JP2010073152A - Product management system of vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a product management system of a vending machine which improves visibility of storage columns for storing supplied products to prevent the products from being stored into wrong columns. <P>SOLUTION: The product management system of the vending machine has a plurality of storage columns 5 arranged in a body cabinet 1 having a front surface opening 2 to manage the product stored in the storage columns 5. The product managing system includes: display parts 7 respectively arranged in the storage columns 5 so as to face the front surface opening 2 of the body cabinet 1, a bar-code reader 10 for reading bar-codes of the product supplied into the storage columns 5, and a control means 20 previously storing storage information showing the storage columns 5 for each bar-code of the product, comparing the result read through the bar-code reader 10 with the storage information, and turning on the display part 7 of the corresponding storage column 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise management apparatus for a vending machine, and more specifically, merchandise management that is applied to a vending machine that sells various merchandise such as medical devices and manages the merchandise stored in the vending machine. Relates to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines that sell various products include a main body cabinet that is a main body of a vending machine. The main body cabinet is a rectangular housing having an opening on the front surface, and the front surface can be opened and closed by an outer door. A plurality of storage shelves are provided inside such a main body cabinet, and a plurality of storage columns are juxtaposed in the left-right direction on each storage shelf. A label indicating the brand of the product stored in the storage column is affixed in the vicinity of the product inlet of each storage column so as to prevent erroneous input of the product into each storage column. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-8-063642

  However, in the vending machine as described above, since the label is just pasted near the product inlet of the storage column, the replenishment operator needs to check the product against the label at the time of product replenishment work. The worker had to rely on the attention, and there was still a risk of erroneous input.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise management device for a vending machine that can improve the visibility of a storage column in which merchandise to be loaded is to be stored and prevent erroneous insertion.

  To achieve the above object, a merchandise management device for a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention has a plurality of storage columns arranged inside a vending machine body having an opening on the front surface, In a merchandise management apparatus for a vending machine that manages merchandise stored in a storage column, display means arranged in a manner facing the front opening of the vending machine main body in each of the storage columns, and input into the storage column The reading means for reading the identification information of the product to be stored, the storage information in which the storage column to be stored for each product identification information is stored in advance, and the identification information read through the reading means is compared with the storage information And control means for lighting the display means of the storage column to be stored.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the commodity management apparatus for a vending machine according to the first aspect, wherein the control means is configured such that an outer door that opens and closes a front opening of the main body of the vending machine opens and moves. When the opening / closing detection means detects that the front opening has been opened, the display means is lit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product management apparatus for a vending machine according to the second aspect, further comprising: a sold-out detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a product in each of the storage columns. When it is detected by the opening / closing detection means that the front opening is opened and the absence of goods is detected by the sold-out detection means, the display means of the corresponding storage column is turned on.

  According to the product management apparatus of the vending machine of the present invention, the control unit stores in advance storage information in which a storage column to be stored is determined for each product identification information, and stores the identification information read through the reading unit and the storage Since the display means of the storage column to be stored is turned on by comparing with the information, the visibility of the storage column to store the product to be thrown in can be improved. Since the display means of the storage column to be stored is turned on in this way, the operator can put in the product by relying on the turned on display means, and there is no possibility of putting it in by mistake. Therefore, it is possible to improve the visibility of the storage column in which the product to be input should be stored and to prevent erroneous input.

  Exemplary embodiments of a product management device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 each show a configuration of a vending machine to which a product management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal structure, and FIG. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows the principal part in 1. FIG. The vending machine exemplified here is for selling various products such as medical equipment such as contact lenses or canned beverages, and includes a main body cabinet 1 which is a main body of the vending machine.

  The main body cabinet 1 is a rectangular housing that has an opening 2 on the front surface and the front opening 2 is opened and closed by an outer door 3. A plurality of storage shelves 4 are provided in the storage area 1 a inside the main body cabinet 1.

  The storage shelf 4 is configured by arranging a plurality of storage columns 5 side by side in the left-right direction, and stores a plurality of products in a storage passage defined in each storage column 5 in a state of being aligned in the front-rear direction. Is possible. Such storage shelves 4 are provided in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction in such a manner that the storage shelves 4 are bridged between the support side plates 6 attached in a pair of left and right in the storage area 1 a of the main body cabinet 1. More specifically, the storage shelf 4 has a side plate 4 a formed with a protruding portion 4 b that protrudes to the outside, and the protruding portion 4 b enters the groove portion 6 a formed on the supporting side plate 6, thereby supporting the supporting shelf 4 b. It is provided in such a manner that it is bridged between the side plates 6. Here, the groove part 6a is a long thing formed along the front-back direction, and it inclines below gradually as it goes ahead, Thereby, the storage shelf 4 is shown in FIG. As described above, the support side plate 6 (main body cabinet 1) is slidable along the front-rear direction.

  A display portion 7 is provided for each storage column 5 at a front portion of the storage shelf 4 so as to face the front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1. The display unit 7 is a display unit that incorporates a light emitting element such as an LED. Here, an example of the display unit 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, two light emitting elements are incorporated, and a red LED 7a and an LED corresponding to a portion printed with the characters “sold out” (hereinafter, sold out). 7b) (also referred to as a cut-off LED).

  Although not clearly shown in the figure, the storage shelf 4 is provided with an extrusion mechanism for pushing the product stored in the storage passage forward, and the product at the forefront of each storage column 5 is paid out. A payout mechanism is provided for dispensing. As shown in FIG. 1, the goods delivered by the delivery mechanism can be taken out from the product outlet 9 provided in the outer door 3 through the shooter 8 below the housing area 1 a of the main body cabinet 1. .

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the merchandise management apparatus applied to the vending machine shown in FIG. The merchandise management apparatus includes a barcode reader 10, an open / close detection sensor 11, a sold-out detection switch 12, and a control unit 20.

  The barcode reader 10 is a reading unit that reads a barcode, which is product identification information written on the outer surface of the product. Information read by the barcode reader 10 is given to the control means 20.

  The open / close detection sensor 11 is an open / close detection unit that is disposed in the vicinity of the front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1 and detects whether or not the front opening 2 is opened as a result of the outer door 3 being opened. When the opening / closing detection sensor 11 detects that the front opening 2 has been opened, a signal to that effect is provided to the control means 20.

  The sold-out detection switch 12 is a sold-out detecting means that is provided for each storage column 5 in the front part of each storage shelf 4 and detects the presence or absence of a product in the corresponding storage column 5. Specifically, when there is a product in the storage passage of the corresponding storage column 5, the product is turned off, and when the product disappears in the storage passage, for example, it is pressed by the extrusion member constituting the extrusion mechanism to be turned on. In this case, a signal indicating that there is no product in the corresponding storage column 5 is given to the control means 20.

  The control means 20 is, for example, a CPU, and mainly performs display control of the display unit 7 in accordance with data and programs stored in the memory 21. Here, storage information is stored in the memory 21 as a characteristic of the present invention. The storage information associates the product identification information (barcode) with the storage column 5, and the storage column 5 to be stored is determined for each product identification information.

  In the product management apparatus having the above-described configuration, when the replenishment operator opens the outer door 3 during product replenishment work, the open / close detection sensor 11 indicates that the front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1 has been opened. This is detected and given to the control means 20. Further, the barcode reader 10 reads the barcode written on the outside of the supplement product, and gives the reading result (identification information) to the control means 20. The control means 20 to which the reading result is given compares the storage information stored in the memory 21 with the reading result, and turns on the red LED 7a of the display section 7 of the storage column 5 in which the product having the identification information is to be stored. Let Thereby, the replenishment operator can recognize the storage column 5 in which the commodity is to be stored by turning on the display unit 7, and can improve the visibility.

  On the other hand, when a product is sold at the time of selling the product and there is no more product stored in the storage passage, the sold-out detection switch 12 provided in the storage column 5 that defines the storage passage is pressed by the push member and turned on. Thus, the storage column 5 gives a signal to the control means 20 that there is no product. When the front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1 is closed, the control means 20 to which the signal is given does not turn on the sold-out display LED 7b of the display unit 7, but the outer door 3 is moved open. When it is detected through the open / close detection sensor 11 that the front opening 2 has been opened, the sold-out display LED 7b constituting the display unit 7 of the corresponding storage column 5 is turned on. Thereby, the operator who opened the outer door 3, for example, can visually recognize the storage column 5 in which the products are sold out.

  As described above, according to the product management apparatus of the present embodiment, the barcode of the supplement product is read by the barcode reader 10 at the time of product replenishment work, and the control means 20 compares the read result with the storage information and stores it. Since the red LED 7a of the storage column 5 to be lit is turned on, it is possible to improve the visibility of the storage column 5 to store the product to be input. Since the display section 7 of the storage column 5 to be stored is turned on in this way, the replenishment operator can put in the merchandise relying on the turned-on display section 7, and there is no possibility of putting it in by mistake. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the visibility of the storage column 5 where the products to be input are to be stored and prevent erroneous input.

  In addition, according to the product management apparatus, when the front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1 is opened and the absence of product is detected by the sold-out detection switch 12, the control means 20 displays the sold-out display of the corresponding storage column 5. Since the LED 7b is turned on, it is possible to easily recognize the product storage column 5 in which products are sold out.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, the barcode is exemplified as the product identification information. However, the present invention is not limited to the barcode, and is not particularly limited as long as the information can identify the product.

  In the above-described embodiment, the display unit 7 includes two LEDs (red LED 7a and sold-out display LED 7b). However, in the present invention, the number of light emitting elements is not particularly limited. One or more may be used.

  As described above, the merchandise management apparatus for vending machines according to the present invention is useful for vending machines that sell merchandise such as medical devices such as contact lenses.

It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the vending machine to which the merchandise management apparatus which is embodiment of this invention was applied. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows the principal part of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display part shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the merchandise management apparatus applied to the vending machine shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 2 Front opening 3 Outer door 4 Storage shelf 5 Storage column 7 Display part 7a Red LED
7b LED for sold out display
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bar code reader 11 Open / close detection sensor 12 Sold out detection switch 20 Control means 21 Memory

Claims (3)

In the product management device of the vending machine that has a plurality of storage columns arranged inside the vending machine main body having an opening on the front surface and manages the products stored in the storage column,
Display means arranged in a manner facing the front opening of the vending machine main body in each of the storage columns;
Reading means for reading the identification information of the product put into the storage column;
Storage information in which storage columns to be stored for each product identification information are stored in advance, and the display means of the storage column to be stored is compared by comparing the storage information with the identification information read through the reading means. A vending machine product management device comprising a control means for lighting.   The control means turns on the display means when the open / close detection means detects that the outer door that opens and closes the front opening of the vending machine main body is opened and opened. The merchandise management device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the storage columns comprises a sold-out detection means for detecting the presence or absence of goods,
The control means turns on the display means of the corresponding storage column when it is detected that the front opening is opened by the open / close detection means and the absence of goods is detected by the sold-out detection means. The merchandise management device for a vending machine according to claim 2.

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