JP6331442B2 - Vending machine control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a vending machine.

  Conventionally, vending machines equipped with so-called human sensors are known. In such a vending machine, the lighting device is normally turned off, and the lighting device is turned on (driven) when a human sensor detects the approach of a person to the vending machine. . As a result, the power consumption of the lighting device is reduced to save energy (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-4-29588

  By the way, the human sensor used in the vending machine described above has a function of detecting the movement of a person in a predetermined detectable region, and not only the approach of the person to the vending machine but also the person's movement to the vending machine. Separation is also detected without distinction from approach. Therefore, the movement of a person who is away from the vending machine is detected as approaching the vending machine, and the lighting device is turned on. If the lighting device is turned on even when the person is separated from the vending machine in this way, it will be driven even when the lighting device is not originally required to be turned on, resulting in a favorable reduction in power consumption. It was difficult to make.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device for a vending machine that can save energy by reducing the amount of power consumed by a target device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control device for a vending machine according to the present invention is applied to a vending machine that sells products accommodated in the machine, and the person who controls the vending machine in its own detectable area. A control device including a detection unit capable of detecting approach and separation, and driving the target device when the detection unit detects approach of a person in a state where the target device is stopped driving On the other hand, when the detection means detects the separation of a person, it is characterized by comprising control means for maintaining the drive stop of the target device.

  According to the present invention, in the control device for the vending machine, the control unit detects invalidity predetermined from the detection when the detection unit detects the approach of a person and drives the target device. Until the time elapses, even if the detecting means detects the separation of the person, the driving of the target device is maintained.

  According to the present invention, in the control device for the vending machine, when the detection unit detects the separation of a person after the detection invalid time has elapsed, the control unit determines a lighting time after separation that is determined in advance from the detection. The driving of the target device is stopped after elapse of time.

  In the control device of the vending machine according to the present invention, the detection means can detect a person's standby for the vending machine, and the control means detects the person's standby. In this case, the target device is driven according to a predetermined pattern.

  According to the present invention, the control unit drives the target device when the detection unit detects the approach of the person while the target device is in the drive stop state, while the detection unit detects the separation of the person. In this case, the drive of the target device is kept stopped, so that the target device can be driven only when the approach of a person is detected, and the drive of the target device is stopped when the person is separated, which was difficult with a conventional vending machine. Can be maintained. Thereby, the power consumption amount required for the target device can be favorably reduced. Therefore, there is an effect that the power consumption of the target device can be reduced to save energy.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a characteristic configuration of 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 lighting equipment control processing 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 characteristic configuration of a vending machine to which a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The control device exemplified here is applied to a vending machine that sells beverages in containers such as canned beverages and beverages in plastic bottles as products.

  A main body cabinet (not shown) of the vending machine is provided with a plurality of product storage racks 10, and columns are set in these product storage racks 10. The column is a storage unit that stores the same type of product, and one or a plurality of product storage racks 10 correspond to the product to be sold. The merchandise storage rack 10 is provided with a bend mech 10a for performing payout control of the merchandise stored in each of the merchandise storage racks 10, and a sold-out sensor 10b for detecting the sold-out of the merchandise in each bend mech 10a. Here, the bend mech 10a and the sold-out sensor 10b are provided for each column.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine includes a selection button 11, an integrated indicator 12, a price indicator 13, a sellable lamp 14, a sold-out lamp 15, a money handling device 16, and a lighting device 17. Yes.

  The selection button 11 is used by the user to select a purchased product, and is provided corresponding to the product sample on the front surface of an outer door (not shown) that opens and closes the front opening of the main body cabinet. These selection buttons 11 output an output signal to the control means 20 to be described later when pressed.

  The integrated display 12 is disposed on the front surface of the outer door in the same manner as the selection button 11, and is constituted by a liquid crystal display, for example. The integrated display 12 is for displaying the input amount, change amount, and the like.

  The price indicator 13 is provided corresponding to the product sample and the selection button 11 on the front surface of the outer door, similarly to the selection button 11. Each of these price indicators 13 is associated with a column, and is a price display means for displaying the price of a product stored in the corresponding column in accordance with a command given from the control means 20.

  The saleable lamps 14 are respectively provided corresponding to the selection buttons 11 and are light sources built in the selection buttons 11. These sellable lamps 14 are lit by a lighting command given from the control means 20.

  The sold-out lamp 15 is used to display to the user whether or not the product is sold out, and is provided corresponding to the selection button 11 in the same manner as the sellable lamp 14. These sold-out lamps 15 are light sources built in the selection button 11.

  The money handling apparatus 16 is called a coin mechanism or a bill validator. When money is inserted by a user, the money handling apparatus 16 discriminates the money and outputs the discrimination result to the control means 20.

  The lighting device 17 is configured by an LED, a fluorescent lamp, or the like disposed in an exhibition room in which a product sample is displayed on the outer door, or an advertising room on the front of the outer door. The lighting device 17 is turned on and off based on a command given from the control means 20. In the present embodiment, the lighting device 17 will be described as a target device of the control unit 20 described later.

  The vending machine is provided with a human sensor 18 and a control means 20 as control devices.

  The human sensor 18 is disposed in the main body cabinet. The human sensor 18 is a so-called Doppler sensor, and detects a movement of a person based on a frequency change by receiving an electromagnetic wave and a reflected wave reflected by an object such as a person. It is. That is, the human sensor 18 can detect the approach, standby and separation of a person with respect to the vending machine in its own detectable region. The human sensor 18 gives an output signal to the control means 20 when detecting the approach, standby or separation of a person from the vending machine.

  Here, the “approach” detected by the human sensor 18 is a state in which the person as the object moves so as to approach the vending machine, and the “standby” detected by the human sensor 18 indicates the vending machine. The person who has moved to approach the vending machine stands in front of the vending machine, and the “separation” detected by the human sensor 18 is a state in which the person who is the object moves away from the vending machine. I mean.

  When an output signal is given from the sold-out sensor 10b, the selection button 11, the money handling device 16, or the human sensor 18, the control means 20 is configured to bend the MEC 10a of the product storage rack 10 according to the program or data stored in the memory 30 in advance. Controls the operations of the integrated display 12, price display 13, sellable lamp 14, sold-out lamp 15, and lighting device 17, and includes an input control unit 21, an output control unit 22, and a sales control unit 23. ing.

  The input control unit 21 performs input processing on the output signal of the human sensor 18. The output control unit 22 performs lighting control of the lighting device 17 according to the lighting pattern stored in the memory 30 when input processing according to the output signal from the human sensor 18 is performed through the input control unit 21. .

  Here, the memory 30 stores information related to the detection invalid time (A), the lighting holding time (B), and the lighting time after separation (C). The detection invalid time (A) is a time for invalidating detection of approaching, waiting and separation of a person by the human sensor 18 during the passage of the time. The lighting holding time (B) is a time for normally lighting the lighting device 17. The lighting time after separation (C) is a time period for normally lighting the lighting device 17 during the passage of the time when the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person while the lighting device 17 is normally turned on. It is.

  The sales control unit 23 comprehensively controls processing related to sales of products. More specifically, when the money is inserted into the money handling device 16, the sales control unit 23 selects the corresponding selection based on the information stored in the memory 30 or the like when the inserted money becomes equal to or higher than the selling price. The button 11 is activated and the sellable lamp 14 is lit (always lit). When the activated selection button 11 is pressed, the sellable lamp 14 of the pressed selection button 11 is flashed and lit, and then the bend mech 10a provided in the commodity storage rack 10 of the associated column is operated. To pay out one by one. In addition, the sales control unit 23 monitors the product in the product storage rack 10 through the sold-out sensor 10b, and when it detects that no product is available, the sold-out lamp 15 of the corresponding column is turned on to notify that the product is in a sold-out state. Perform the process.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the lighting device control process performed by the control means 20 described above. The operation of the control device of the vending machine will be described while describing the lighting device control processing.

  In this lighting device control process, the control means 20 waits for an output signal from the human sensor 18 (step S101). When the human sensor 18 detects the approach of a person (step S101: Yes, step S102: Yes), the control unit 20 turns on the lighting holding time (B) and the separation when the measurement is started in the previous lighting device control process. While canceling the measurement of the post-lighting time (C), the lighting device 17 is normally lit through the output control unit 22 (steps S103 and S104).

  After the lighting device 17 is normally turned on in this way, the control unit 20 starts measuring the detection invalid time (A) through the built-in time measuring unit (step S105), and then returns the procedure to perform the current process. Exit.

  According to this, since the control unit 20 normally turns on the lighting device 17, the display room and the advertisement room of the outer door can be brightened, and the visibility of product samples and advertisements can be improved. Further, the control means 20 continues to measure the detection invalid time (A).

  When the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person (step S101: Yes, step S102: No, step S106: Yes), the control unit 20 determines whether or not the detection invalid time (A) has elapsed. (Step S107).

  When the detection invalid time (A) has not elapsed (step S107: No), the control unit 20 returns the procedure without performing the processing described later, and ends the current processing. Thereby, when the lighting device 17 is normally turned on, the control unit 20 normally turns on the lighting device 17 even if the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person until the detection invalid time (A) elapses. Will be maintained.

  On the other hand, when the detection invalid time (A) has elapsed (step S107: Yes), the control means 20 determines whether or not the lighting device 17 is turned off (step S108). When the lighting device 17 is turned off (step S108: Yes), the control unit 20 maintains the lighting device 17 turned off (step S109), and then returns the procedure to end the current process.

  As described above, when the lighting device 17 is turned off, the lighting device 17 is kept off when the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person.

  If the lighting device 17 is not turned off in step S108 (step S108: No), that is, if the lighting device 17 is turned on, the control means 20 starts measuring the lighting time after separation (C) (step S110). Thereafter, the procedure is returned to end the current process. Thereby, the control means 20 will continue the measurement of the lighting time (C) after separation.

  When the human sensor 18 detects the waiting of a person (step S101: Yes, step S102: No, step S106: No, step S111: Yes), the control means 20 determines whether or not it is normally lit. (Step S112). When the lighting is not normally performed (step S112: No), the control unit 20 returns the procedure without performing the processing described later, and ends the current processing.

  On the other hand, if it is normally lit (step S112: Yes), that is, if it is normally lit by detecting the approach in the previous lighting device control process, the control means 20 turns on the lighting holding time through the built-in time measuring unit. The measurement of (B) is started (step S113), and then the procedure is returned to end the current process. As a result, the control means 20 continues to measure the lighting holding time (B).

  By the way, even if there is a change in human feeling, when the human sensor 18 does not detect any approach, separation, or standby of the person (step S101: Yes, step S102: No, step S106: No, step S111: No), control is performed. The means 20 returns the procedure without performing the above-described processing, and ends the current processing.

  On the other hand, when the lighting holding time (B) or the lighting time after separation (C) elapses without the human sensor 18 detecting a human change (step S101: No, step S114: Yes), the control means 20 The lighting device 17 is turned off (step S115), and then the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  According to this, it is possible to turn off the illumination device 17 until the human sensor 18 has passed the lighting holding time (B) or the lighting time after separation (C). In particular, when the lighting time after separation (C) elapses during the lighting holding time (B), after the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person, the person disappears from the front of the vending machine. It is possible to avoid the lighting device 17 from being normally lit unnecessarily.

  As described above, according to the control device of the present embodiment, when the human sensor 18 detects the approach of a person with the control unit 20 turning off the lighting device 17, the lighting device 17 is detected. Is normally turned on, while the lighting device 17 is kept off when the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person, the lighting device 17 can be normally turned on only when the approach of the person is detected, The lighting device can be kept off when the person leaves, which is difficult with a conventional vending machine. Thereby, the power consumption required for the lighting device 17 can be reduced favorably. Therefore, it is possible to save energy by reducing the power consumption of the lighting device 17.

  According to the control device, when the lighting device 17 is normally lit, the control unit 20 does not turn on the lighting device even if the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person until the detection invalid time (A) elapses. Since the normal lighting of the lighting device 17 is maintained, it is possible to prevent the lighting device 17 from being extinguished by a slight separation immediately after the person who triggered the normal lighting of the lighting device 17 approaches the vending machine. , User convenience can be improved.

  According to the control device, when the human sensor 18 detects the separation of the person after the detection invalid time (A) has elapsed, the control means 20 turns the lighting device 17 on after the lighting time (C) after separation has elapsed from the detection. Since the light is turned off, the lighting device 17 can be turned on until the user leaves the vending machine to some extent, thereby giving the user a sense of security.

  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 lighting device 17 has been described as a target device. However, in the present invention, not only the lighting device 17 but also a device that may be turned off in the money handling apparatus 16 or in a standby state for sales are targeted. It may be a device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the human sensor 18 detects the approach, standby, and separation of a person. However, in the present invention, the detection means is used to detect the approach speed and separation speed of a person. Alternatively, the drive state of the target device may be switched according to the speed.

  In the embodiment described above, the specific lengths of the detection invalid time (A), the lighting holding time (B), and the lighting time after separation (C) are not described in detail, but these times can be set as appropriate. It is preferable that

  In the above-described embodiment, when standby is detected, it is determined whether or not it is normally lit. In the present invention, when standby is detected, according to a predetermined pattern stored in the memory. The lighting device may be turned on in a pattern. Here, pattern lighting includes blinking lighting, lighting with a color different from normal lighting, illumination lighting for sequentially lighting various colors, and the like, which are stored in the memory. According to this, when the human sensor detects the waiting of a person, that is, when a person stands in front of the vending machine, the lighting device is turned on in a predetermined pattern, thereby improving the production effect. Thus, it is possible to appeal the purchase of the product to the user or to motivate the purchase.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Commodity storage rack 10a Bendmec 10b Sold-out sensor 11 Selection button 12 Integrated indicator 13 Price indicator 14 Sellable lamp 15 Sold-out lamp 16 Money processing apparatus 17 Illumination equipment 18 Human sensor 20 Control means 21 Input control part 22 Output control Department 23 Sales Control Department 30 Memory

Claims (3)

Applicable to vending machines that sell products contained in the machine, and in the area where it can be detected , the person who is the object moves so as to approach the vending machine, and the object A control device comprising a detecting means capable of detecting the separation of a person who is moving away from the vending machine ,
In the state where the driving of the target device is stopped, when the detection unit detects the approach of a person, the target device is driven, while when the detection unit detects the separation of the person, the target Comprising control means for maintaining the drive stop of the device
When the detection means detects the approach of a person and drives the target device, the control means causes the detection means to keep the person away until a predetermined detection invalid time elapses from the detection. A control device for a vending machine, which maintains the driving of the target device even if it is detected. The control means, when the detection means detects a person's separation after the detection invalid time has elapsed, stops the driving of the target device after a predetermined lighting time after separation has elapsed from the detection. The control device for a vending machine according to claim 1 . The detection means is capable of detecting a waiting of a person with respect to the vending machine,
3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives the target device according to a predetermined pattern when the detection unit detects waiting of a person. 4. Control device.

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