JP2008282215A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine capable of simplifying a plurality of lighting devices for individually transmission-lighting a plurality of commodity samples individually, simply controlling the lighting devices, and reducing the prepared number of control signal lines in a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The automatic vending machine comprises a plurality of selection button units lined up and arranged on a front door of an automatic vending machine body, a commodity display shelf arranged on a middle door located at a back face of the front door and displaying the plurality of commodity samples by lining up corresponding to respective selection button units, and a plurality of lighting devices for individually lighting respective commodity samples from respective back face sides or lower face sides. Light-emission control sections for controlling light-emission of the lighting devices by communicating information contactlessly between the light-emitting control section and lighting device facing at its back face side are arranged on the respective selection button units. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine capable of easily controlling an illumination device that transmits and illuminates a product sample provided in association with a product selection button from the back side thereof.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a vending machine for packaged products such as cigarettes displays a plurality of product samples S arranged side by side on the front surface of a front door 2 provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. A product display section 4 in which a plurality of product selection buttons 3 and the like are arranged in association with the product sample S is provided. Further, on the front surface of the front door 2, a money processing unit 5 is provided in line with the product display unit 4. The money processing unit 5 includes a coin insertion slot, a bill insertion slot, a money indicator, a change return lever, a change return opening, and the like.

  The product display section 4 is provided with multi-stage product display shelves 7 for displaying a plurality of product samples S on the back side of the window 6 in which the opening of the front door 2 is covered with a transparent plate. A plurality of product selection buttons 3 corresponding to the product samples S are provided on the front surface of the window (transparent plate) 6. The product display shelf 7 is usually provided on a middle door 8 that can be opened and closed on the back side of the front door 2 as shown in FIG. 6, and the back side of the window portion 6 as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be positioned in. Further, in order to enhance the display effect of the plastic product sample S displayed side by side on the product display shelf 7, an illumination light source 9 such as a fluorescent lamp that illuminates the product sample S is provided on the back side of the product display shelf 7. .

By the way, recently, like the product selection button 3 described above, the sale enable display and the sold-out display associated with the product sample S are grouped together with the product selection button 3, and further, an electronic device such as a microprocessor as a control device thereof. Various attempts have been made to make a unit as a selection button device by incorporating components [see, for example, Patent Document 1]. Moreover, it replaces with the fluorescent lamp mentioned above, uses the light emitting diode (LED) as the illumination light source 9, and integrated the illumination light source (LED) 9 and the function which controls the emitted light color (display color) and emitted light intensity. Various attempts have been made to adopt [see, for example, Patent Document 2].
JP 2000-57124 A JP 2006-330807 A

  However, when individually controlling the illumination for a plurality of product samples S, it is necessary to provide an illumination light source (LED) and its drive circuit in association with each of the product samples S. It is necessary to provide the control circuit separately. Moreover, when the plastic product sample S is transmitted and illuminated from the back side, an illumination light source (LED) and its drive circuit are provided on the side of the inner door 8 provided with the product display shelf 7 on which a plurality of product samples S are displayed side by side. It is also necessary to incorporate a control circuit comprising a microprocessor (so-called microcomputer).

  Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, for each of the plurality of selection button devices B11 to Bnm provided on the front door 2 side, the driving power is supplied from the main control unit A of the vending machine body 1 via the power line D. And a control signal is transmitted through the control signal line E to instruct (command) the control operation. In addition to this, the driving power is supplied from the main control unit A of the vending machine body 1 via the power line D to each of the plurality of lighting devices C11 to Cmn provided on the inner door 8 side, and the control is performed. It is necessary to transmit a control signal via the signal line E and to instruct (command) the control operation. For this reason, there is a problem that the installation of the power supply line D and the control signal line E becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to simplify a plurality of illumination devices that individually transmit and illuminate a plurality of product samples, and to easily control these illumination devices. An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine with a simple configuration that can be performed and can reduce the number of control signal lines.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the vending machine according to the present invention is:
<a> A product selection button and a control device therefor, a plurality of selection button devices provided side by side on the front door of the vending machine body;
<b> A product display shelf provided on an inner door positioned on the back surface of the front door and displaying a plurality of product samples respectively associated with the selection button devices so as to be visible through the window of the front door. ,
<c> A light-emitting element and a drive circuit therefor, and a plurality of illumination devices that are incorporated in the product display shelf and individually transmit and illuminate each product sample from the back side or the bottom side thereof. ,
<d> In particular, the selection button device includes a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the lighting device through non-contact information communication with a driving circuit of the lighting device facing the back side thereof. Yes.

  Preferably, the selection button device includes a microprocessor having functions of the control device and the light emission control unit, and transmits an optical signal to a light receiver provided in a drive circuit of the illumination device. Configured as a thing. Alternatively, each of the selection button device and the lighting device includes an electromagnetic coil facing each other at a predetermined distance, and is configured to transmit information from the selection button device to the lighting device via these electromagnetic coils. .

  The plurality of selection button devices are connected to a main control unit of the vending machine main body via a power line and a control signal line, respectively, whereas the plurality of lighting devices are connected to the main control unit with a power line. Only connected through.

  According to the vending machine configured as described above, it is not necessary to individually incorporate a microprocessor as a control device into a plurality of illumination devices that individually illuminate and transmit a plurality of product samples from the back side. In addition, since it is no longer necessary to separately lay out control signal lines between multiple lighting devices and the main controller of the vending machine body, the number of control signal lines has been reduced, so the configuration is simplified and the installation cost is reduced. Can be reduced.

  In addition, since each selection button device provided in association with each product sample can have a role of lighting control for the product sample, the control system is collectively managed for each product sample (product selection button). It becomes possible to do. Therefore, it is possible to simplify communication control for giving control commands to a plurality of control devices, and the effects such as simplification of the system configuration can be achieved.

  In particular, information communication between the selection button device and the illumination device is performed in a non-contact manner using, for example, optical coupling or electromagnetic coupling. Therefore, if the selection button device and the lighting device are provided separately for the front door and the middle door of the vending machine body, the middle door is always superimposed on the front door during normal operation, so that the information transmission path is reliable. Retained. Therefore, there is no problem in practice.

Hereinafter, a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, this vending machine is provided with a product display shelf 7 for displaying a plurality of product samples S side by side on the middle door 8 of the vending machine body 1, and the vending machine body. A plurality of product selection buttons 6 associated with each of the product samples S are provided on the window 6 of one front door 2. The product selection buttons 6 are grouped together with a sale enable indicator (not shown), a sold-out indicator (not shown), etc. provided in the vicinity of the product selection button 3 in association with the product sample S. Further, by integrating electronic parts (not shown) such as a microprocessor as a control device on the back side thereof, it is unitized as a selection button device 11 corresponding to each product sample S. . In particular, the microprocessor incorporates a function (software) as a light emission control unit for controlling the illumination of the product sample S as will be described later.

  In this embodiment, a light emitter (e.g., a light emitting diode; LED) 12 that emits information signal light toward the inner door 8 on the back side of the selection button device 11 and the light is diffused at a predetermined spread angle. A projection lens 13 is provided. The light emitter 12 is driven to emit light under the microprocessor (control device) in accordance with a control signal for controlling the transmitted illumination form of the product sample S as will be described later. The light emitter 12 and the light projecting lens 13 are used as an information transmission unit that constructs a non-contact transmission system for information signals.

  On the other hand, on the back of the product display shelf 7 provided on the inner door 8, a light emitting diode (LED) is used as an illumination device that transmits and illuminates a plastic product sample S placed on the product display shelf 7 from the back side. ) 14 is provided. The light emitting diode 14 is formed of a white light emitting diode capable of adjusting the light emission color by changing the light emission ratio of the three primary color components of red, blue and green, for example. A driving circuit (see FIG. 2) 15 of the light emitting diode (illuminating device) 14 controls the light emission intensity based on a control signal described later under a light emission ratio of each color component set in advance, for example. Thus, the illumination light intensity for the product sample S can be varied. The light emitting diode (illuminating device) 14 may illuminate the product sample S from the lower surface side.

  Incidentally, a light receiving device (phototransistor) 16 for receiving the light emitted from the light emitting device 12 described above is provided on a circuit board (device unit) on which the light emitting diode 14 and its driving circuit 15 are mounted. This light receiver 16 is provided opposite to the above-described light emitter 12 on the selection button device 11 side, and serves as an information receiving unit for constructing a non-contact transmission system of information signals with the light emitter 12. Take a role. The light receiver 16 constitutes an illumination control unit 18 for the light emitting diode 14 together with the drive circuit 15 described above, and the light emitting diode 14 is driven to emit light in accordance with an information signal received by the light receiver 16, thereby emitting light. Adjust the strength.

  A cylindrical light guide (shading body) 17 for limiting the light receiving angle is provided around the light receiving surface of the light receiver 16, and from other than the light emitter 12 opposed to the light receiver 16. The incident of unnecessary light is prevented. In other words, the light receiver 16 is associated with the common product sample S in a one-to-one relationship, and is an optical signal emitted from the light emitter 12 facing the front door 2 and the inner door 8 with a predetermined interval. Only to receive light. Even if the optical door 12 is slightly misaligned at the position where the light emitter 12 and the light receiver 16 are opposed by opening and closing the middle door 8 with respect to the front door 2, the light emitter 12 is As described above, coupled with the generation of an optical signal at a predetermined spread angle, the light receiver 16 reliably receives the optical signal from the light emitter 12.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a light emitting device 12 provided on the selection button device 11 side, a light receiving device 16 provided on the illumination device 14 side that transmits and illuminates the product sample S, and a drive circuit 15 for the light emitting diode (LED) 14. Yes. As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitter 12 is provided to be driven to emit light in accordance with the output of the light emission control unit incorporated in the microprocessor (control device) of the selection button device 11 described above. On the other hand, the light receiver 16 is provided so as to output a current corresponding to the received light intensity. And the drive circuit 15 which carries out light emission drive of the illuminating device (light emitting diode) 14 which permeate | transmits the product sample S, for example, the level determination device 19 which discriminates the output level (light reception intensity) of the said light receiver 16 with the preset threshold value, In accordance with the output of the level determiner 19, specifically, it is constituted by a transistor that drives the illumination device (light emitting diode) 14 to emit light only when the output level (light receiving intensity) of the light receiver 16 exceeds the threshold value. Is done.

  Thus, according to the vending machine which comprises the selection button device 11 and the illumination device 14 of the product sample S and its drive circuit 15 as described above, the microprocessor (control device) provided in the selection button device 11 on the front door 2 side. Only by controlling the illumination of the product sample S by the light emission control unit, the drive circuit 15 of the illumination device 14 provided on the inner door 8 side is activated and the illumination device (light emitting diode) 14 is driven to emit light. Specifically, the pulse light having the duty ratio can be transmitted to the light receiver 16 by driving the light emitter 12 using a pulse signal having a duty ratio corresponding to the illumination intensity (brightness) of the product sample S. . Then, the drive circuit (transistor) 15 drives the illumination device (light emitting diode) 14 to emit light in accordance with the output of the light receiver 16 that receives the pulsed light, so that the illumination device (light emitting diode) 14 has the duty ratio. The illumination light with the corresponding average intensity is emitted. As a result, the product sample S is transmitted and illuminated by the illumination light with the intensity variably adjusted according to the duty ratio, and thereby the brightness of the product sample S placed on the product display shelf 7 is adjusted. become.

  Accordingly, it is not necessary to incorporate the brightness adjustment function of the lighting device (light emitting diode) 14 on the inner door 8 side, and the control function can be collectively provided on the selection button device 11 side, so that the configuration is simplified. Can be achieved. That is, since it is not necessary to incorporate a control device such as a microprocessor in the lighting device 14 provided on the inner door 8 side, it is possible to reduce the cost of the components.

  Furthermore, since it is not necessary to incorporate the brightness adjustment function of the lighting device (light emitting diode) 14 on the inner door 8 side as described above, a plurality of lighting devices C11 to C11 provided on the inner door 8 side as shown in FIG. It is only necessary to supply the driving power to each of the Cmn from the main control unit A of the vending machine body 1 through the power line D. That is, it is not necessary to transmit a control signal from the main control unit A of the vending machine body 1 to each of the plurality of lighting devices C11 to Cmn via the signal line E and to instruct (command) the control operation. The laying of the control signal line E is not necessary. As a result, the number of wires laid on the inner door 8 can be greatly reduced, so that not only the component cost but also the production cost can be reduced. In addition, the main control unit A does not need to distribute control information for the same product sample S to the selection button device 11 provided on the front door 2 side and the illumination device 14 provided on the inner door 8 side. Effects such as simplification can be achieved.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. In the embodiment, the illumination device 14 is controlled to be non-contact by optical signal transmission using the light emitter 12 and the light receiver 16. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the illumination device 14 is utilized using electromagnetic coupling between a pair of coils. You may make it carry out non-contact control. That is, a transmission coil 21 is provided on the selection button device 11 side, and a reception coil 22 is provided on the illumination device 14 side so as to face the transmission coil 21 so as to face each other. Combine.

  The modulator 23 is driven using the output of the microprocessor (control device) provided in the selection button device 11, and the transmission coil 21 is modulated and driven by the modulator 23. Then, the modulation signal is generated in the reception coil 22 that is electromagnetically coupled to the transmission coil 21. The demodulator 24 demodulates the modulation signal to restore the output of the microprocessor (control device). If the light emitting element 14 is driven to emit light by the output of the demodulator 24, the light emission intensity from the light emitting element 14 can be adjusted as in the above-described embodiment.

  Further, not only such a form of non-contact information transmission between the front door 2 side and the middle door 8 side but also a form of transmitted illumination from the back side with respect to the product sample S can be variously modified. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The figure which shows typically the relationship between the selection button apparatus showing the characteristic structure of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and an illuminating device. The figure which shows the structural example of the light emitting element provided in the selection button apparatus side, and the light receiving element provided in the illuminating device side. The figure which shows schematic connection structure with the main control apparatus with respect to the some selection button apparatus and the some illuminating device in the vending machine which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the form of the non-contact information transmission using the electromagnetic coupling between the selection button apparatus side and the illuminating device side. The external view which shows schematic structure of a vending machine. The schematic structure figure which shows the relationship between the front door and middle door in a vending machine. The figure which shows typically the general arrangement structure of the selection button apparatus and illumination device in the conventional vending machine. The figure which shows schematic connection structure with the main control apparatus with respect to the some selection button apparatus and the some illuminating device in the conventional vending machine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine body 2 Front door 3 Product selection button 7 Product display shelf 8 Middle door 11 Selection button device 12 Light emitting element 13 Diffusing lens 14 Light emitting diode (lighting device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Drive circuit 16 Light receiving element 18 Illumination control part 21 Transmitting coil 22 Receiving coil 23 Modulator 24 Demodulator A Main control apparatus B11-Bnm selection button apparatus C11-Cmn Illumination apparatus D Power supply line E Control signal line S Product sample

Claims (4)

A plurality of selection button devices provided with a product selection button and its control device, and arranged side by side on the front door of the vending machine body;
A product display shelf that is provided on a middle door positioned on the back surface of the front door and displays a plurality of product samples that are respectively associated with the selection button devices so as to be visible through the window of the front door;
A plurality of illuminating devices each including a light emitting element and a drive circuit thereof, and incorporated in the product display shelf and individually transmissively illuminating each product sample from the back surface side or the lower surface side thereof;
The selection button device includes a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the illumination device by communicating information non-contact with a drive circuit of the illumination device facing the back side thereof. .   The selection button device includes a microprocessor having functions of the control device and the light emission control unit, and transmits an optical signal to a light receiver provided in a drive circuit of the illumination device. The vending machine according to claim 1.   2. The selection button device and the lighting device are each provided with electromagnetic coils facing each other at a predetermined distance, and information is transmitted from the selection button device to the lighting device via these electromagnetic coils. Vending machine as described in.   The plurality of selection button devices are respectively connected to a main control unit of the vending machine body via a power line and a control signal line, and the plurality of lighting devices are respectively connected to the main control unit via a power line. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein

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