 is composed of 7 segment LEDs, and the number (any one of “1” to “10”) corresponding to the product carry-out units 23A to 23J currently designated by the unit selection button 28A as described above. Is displayed.

  Next, the opening / closing mechanism of the product outlet 7 and the product passage port 38 by the outlet lid 34 and the entry prevention lid 36 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic views showing the opening / closing mechanism of the product outlet and the product passage opening by the outlet lid and the entry prevention lid according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the outlet cover 34 and the entry prevention cover 36 are rotatably supported by the front panel 2A of the housing 2 and rotate in conjunction with each other based on the same rotation axis. In a normal state (a state in which no load is applied to the outlet lid 34), as shown in FIG. 4, the outlet lid 34 and the entry prevention lid 36 are brought into the product outlet 7 due to their own weight. It contacts from the inner surface and closes the product outlet 7. On the other hand, the commodity passage opening 38 is opened by the ingress prevention lid 36 that rotates in conjunction with the outlet lid 34. Accordingly, since the product case 3 dropped from the hanging rod is stored in the storage unit 19 without being blocked by the entry preventing lid 36 (see FIG. 11), the product case 3 dropped from the hanging rod 18 is prevented from entering the entry preventing lid. There is no risk of clogging with the product passage opening 38 due to contact with 36, and it is possible to reliably drop it into the storage portion 19.

  On the other hand, in the state in which the product outlet 7 is opened by rotating the outlet lid 34, as shown in FIG. 5, the ingress prevention lid 36 that is rotated inward in conjunction with the outlet lid 34 contacts the flat plate portion 37, The product passage port 38 is closed. Accordingly, an arm, a bar, or the like is inserted from the product outlet 7 and is suspended on the suspension bar 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J (particularly, the product carry-out units 23I and 23J located at the lowest level) arranged in the product installation space 20. Even if an attempt is made to obtain the lowered product case 3 illegally, the product passage opening 38 is sealed by the entry prevention lid 36 when the outlet lid 34 is opened from the commodity outlet 7 and an arm or a rod is inserted. No bars or bars can enter above the product passage port 38. Thereby, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as arms and sticks from coming into contact with the product case 3 and to prevent a theft act of forcibly dropping the product case 3.

  Next, the structure of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a product carry-out unit according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a joint portion of the product carry-out unit according to the present embodiment, in particular, a suspension rod and a drive motor. In the present embodiment, the product carry-out units 23A to 23J all have the same structure. Accordingly, the following description will be given taking the merchandise carry-out unit 23A as an example, and the explanation of the merchandise carry-out units 23B to 23J will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the product carry-out unit 23 </ b> A is basically composed of a hanging rod 18 and a drive motor 22.
The hanging rod 18 has a spiral convex portion 51 that spirally extends along an axial center 52 (see FIG. 9) with respect to the rod-shaped base, and the spiral groove 50 spirals in a portion that does not have the spiral convex portion 51. It is formed in a shape. Then, the product case 3 is suspended in the spiral groove 50, and the product case 3 is moved along the length direction of the suspension rod 18 by rotating the suspension rod 18 around the axis by the drive motor 22. it can.

The drive motor 22 is a motor for rotating the suspension rod 18 around the axis, and is fixed to an outer wall 40 formed in a substantially “U” shape. A position detection sensor 41 using infrared rays and a sensor circuit 42 for controlling the position detection sensor 41 are provided on the side surface of the outer wall 40.
The position detection sensor 41 is a sensor that detects when an object approaches within a predetermined distance. In the present embodiment, the position detection sensor 41 detects when the product case 3 is positioned within about 3 cm. And when the position detection sensor 41 detects, the drive of the drive motor 22 is stopped by the control board 55 mentioned later. Therefore, when the product case 3 is refilled, the hanging rod 18 is rotated in the reverse direction to move the product case 3 in the depth direction (see FIGS. 12 and 13). When the limit of contact with the drive motor 22 is approached, the rotation of the hanging rod 18 is automatically stopped, and the product case 3 can be prevented from contacting the drive motor 22.

The suspension rod 18 configured as described above and the rotating shaft of the drive motor 22 are fixed using a spring pin 46, a sealing 47, and a fixing screw 48. The specific fixing means will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 7, the base 43 having a substantially cylindrical shape positioned opposite to the tip 18A of the suspension bar 18 is formed with two screw holes 44, and the suspension bar 18 is formed on the tip 18A. Two engagement holes 45 formed in a substantially U-shape having an opening with respect to the end portion are provided symmetrically. Further, a through-hole is formed in a rotating shaft (not shown) of the drive motor 22, and a metal spring pin 46 having a notch is inserted through the through-hole. And the protrusion part is formed in the rotating shaft of the drive motor 22 by the both ends of the spring pin 46 inserted.
Accordingly, the base 43 is inserted into the rotating shaft so that the spring pin 46 is positioned in each engagement hole 45, and the fixed screw 48 is inserted into the screw hole 44 to be screwed. The rotation shaft of the drive motor 22 is fixed to each other. Furthermore, the hanging rod 18 and the rotating shaft of the drive motor 22 are more reliably fixed by attaching a substantially circular sealing 47 to the end of the base 43.

  Next, a configuration related to the control system of the DVD vending machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the DVD vending machine according to the present embodiment.

  The control board 55 is a control unit of the DVD vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment, and includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. Then, the CPU operates according to a program stored in the ROM, inputs / outputs signals with other components, and controls the operation of the entire DVD vending machine 1.

The ROM is composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory, and stores programs for realizing basic functions of the DVD vending machine 1, programs for controlling each device of the DVD vending machine 1, and the like.
On the other hand, the RAM temporarily stores data related to the results of the processing executed by the CPU.

  Further, the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J are connected to the control board 55 via the drive control circuit 56. Here, the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J are composed of the suspension rod 18 and the drive motor 22 that rotates the suspension rod 18 about the axis, and the drive motor 22 receives a drive signal from the drive control circuit 56. By doing so, the hanging rod 18 is rotated for a predetermined time. Further, when the control signal from the control board 55 is input, the drive control circuit 56 outputs a drive signal corresponding to the input control signal to the drive motor 22.

  The control board 55 also includes a sensor light emitting unit 31 and a sensor light receiving unit 32 that detect the passage of the product case 3 at the product passage port 38, and a position that detects the position of the product case 3 suspended from the hanging rod 18. Various sensors of the detection sensor 41 are connected. When the product case 3 passes through the product passage opening 38, the sensor light receiving unit 32 transmits the detection result to the control board 55. The position detection sensor 41 detects when the product case 3 suspended from the suspension rod 18 is positioned within about 3 cm. The control board 55 transmits a stop signal for the drive motor 22 to the drive control circuit 56 when receiving detection signals from the sensor light receiving unit 32 and the position detection sensor 41.

  Further, the product selection unit 12, the unit selection button 28A, the forward rotation button 28B, and the reverse rotation button 28C (see FIGS. 1 to 3) are connected to the control board 55, respectively. The control board 55 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on operation signals output by pressing the buttons. Specifically, various processes are executed based on input signals supplied in response to input of user operation information, and data and programs stored in ROM and RAM, and the results are obtained. This is transmitted to the drive control circuit 56.

The control board 55 is connected to a card reading unit 63, a bill recognition device 57, a coin selector 58, a coin counter 59, a hopper drive circuit 60 and a hopper 61.
The card reading unit 63 reads the current balance of a card having a monetary value such as a prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 15 from a storage area (for example, an IC chip or a magnetic band), and outputs it to the control board 55. When a product is purchased, the balance obtained by subtracting the price of the purchased product is overwritten in the storage area of the card.
The banknote identification device 57 performs authenticity determination and denomination determination of the banknote inserted from the banknote slot 13, outputs a signal indicating the result to the control board 55, and stores the inserted banknote (not shown). Z). Further, the coin selector 58 performs authenticity determination and sorting of the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 14, and stores the selected coins in the stocker. The coin counter 59 measures the number of coins selected by the coin selector 58 and outputs the measurement result to the control board 55.
The hopper drive circuit 60 drives the hopper 61 according to the control of the control board 55. Then, the hopper 61 discharges the money corresponding to the change information input from the hopper driving circuit 60 to the return port 6.

  Further, on the control board 55, an amount display unit 10 for displaying the amount of money inserted from the bill insertion slot 13 and the coin insertion slot 14, and numbers corresponding to the product carry-out units 23A to 23J selected by the unit selection button 28A. A selection unit display unit 29 for displaying “1” to “10”, an illumination light 77 attached to the back surface of the flapper 25 and illuminating brightly by irradiating light onto the plate on which the product case 3 and the product name are written, An external I / F unit 62 for communicating with an external device (not shown) is connected.

  Next, the merchandise carry-out mechanism of the DVD vending machine 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 are schematic views showing the product carry-out mechanism of the DVD vending machine according to the present embodiment.

  First, when money is inserted by the user, the DVD vending machine 1 performs authenticity determination and denomination determination of the banknote inserted from the banknote insertion slot 13 by the banknote identification device 57 and a signal indicating the result. Output to the control board 55. Further, the coin selector 58 determines the authenticity and sorting of the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 14, the coin counter 59 measures the number of coins selected by the coin selector 58, and outputs the measurement result to the control board 55. To do. The control board 55 calculates the amount of money inserted by the user from the transmitted money information, and displays the amount on the money amount display unit 10 (for example, “¥ 2000”).

  Next, the user uses the product case 3 suspended from the suspension bar 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J provided in the product installation space 20 through the glass member 4 provided on the front panel 2A of the housing 2. Then, the product case 3 in which the DVD to be purchased is enclosed is selected. Then, referring to a plate (not shown) provided on the flapper 25 provided immediately above the desired product case 3, numbers corresponding to the product carry-out units 23A to 23J on which the desired product case 3 is suspended. (One of “1” to “10”) is selected by operating the product selection unit 12. Then, selection information indicating any of the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J selected by the product selection unit 12 is transmitted to the control board 55. Based on the transmitted selection information, the control board 55 identifies the product carry-out units 23A to 23J in which the product case 3 desired by the user is suspended, and transmits an instruction signal to the drive control circuit 56.

And the drive control circuit 56 which received the instruction | indication signal drives the drive motor 22 of corresponding merchandise carrying-out unit 23A-23J, and rotates the suspending rod 18 connected to the drive motor 22 to the periphery of an axial center. Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the hanging rod 18 is rotated in the α direction (forward rotation direction). Thereby, the product case 3 is drawn out by the spiral convex portion 51 and gradually moves toward the tip end portion 18A of the hanging rod 18 (see FIG. 10).
As a result, the product case 3 that is suspended closest to the tip end 18A of the hanging rod 18 is detached from the hanging rod 18 and falls from the tip 18A.

As shown in FIG. 11, the dropped product case 3 is stored in the storage unit 19 through the product passage port 38 without coming into contact with the product case 3 suspended downward by the flapper 25. Thereafter, the user can take out the product case 3 stored in the storage unit 19 from the product outlet 7.
When the product case 3 passes through the product passage port 38, light from the sensor light emitting unit 31 provided in the product passage port 38 is blocked, and the sensor light receiving unit 32 detects that the product case 3 has dropped. . Then, the sensor light receiving unit 32 transmits the detection result to the control board 55, and the control board 55 sends a stop signal for stopping the drive motor 22 to the drive control circuit 56 based on the transmitted detection result. As a result, the rotation of the hanging rod 18 stops and two or more product cases 3 are not dropped.

  Further, when the user takes out the product case 3 in the storage unit 19 and rotates the outlet cover 34 of the product outlet 7 toward the inside of the housing 2, the intrusion prevention lid 36 also rotates accordingly, and the end portion Is configured to block the product passage port 38 by contacting the flat plate portion 37 of the wall portion 30. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent unauthorized acquisition of the product case 3 suspended by the suspension rod 18 of the product carry-out units 23I and 23J located at the lowermost stage by inserting an arm, a rod or the like from the product take-out port 7. it can.

  On the other hand, the DVD vending machine 1 drives the hopper so that the control board 55 calculates the change based on the drop of the product case 3 by the rotation of the hanging rod 18 and pays out the money corresponding to the change. The circuit 60 is instructed, and change is paid out from the hopper 61 to the return port 6.

  Next, the product replenishment mechanism of the DVD vending machine 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14 are schematic views showing a product replenishment mechanism of the DVD vending machine according to the present embodiment.

First, in the DVD vending machine 1, the front panel 2A is opened with respect to the housing 2 when an opening / closing key is inserted into the key insertion slot 11 by the store side and rotated in a predetermined direction.
Next, the store side uses a unit selection button 28 </ b> A (see FIG. 3) provided on the partition panel 21 to replenish the product case 3 from the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J provided in the product installation space 20. Specify 23A-23J. Note that the number (any one of “1” to “10”) corresponding to the currently specified product carry-out units 23A to 23J is displayed on the selection unit display unit 29, and the store side presses the unit selection button 28A. The numbers are switched in the order of “1” → “2” → “3” →... To designate the product carry-out units 23A to 23J. Thereafter, the reverse rotation button 28C is pressed.
Then, selection information indicating any of the product carry-out units 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> J selected by the unit selection button 28 </ b> A and rotation information for performing reverse rotation are transmitted to the control board 55. Based on the transmitted selection information and rotation information, the control board 55 specifies the product carry-out units 23A to 23J in which the product case 3 to be replenished is suspended, and sends an instruction signal to the drive control circuit 56 to perform reverse rotation. Send.

And the drive control circuit 56 which received the instruction | indication signal drives the drive motor 22 of corresponding merchandise carrying-out unit 23A-23J, and rotates the suspending rod 18 connected to the drive motor 22 to the periphery of an axial center. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, the hanging rod 18 is rotated in the β direction (reverse rotation direction) which is the opposite direction to the α direction (FIG. 9). Thereby, the product case 3 is drawn out by the spiral convex portion 51 and gradually moves toward the drive motor 22 (see FIG. 13).
At this time, the speed at which the hanging rod rotates is 1 rotation / second in the present embodiment, and rotates for 2 seconds each time the reverse rotation button 28C is pressed.

As a result, when the reverse rotation button 28C is pressed, the product case 3 that is suspended closest to the tip end 18A of the hanging rod 18 is rotated by the side of the drive motor 22 by two rotations (two pitches of the spiral groove 50). A space for hanging the product case 3 is formed in the hanging rod 18.
Therefore, the store side can replenish the product case by suspending the new product case 3 in the formed space. Further, when the reverse rotation button 28C is continuously pressed, the hung product case 3 moves toward the drive motor 22 by two rotations (two pitches of the spiral groove 50), and the next product case 3 is replenished. It becomes possible. By repeating the above operation, the product case 3 of the DVD vending machine 1 can be replenished.

  Further, when the product case 3 suspended at a position closest to the drive motor 22 reaches within 3 cm of the position detection sensor 41 provided on the drive motor 22, the position detection sensor 41 detects the product case 3. Then, the position detection sensor 41 transmits the detection result to the control board 55, and the control board 55 sends a stop signal for stopping the driving motor 22 to the drive control circuit 56 based on the transmitted detection result. As a result, the rotation of the hanging rod 18 is stopped, and the hanging rod 18 is not rotated even if the reverse rotation button 28C is further pressed. Therefore, when the product case 3 is replenished to the maximum (see FIG. 14), the suspension rod 18 is not rotated any further, so that the product case 3 can be suspended by one suspension rod 18 In the embodiment, the product case does not hang over 10), and the product case does not come into contact with the drive motor 22.

  When necessary, the store side pushes the forward rotation button 28B to rotate the suspension bar 18 in the α direction (forward rotation direction), and the suspended product case 3 is attached to the tip of the suspension bar 18. It is also possible to move in the direction of the portion 18A.

As described above, in the DVD vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the front panel 2A of the housing 2 is supported in the normal state by the outlet cover 34 and the entry prevention cover 36 that are rotatably supported at a predetermined angle. In a state where no load is applied to the outlet lid 34, the outlet lid 34 and the entry prevention lid 36 are brought into contact with the product outlet 7 from the inner surface by their own weight, and the product outlet 7 is closed. At the same time, the product passage opening 38 is opened. On the other hand, in a state in which the product outlet 7 is opened by rotating the outlet lid 34, the ingress prevention lid 36 that is rotated inward in conjunction with the outlet lid 34 contacts the flat plate portion 37 and closes the product passage port 38. Therefore, even if it tries to obtain the product case 3 suspended by the hanging rod 18 of the product carry-out units 23A to 23J placed in the product installation space 20 by illegally obtaining an arm or a rod from the product outlet 7, When the product outlet 7 is opened from the product outlet 7 and the arm or bar is inserted, the product passage opening 38 is blocked by the entry prevention lid 36. Therefore, the arm or bar or the like enters above the product passage 38. Cannot be done. Thereby, it is possible to prevent foreign objects such as arms and sticks from coming into contact with the product case 3 and to prevent a theft act of forcibly dropping the product case 3.
Further, when the product outlet 7 is closed, the product passage port 38 is opened, so that the product case 3 dropped from the hanging rod 18 may come into contact with the ingress prevention lid 36 and clog the product passage port 38. Therefore, it can be surely dropped into the storage unit 19.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, Of course, various improvement and deformation | transformation are possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the outlet cover 34 and the entry prevention cover 36 are rotatably supported by the same rotation shaft at a predetermined angle, but if both move together, the rotation shaft Need not be identical. For example, the opening / closing operation may be performed by interlocking the movement of the outlet cover 34 and the entry preventing cover 36 by using a gear.
Furthermore, the rotation angle of the outlet cover 34 and the entry prevention lid 36 does not necessarily have to be the same at that time. When the extraction cover 34 is rotated by adjusting the gear ratio, the entry prevention lid 36 is You may comprise so that the rotation angle twice as large as the rotation angle may rotate.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the sensor light emission part 31 and the sensor light-receiving part 32 are provided in the goods passage port 38, the fall of goods is detected by each sensor, and it prevents that two or more goods fall simultaneously. However, the product case 3 is suspended at every predetermined pitch (for example, 3 pitches) of the spiral groove 50, and when dropping the product, the suspension bar 18 is rotated only a predetermined number of times (for example, 3 rotations) and 2 at the same time. You may make it prevent that the product more than an item falls.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, ten commodity carry-out units 23A to 23J having the hanging rod 18 are provided, but the number is not limited to ten. Further, in each of the merchandise carry-out units 23A to 23J, the drive motors 22 for rotating the suspension bars 18 are provided as many as the suspension bars 18, but each suspension bar 18 is rotated by one drive motor 22. You may comprise as follows.

It is a perspective view of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is a front view of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the perspective view which showed the internal structure of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram shown about the opening-and-closing mechanism of the merchandise take-out opening and merchandise passage opening by the take-out lid and entry prevention lid concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram shown about the opening-and-closing mechanism of the goods outlet and goods passage opening by the outlet lid and entry prevention lid concerning this embodiment. It is the perspective view which showed the goods carrying-out unit concerning this embodiment. It is the perspective view which showed the junction part of the hanging rod and drive motor especially of the goods carrying-out unit concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows typically the control system of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods carrying-out mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods carrying-out mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods carrying-out mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods replenishment mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods replenishment mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the goods replenishment mechanism of the DVD vending machine concerning this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 DVD vending machine 2 Case 3 Product case 7 Product outlet 18 Hanging rod 19 Storage part 22 Drive motor 34 Outlet lid 36 Ingress prevention lid 38 Product passage opening

Claims (3)

A housing for storing a plurality of products;
A selection means for selecting one of the products stored in the housing;
Product transport means for transporting the product selected by the selection means;
A product storage section for storing the product transported by the product transport means;
A product outlet for taking out the product stored in the product storage unit out of the housing;
In vending machines with
The product storage unit includes a product passage port for passing the product transported by the transport means and storing the passed product in the product storage unit,
The product outlet is
An outlet lid for opening and closing the commodity outlet;
An intrusion prevention lid that operates in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the outlet cover, and that opens and closes the commodity passage opening,
Have
When the outlet lid opens the product outlet, the entry prevention lid closes the commodity passage opening, and when the outlet lid closes the commodity outlet, the entry prevention lid opens the commodity passage opening. Vending machine characterized by opening. The commodity conveying means is
A hanging rod having a spiral groove formed in a spiral shape along the axis and capable of supporting a plurality of the products by suspending them inside the housing;
Drive means for rotating the suspension rod around an axis;
The vending machine according to claim 1, comprising: The outlet lid is rotatably supported with respect to the commodity outlet.
The said approach prevention lid has the same rotating shaft as the said outlet cover, and is rotatably supported by the said housing at an angle with the said outlet lid. Vending machine as described in.

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