JP2007004381A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the maintenance of a merchandise exhibition chamber without complicating an assembly operation. <P>SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine is provided with a merchandise exhibition chamber 10 where merchandise samples 15 are housed and arranged, wherein push button units 20 for merchandise selection are supported on the internal surface of a transparent board 12 covering the surface of the merchandise exhibition chamber 10. In this case, light emission diode modules 30 for decorating the merchandise exhibition chamber 10 are applied as light sources for illuminating the merchandise samples 15 of the merchandise exhibition chamber 10, and the light emission diode modules 30 are supported by the push button units 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to the structure of a product display room for displaying product samples.

  In the vending machine, a product display room is provided on an outer door disposed on the front surface of the main body cabinet. The product display room is covered with a transparent plate at the front, and a product sample corresponding to the product for sale is accommodated in the interior. The product sample is mounted in a state of being aligned with a product display stand supported on the back plate of the product display room.

  In addition, a fluorescent lamp is disposed inside the product display room as a light source for illuminating the product display room and the product sample. It is preferable to arrange the fluorescent lamp so that the user cannot see it directly in the product display room. However, providing a dedicated cover is not preferable in terms of cost. For this reason, conventionally, fluorescent lamps are arranged so that the front area is covered by the product display stand.

  A transparent plate covering the front of the product display room is provided with a push button unit corresponding to a product sample. The push button unit is provided with a push button switch for selecting a product, and is arranged in such a manner that the push button of the push button switch faces the outside of the transparent plate.

  In this type of vending machine, the user can purchase the selected product by operating the pushbutton switch corresponding to the product sample after inserting the money (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-79078

  By the way, in the usual vending machine, the back plate of the product display room is often configured to be openable and closable. This back plate can be opened and closed with the outer door opened with respect to the main body cabinet, facilitating maintenance such as replacement of product samples accommodated in the product display room and replacement of fluorescent lamps. Will be able to.

  Here, when the back plate is configured to be openable and closable, it is necessary to support the fluorescent lamp on the back plate. That is, when the back plate is opened and closed, the fluorescent lamp must be supported on the same back plate as the product display stand in order to prevent interference between the fluorescent light and the product display stand covering the front area.

  On the other hand, when the back plate is opened and closed, the distance between the back plate and the transparent plate changes. Therefore, in order to place the push button for selecting a product facing outside, it is preferable to support the push button unit on the transparent plate.

  As a result, in the above-described vending machine, when the back plate is configured to be openable and closable, the power cable for supplying power to the fluorescent lamp is laid on the back plate, while the signal cable of the push button unit Must be laid on a transparent plate, and the assembly work may become complicated.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of facilitating maintenance of a product display room without complicating assembly work.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a product display room for accommodating and arranging a product sample, and a light-transmitting member covering the surface of the product display room is used for product selection. In a vending machine that supports a push button unit, a light emitting diode that decorates a product display room is applied as a light source for illuminating a product sample in the product display room, and the light emitting diode is supported by the push button unit. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, since the light emitting diode for decorating the product display room is applied as a light source for illuminating the product sample in the product display room, it can be arranged at any position without requiring a dedicated cover. it can. Moreover, since the light emitting diode is supported by the push button unit, even when the back plate is configured to be openable and closable, the power supply cable of the light emitting diode and the signal cable of the push button unit should be laid on a transparent member. Will be able to. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate the maintenance work of the product display room without complicating the assembly work of the vending machine.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine illustrated here sells beverages in containers such as canned beverages, beverages in plastic bottles, beverages in bottled cans, etc. as products, and includes an outer door 2 on the front surface of a main body cabinet 1 that accommodates the products. ing. The outer door 2 is supported by the main body cabinet 1 through one side edge, and can swing in a manner to open and close the front opening of the main body cabinet 1.

  The outer door 2 is provided with a bill insertion slot 3, a coin insertion slot 4, a return lever 5, a coin return slot 6, and a display 7 at the other side edge of the surface, and a product at the lower center of the surface. An outlet 8 is provided. The bill insertion port 3 is an opening for a user to insert a bill. The banknote inserted through the banknote insertion slot 3 is appropriately processed in a banknote processing apparatus (not shown). In addition, this banknote insertion port 3 functions also as a banknote return port at the time of returning a banknote with respect to a user. The coin slot 4 is an opening through which a user inserts coins. The coins inserted through the coin insertion slot 4 are appropriately processed in a coin processing device (not shown). The return lever 5 is an operation unit for returning a bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 3 or a coin inserted from the coin insertion slot 4, and is disposed in the vicinity of the coin insertion slot 4. The coin return opening 6 is an opening for returning coins to the user, and is provided at a position below the coin insertion opening 4. The display 7 is for displaying various information necessary for selling the product, such as the amount of money deposited, whether the product is being sold, whether there is a change, etc. For example, a liquid crystal display is used. The merchandise outlet 8 is an opening for receiving merchandise purchased by the user, and is formed in a horizontally long portion below the outer door 2.

  In addition, the outer door 2 of the vending machine is provided with a product display room 10 at the upper center portion thereof. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the merchandise display room 10 is configured in a region surrounded by the back plate 11 and the transparent plate 12 inside the outer door 2.

  The back plate 11 is constituted by a relatively rigid thin plate such as a steel plate, and is supported on the outer door 2 so as to be swingable via a hinge shaft 13 extending in the vertical direction. More specifically, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 4, when the back plate 11 is swung in the direction approaching the outer door 2, the back plate 11 is disposed at a position that coincides with the outer surface of the outer door 2. While the back surface of the exhibition room 10 is closed, the back plate 11 causes the back surface of the product display room 10 to be moved when it is swung away from the outer door 2 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It will be in an open state.

  The transparent plate 12 is configured by a thin plate made of synthetic resin having translucency, and is attached to the outer door 2 in such a manner that the front opening of the product display room 10 is always closed.

  In the product display room 10, a product display stand 14 is provided on the back plate 11, while a push button unit 20 is provided on the transparent plate 12.

  The merchandise display stand 14 is configured in a table shape so that the merchandise sample 15 can be mounted, and is formed of a synthetic resin material having translucency, for example. In the present embodiment, a product display stand 14 is provided so that a total of 30 product samples 15 can be arranged in the product display room 10, 10 in each of the upper, middle, and lower three rows. More specifically, a portion of the back plate 11 where the product display stands 14 are arranged in a row is provided with a display stand support frame 16 that is elongated along the left-right direction. The product display stand 14 is held in each. Although not clearly shown in the figure, a display board for displaying the price and cold / hot state of the product is attached to the front surface of the product display stand 14.

  The push button unit 20 is configured by holding a plurality of push button switches 22 on the mounting body 21, and is located on the inner surface of the transparent plate 12 at a position corresponding to the upper, middle, and lower rows of product samples 15. Each extends along the horizontal direction.

  The attachment body 21 is a frame-shaped member formed of metal, for example, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section in which the front wall portion 21b and the rear wall portion 21c extend upward from both sides of the base wall portion 21a. Yes.

  The push button switch 22 outputs an individual selection signal to a control device (not shown) of the vending machine when the user presses the push button 22a, and is provided corresponding to each product sample 15. is there. The push button 22a of the push button switch 22 is exposed to the outside through a through hole formed in the transparent plate 12, and can be directly operated by the user. Although not shown in the drawing, the signal cable of each pushbutton switch 22 in each pushbutton unit 20 passes through the inside of the attachment body 21 and is led out to one side of the outer door 2. There is no fear of being visually recognized.

  In addition, a plurality of light emitting diode modules are provided on the lower surface of the top wall of the push button unit 20 and the product display room 10 arranged in the upper and middle stages and on the lower surface of the base wall portion 21a so as to be visible from the outside of the product display room 10. 30 is attached. 5 to 8, the light emitting diode module 30 is configured by housing a circuit board 33 in which a light emitting diode 31 is mounted on the front surface and a power supply connector 32 is mounted on the back surface in a main body case 34. It is. In particular, in the present embodiment, a horizontally long light emitting diode module 30 in which four light emitting diodes 31 are mounted in a row on the circuit board 33 is illustrated.

  The main body case 34 of the light emitting diode module 30 is formed of a light-shielding material, and includes an emission opening 34a, a connector opening 34b, and a mounting portion 34c.

  The emission opening 34 a is for allowing the light emitting diode 31 of the circuit board 33 accommodated inside the main body case 34 to face the outside, and is covered with a series of lens bodies 35. The lens body 35 is formed of a material having translucency, and has a shape in which a plurality of spheres with the mounting position of each light emitting diode 31 as a center are continuous.

  The connector opening 34b is for the power supply connector 32 to be exposed to the outside, and is open to the base end surface 34d opposite to the distal end surface where the emission opening 34a is formed in the main body case 34.

  The attachment portion 34c constitutes the outer peripheral edge portion of the connector opening 34b, and has an insertion portion 34c1 and a pair of locking portions 34c2. The insertion portion 34c1 is a cylindrical portion having the connector opening 34b as a central hole, and is configured to protrude from the base end surface 34d. The locking portion 34c2 is a tongue-like portion extending in the radially outward direction in a manner spaced from the base end surface 34d from the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 34c1, and is 180 ° in a manner along the longitudinal direction of the main body case 34. They are provided at spaced positions.

  As is clear from FIG. 7, in the light emitting diode module 30 of the present embodiment, the main body case 34 is configured so that the front end surface on which the lens body 35 is mounted is inclined with respect to the base end surface 34d, and the front end By accommodating the circuit board 33 so as to be parallel to the surface, the optical axis 31 a of the light emitting diode 31 is inclined with respect to the base end surface 34 d of the main body case 34.

  On the other hand, the mounting body 21 to which the light emitting diode module 30 configured as described above is attached has a mounting hole 23 at a position between the product display stands 14 in the base wall 21a as shown in FIG. It is. Each mounting hole 23 is formed by integrally forming an insertion hole 23a and a pair of notches 23b. The insertion hole portion 23a is a circular hole formed in a size that allows the insertion portion 34c1 of the main body case 34 to be inserted. The notch part 23b is a notch through which the pair of locking parts 34c2 can be inserted when the insertion part 34c1 of the main body case 34 is inserted into the insertion hole part 23a. As is clear from the figure, the pair of notches 23 b are provided in an aspect that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the attachment body 21. Although not explicitly shown in the drawing, power is supplied to the inside of the attachment body 21, that is, the space surrounded by the front wall portion 21b and the rear wall portion 21c when connected to the power supply connector 32 of the light emitting diode module 30. A power supply cable is laid in advance. Although not shown in the drawing, a mounting body 21 similar to the mounting body 21 of the push button unit 20 is also independently attached to the lower surface of the top wall of the commodity display room 10.

  When attaching the light emitting diode module 30 to the attachment body 21, first, a power feeding cable (not shown) is pulled out from the mounting hole 23 and connected to the power feeding connector 32 of the light emitting diode module 30. Next, the insertion portion 23 c of the main body case 34 is matched with the insertion hole portion 23 a of the mounting hole 23, and the locking portion 34 c 2 of the main body case 34 is matched with the notch portion 23 b of the mounting hole 23. Insert the insertion portion 34c1. In this state, the longitudinal direction of the light emitting diode module 30 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the attachment body 21.

  From this state, when each locking portion 34c2 passes through the notch 23b, the light emitting diode module 30 is rotated around the axis of the insertion portion 34c1 with respect to the attachment body 21, and the optical axis 31a of the light emitting diode 31 is moved to the product display room. 10 when the locking surface 34c3 facing the base end surface 34d of the main body case 34 is disposed at a position facing the upper surface of the base wall portion 21a of the mounting body 21 at the locking portion 34c2. The light emitting diode module 30 can be attached to the attachment body 21 by preventing the light emitting diode module 30 from falling off the attachment hole 23 of the attachment 21. At this time, if the locking portion 34c2 of the light emitting diode module 30 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the attachment body 21, the longitudinal direction of the attachment body 21 and the longitudinal direction of the light emitting diode module 30 are in agreement with each other. The light emitting diode module 30 can be easily detached from the attachment body 21 by performing the above-described operation in reverse.

  In the vending machine configured as described above, when coins having a price equal to or higher than the price of the merchandise are inserted from the bill insertion slot 3 or the coin slot 4, the push button switch 22 corresponding to the corresponding merchandise becomes effective. When the user presses the pushbutton 22a of the pushbutton switch 22 corresponding to the desired product from the activated ones, a selection signal of the pushbutton switch 22 that has been pressed is a signal cable (not shown). To be sent to a control device (not shown). As a result, the selected product is paid out and can be provided to the user via the product outlet 8. When the return lever 5 is operated without operating the push button switch 22 after inserting the money, the inserted money is returned to the user as it is from the bill insertion slot 3 or the coin return slot 6. In addition, with respect to money that has been put in excess of the price of the merchandise sold, the difference is returned to the user as change from the coin return slot 6 after the merchandise has been paid out.

  Here, in the vending machine, when power is supplied to the light emitting diode module 30 through a power supply cable (not shown), the light emitting diode 31 is turned on in each light emitting diode module 30. The lighting of the light emitting diode 31 does not cause any problem even if the user looks directly, and is disposed at a position where it can be visually recognized from the outside through the transparent plate 12. It can be used as a decorative light, and can be greatly differentiated from other vending machines that simply illuminate the entire product display room with a fluorescent lamp.

  In addition, the light emitting diode module 30 supported by the attachment body 21 is set so that the optical axis 31 a of the light emitting diode 31 faces inward of the product display room 10. Accordingly, the light emitted from the light emitting diode 31 is applied to the product sample 15, and the product sample 15 can be made more conspicuous in the product display room 10. Further, since the light emitting diode module 30 is a point light source, an arbitrary number of light emitting diode modules 30 can be arranged at arbitrary positions in the commodity display room 10. Therefore, it is also possible to produce an effect that makes only the desired product sample 15 stand out.

  As a result, the merchandise display room 10 of the vending machine attracts the attention of the user, and the sales promotion of the merchandise can be expected. In this case, since the decorative light emitting diode 31 is also applied to the illumination of the product sample 15, there is no need for a separate light source such as a fluorescent lamp, and the cost of the vending machine is significantly increased. Nor. Further, when the light emitting diode module 30 is attached to the attachment body 21 by engaging the engagement portion 34c2 of the main body case 34, the power supply connector 32 is disposed facing the back surface side of the attachment body 21. The power supply cable (not shown) connected to the power supply connector 32 is also laid on the rear surface side of the attachment body 21, without causing troubles such as troublesome work and loss of appearance quality. The light emitting diode 31 can be used as a light source of the commodity display room 10. Furthermore, since the light emitting diode 31 has a longer life than a conventional fluorescent lamp, maintenance work associated with replacement or the like can be facilitated.

  On the other hand, in the vending machine, if the back plate 11 is opened with the outer door 2 opened, maintenance work such as replacement of the product sample 15 in the product display room 10 can be easily performed. In addition, since the light emitting diode 31 is supported by the push button unit 20, the power supply cable (not shown) of the light emitting diode 31 and the push button unit are not affected without any trouble in the opening and closing movement of the back plate 11. 20 signal cables (not shown) can be laid on the transparent plate 12 side. Therefore, the assembly work of the vending machine can be facilitated.

  In the above-described embodiment, a vending machine that sells beverages in containers such as canned beverages, beverages in plastic bottles, beverages in bottled cans, etc. is exemplified. Of course, it can also be applied to machines.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the horizontally long light emitting diode module 30 in which the plurality of light emitting diodes 31 are mounted in a row on the circuit board 33 is applied. What is mounted with a light emitting diode may be applied.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the vending machine which is embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional side view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged plan view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the light emitting diode module for vending machines which is embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the light emitting diode module for vending machines shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view of the light emitting diode module for vending machines shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the light emitting diode module for vending machines shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the attachment aspect of the light emitting diode module for vending machines shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Product display room 11 Back plate 12 Transparent plate 14 Product display stand 15 Product sample 16 Display stand support frame 20 Push button unit 30 Light emitting diode module 31 Light emitting diode 32 Power supply connector 33 Circuit board 34 Main body case 34a Outgoing opening 34b For connector Opening 34c Mounting portion 34c1 Insertion portion 34c2 Locking portion 34c3 Locking surface 34d Base end surface 35 Lens body

Claims (1)

In a vending machine having a product display room for accommodating and arranging product samples, and supporting a push button unit for product selection on a translucent member covering the surface of the product display room,
A vending machine characterized in that a light emitting diode for decorating a product display room is applied as a light source for illuminating a product sample in the product display room, and the light emitting diode is supported by a push button unit.

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