JPH02286502A - Article storage room - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate lending and returning by connecting an article acceptance/delivery passage fitted with an article conveying mechanism and a bar code reader to an article entrance in a storage room of a video tape rental machine. CONSTITUTION:At the time of lending, for example, when a member inserts a magnetic card and selects a desired video tape and puts the charge for it, an article carrying mechanism 5 takes out the preset video cassette 3 from a column 4 via the delivery command of a computer, and a delivery passage 6 conveys the received cassette to an entrance 2 side via the conveyor 11 of a conveying mechanism 10. During these processes, the bar code displayed on the video cassette 3 is read out by a bar code reader 7, the article is checked and collated, and a lending slip is issued. Lending and returning can be automated according to this constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an article hangar intended for, for example, a rental machine (commonly called a video rental machine) that automatically lends and returns videotapes.

[Conventional technology]

As an article hangar for the above-mentioned video rental machines, there is a collection of columns in which each column stores an article addressed to one item in the hangar, and a movement that accesses each column and performs the delivery operation of the article. Equipped with a type goods loading and unloading mechanism,
An article hangar has already been proposed in Utility Model Application No. 168252-1982, in which articles are carried out between a specified column and an article entrance opening at the front of the hangar via the article carry-in/out mechanism, and goods are taken out and put in there. It has been proposed by the same applicant as

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in order to automatically lend and return the above-mentioned product hangar as a video rental machine, in addition to the lending function that takes out the video cassette selected by the customer from the column inside the store and takes it out, the video cassette returned by the customer must be placed first. It is necessary to have a return function that checks whether the item is the same as the item lent to the customer and then stores it in a predetermined column.

However, at present, there is currently no video rental machine that is equipped with an automatic return function in addition to such an automatic lending function.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a video rental machine that is capable of automatically lending and returning video cassettes by using a barcode system that is generally widely adopted in the field of logistics. The purpose is to provide storage for targeted goods.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, in the article hangar of the present invention,
An article delivery passageway is provided on the inside of the warehouse connected to the article entrance, and the article delivery passageway is equipped with an article conveyance mechanism for moving the articles taken into the passageway from one end to the other, and a display on the articles in the middle of the passageway. It shall be equipped with a barcode reader for checking the actual product to read barcodes.

Further, it is preferable that the conveying mechanism provided in the article delivery passage in the article hangar is provided with a control means that detects the conveyance position of the article in the passage and stops the article at a predetermined barcode reading position. .

The article conveyance mechanism provided in the article delivery passageway includes a conveyor disposed along the article movement passageway, drive rollers placed on both sides of the movement passageway, and a roller biased toward the passageway. Preferably, it comprises a driven roller, a conveyor, and a drive motor conductively coupled to the drive roller.

[Effect]

With the above configuration, when an article taken out from a column inside the warehouse is carried out to the article entrance, and when an article put into the article entrance is carried into a column inside the warehouse, the article always passes through the delivery passage to the other party. The goods are delivered to the goods entrance/exit or goods loading/unloading mechanism. Further, a barcode reader installed in the delivery passage reads the barcode (in the case of a video cassette, the title of the tape and other management items are displayed) displayed on the article as it passes through the delivery passage. This allows goods to be delivered and received from the goods entrance,
The actual item can be checked at the stage of delivery to the article loading/unloading mechanism inside the warehouse. Note that this actual item check information is input into a computer, and is used to verify items at the time of warehousing, specify the column where the items are stored, and also perform slip management.

On the other hand, in the case of a video cassette, the barcode attached to the item is displayed on a barcode label attached to the margin of the cassette along with the title name on the spine. By the way, such articles are transported in the opposite direction when they enter and leave the warehouse with the same orientation, and the orientation is also not constant.

Therefore, in order to stop the article at a predetermined barcode reading position and read the barcode while passing through the article delivery passage, as a positioning control means, a barcode reader provided in the middle of the passage is placed between the barcode reader and the article is placed before and after it. An optical sensor is provided to detect the end face of the article, and the conveyance mechanism is controlled to stop based on the output signal of the sensor, thereby positioning the barcode reading position with respect to the article. The installation position of the optical sensor is set so that the mutual distance between the reading center 1 of the barcode reader and each optical sensor corresponds to the distance between the end surface of the article and the barcode label. I'll keep it.

Here, when the goods are taken into the goods delivery passage,
First, the movement of the article is stopped when the leading end surface of the article approaches the optical sensor on the back side with respect to the transport direction. In this case, if the barcode label is located near the leading edge of the article, the barcode label will be located just below the barcode reader, and the barcode will be read here.

On the other hand, if the article is oriented in the opposite direction and the barcode label is located near the rear end of the article, the barcode cannot be read at the stop position. Then, the article moves again until the rear end of the article approaches the optical sensor on the front side, and then stops. This movement operation brings the barcode label directly below the barcode reader so that it can be read. In other words, by controlling the conveyance mechanism by installing optical sensors for body positioning at two locations in front and behind the barcode reader, the barcode displayed on the article can be read regardless of the orientation of the article taken into the aisle. It is possible to correctly stop and read a barcode at a predetermined barcode reading position.

Furthermore, when the articles are taken out or put into the warehouse, the articles delivered to the article delivery passage are taken in while being held between the driving rollers and the driven rollers biased by springs of the conveying mechanism provided on both sides of the moving passage. Therefore, when an article is taken into the delivery passage, any slight tilt or misalignment of the article with respect to the passage is corrected by being held between the drive roller and the driven roller, and the barcode reader is held in a stable position. It will pass through the position. This makes it possible to prevent barcode reading errors.

[Embodiment] Figures 1 to 6 show examples of the present invention targeted at video rental machines. Fig. 1 is a side sectional view and a plan sectional view showing the detailed structure of the article delivery passage, Fig. 4 is an external perspective view of the video cassette, and Figs. ) is a flowchart showing the transportation and barcode reading operations in the article delivery path.

First, in Fig. 1, 1 is a hangar cabinet with a front door, an article entrance 2 opens in the front door, and a large number of columns 4 for storing video cassettes (articles) 3 one by one inside the cabinet. They are installed side by side vertically and horizontally, and furthermore, in the central passage inside the refrigerator, there is an X-Y axis module 5a and a video cassette storage section 5b.

An article loading/unloading mechanism 5 equipped with a delivery/transport section 5c is installed. On the other hand, an article delivery passage 6 is provided on the inside of the warehouse in series with the article entrance 2, and this delivery passage 6 is equipped with a conveyance mechanism, the detailed structure of which will be described later, and a barcode reader 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the video cassette 3 has a barcode label 3b that displays the title and other management items as a barcode in the back margin of the cassette, which is lined up with a spine 3a that displays the title of the videotape. It is pasted. Although not shown, the front door of the cabinet 1 has a display panel for rental video tapes, a card league for membership registration cards (magnetic cards), and a video tape selection panel.

It is equipped with a coin slot, a slip issuing unit, etc., and is also equipped with a computer that controls the operation of the hangar and manages the necessary information.

Here, an overview of the automatic lending and return operation of video cassettes will be given. First, in the case of rental, a rental contract is established by registering as a member in advance, inserting a magnetic card, selecting the desired videotape, and inserting a predetermined fee. After the mechanism 5 accesses the column 4 in which the selected video cassette is stored and takes out the video cassette 3, the mechanism 5 moves to the article delivery passage 6 to deliver the video cassette, and via this delivery passage 6, the input/output I-co. 2. Export the actual item. During this unloading process, the barcode reader 7 reads the barcode displayed on the rental video cassette 3 to check the actual item, and based on this check information, the customer's selection is verified and a rental slip is issued. In this case, insert the membership card and insert the video cassette 3 into the entrance/exit 2, and the video cassette 3 taken into the article delivery path 6 is transferred to the article loading/unloading mechanism 5. Check and match against the list of video cassettes stored in the computer's storage. If the video cassette returned here matches the one previously lent, and if the excess charge has been cleared as necessary, the video cassette is taken into the warehouse, and the designated warehousing light is relayed to the article loading/unloading mechanism 5. Return to column 4.

Next, the detailed structure of the article delivery passage 6, which is the main part of the present invention, will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The article delivery passage 6 has its front and rear ends as article entrances and exits.

A casing 8 that opens toward the article loading/unloading mechanism inside the warehouse, a barcode reader 7 installed above the casing 8 in the middle of the passage, and bars arranged in front and rear positions around the barcode reader 7. Light transmission type optical sensor 8 for code reading positioning
a (sensor A), 8b (sensor B), and an optical sensor 9 for detecting the position of the video cassette placed near the entrance/exit
(sensor C), and a transport mechanism 1 whose detailed structure is described below.
It is composed of 0.

Here, the optical sensors 8a and 8b are arranged in front and back positions with approximately equal intervals d apart from the reading center of the barcode reader 7, and the distance d is the length of the video cassette shown in FIG. 3 and the barcode label 3b.

The conveyance mechanism 10 also includes a belt conveyor 11 installed along the path at the bottom of the housing 8, and drive rollers 12, 13 and driven rollers placed oppositely at both front and rear end positions of the path across the video cassette movement path. 14.15, guide rollers 16.17 which are arranged opposite to each other across a passage at an intermediate position between these rollers, and the belt conveyor 11.
．． Drive motor 18 conductively coupled to drive roller 12.13
Consists of and. In addition, the output shaft of the drive motor 18 is connected to the joint 1
9 is connected to the drive shaft 20, and the drive roller 12 loosely fitted to the drive shaft 20 is connected via a drive bin 21 installed on the shaft and a driven bin 22 installed on the end face of the roller. They are connected in a one-way system. The lower end of the drive shaft 20 is connected to a pulley 24 of the belt conveyor 11 via a bevel gear 23, and the other pulley 25 is connected to the drive roller 13 via a bevel gear 26. On the other hand, the driving rollers 12, 13 and the guide rollers 16 are all fixed rollers, whereas the driven rollers 14, 15 and the guide rollers 17 are all fixed rollers, as clearly shown in FIG. It is a movable roller that is pivotally supported by a swing arm 27 and biased from behind by a lever spring 28 toward the center of the passage.

Note that the reference numeral 27 in FIG. 3 indicates the optical sensors 8a and 8b.
.

This is a control circuit that controls the operation and stopping of the drive motor 18 based on the output signal of the drive motor 9 and signals given from the outside.

Next, the loading, transporting, and barcode reading operations of the video cassette 3 in the article delivery path 6 configured as described above are divided into lending and returning of the video cassette, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
It is represented by a flowchart in the figure.

First, in the case of lending (taking out) a video cassette, the article loading/unloading mechanism 5 that takes out the specified video cassette 3 from the column 2 inside the warehouse moves to the delivery position (home position) with respect to the article delivery path 6. When it arrives, the drive motor 18 of the transport mechanism 10 is started based on this detection signal. When the video cassette 3 is sent out from the article loading/unloading mechanism 5 toward the article delivery path 6, the drive roller 13
The video cassette 3 is drawn into the passage while being held between the roller 15 and the driven roller 15, and is loaded onto the belt conveyor 11 and transported. Here, video cassette 3
When the tip of the barcode reaches the optical sensor 8b (sensor B) arranged in the passage, the drive motor 18 is stopped under the condition that the optical sensor 8b is switched from on to off, and then the barcode reader 7 displays the information on the video cassette 3. Read the barcode provided. In this case, if the barcode label 3b is located near the tip of the video cassette 3, the barcode label 3b will be positioned directly below the barcode reader 7, and the barcode can be read at this stop position. . On the other hand, if the video cassette 3 is in the opposite direction and the barcode label 3b is located near the rear end of the video cassette 3, the barcode cannot be read at the stop position. If the rear end of the video cassette 3 is detected by the optical sensor 8, the transport mechanism 10 is restarted.
a (sensor A), and stops at this position under the condition that the output of the optical sensor 8a is switched from off to on. As a result, the barcode label 3b is positioned directly below the barcode reader 7, and the parcode is read here.The information read by the barcode reader 7 is input into the computer as described above. After comparing and determining whether it matches the customer's selection, a predetermined rental slip is issued.

On the other hand, when the barcode reading is completed, the video cassette 3 is moved again, and is held between the driving roller 12 and the driven roller 14 until the rear end of the video cassette 3 comes off the optical sensor 9 (this conveyance process The optical sensor 9 is once turned off from the on state, and then switched on again), and the drive motor 1B is stopped at this position. In this stopped state, the leading end of the video cassette 3 protrudes forward from the article entrance/exit port 2, and the rear end of the video cassette 3 is connected to the driving roller 12 and the driven roller 1.
4 and is held in between. Therefore, if the customer holds the video cassette 3 in his hand and pulls it toward him from this state, the drive roller 12 idles on the drive shaft 20 and the video cassette can be easily taken out. This completes a series of loans (
(Issuance) operation ends.

Moreover, in the process of transporting the video cassette 3 in the article delivery path 6, the video cassette 3 is moved from left and right by drive rollers and driven rollers biased by springs.

Since the product is held between the rollers and the guide rollers, even if the home body is misaligned from side to side or the delivery posture is slightly tilted during delivery from the article loading/unloading mechanism 5, these misalignments and tilted postures will be corrected between the rollers. It is corrected by holding it in place, and it passes through the center of the passage in the correct posture. Therefore, barcodes can be read reliably.

Next, the operation for returning (stocking) the video cassette proceeds as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. In this case, the order of the lending operation is reversed, and when the customer pushes the video cassette 3 into the doorway 2, the leading end of the video cassette blocks the light and the optical sensor 9 is switched from on to off.

As a result, the drive motor 18 is started and the video cassette is started to be conveyed towards the article carrying mechanism 5 waiting inside the warehouse.During the conveyance, the bar code of the video cassette 3 is read in the same manner as described above, and the actual article is transferred. Then, based on the information read from this barcode, the returned item is checked against a list stored in the computer, and if the returned item is correct, the item is transported further and sent to the item loading/unloading mechanism 5, where it is delivered to the video cassette 3. When it is confirmed that the article has been completely transferred to the article loading/unloading mechanism 5, the drive motor 18 is stopped by this detection signal. Note that the article loading/unloading mechanism 5 accesses the column 2 designated for the video cassette 3 based on the barcode information and returns the video cassette, thereby completing a series of return operations.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The article hangar according to the present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects.

(1) An article delivery passageway is provided on the inside of the warehouse that is connected to the article entrance and exit, and the article delivery passageway is equipped with a conveyance mechanism that moves the articles taken into the passageway from one end to the other, and a conveyance mechanism that moves the articles taken into the passageway from one end to the other. Equipped with a barcode reader for checking the actual product, which reads the barcode displayed on the product, it is possible to check the actual product by reading the barcode displayed on the product when the product is taken out or received.
In particular, it is possible to provide automatic lending and return functions necessary for a video rental machine.

(2) The conveyance mechanism installed in the article delivery path is equipped with a control means that detects the conveyance position of the article and stops it at a predetermined barcode reading position, so that the orientation of the article when leaving the warehouse is constant. However, the barcode displayed on the item can be read by ensuring that the barcode is correctly stopped at a position facing the barcode reader.

(3) The conveyance mechanism installed in the article delivery path includes a conveyor laid along the article movement path, drive rollers placed on both sides of the movement path, and a driven roller biased by a spring toward the path. By constructing a drive motor that is conductively coupled to the conveyor and the drive roller, it is possible to reliably take the goods into the goods delivery path, and also to prevent the goods from being slightly tilted or misaligned from side to side when being taken in. Even if the item is in the correct position, it is possible to correct the misalignment between the two positions by holding the item between the left and right sides with rollers.This allows the item to be conveyed in the aisle in a stable position at all times, making it possible to read the parcode accurately. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention targeting a video rental machine. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of an article hangar, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show the articles in FIG. 1. A longitudinal side view and a cross-sectional view showing the detailed structure of the delivery passage;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the appearance of the video cassette, and Figures 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the operations of transporting items in the item delivery path and reading barcodes when renting and returning video cassettes, respectively. In figure 0, 1: hangar cabinet, 2z article entrance, 3: video cassette (article), 4: column, 5X article delivery mechanism, 6: article delivery passage, 7: barcode reader, 8a, 8b,
9: Optical sensor, 10:! l! Feeding mechanism, 11: belt conveyor, 12.13F drive roller, 14, 1s: driven roller, 18: drive motor. Figure 1 V-/ Figure 5 f1-) Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An assembly of columns in which each column stores one article in a hangar, and an article loading/unloading mechanism that accesses each column and performs an article delivery operation, In an article hangar where articles are carried in and out between a specified column and an article entrance opening at the front of the hangar via an article loading/unloading mechanism, and then taken out and put in the warehouse, the inside of the warehouse is connected to the article entrance. An article delivery passageway is provided in the article delivery passageway, and the article delivery passageway is equipped with a conveyance mechanism that moves the articles taken into the passageway from one end to the other, and an article delivery mechanism that reads the barcode displayed on the article while being conveyed within the passageway. A goods hangar characterized by being equipped with a barcode reader for checking. 2) The article hangar according to claim 1, further comprising a control means for detecting the conveyance position of the article and stopping the article at a predetermined barcode reading position for the conveyance mechanism provided in the article delivery path. Goods hangar. 3) In the article hangar according to claim 1, the conveyance mechanism provided in the article delivery passage includes a conveyor laid along the article movement passage, drive rollers disposed on both sides of the movement passage, and the passage. An article hanger comprising a driven roller spring-biased toward the conveyor and a drive motor conductively coupled to the drive roller.