JP2821343B2 - Vending machine for recorded recording media - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for recorded recording media such as video cassette tapes and compact discs. In particular, the present invention stores these recorded recording media in such a manner that both sides on which the spine display and the contents are displayed can be directly viewed, and is particularly suitable for the sale of used recorded recording media. The present invention relates to a vending machine for used recording media.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, automatic rental machines such as video cassette tapes have been installed in video rental stores, 24-hour convenience stores, and the like from the viewpoint of saving labor costs and enabling late-night business. Since the number of such automatic rental machines to be stored is limited, newly released video cassette tapes, which are relatively new and frequently rented out, are generally stored. Older videocassette tapes that have been rented less frequently, or seldom lent, are regularly replaced with new ones.

[0003] Such a so-called used video cassette tape remains in stock as it is. However, there are some of these that the user wants to see again. Therefore, if such a used video cassette tape is sold at a low price, there is an advantage that inventory reduction is promoted.

[0004]

It is desirable that such a used video cassette tape be sold by a vending machine in terms of labor costs and the like. However, when purchasing a used video cassette tape, as with the purchase of a used book, there is a demand that the purchaser carefully examine the contents and purchase the used video cassette tape. However, generally used vending machines or automatic rental machines do not have a mechanism that allows the purchaser to directly touch the product, and samples of multiple types of products are placed on a glass plate or a transparent acrylic plate. And one of them can be selectively purchased. Therefore, when selling a video cassette tape using such a vending machine, the tape is displayed in a transparent case in such a manner that only the spine can be seen, and directly on both sides of the tape. The contents of the tape on the side cannot be confirmed. For example, in the case of a movie, you may want to check the date of its creation, director, lead actor, award, etc., but since these contents are usually displayed on both sides of the video cassette tape, In a state where only the spine is visible, no confirmation can be made, and this does not promote the purchaser's willingness to purchase.

[0005] This also applies to the sale of compact discs. That is, since the contents described on the back side (the dozens of tunes recorded) are not known from only the display on one side of the compact disc, the purchaser cannot determine which compact disc to purchase.

[0006] Also, used video cassette tapes, compact discs, etc. are different from new ones. In some cases, there is only one stock of the same product, and there are many commonly used stocks. It is not suitable to adopt a vending format similar to that of the video cassette tapes.

[0007] On the other hand, as vending machines capable of touching commodities, umbrella vending machines, paper bag vending machines and the like are known. These are very simple structures where you can touch the product, but the order in which the product is sold is
The buyer cannot purchase the desired product. Therefore, it is impossible to use such a vending machine as it is for selling a video cassette tape or the like.

[0008] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide:
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to propose a vending machine for a recorded recording medium having a new configuration suitable for selling a used video cassette tape or the like whose rental frequency is reduced.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a vending machine according to the present invention, a recorded recording medium can be directly touched by a hand, and the spine and both sides of the recording medium can be touched. It has a plurality of storage sections that are held in a visible state. Further, the recorded recording medium in a case stored in each storage section is set in a state in which it cannot be removed from the storage section by the fixing means. Further, in the same manner as a normal vending machine, a designation unit for designating a storage section in which a recorded recording medium to be purchased is stored, and reception of a purchase price of a recorded recording medium in a case to be purchased,
Money processing means for performing change processing and the like. And, when the sales permission is granted by this money processing means,
Fixing means for releasing the fixing by the fixing means in the storage section designated by the designation means and enabling the recorded recording medium in the case to be taken out from the storage section is provided, and the recorded recording medium is sold. ing.

[0010] Further, the storage section includes a support member capable of storing the recorded recording medium in the case in an upright state with the spine side facing the surface thereof, and a support member for moving the support member left and right around the rear side thereof. And a support shaft that is supported so as to be pivotable over a predetermined angle range. According to this configuration, the purchaser can turn the recorded recording medium in the case stored in each storage section left and right, so that both sides can be visually checked and the contents can be examined. .

The fixing means includes a solenoid or a motor disposed in each storage section, and a position and a position where the case-recorded recording medium stored in the storage section cannot be removed by the solenoid or the motor. And a moving member that moves to a possible position. Various types of fixing means including the solenoid and the moving member can be employed.

A typical recorded recording medium in a case sold by the vending machine of the present invention is a recorded video cassette tape, a recorded compact disc, or a game called NES software. There are cassette tapes, compact discs, and the like in which software for use is recorded, and these can be sold in a mixed state.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vending machine for a video cassette tape to which the present invention is applied. Vending machine 1 of this example
Is a rectangular frame 2 with casters, a pair of columns 3 and 4 attached to both sides thereof, and connection members 5, 6, 7 attached to the upper and lower ends of these columns and intermediate positions thereof.
And a frame. Between the connecting member 5 at the upper end and the connecting member 6 in the middle, storage shelves 9 for video cassette tapes in three upper and lower stages are formed substantially vertically. The three upper and lower storage shelves 9 are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals 8 in the width direction. Similarly, three storage shelves 9 are provided between the middle connecting member 6 and the lower connecting member 7. The storage shelf 9 is inclined so that the lower side of the storage shelf 9 projects forward.

A vending machine control device 11 is disposed in the middle of the width direction of the upper and lower storage shelves. The control device 11 includes an upper control device main body 11a and a lower money processing device 11b. Control device main body 11a
On the front surface of the device, a CRT 111, an operation surface 112 on which a numeric keypad and the like are arranged, and a detection unit 113 of a sensor for detecting that a customer is standing in front are arranged. A coin insertion slot 114, a bill insertion slot 115, and a change payout slot 116 are arranged on the front surface of the lower money handling apparatus 11b.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the storage shelf 9 described above. The storage shelf 9 of the present example includes a hollow column 91 having a rectangular cross section.
2, 93 are fixed. These support shafts 92 and 93
Are rotatably supported by a connection member 5 at the upper end and a middle connection member 6 constituting the frame of the vending machine. The front side surface 91a of this support 91
The support plate 9 extends horizontally from the upper and lower ends of
4, 95 are extended. Between these support plates 94 and 95, support plates 96 and 97, which also extend horizontally forward, are fixed in a vertically divided state. A storage section 10 for a three-stage video cassette tape C is formed between these four support plates 94 to 97.

In the uppermost storage section 10, the support plate 94 defining the upper end surface includes a hanging wall 941 extending from the front edge to both side edges, and a hanging wall formed on the rear end side of one side edge. 942. The hanging wall 941 is connected to the support plate 94.
And one side edge 94
5A, it is formed to a middle position in the front-rear direction, and the other side edge 94b is formed over a range of about 1/5 of the length of the support plate. The other hanging wall 942 is
The side edge 94b is formed from a middle position in the front-rear direction to a rear end. The heights of these hanging wall portions 941 and 942 are set to be the same.

Similarly, the support plate 96 defining the lower end of the storage section 10 is also provided with rising walls 961 and 962 over the same range. That is, the rising walls 961 and 962 are formed in a vertically symmetric state with the hanging wall portion formed on the support plate 94.

On the other hand, in the uppermost storage section 10, a holding plate 98 is disposed in parallel with the support column 91 at a certain distance from the front side surface 91a. The holding plate 98 has a guide rod 98 attached to the back surface thereof.
By 1, it is attached to the column 91 so as to be movable back and forth. The holding plate 98 and the side surface 91 of the support
A pair of upper and lower coil springs 982, 983 are interposed between a. Further, the guide rod 981 of the holding plate 98
Of the solenoid rod 984a of the solenoid 984 mounted in the support column.
Are formed. Under normal conditions,
The solenoid is turned off, and the operating rod 984a protrudes through the through hole 981a. When the solenoid 984 is turned on, the operating rod 984a retracts, and comes off the through hole 981a.

Similarly, in the middle storage section 10, the hanging walls 961 and 961
A, 962A and rising walls 971, 972 are formed. In this example, the hanging walls 961A, 962A
Are formed so as to be continuous with the rising walls 961 and 962 described above. Also, on the side of the support, a holding plate 99,
Solenoids 101 are arranged in a similar manner in the columns. Similarly, in the lower storage unit 10,
A hanging wall 971 is attached to the upper and lower support plates 97 and 95, respectively.
A, 972A, and rising walls 951, 952 are formed, respectively. In addition, a holding plate 102 and a solenoid 103 are arranged.

The storage shelf 9 of the present embodiment thus configured is supported so as to be rotatable around its support column 91.
As shown in FIG. 1, these storage shelves 9 are arranged with a certain interval 8 therebetween. Therefore, by turning each storage shelf 9 right and left, each storage unit 1 of each storage shelf is
In 0, the left and right side surfaces of the video cassette tape C stored with the spine on the front side can be directly viewed.

As can be seen from FIG.
In this state, the video cassette tape C housed therein has upper and lower support plates 94 and 96, hanging walls 941 and 942, and rising walls 951 formed thereon.
952 and the holding plate 98, the front and rear, left and right, and up and down cannot be moved and cannot be removed from the storage section. When removing the video cassette tape C from the storage section 10, the following procedure may be performed.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the solenoid 984 is turned on, the operating rod 984a is retracted, and the operating rod 984a is removed from the guide rod 981. As a result, it is possible to move the holding plate 98 toward the column 91. Therefore, the video cassette tape C can be pushed in as shown in FIG. Upper and lower support plates 94, 9
When the video cassette tape C is pushed deeper than the end of one of the hanging walls 941 and the rising wall 961 (the portion shown by oblique lines in FIG. 6), the video cassette tape becomes as shown in FIG. By rotating the tape C sideways as a whole, the tape C can be pulled out of the storage section 10.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of the vending machine according to the present embodiment. The circuit constituting the control system is incorporated in the control device 11a (see FIG. 1).
The control system of this example is mainly configured by a control circuit 12 composed of a microcomputer, and includes a sensor 113, an operation unit 112, and a CRT 11 mounted on the front of the control device 11a.
1. Connected to the control unit 13 of the money handling apparatus 11b. The output side of the control circuit 12 is connected via a driver 14 to solenoids 98, 101, 103,... Further, it is also connected to a speaker 114 for instructing a user on an operation procedure or the like by voice.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation of the vending machine 1 for a video cassette tape according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

First, when the customer stands in front of the vending machine 1, the sensor 113 detects it (step ST).
1). When the sensor is turned on, a message such as "Welcome.""Enter the number of the video cassette tape you want to purchase" is displayed on the screen of the CRT 111 or by the speaker 114 (step ST).
2). Thereafter, the system waits for the user to input the number of the storage section of the video cassette tape using the keypad of the operation section 112 (step ST3). When the number is input, the amount of the video cassette tape corresponding to the input number is displayed together with the input number by referring to a comparison table stored in advance in the storage unit of the control circuit. Also, a message "Please confirm the number" is displayed (step ST4).

Thereafter, the system waits for the user to confirm the input number using the confirmation button or the like arranged on the operation unit (step ST5). If there is no confirmation within a fixed time,
Returns to the initial state. When the correction request is confirmed by the correction button or the like arranged on the operation unit, the process returns to the state before the number input (step ST3).

When the input number is confirmed, the input number,
A message "Please insert money" is displayed along with the amount of the tape (step ST6). Thereafter, the system waits for the customer to pay (step ST7). If there is no payment within a certain period of time, it returns to the initial state. If payment has been made, it is determined whether or not the required amount has been paid (step ST8). If the required amount has not been paid within a certain period of time, the amount paid up to that point is returned (step ST9), and the initial state is restored.

If the required amount has been paid within a certain time, a message "Thank you" and "Please take a tape" is displayed (step ST).
11). In addition, when a deposit requiring change is made, the change is paid (step ST10), and this message is displayed.

Thereafter, the solenoid in the storage section of the corresponding number is turned on (step ST12). For example,
The solenoid 984 in the uppermost storage section 10 shown in FIGS. As described above, when the solenoid is turned on, the video cassette tape C stored in the storage section 10 can be taken out therefrom. The user may remove the video cassette tape according to this message.

Thereafter, the sensor 113 is turned off (step ST13), and after a certain period of time, the solenoid is turned off again (step ST14). Thereafter, the state returns to the initial state.

When a storage unit without a video cassette tape is sold out in this way, the information may be stored in the storage unit of the control circuit. Or,
A sensor is attached to each storage unit, and based on the output,
It may be determined whether or not the storage unit has been sold.

As described above, the vending machine 1 of the present embodiment
In, the video cassette tapes are stored in such a manner that they can be directly touched by hand, and are stored together with the spine of each video cassette tape so that both side surfaces can be viewed. Therefore, the purchaser can select a video cassette tape while examining the contents of the video displayed on both sides. In addition, since the video cassette tape is stored in each storage unit in a state where it cannot be taken out, there is no possibility of theft or the like.

The example described above shows one example of the present invention. Therefore, the structure of each part is not limited to the above example. For example, in the above example, the storage unit is configured in the form of a storage shelf in which the upper and lower three stages are integrated, and these can be turned left and right integrally.
You may comprise so that each accommodating part can be turned left and right individually. In the above example, the support shafts 92 and 93 that define the center of rotation of the storage shelf are attached to the upper and lower end surfaces of the support column 91, but may be attached to a more forward position instead. That is, it may be attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the upper and lower support plates. Further, in the above example, the video cassette tape is stored in an upright state and can be turned left and right. Alternatively, the video cassette tape can be turned up and down so that both sides thereof can be visually checked. Such a configuration is also possible.

The mechanism for holding the video cassette tape in the storage section in a state in which it cannot be taken out may of course adopt a structure different from the above-mentioned holding plate and solenoid. For example, a rotary drive source such as a motor may be used instead of a linear drive source such as a solenoid. Further, as a modified example of the storage section in the above example, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a configuration in which a hanging wall and a rising wall are arranged at different positions can be adopted.

In addition to the above, the above-mentioned example is a vending machine for a video cassette tape, and the product to be sold is a compact disc or a game disc called NES software. There are cassette tapes and compact discs. One type of these products may be sold, or a plurality of types may be sold.

[0037]

As described above, in the vending machine of the present invention, a recorded recording medium containing a case to be sold is stored in a state where the recording medium can be directly touched, and these recording media are recorded. The recording medium is stored in a state where both sides of the recording medium can be viewed. Furthermore, the state that the recorded recording medium is set up
It is supported to be able to turn left and right in a state. Therefore, according to the present invention, unlike a conventional vending machine, it is possible to select and purchase the contents of a recording medium to be sold while actually visually observing the contents. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a vending machine suitable for selling so-called used video cassette tapes and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vending machine for a video cassette tape to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of a storage shelf of the vending machine in FIG. 1, (A) is a perspective view thereof, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of taking out a video cassette tape from the uppermost storage section of the storage shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a modification of the storage shelf of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of the vending machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a vending operation of the vending machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a vending operation of the vending machine of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine 8 ... Interval 9 ... Storage shelf 10 ... Storage part 91 ... Post 92, 93 ... Support shaft 94, 95, 96, 97 ... Support plate 941 , 942 hanging wall 961, 962 rising wall 98 holding plate 981 guide rod 981a through hole 982, 983 coil spring 984 solenoid 984a Operating rod C: Video cassette tape

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording medium containing a case is stored in a state that can be directly touched by a hand, and the stored recording medium containing a case is stored in such a manner that the spine and both sides of the recording medium are visible. A plurality of storage sections held therein, fixing means for fixing the recorded recording medium in a case stored in each storage section to a state in which the recording medium cannot be removed from the storage sections, and a recorded recording medium to be purchased Designation means for designating the storage section in which is stored, money processing means for receiving the purchase price of the recorded recording medium in the case to be purchased, change processing, etc., and sales permission has been granted by the money processing means. In this case, the fixing by the fixing means in the storage section designated by the designation means is released, and the recorded recording medium in the case is
Fixing release means for making it removable from the storage section
And the storage section stores a recorded recording medium in a case with a spine.
A support member that can be stored in an upright position with the side of
Place this support member on the left and right around the rear side
And a support shaft that can rotate over the range of angles
Automatic sale of recorded recording media
Machine. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fixing means comprises:
A solenoid or motor located in the storage
Stored in the storage section by solenoid or motor
Can not remove the recorded recording media in the case
Moving member that can be moved to a position where it can be placed and removed
Automatic recording of recording media characterized by having
Vending machine. 3. The case according to claim 1, wherein
The recorded recording medium contains the recorded video cassette tape.
Media, recorded compact discs, cassette tapes for games
And / or compact disc
A vending machine for recorded recording media.