JPH03273494A - Automatic merchandise vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability by providing a rotary axis in a longitudinal direction of a holding arm and providing a scanner block so as to be rotatably and freely attached at an arbitrary position. CONSTITUTION:A holding axis 24 circular in section is provided on the central portion of a holding arm 23. To this holding axis 24 a scanner block 25 is attached so as to be rotatable and freely attached at an arbitrary angle by a fixing screw 26. A laser scanner is disposed in the scanner block 25. A reading window 27 for reading bar codes printed on a merchandise or a label stuck to the merchandise is formed at the lower portion of operator side of the scan ner block 25. Thus, it can be set at the most usable angle in accordance with the physique of the operator and the merchandise can be readily moved as necessary.

Description

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

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In general, two types of product vending machines have a scanner block built into a receiving platform.

That is, a translucent reading window is formed on the same surface as the flat cargo receiving surface of the cargo receiving platform, and the functional components of the scanner block are housed inside the cargo receiving platform.

In this type of product, the barcode attached to the product is passed toward the reading window, but a label with the barcode printed on it is pasted on the bottom of the product, or the product is turned upside down. must be passed over the reading window.

For this reason, without changing the orientation of the product,
In addition, for example, Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-4566 can be used to easily move products from one basket to another.
There is a type described in Publication No. 5. In other words, a support is erected on the customer side of the loading platform facing the operator.
A scanner block with a reading window facing diagonally downward is provided at the upper end of this support. This allows the barcode attached to the product to be read even if it is on the product, making it easy for the operator to confirm the barcode position, and eliminating the need to turn the product upside down. This improves operability.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Since the scanner block is attached to the upper end of a support that is erected from the receiving platform, there is a support between the operator and the customer, and the support is a barrier to communication between the two. become an obstacle. In addition, the presence of the support on a part of the receiving surface of the receiving platform obstructs the movement of the basket that stores the products, resulting in poor operability.

Furthermore, when reading a product, the barcode provided on the product must face the reading window of the scanner block, but in this case, the direction of the reading window suitable for the operator differs depending on the operator's physique. moreover,
The product is read by moving from right to left or left to right in front of the scanner block, but at this time, it is necessary to have a large space for the product to pass through.

Means for Solving the Problems A cart having a space at the bottom and a product receiving part protruding in one direction is formed on a base, and a goods receiving stand located below the product receiving part of this cart. At the same time, a scanning device is provided in which a scanner block is attached to a holding arm suspended from the tips of support shafts provided on the left and right sides of the operator facing the cargo receiving platform, and the rotation axis is set in the longitudinal direction of the holding arm. The scanner block is provided so as to be rotatable and fixed at any position.

The scanner block is located between the customer and the operator, but the spindles that support the scanner block are erected from the left and right of the operator, so the line of sight between the operator and the customer is not obstructed. This makes it possible to obtain an open state, which feels good, and because the spindles of the scanner block are located on the left and right sides of the operator, there are no obstacles on the customer side of the loading platform, and the loading platform is especially comfortable. Since it is structured to fit under the product receiving part of the cart, it is possible to bring the product closer to the operator simply by moving the cart, and there is no need to take down the basket even if a basket containing products is placed on the cart. This makes it possible to obtain extremely good operability, and the scanner block is rotatably attached to the holding arm that extends over the tip of the spindle, allowing it to be fixed at any position, making it easy for the operator to operate. It is possible to set the most convenient angle according to the body physique, and it is also possible to obtain a state in which it is easy to move the product as needed.

Example An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First, the cart 1 consists of a base 3 having wheels 2 on its lower surface and a product receiving section 4 provided on the base 3. That is, a column 6 having a handle 5 at its upper end is erected from the base 3, and the product receiving portion 4 projecting to one side is attached above the column 6. A space part 7 is formed in the lower part of the product receiving part 4. In other words, the base 3
The pillar 6 and the product receiving portion 4 form a substantially U-shape. The product receiving portion 4 may be used to directly place products or to place a basket (not shown) therein.

A scanning device 8 is then provided in a fixed position. This scanning device 8 has a pair of support shafts 9 that are located on the left and right sides of the operator and are erected substantially vertically.
At the lower ends of these support shafts 9.

Support rotors 1 integrally formed at an angle outward from each other
0 and 11 are provided. The support leg 10 located on the customer side is formed to have a longer length than the support leg 11 located on the operator side, and both support legs 10 and 11 are expanded in a V-shape. It is formed.

Further, at the tip of each support leg 10.11, a leg 12 is provided.
is installed so that its vertical position can be adjusted freely. these legs 1
2 consists of a grounding body 13 in contact with the floor surface, a screw shaft 14 rotatably and fixedly provided in the axial direction on the grounding body 13, and a cap portion 15 fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 14. The screw shaft 14 is screwed onto the leg 12, and its vertical position can be adjusted by turning the cap portion 15. Further, the cap portion 15 is formed in a conspicuous color such as orange so that it can be easily recognized by customers and operators.

Next, a partition 16 is formed between the support shafts 9, and a horizontal arm 17 is integrally formed in the intermediate portion thereof. The cargo receiving platform 18 is fixedly supported by these horizontal arms 17 and the partition wall portion 16.
is placed approximately horizontally. This cargo receiving stand 18 is configured to fit into the space 7 formed below the product receiving section 4 of the cart I.

Further, a recess 19 for determining the operator's position is formed in the center portion of the partition wall 16 on the operator side. An air conditioner (not shown) is built in below this recess 19, and an air outlet 20 from this air conditioner is formed. Furthermore, a plurality of accessory cases 21 are formed at the upper edge portion of the partition wall portion 16.

An inclined arm 22 inclined toward the customer is formed at the upper end of the support shaft 9, and the upper ends of these inclined arms 22 are connected by a substantially horizontal holding arm 23. At the center of this holding arm 23 is a holding shaft 24 with a circular cross section.
is provided, and this holding shaft 24 is provided with a scanner block 2.
5 is rotatable and is attached with a fixing screw 26 so that it can be fixed at any angle. Then, the scanner block 2
A laser scanner (not shown) is disposed inside the scanner block 5, and below the operator side of the scanner block 25 is a reading window 27 for reading barcodes printed on products or labels affixed to products. It is formed. Further, an operator keyboard 28 is provided above the scanner block 25 on the operator side. Furthermore, a display section 29 for the operator is formed on the right side of the scanner block 25 on the operator side.

A customer-side display 30 is formed on the customer-side surface of the holding arm 23 over substantially its entire length. The customer-side display 30 includes a data display section 31 aligned with the position of the scanner block 25 and message display sections 32 located on both sides of the data display section 31.

Note that the reference numeral 33 indicates a register unit, and this register unit 33 is formed separately from the scanning device 8, and includes a register including a keyboard, a display section, a printer, a drawer, a card reader, and the like.

In such a configuration, the customer pushes the cart 1 with the product he/she wants to purchase in the product receiving section 4 and heads toward the scanning device 8, but the route is to push the cart 1 while holding the handle 5 as shown in FIG. toward the loading platform 18. At this time, the support legs 11 are expanded in a V-shape, so
It is easy to put the base 3 of the cart 1 under the loading platform 18.

In particular, since the caps 15 of the legs 12 are of a conspicuous color, it is easy to introduce the cart 1, and there is no chance of tripping. As shown in FIG. 1, since the cargo receiving stand 18 enters the space 7 below the product receiving portion 4 of the cart 1, the tip of the product receiving portion 4 is pushed against the partition wall 16 that acts as a cart guide. guess.

In this way, the cart 1 is set on the scanning device 8. This set position is on the right side when viewed from the operator. On the left side, there is Cart 1, which was empty from the previous checkout.
There is. Therefore, the operator carries five products and passes them in front of the reading window 27 of the scanner block 25 to read the barcode provided on the products. This results in
The product is registered, and the product after registration is moved to the empty cart 1 on the left side. Also, during such operations.

The scanner block 25 is located between the customer and the operator, but since the spindles 9 that support the scanner block 25 are erected from the left and right sides of the operator, the line of sight between the operator and the customer may be obstructed. This makes it feel good to be able to get an open state.

Therefore, when performing such a reading operation, the scanner block 25 can be rotated about the holding shaft 24 by loosening the fixing screw 26, as shown in FIGS. This allows the angle of the scanner block 25 to be changed. That is, the state shown in FIG. 2(a) is the state in which the reading surface 27 is upright, and the state shown in FIG.
) is a state in which the reading surface 27 is laid down. Which of these states to choose is determined by the operator's work status.

Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the operator is located on the right side and is moving the product under the scanner block 25. At this time, when the reading surface 27 is erected as shown in FIG. 2(a), it is relatively suitable for use in passing the product toward the operator.

Further, when the reading surface 27 is laid down as shown in FIG. 2(b), the dimension from the upper edge of the product receiving portion 4 of the cart 1 to the lower end of the scanner block 25 is B. On the other hand, in the state of FIG. 2(a) with the reading surface 27 upright, it is A, and a difference in dimension a occurs. Therefore, when the reading surface 27 is laid down, there is more space below the scanner block 25; The reading work is easy from two points of view: safety and workability.

Next, when the product is read, the results are displayed on the display section 29 for the operator and the data display section 3 of the customer side display 30.
1 is displayed numerically. Therefore, both can easily confirm the registered contents. Further, on the message display section 32 of the customer-side display device 30, various information such as product sales information is displayed in characters. This display mode may be displayed in a fixed manner, or one character may be moved to display a larger amount of content. Furthermore, when the data display section 31 is not displaying data, the data display section 31 may be used as a message display section, and the entire customer side display 30 may be used for messages.

When the product reading is finished in this way, the customer pulls out cart 1 on the left side (as seen from the operator) containing the read product and moves it to the packing area, and the operator removes the empty cart L on the right side. Move it to the left. At this time, since the tip of the product receiving part 4 of the cart 1 is in contact with the partition part 16 that acts as a cart guide, the cart 1 is moved to the left along the partition part 16. Therefore, the cart
The cart 1 can be easily moved by an operator located on the opposite side to the side where the cart is located.

In the above embodiment, the cart guide is connected to the partition wall 1.
6, the front edge of the loading platform 18 may abut against the support column 6 of the cart 1 to form a cart guide.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a cart in which a product receiving portion having a space at the bottom and protruding in one direction is formed on a base, and a cart located below the product receiving portion of the cart. A scanning device is provided in which a scanner block is attached to a holding arm suspended from the tips of support shafts provided on the left and right sides of an operator facing the cargo receiving platform, and a rotating shaft extends in the longitudinal direction of the holding arm. The scanner block was designed to be rotatable and fixed at any desired position.
The scanner block is located between the customer and the operator, but the spindles that support the scanner block are erected from the left and right sides of the operator, so the line of sight between the operator and the customer is not obstructed. This allows for an open state, which feels good, and since the spindles of the scanner block are located on the left and right sides of the operator, there are no obstacles on the customer side of the loading platform. Because it is structured to fit under the product receiving section, products can be brought closer to the operator simply by moving the cart, and there is no need to take down a basket containing products even if it is placed on the cart. , it is possible to obtain extremely good operability, and since the scanner block is attached to a holding arm that hangs over the tip of the spindle, it can be rotated freely and fixed at any position, so it can be adjusted according to the physique of the operator. This has the effect that it is possible to set the angle that is most convenient for use, and it is also possible to obtain a state in which it is easy to move the product as needed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the scanner block mounting portion; FIG. 2 is a side view showing the scanner block with a different inclination;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view as seen from the operator side, Fig. 4 is a perspective view as seen from the customer side, Fig. 5 is a side view with a part of the support leg cut away, Fig. 6 is a plan view, and Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the support leg portion. 1... Cart, 3... Base, 4... Product receiving part, 7
... Space part, 8... Scanning device, 9... Support shaft, 18... Load receiving platform, 23... Holding arm, 25...
...Scanner block applicant Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cart in which a product receiving part having a space at the bottom and projecting in one direction is formed on a base, and a receiving platform located below the product receiving part of the cart and facing the receiving platform. A scanning device is provided in which a scanner block is attached to a holding arm suspended from the ends of support shafts provided on the left and right sides of an operator, and the scanner block is rotated with a rotation axis in the longitudinal direction of the holding arm. A product sales device characterized in that it is installed freely and can be fixed at any position.