JP2012194820A - Controller of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller of an automatic vending machine capable of simplifying an installation operation of a selling unit.SOLUTION: A controller is applied to an automatic vending machine in which a selling unit 40 which sells separate articles from articles to be stored inside a body cabinet can be installed to an outer door for closing an opening formed on the body cabinet, and includes control means 30 in which unit information regarding the selling unit 40 is preliminarily stored, and for performing setting regarding the sale of the articles in the selling unit 40 on the basis of the unit information when the addition of the selling unit 40 is selected.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a vending machine, and more specifically, a sales unit that sells a product that is different from a product accommodated in the vending machine body has an opening formed in the vending machine body. The present invention relates to a control device applied to a vending machine that can be installed on a closing door.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines that sell products such as canned beverages and plastic bottled beverages are known that have a sales unit that sells products that are separate from the products stored in the internal product storage rack. Yes.

  The sales unit is built in such a way that its front face protrudes forward from the front face of the outer door, which is the front face of the vending machine, and has a storage column for storing products in the vertical direction with products directly stacked inside. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-99638 A

  However, when installing such a sales unit in a vending machine, it is necessary to perform a structure mode setting operation to make the machine configuration recognized by software, and the installation operation of the sales unit is complicated. It was.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device for a vending machine capable of simplifying the installation operation of a sales unit.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine control apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized in that a vending machine that sells a product different from a product accommodated in a vending machine body includes the vending machine. A control device applied to a vending machine that can be installed on a door that closes an opening formed in a main body, unit information relating to the sales unit is stored in advance, and the addition of the sales unit is selected Control means for performing settings related to the sale of products in the sales unit based on the unit information.

  According to the present invention, unit information related to the sales unit is stored in advance, and when the control means selects the addition of the sales unit, the setting related to the sales of the product in the sales unit is performed based on the unit information. There is no need to perform the structure mode setting work as in the prior art, and there is no need to initialize the selection button. Therefore, there is an effect that the installation work of the sales unit can be simplified.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vending machine to which a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the sales unit setting control process performed by the control means shown in FIG.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vending machine to which a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The control device illustrated here is applied to a vending machine that sells beverages in containers such as canned beverages and beverages in plastic bottles as products. Although not shown in the figure, the main body cabinet of the vending machine is provided with a plurality of product storage racks, and columns are set in these product storage racks. The column is a storage unit in which the same type of product is stored, and one or a plurality of product storage racks corresponds to the product to be sold. The merchandise storage rack is provided with a bend mech 10 for controlling the carry-out of the merchandise stored in each of the merchandise storage racks, and a sell-out sensor 12 for detecting the sold-out of the merchandise in each bend mech 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine is provided with a selection button 14 and a sold-out lamp 16 corresponding to a column, as well as a money handling device 18 and an integrated display 20. The selection button 14 is used by the user to select a purchased product, and is not shown in the figure, but is arranged with a product sample on the front surface of the outer door that opens and closes the front opening of the main body cabinet. The individual selection buttons 14 output respective output signals to the control means 30 to be described later when pressed by the user. The sold-out lamp 16 is for displaying whether or not the product can be sold to the user, and is provided corresponding to each selection button 14. The money handling apparatus 18 is called a coin mechanism or a bill validator. When money is inserted by a user, the money handling apparatus 18 discriminates the money and outputs the discrimination result to the control means 30 described later. The integrated display 20 is for displaying data necessary for purchasing a product, such as an input amount and a change amount, and is constituted by a liquid crystal display, for example.

  The vending machine is provided with a remote controller 22. The remote controller 22 is used to perform various settings and confirmations related to product sales such as column settings for product storage racks, correspondence between columns and selection buttons 14, and sales price settings. And the like, and a display unit 222 such as a liquid crystal display. When the input unit 221 is operated, the output signal is output to the control means 30 described later.

  Although not clearly shown in the figure, the remote controller 22 is operated by an operator called a vending machine administrator or a route operator, and is used when the locked outer door is unlocked and opened. Can only be operated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 30 of the vending machine, when an output signal is given from the sold-out sensor 12, the money processing device 18, the selection button 14, or the remote control 22, Controls the operation of the bend mech 10, the sold-out lamp 16, the integrated display 20, and the remote controller 22 according to the data, and includes an input control unit 31, an output control unit 32, a sales management control unit 33, and a setting control unit 34. It is.

  The input control unit 31 inputs and processes commands and signals given from each device. The output control unit 32 outputs commands and signals to each device for processing.

  The sales management control unit 33 comprehensively controls processing related to sales of products. Specifically, when the column is set for the product storage rack by the operation of the input unit 221, and the selection button 14 and the sales price are further associated with the column, the sales management control unit 33 sets the column number. The product storage rack, the selection button 14, and the selling price are associated with each other and stored in the memory 30M.

  In addition, when money is inserted into the money handling apparatus 18, the sales management control unit 33 activates the corresponding selection button 14 when the inserted money becomes equal to or higher than the sales price. When the activated selection button 14 is pressed, the sales management control unit 33 operates the bend mech 10 provided in the product storage rack of the corresponding column to perform the operation of paying out the products one by one.

  Further, the sales management control unit 33 monitors the products in the product storage rack through the sold-out sensor 12, and when no product is detected, the sold-out lamp 16 of the corresponding column is turned on to notify that the product is sold out. Perform the process.

  The setting control unit 34 performs setting control when an optional sales unit 40 is added. Here, the sales unit 40 sells products different from the products stored in the product storage rack inside the main body cabinet, and is attached to the front surface of the outer door. The sales unit 40 includes three unit selection buttons 401 attached to the front surface, and, for example, three unit storage columns 402 that store products in the vertical direction in a state where products are directly stacked inside.

  When the addition item of the sales unit 40 is changed through the input unit 221 of the remote controller 22 and the addition of the sales unit 40 is selected, the setting control unit 34 reads the unit information stored in advance in the memory 30M and sells the sales unit. 40 setting controls are performed. Here, the unit information includes information on the number of unit selection buttons 401 of the sales unit 40 that can be added to the vending machine, the number of unit storage columns 402, the price of the product to be sold, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the sales unit setting control processing performed by the control means 30 described above. Hereinafter, the contents of the process executed by the control unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 as appropriate.

  When the addition of the sales unit 40 is selected through the input unit 221 of the remote controller 22 after the sales unit 40 is attached at a predetermined location (step S101: Yes), the setting control unit 34 of the control means 30 reads the unit from the memory 30M. Information is read (step S102).

  The setting control unit 34 of the control means 30 that has read the unit information adds the address of the unit selection button 401 (step S103), and then assigns the unit selection button 401 and the unit storage column 402 (step S104). Then, a price is set in the unit storage column 402 (step S105), and then the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  As described above, according to the control device of the vending machine according to the present embodiment, the unit information related to the sales unit 40 is stored in the memory 30M in advance, and the control means 30 selects the addition of the sales unit 40. In this case, since the setting related to the sale of the product in the sales unit 40 is performed based on the unit information, there is no need to perform the setting operation of the structure mode as in the conventional case, and it is not necessary to initialize the selection button or the like. . Therefore, the installation work of the sales unit 40 can be simplified.

  As described above, the control device for a vending machine according to the present invention is useful for a vending machine to which a sales unit can be added.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bendmec 12 Sold-out sensor 14 Selection button 16 Sold-out lamp 18 Money processing apparatus 20 Integrated display 22 Remote control 221 Input part 222 Display part 30 Control means 30M Memory 31 Input control part 32 Output control part 33 Sales management control part 34 Setting control Part 40 Sales unit 401 Unit selection button 402 Unit storage column

Claims (1)

Control applied to a vending machine in which a sales unit that sells a product that is separate from the product accommodated in the vending machine main body can be installed on a door that closes an opening formed in the vending machine main body A device,
Unit information related to the sales unit is stored in advance, and when the addition of the sales unit is selected, there is provided control means for performing settings related to the sale of products in the sales unit based on the unit information. Vending machine control device.

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