JP5141601B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products for which a shelf life is defined.

Conventionally, in a vending machine that sells products for which the expiration date is specified, a new number of products to be replenished is set for each column, and the expiration date of the newly replenished product, that is, the date of expiration of the expiration date. To start selling products.
After that, it is determined whether there is a column in which a product whose expiration date expires remains when the date changes, and if there is a column whose expiration date expires, a vending machine that stops selling the column is known (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

JP-A-3-271891

  By the way, in the above-described conventional vending machine, when a product is replenished, it is necessary to set the number of product replenishment and the expiration date of the product. In addition, even when the expiration date has expired, it is necessary to make settings again when all the products are paid out and replenished, so the work is cumbersome and the expiration date management is difficult. It was complicated.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can start operation without having to set the expiration date input of a product every time it is replenished, and that does not require setting effort even when the operation is restarted. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a product selection button, and a vending machine that sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into a column when the product selection button is pressed. And a management number, a means for starting operation of the sales period and the management number set by the setting means, and confirming the number of products sold within the stored sales period after the start of operation. The sales number is compared with the management number, and when the sales number has reached the management number, the means for continuing the operation state and when the sold-out switch is switched from on to off And a means for restarting the operation of the sales period and the number of management set by the setting means.

  As another means, in a vending machine that includes a product selection button and sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into the column by pressing the product selection button, the sales period and the number of management are set for each column. Means for starting operation of the sales period and the management number set by the setting means, and confirming the number of products sold within the stored sales period after the start of operation, When the number of sales reaches the management number, means for continuing the operation state, means for executing test sales of products, and when the test sales are performed And a means for restarting the operation of the sales period and the number of management set by the setting means.

In the vending machine, at the time of the test sale, when paying out the number stored in the column, means for restarting the operation with the sales period and the management number set by the setting means; It is provided with.
As another means, in a vending machine that includes a product selection button and sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into the column by pressing the product selection button, the sales period and the number of management are set for each column. Means for starting operation of the sales period and the management number set by the setting means, and confirming the number of products sold within the stored sales period after the start of operation, When the sales number has reached the management number, the operation state is continued when the sales number has reached the management number, and when the clock data becomes a past date from the current date, the setting means And a means for restarting the operation with the set sales period and the number of management.

  The present invention is a vending machine that sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into the column when the product selection button is pressed, based on the state of the sold-out switch, test sales, clock abnormality, etc. Since the operation can be restarted, there is no need to re-set when the expiration date management is resumed, and it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to set, so the work can be simplified for the administrator.

It is a block diagram which shows the control structure which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic front view of the vending machine used as the object of implementation of the present invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the setting process of the expiration date management number which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the setting process of the expiration date period which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation start process of the expiration date management which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation start process of the expiration date management which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement restart process of the expiration date management in the test sale which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement restart process linked with ON / OFF of the sold-out switch which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process of the operation condition confirmation mode of expiration date management which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the modification of the operation | movement restart process of the expiration date management in the test sale which is one embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 shows an example of a schematic front view of a vending machine that is an object of the present invention, and the vending machine 20 includes an outer door 21 on the front surface of the main body cabinet. Has a plurality of (n) columns for individually storing a plurality of types of products, and when the product selection button 22 is pressed and a sales instruction is given, the product corresponding to the pressed product selection button 22 is displayed. Make a withdrawal.

The outer door 21 has a product selection button 22, a product sample display room 23, a coin slot 24, a return lever 25, a price indicator 26, a product selection button 22, a ready-to-use lamp and a sold-out lamp built in on the front side. A coin return port 27 and a product outlet 28 are provided.
The product sample display room 23 has a transparent window formed in the upper part of the outer door 21, and the product sample 23 a arranged inside can be visually recognized to the outside. The product sample 23 a visually recognized through the product sample display room 23 represents the product stored in the column, and is provided corresponding to the product selection button 22.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a main control unit for controlling the entire apparatus. The main control unit 1 stores a control program necessary for controlling a vending machine, a correspondence relationship between columns and product selection buttons 22, and management by column. A memory 1b for storing various data necessary for the function of the vending machine, such as the number and the expiration date, and a clock 1c incorporating a calendar function are provided.

The main control unit 1 includes a remote controller 11 for inputting various setting values of the vending machine such as the number of management by column and the expiration date, a cooling control unit 12 for cooling or heating products in the warehouse, A product carry-out device 13 and a coin processing device 14 that carry out the product carry-out are connected.
In addition, the main control unit 1 is connected to a sellable lamp 22a, a ready lamp 22b, a product selection button 22 incorporating a sold-out lamp 22c, and a price indicator 26.

Further, the remote controller 11 is provided with operation keys 11d including a expiration date switch 11a, an expiration date function operating lamp 11b, an alarm lamp 11c, a write, end, up / down key, and the like as functions related to the present embodiment. Yes.
Note that the switches, lamps, and keys of the remote controller 11 are not limited to those described above, and it is only necessary to achieve this embodiment.

In this configuration, the setting mode of the expiration date management number will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the outer door 21 of the vending machine 20 is opened, the remote controller 11 is operated to set the management number setting mode (Yes in step S31), and the operation key 11d is operated to set the management number for each column, for example, “ When “10” is input (step S32) and the corresponding product selection button 22 is pressed (step S33), the management number “10” is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 1b (step S34), and then the operation key 11d. Is operated (step S35, Yes), the management number setting mode is terminated.

Next, the setting mode of the expiration date will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the outer door 21 of the vending machine 20 is opened, the remote controller 11 is operated to set the expiration date period setting mode (Yes in step S41), and the operation key 11d is operated to set the expiration date period to, for example, “5”. "Date" (step S42) and the corresponding product selection button 22 is pressed (step S43), the expiration date "5" is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 1b (step S44), and the operation key 11d is pressed. When operated (step S45, Yes), the expiration date setting mode ends.

Next, the expiration date operation start processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. When the expiration date switch 11a of the remote controller 11 is continuously pressed (Yes in step S51), the expiration date operating lamp 11b is turned on. (Step S52), the operation of the expiration date function starts (Step S53).
By setting in this way, it is determined that the expiration date has not occurred if there are “10” product sales during “5” days, regardless of the replenishment date of the product.

The input order is not limited, and it can be set for each column or all columns at once, and the numerical value as the initial value is stored in advance. There is no need to operate, it is only necessary to continuously press the expiration date switch 11a.
Further, when the expiration date management operation is invalidated, the expiration date switch 11a is continuously pressed again to invalidate it, and the expiration date operating lamp 11b is turned off.

Furthermore, for columns for which the sales period or the full capacity is set to “0”, even if the expiration date switch 11a is continuously pressed, the setting is invalidated and the operation is not started.
Next, an example of a product sales operation will be described.
When the purchaser inserts a predetermined coin into the coin insertion slot 24, the amount of money inserted is displayed on the money amount display 26, and the sellable lamp 22a for the product that can be purchased is turned on.

Here, when the desired product selection button 22 is pressed, the main control unit 1 transmits a product delivery command to the product delivery device 14, and the product delivery device 14 carries out the product from the column and removes the product from the product. By carrying it out to the outlet 28, the sales operation is completed, and the main control unit 1 counts the number of sales for each column and date in a predetermined area of the memory 1b.
If there is a change, it is returned to the coin return slot 27.

When the expiration date management is enabled under the conditions set in the setting mode, the operation of the expiration date management operation process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, for example, when it is midnight (step S61, Yes), it is determined whether the past “5” days have passed since the current date (the current day) (step S62). If not (step S62, No), normal Continue to sell.

On the other hand, when five days have passed (step S62, Yes), it is determined whether or not “10” which is the number of management items has been sold (step S63).
If “10” is sold (step S63, Yes), it is determined that there is no product whose expiration date has expired, and the operation of sales and expiration date management is continued as it is (step S64).
If “10” is not sold (step S63, No), the alarm lamp 11c is turned on (step S65) because the possibility that the expiration date has expired is high.

This process is performed for all columns.
On the next day, the processes in steps S61 to S65 are repeated.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the expiration date of the expiration date is determined using only the number of items sold in the set period as the determination criterion for the expiration date, and the past “5” days have elapsed since the current date (current day). It is determined every day whether “10” books were sold. If “10” books are sold in “5” days, the expiration date has not occurred regardless of the product replenishment date. It is to be judged.

In the above embodiment, the alarm lamp 11c is turned on for a column that is not sold "10", but this column is not necessarily expired, so when the alarm lamp 11c is turned on. It is possible to set to stop the sales or to continue the operation without being sold out.
In other words, since the products to be introduced usually have products with a sufficient expiration date, there is a high possibility that “10” books have not been sold or the expiration date has not expired. This is because there are not many cases.

For this reason, even if it is determined that the expiration date has expired, whether to continue the operation or stop the sales can be appropriately set according to the sales at the vending machine installation location or the route interval for maintaining the vending machine. .
Next, as described above, there is no need for resetting if operation is continued, so it does not require the labor of workers. There is a need to start, and the restart of this operation will be described below.

  First, the operation re-start process for the expiration date management in the test sales will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. By operating the operation key 11d of the remote controller 11 to set the test sales mode (step S71), the product to be tested and sold When the selection button 22 is pressed (step S72), the main control unit 1 transmits a product carry-out command to the product carry-out device 14, and the product carry-out device 14 selects one product from the column corresponding to the product selection button 22. Unload (Step S73).

When the test sale is continued, the product selection button 22 is pressed. When the sale is finished, the test sale is terminated by leaving it for a predetermined period of time or by using the return lever 25 or the operation key 11d of the remote controller 11 (step S74). .
Considering that the expiry date of the product that has been carried out has been confirmed by the worker, the operation of the expiry date function of the column on which the test sale has been performed is restarted (step S75).

  Next, with regard to the operation restart process linked with the on / off of the sold-out switch, the flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described. It is determined whether the sold-out switch (not shown) is on (step S81). If the state of the sold-out switch is ON (step S81, Yes), it is determined whether or not the sold-out switch has been switched from ON to OFF (step S83).

If the sold-out switch is turned off due to the insertion of the product (step S83, Yes), the operation of the expiration date function is restarted (step S84).
As a condition for the switch-out of the sold-out item, when the actual sale occurs, the entire product can be paid out by replacing it with a new product, or the product can be paid out when the product has been sold out due to an expired product. Newly introduced, but the expiration date management operation is restarted on condition that the sold-out switch is turned off due to the introduction of this product. At that time, the expiration date management is set (period, number) There is no need.

Next, a description will be given of an example of restarting operation due to an incorrect setting of the clock. For example, the operation of the expiration date management is started on March 1 and the clock is set on the day when the route worker becomes March 4th. If the setting is erroneously set to March 1 and a past date, the current date is set to March 1 and the expiration date management operation is restarted.
This is because the expiration date management is performed based on the number of sales for the past five days, and when the date returns to the past, the number of sales is not accurate, so restart is performed.

Next, a description will be given of a modified example of restart in payout by test sales.
First, in the expiration date management, there is a case where an operation status confirmation mode that can be confirmed by operating the remote controller 11 when the management number “10” is not sold yet is near the expiration date.
In other words, “expiring expiration date” means that at the time of this confirmation, “10”, which is the set number of managed items, is the target column, and the number of sales required for the remaining days can be displayed. It is to make.

In the case of this embodiment, if there are “10” product sales in “5” days, it is determined that the expiration date has not occurred. For example, the expiration date is set to “2”. The day is set so that the remaining number of sales can be displayed in the remaining days.
First, the operation state confirmation mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  For example, when the operation state confirmation mode of the expiration date is set by the operation key 11d of the remote controller 11 on the "6" day when "5" days have elapsed from the operation start date (step S91, Yes), it is determined whether the column is a management target column (S92). ), If the column is not a management target column (S92, No), all of the sellable lamp 22a, the ready lamp 22b, and the sold out lamp 22c of the product selection button 22 corresponding to the expiration date management non-target column are turned off ( Step S93).

  Next, if the column is an expiration date management target column (S92, Yes), it is determined whether or not the expiration date has expired and whether or not there is a near display target column. First, it is determined whether the column is an expiration date expiration column (step S94). In the case of an expired column (step S94, Yes), the sale enable lamp 22a of the product selection button 22 corresponding to the column whose expiration date has expired is turned on, the ready lamp 22b is turned on, and the sold out lamp 22c is turned off. A display for setting the state is performed (step S95).

Next, when the corresponding product selection button 22 is pressed (step S96), the expiration date is displayed on the amount display 26 (step S97).
There is a possibility that the product accommodated in the column corresponding to the displayed product selection button 22 has expired the expiration date or there is a margin in the expiration date, but there was no sale for the number of managed items within the period.

  On the other hand, when there is a column whose expiration date has not expired in the step S94, the column for which the expiration date has not expired (No in step S94) is calculated for each column, “expiration date period-the number of days before the expiration date”, The number of sales sold during the sales period obtained by this calculation is calculated, and the number of sales is subtracted from the management number to determine whether it is a display target column that is nearing the expiration date (step S98).

If it is not the display target column that is nearing the expiration date (step S98, No), the sellable lamp 22a of the product selection button 22 corresponding to the column whose expiration date has not expired is turned on in the expiration date management target column, the ready lamp 22b, A display to turn off the sold-out lamp 22c is performed (step S99).
On the other hand, if there is a display target column that is close to the expiration date as a result of the calculation (step S98, Yes), the saleable lamp 22a of the product selection button 22 corresponding to the column that is close to the expiration date is turned on in the expiration date management target column. The ready lamp 22b blinks and the sold-out lamp 22c is turned off (step S900).

Next, when the corresponding product selection button 22 is pressed (step S901), the required number of sales that must be sold in the remaining number of days is displayed on the amount display 26 (step S902).
For example, if “6” products have been sold so far, it is necessary to sell “4” during “2” days, which is the setting of the number of days before the expiration date, and this number is displayed as the required number of sales. To do.

In this way, in the display state of the product selection button 22, the operation status with respect to the expiration date of each column is confirmed, and the operation status confirmation mode is set by either leaving for a predetermined time, operating the return lever 25, or the operation key 11 d of the remote controller 11. The process ends (step S903).
Thereafter, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, the operation key 11d of the remote controller 11 is operated to enter the test sales mode (step S101), and the product selection button 22 on which the required number of sales is displayed is operated (step S102). ), “4” s of the necessary number of products that must be sold in the remaining two days are carried out (step S103), the test sales are finished (step S104), and the operation of the expiration date function is restarted (step S103). Step S105).

In this way, it is necessary to pay out all the products that may expire in the expiration date in test sales in advance, and to restart all the products by restarting the expiration date function from this point in time. Absent.
Various displays are displayed on the price indicator 26. However, when each product selection button 22 has a digital price indicator, the price indicator is used for display. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main control part 1a, 1b Memory 1c Clock 11 Remote control 11a Expiration date switch 11b Expiration date function operation lamp 11c Alarm lamp 11d Operation key 20 Vending machine 21 Outer door 22 Product selection button 22a Sellable lamp 22b Ready lamp 22c Sale Off lamp

Claims (4)

  In a vending machine that includes a product selection button and sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into a column when the product selection button is pressed, means for setting a sales period and the number of managed items for each column, and the setting Means for starting the operation with the sales period and the management number set by the means for confirming the number of product sales within the stored sales period after the operation is started, and comparing the sales number with the management number And means for continuing the operation state when the number of sales reaches the number of management, and a sales period set by the means for setting when the sell-off switch is switched from on to off. A vending machine comprising means for restarting operation with the management number.   In a vending machine that includes a product selection button and sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into a column when the product selection button is pressed, means for setting a sales period and the number of managed items for each column, and the setting Means for starting the operation with the sales period and the management number set by the means for confirming the number of product sales within the stored sales period after the operation is started, and comparing the sales number with the management number And means for continuing the operation state when the number of sales reaches the management number, means for executing test sales of products, and means for setting when the test sales are performed A vending machine comprising means for restarting the operation with the sales period and the number of managed items set by. 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein when the number of units accommodated in the column is paid out at the time of the test sale, the operation of the sales period and the management number set by the setting means is performed. Vending machine comprising means for restarting.   In a vending machine that includes a product selection button and sells products with a shelf life in the order in which they are put into a column when the product selection button is pressed, means for setting a sales period and the number of managed items for each column, and the setting Means for starting the operation with the sales period and the management number set by the means for confirming the number of product sales within the stored sales period after the operation is started, and comparing the sales number with the management number And the sales period set by the setting means when the clock data becomes a past date from the current date when the sales number reaches the management number, And a means for restarting the operation of the management number.

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