JPH03273490A - Automatic merchandise vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect an operator from a violent handling of a cart by forming a circular arc-shaped cart guiding wall having a center at the operator side in the main body case of a scanning device and forming a circular arc-shaped cart pasasge at the outside of the cart guiding wall. CONSTITUTION:A cart giding wall 22 is formed with a circular arc having a center at the operator side 25. A cart passage 26 is formed at the outside thereof. Since a cart 36 can be moved along the cart guiding wall 22 formed in a circular arc shape as a target, the cart 36 can be easily moved with a distinct target. Further, since the main body case 20 of a scanning device 19 is served as a guard for the operator, the operator can be protected even with the violent handling of the cart 36.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product vending device equipped with a scanner for reading barcodes provided on products.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, supermarkets and the like sell a large amount of products in a short period of time by reading barcodes attached to products, and are able to compile various data on the products sold.

In a system that employs such a sales method, the present applicant has proposed a system that allows customers to check out products while they are still loaded in a cart.
No. 7995 proposes and implements this method. That is, the structure will be explained based on FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, reference numeral 1 denotes a conveyance path determined to have a length to continuously convey two carts 2. This conveyance path 1 has the lower ends of opposing cart guides 3 and 4 connected by a connecting plate 5, and one side of the cart guides 3 and 4 connected by an inverted U-shaped vibro whose height is higher than that of the cart 2. One cart guide 3 has the length of two carts 2, but the other cart guide 4 has a short length. A columnar support 7 is fixed to the center of one of the cart guides 3, and this support 7 has a scanner 9 having a reading window 8 on the front, a checker display 10, and a customer display. 11 is installed,
A keyboard 12 is held at the top of the casing of the scanner 9. Further, on the extension surface 13 extending from one end of the connecting plate 5, a stand 15 on which a cash register 14 is placed is provided.
is located. The scanner 9 is located inside the transport path 1 and above the cart 2. Furthermore, the display 0 is located on the loading side of the scanner 9 and
is maintained.

In this configuration, FIG. 8 shows a state in which an empty cart 2 is sent to the discharge side of the conveyance path 1, and a customer 18 sends a cart 2 containing products to the carry-in side of the conveyance path 1.

In this state, the products in Cart 2 on the carry-in side are
16, the product data is read by the scanner 9 during the process of passing through the front side of the reading window 8 and being stored in the cart 2 on the carry-out side. Products that are not marked with data such as barcodes are entered manually using the keyboard 12. On the other hand, the customer 18 who is currently paying the bill moves to the cashier 17 and waits for payment, and when the customer 18 has finished checking out all the items in one cart 2, the customer 18 receives the total amount charged by the cashier 17. After payment, the cart 2 sent out from the delivery side of the conveyance path 1 is picked up by the checker 16 and moved to a predetermined packaging location. After this, the checker 16
The empty cart 2 on the carry-in side is sent to the carry-out side of the conveyance path 1, and waits for the next customer 18 to send the cart 2 containing goods to the carry-in side of the conveyance path 1. Therefore, the carts 2 can be sequentially circulated as part of the checkout operation. Further, the cart 2 for taking out products and the cart 2 for storing products are continuous in the conveyance path 1, and the scanner 9, keyboard 12, and display 10 are located inside the conveyance path 1 without interfering with the conveyance of the cart 2. Since the product can be moved closer to the checker 16 with a small movement, the product can be passed in front of the reading window 8 or the keyboard 12 can be operated, thereby reducing the labor of the checker 16. It can be reduced. Furthermore, the checker 16 needs to confirm the location of the product when taking out the product from the cart 2 on the carry-in side rather than when storing the product in the cart 2 on the carry-out side after reading the product data. By arranging the display device 10 on the loading side of the scanner 9,
The data of the previously read product can be confirmed on the display 10 along the line of sight that searches for the next product to be read from the cart 2 located on the carry-in side, and this allows the user to greatly change the direction of the line of sight. This can alleviate eye fatigue and improve the efficiency of checkout operations.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Although the conventional method has various features as described above, when a customer transports a cart,
It is not clear where to move the cart. Additionally, there is a risk that the cart may collide with the operator. Furthermore, the movement of the customer is troublesome because the cart must be handed over to the operator and then turned around to face the operator.

Means for Solving the Problems A scanning device equipped with a support for supporting a scanner located between an operator and a customer is provided, and an arc-shaped cart guide wall centered on the operator side is provided in the main body case of the scanning device. An arcuate cart path was formed on the outside of the cart guide wall.

The cart can be moved with the cart guide wall formed in an arc shape as the target, so the target is clear and the cart can be moved easily.Moreover, the main body case of the scanning device acts as a guard for the operator, so the cart can be moved easily. The operator can be protected even if the cart is handled roughly, and the customer only needs to be located on the customer side of the main body case, so the flow line is continuous and easy to move. The carts are tapered so that a large number of items can be stacked on top of each other, but by lining them up against the arc-shaped cart guide wall, there is no gap between adjacent carts, making it easier to read the items that need to be read. This allows an operator to easily move products from a loaded cart to an empty cart.

Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 4. First, the scanning device 19 is installed in the main body case 2.
0, this main body case 20 has a base plate 21 installed on the floor, a cart guide wall 22 erected approximately perpendicularly from this base plate 21, and a wall extending upward from both sides of this cart guide wall 22. It consists of arms 23 that are erected and a support 24 that connects the ends of these arms 23. The cart guide wall 22 is formed by an arc centered on the operator 25 side, and an arc-shaped cart passage 26 is formed on the outside thereof.

Next, the arm 23 on the right side as seen from the operator 25
A lid 27 that can be opened and closed is formed inside the lid 27, and a PLU (Price Look Up) keyboard 28 is provided inside the lid 27. Further, a scanner 30 is attached to the support body 24 of the main body case 20, and is provided with a reading window 29 for reading bar codes attached to products.

Furthermore, a register unit 31 is disposed on the left side of the main body case 20. Second register unit 31
is equipped with a keyboard 32, a display section 33, a printer 34, and a drawer 35.

Further, the cart 36 is provided with a handle 37 on the one customer side, and its planar shape is tapered so that a large number of carts 36 can be fitted in the front and rear directions.

In such a configuration, a customer can pick up a cart 36 containing products.
is moved toward the cart guide wall 22 of the main body case 20, but the goal is clear and the movement is easy. Also,
Since the operator 25 is not affected even if the cart 36 collides with the cart guide wall 22, the operator 25 is protected.

On the left side of the operator 25, there is an empty cart 36.
are set in advance, and the cart 36 containing the products is
It is set on the right side of the operator 25. The two carts 36 are arranged side by side with their tips abutting the outer periphery of the cart guide wall 22, as shown in FIG. Therefore,
The side edges of the cart 36 are in close contact with each other. Therefore, the product is taken out from the cart 36 on the right side, data is read by the scanner 30, and the read product is placed in the cart 36 on the left side. In the reading operation, since the side edges of adjacent carts 36 are in close contact with each other,
It is easy to move the product, and the burden on the operator 25 is small. This means that, as shown in FIG. 4, assuming that the cart guide wall 22 is a straight line, a triangular gap will be created between adjacent carts 36, increasing the distance traveled by the product. It is easy to understand if you think about it.

When the reading of the products is completed in this manner, all the products have been moved to the left cart 36, so the customer moves with the cart 36. And operator 25
moves the empty cart 36 on the right side to the left side and waits for the next customer.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 5 and 6. The same parts as in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The main body case 38 in this embodiment has an arc-shaped cart guide wall 39 formed on the operator 25 side, a retaining wall 40 on the customer side, and these cart guide walls 39
and the retaining wall 40 are connected by a substrate 41 to form a cart passage 42. And the retaining wall 40
A column 43 is erected in the middle of the frame, and a scanner 44 is attached to the upper end of the column 43. Further, the #distribution body case 38 is formed with a cart population 45 and a cart exit 46, and a register unit 4 is formed on the side of the cart exit 46.
7 is formed.

Note that the cart 36 itself has the same shape as that of the previous embodiment.

In such a configuration, when the customer inserts the cart 36 from the cart port 45, the leading end of the cart 36 abuts the cart guide wall 39. Then, the cart 36 is moved as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6, and the product registration process is performed. In this case as well, the advantages of the target set position of the cart 36 are clear, the operator 25 is protected, and the goods can be easily moved are the same as in the previous embodiment.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a scanning device equipped with a support for supporting a scanner located between an operator and a customer, and a main body case of the scanning device has an arc-shaped shape centered on the operator side. Since a cart guide wall is formed and an arc-shaped cart path is formed on the outside of this cart guide wall, the cart can be moved with the cart guide wall formed in an arc shape as the target, making the target clear. It is easy to move the cart, and since the main body case of the scanning device acts as a guard for the operator, it protects the operator even if the cart is handled roughly.
The customer only needs to be located on the customer side of the main case, so
The flow line is shaped to flow continuously, making it easy to move, and carts are tapered to allow stacking of many items. By arranging them side by side, there is no gap between adjacent carts, and this has the effect that the operator can easily move the products from a cart containing products to be read to an empty cart.

30.44...Scanner 1゛Sagi81

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the cart set state, and Fig. 4 is a cart 5 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional example; 8
The figure is a plan view thereof. 19... Scanning device, 20.40... Main body case, 22.39... Cart guide wall, 24... Support body, 25... Operator, 26.42... Cart passage. ” J Figure Otsu 5 Figure Kazuma 6 Figure d (Kasashicho Kita

Claims (1)

[Claims] A scanning device including a support for supporting a scanner located between an operator and a customer is provided, and an arcuate cart guide wall centered on the operator side is formed in the main body case of the scanning device, and the cart guide wall A product sales device characterized in that an arc-shaped cart path is formed on the outside of the product sales device.