JP7151800B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vending machine capable of increasing commodity sales opportunities by reducing the state in which the vending machine cannot sell commodities.

A vending machine becomes in a state where a user cannot sell products due to occurrence of various states, such as prohibition of product sales and running out of change. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes that when a minor tries to purchase a product prohibited for purchase by minors, the sale of the product is prohibited. On the other hand, Patent Literature 2 describes that change is limited to a predetermined number of banknotes or coins because it becomes impossible to sell merchandise after the change occurs.

JP-A-9-297880 JP 2014-29696 A

By the way, since the conventional vending machine cannot return money when the money return function is out of order or does not have a money return function such as a return lever, it does not accept new money input. In this case, the vending machine becomes incapable of selling commodities, and there is no opportunity to sell commodities in the vending machine. In addition, if the vending machine is out of change and the amount required for change is inserted when selecting a product, the selected product cannot be sold, and the selected product cannot be purchased. Opportunities for selling products in vending machines are reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine capable of reducing the number of situations in which the vending machine cannot sell commodities and increasing the opportunity to sell commodities.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a vending machine according to the present invention includes a money return function detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a money return function or a failure of the money return function, and the money return function detection unit. However, if it is detected that there is no money return function or that the money return function is out of order and the product is not selected within a certain period of time after the money is inserted, after the certain period of time has elapsed, and a control unit for returning the money collected.

Further, the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, is provided with a product selection unit, a change unnecessary selection unit for selecting whether or not change is required, and change for the product selected by the product selection unit for the inserted amount of money. and a control unit that sells the product without returning the change when the change unnecessary selection unit is selected in the event of a running out.

Further, in the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the control unit purchases a product by selection by the change unnecessary selection unit, and the money is inserted within a predetermined time after the purchase of the product. If there is an addition, the product can be purchased with the total amount of the change after purchasing the product and the added money, and if the product to be purchased with the total amount is out of change, the selection unit that does not require change selects. In this case, the merchandise is sold without returning the change.

Further, the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above invention, is either a bill validator that identifies inserted bills and stores and dispenses them, or a coin mechanism that identifies inserted coins and stores and dispenses them. It is characterized by having only one side.

Further, the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above invention, is either a bill validator that identifies inserted bills and stores and dispenses them, or a coin mechanism that identifies inserted coins and stores and dispenses them. It is characterized in that it is possible to sell merchandise even if only one of them is provided.

Further, the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above invention, is either a bill validator that identifies inserted bills and stores and dispenses them, or a coin mechanism that identifies inserted coins and stores and dispenses them. When only one of them is provided, the commodity price is set corresponding to the denomination unit of bills or the denomination unit of coins.

Further, according to the present invention, when it is detected that there is no money return function or that the money return function is out of order, and the product is not selected within a certain period of time after the money is inserted, the above-mentioned Since the inserted money is returned after the lapse of a certain period of time, acceptance of new inserted money is not prohibited, and opportunities for merchandise sales increase.

In addition, according to the present invention, when change for the product selected by the product selection unit is out of the amount inserted, and the change unnecessary selection unit is selected, the change is not returned. In addition, since the merchandise is sold, it is possible to avoid the situation in which it is impossible to sell the merchandise due to the lack of change, thereby increasing the chances of merchandise sales.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer door of the vending machine shown in FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an automatic money return processing procedure by the vending machine main control unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vending machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a procedure for selling merchandise when the change is out of change by the vending machine main control unit shown in FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vending machine 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer door 1b of the vending machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 is opened. In this embodiment, a vending machine that sells products such as canned drinks, bottled drinks, and PET bottled drinks will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be applied to a cup-type beverage vending machine that dispenses beverages and a vending machine that sells goods.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vending machine 1 sells cold or warm products such as canned beverages and PET bottled beverages. As shown in FIG. and a door 1b. The main body cabinet 1a is constructed by combining a plurality of steel plates, and has a box-like shape with an open front and a heat-insulating structure. The outer door 1b is for closing the front opening of the main body cabinet 1a, and is supported on one side edge (left side edge) of the main body cabinet 1a in such a manner that it can be opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine 1 is provided with a pop-up handle 11 in the middle of the front right side of the outer door 1b. The pop-up handle 11 is for locking the outer door 1b in a closed state. The vending machine 1 is locked by pushing the pop-up handle 11 in a state in which the outer door 1b is closed, and when the unlocking operation is performed, the pop-up handle 11 pops up (protrudes), thereby enabling the opening operation of the outer door 1b. .

An exhibition room 12 is provided in the front upper area of the outer door 1b. The exhibition room 12 is for displaying product samples D of products sold by the vending machine 1 . The exhibition room 12 is defined by a middle door 13 attached to the rear side of the outer door 1b so as to be openable and closable, and a transparent illumination plate 14 fitted to the front side of the outer door 1b. The inside of the exhibition room 12 can be visually recognized from the front side of 1 .

Inside the exhibition room 12, three stages 15 for displaying products are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and product samples D are displayed side by side on each stage 15. - 特許庁Also, on the transparent illumination plate 14 fitted in the front side of the outer door 1b, a group of product selection buttons 16 are arranged three vertically and two horizontally so as to correspond to the stage 15. be.

The product selection button group 16 functions as a product selection unit and is for selecting products, and has a plurality of product selection buttons 17 corresponding to the product sample D. FIG. Each product selection button 17 can be LED-displayed, and is illuminated when it corresponds to a product that can be purchased for the amount of money invested.

A coin slot 21, a banknote slot 22, a display 24, and a return lever 28 are provided in the middle of the outer door 1b below the exhibition room 12. As shown in FIG.

The coin slot 21 is an opening for receiving coins. Coins inserted from the coin slot 21 are accommodated in a coin mechanism (coin handling device) 31 mounted inside the outer door 1b. The coin mechanism 31 sorts out the number of inserted coins and transmits it to the vending machine main control section 50, which will be described later. The coin mechanism 31 has a money identification function for identifying the authenticity and denomination of coins.

The banknote insertion slot 22 is an opening for receiving banknotes. Bills inserted from the bill insertion slot 22 are accommodated in a bill validator 32 mounted inside the outer door 1b. The bill validator 32 sorts out the number of inserted banknotes and transmits it to the vending machine main control unit 50, and dispenses the banknotes in accordance with commands from the vending machine main control unit 50. FIG. The bill validator 32 has a money identification function for identifying the authenticity and denomination of bills.

The display unit 24 is for displaying various information such as on-sale, out-of-fish, under preparation, suspension of banknotes, inserted amount, information on various settings, and the like.

The return lever 28 is for instructing interruption of the transaction. When the return lever 28 is operated, the transaction is interrupted, change is discharged from the coin mechanism 31 to the coin return port 41, and the bill validator 32 receives the banknotes. Bills are returned to the insertion slot 22 .

An outlet 42 is provided at a position below the outer door 1b. The takeout port 42 is an opening for taking out the product carried out from the product storage rack.

A remote control 33 is arranged inside the outer door 1b. The remote controller 33 is used to perform various setting operations and confirmation operations of various sales data, and has operation keys such as a writing key and an end key, as well as a liquid crystal display for displaying various setting data and confirmation data. . The setting data input from the remote controller 33 is transmitted to the vending machine main control section 50 . The remote controller 33 receives the confirmation data transmitted from the vending machine main control section 50 . By using the remote control 33, it is possible to set multiple products to be sold (so-called multi-bend setting).

Further, a door switch 34 is provided inside the outer door 1b. The door switch 34 is for detecting the open/closed state of the outer door 1b, and is turned on when the outer door 1b is opened and turned off when closed.

The interior of the main body cabinet 1a is divided into a machine room 103 and a product storage room 104. As shown in FIG. The commodity storage chamber 104 is further partitioned into three commodity storage compartments 104a, 104b, and 104c by heat insulating partition plates. Of these three product storage boxes 104a, 104b, and 104c, the left side product storage box (hereinafter referred to as "left box") 104a and the central product storage box (hereinafter referred to as "middle box") 104b are Cold/hot switching is possible. When the product storage 104a (104b) is set to cooling, the inside of the product storage 104a (104b) is cooled, and the product stored in the product storage 104a (104b) is cooled. On the other hand, when product storage 104a (104b) is set to be heated, the interior of product storage 104a (104b) is heated to heat the product stored in product storage 104a (104b). In addition, the product storage box 104c on the right side (hereinafter referred to as "right box") 104c is a dedicated cooling box, which cools the inside of the product storage box 104c and cools the products stored in the product storage box 104c.

Product storage racks 105 are mounted in the product storage boxes 104a, 104b, and 104c, respectively. In the vending machine 1, two rows of product storage racks 105 are mounted in the width direction of the left warehouse 104a and the right warehouse 104c, and one row of product storage racks 105 is mounted in the width direction of the middle warehouse 104b. The product storage rack 105 is provided with five passages (hereinafter referred to as "racks" for convenience) in the depth direction of the product storage boxes 104a, 104b, and 104c. It is possible.

[Vending machine control system]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the vending machine 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the vending machine main control unit 50 of the vending machine 1 includes a coin mechanism 31 in the vending machine 1, a bill validator 32, a display operation unit 20, a remote controller 33, a main body control unit 44, a money A return function 29 and a money return function detector 30 are connected.

In addition to the door switch 34 , the cooling device 45 and the unloading device 46 are connected to the body control unit 44 . The body control unit 44 controls the cooling/heating device 45 and the unloading device 46 under the control of the vending machine main control unit 50 .

The cooling device 45 is for managing the commodity storages 104a, 104b, and 104c described above in a set state. The cooling/heating device 45 cools the inside of the product storage that has been set to cool, and heats the inside of the product storage that has been set to heat.

The unloading device 46 is for managing the bend solenoid and sold-out switch provided for each rack. The body control unit 44 carries out the product from the rack according to the carry-out command transmitted from the vending machine main control unit 50 . Further, the unloading device 46 outputs a sold-out signal to the main body control unit 44 when all the products stored in the rack are unloaded.

The display operation unit 20 has product selection buttons 17 and a display unit 24 .

The vending machine main control unit 50 centrally manages the coin mechanism 31, the bill validator 32, the display operation unit 20, the remote controller 33, the main body control unit 44, etc. Based on various setting data stored in a storage unit (not shown), the vending machine main control unit 50 to control.

The money return function 29 has a return lever 28, and returns the deposited money when the return lever 28 is operated. The money return function detection unit 30 detects the presence or absence of the money return function 29 or a failure of the money return function 29 .

[Automatic money return processing control]
Here, an automatic money return processing procedure by the vending machine main control unit 50 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vending machine main control unit 50 first determines whether or not money has been inserted (step S101). This determination is based on notification from the coin mechanism 31 or bill validator 32 . If no money has been inserted (step S101, No), this process is terminated. On the other hand, if money has been inserted (step S101, Yes), based on the detection result of the money return function detection unit 30, it is determined whether there is no money return function 29 or whether the money return function 29 is out of order. It is determined whether or not (step S102).

If the money return function 29 does not exist or the money return function 29 is out of order (step S102, Yes), the product selection button 17 is pressed within a certain period of time (for example, 30 seconds) after the money is inserted. (step S103).

If the product selection button 17 is not pressed within a certain period of time after the money has been inserted (step S103, No), the money that has been inserted is automatically returned (step S104), and this process ends.

On the other hand, if the product selection button 17 is pressed within a certain period of time after the money is inserted (step S103, Yes), the selected product is sold (step S106), and this process ends.

If the money return function 29 does not exist or the money return function 29 does not malfunction (step S102, No), it is further determined whether or not the product selection button 17 has been pressed (step S105). If the product selection button 17 is not pressed (step S105, No), the determination process of step S105 is repeated. On the other hand, if the product selection button 17 has been pressed (step S105, Yes), the selected product is sold (step S106), and this process ends. Note that the above-described processing is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals.

In the first embodiment, even if there is no money return function 29 or the money return function 29 is out of order, the inserted money is automatically returned after a certain period of time has passed, and the money insertion is accepted. is not prohibited, so it is possible to increase opportunities for product sales.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vending machine 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the vending machine 1 shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, a change-unnecessary selection button 25 is newly provided as a change-unnecessary selection section for selecting whether or not change is required. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[Product sales processing when change is out]
Here, based on the flow chart shown in FIG. 7, the product sales processing procedure performed by the vending machine main control unit 50 when the change has run out will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, the vending machine main control unit 50 first assumes that the vending machine 1 is out of change (step S201). After that, the vending machine main control unit 50 determines whether or not money requiring change has been inserted (step S202). If the money required for change is not inserted (step S202, No), for example, if 90 yen is inserted for a 90-yen product, the product selected by the product selection button 17 (step S214) is selected. The product is sold (step S215), and the process ends.

On the other hand, when money requiring change has been inserted (step S202, Yes), for example, when 100 yen has been inserted for a 90 yen product, it is further determined whether or not the button 25 for selecting no change is pressed. (step S203). If the no change selection button 25 has not been pressed (step S203, No), it is further determined whether the return lever 28 has been pressed (step S212). If the return lever 28 is not pressed (step S212, No), the determination process of step S212 is repeated. On the other hand, if the return lever 28 has been pressed (step S212, Yes), the inserted money is returned (step S213), and this process ends.

When the no change required selection button 25 is pressed (step S203, Yes), the merchandise selected by the merchandise selection button 17 (step S204) is sold (step S205).

After that, the vending machine main control unit 50 determines whether or not additional money has been inserted within a predetermined period of time from the sale of the product in step S205 (step S206). If no additional money is inserted within a predetermined period of time from the sale of the product (step S206, No), the remaining money as change is taken into the vending machine 1 (step S211), and this process ends. In other words, the balance will not be returned.

On the other hand, if additional money has been inserted within a predetermined period of time after the sale of the product (step S206, Yes), it is determined whether or not there are any products that can be sold (step S207). If there is no product that can be sold (step S207, No), the remaining money is taken into the vending machine 1 (step S211), and this processing ends.

If there are products that can be sold (step S207, Yes), it is determined whether change is required (step S208). If change is required (step S208, Yes), the process proceeds to step S203 and repeats the above-described processing. On the other hand, if no change is required (step S208, No), the product selected by the product selection button 17 (step S209) is sold (step S210), and this processing ends. Note that the above-described processing is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals.

In the second embodiment, even if the change has run out, by selecting the change-unnecessary selection button 25, the change is collected, but the desired product can be purchased. Therefore, even if the change is out, the chances of the vending machine 1 selling products can be increased. In addition, in the case of continuously purchasing commodities by inserting additional money, if the commodities to be purchased do not require change, the change of the previously purchased commodities can be effectively used.

The first and second embodiments described above are effective for vending machines having only one of the bill validator 32 and the coin mechanism 31 . In this case, only the bill validator 32 or only the coin mechanism 31 is set so that the product can be sold. Further, in a vending machine having only one of the bill validator 32 and the coin mechanism 31, it is preferable to set the product price corresponding to the denomination unit of bills or coins.

Also, the constituent elements of the first and second embodiments described above can be combined as appropriate.

1 Vending Machine 1a Main Cabinet 1b Outer Door 11 Pop-Up Handle 12 Exhibition Room 13 Middle Door 14 Lighting Board 15 Stage 16 Product Selection Button Group 17 Product Selection Button 20 Display Operation Unit 21 Coin Insertion Port 22 Bill Insertion Port 24 Display Unit 25 No change required selection button 28 Return lever 29 Money return function 30 Money return function detector 31 Coin mechanism 32 Bill validator 33 Remote control 34 Door switch 41 Coin return port 42 Outlet 44 Main body control unit 45 Cooler 46 Discharge device 50 Vending machine owner Control unit 103 Machine room 104 Product storage room 105 Product storage rack D Product sample

Claims (4)

a product selection unit for selecting products;
a change-unnecessary selection unit for selecting change-unnecessary;
In the case where change for the commodity selected by the commodity selection unit is out of the charged amount, and the change unnecessary selection unit is selected, the commodity is sold without returning the change. a control unit;
with
When a product is purchased by selection by the change unnecessary selection unit and money is added within a predetermined time after the purchase of the product, the control unit stores the change after purchasing the product and the added money. When the change is not required for the item to be purchased with the total amount, the item is sold without returning the change. A vending machine characterized by: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein only one of a bill validator for identifying inserted banknotes and storing and dispensing or a coin mechanism for identifying inserted coins and storing and dispensing is provided. vending machine. Even if only one of a bill validator for identifying inserted banknotes and storing and dispensing or a coin mechanism for identifying and storing and dispensing inserted coins is provided, it is possible to sell commodities. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that: If only one of the bill validator that identifies inserted bills and stores and dispenses them or the coin mechanism that identifies and stores and dispenses inserted coins is provided, the bill denomination unit or the coin denomination 4. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the product price is set according to the unit.

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