JPH0465793A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain pushbutton operation and commodity extraction appropriate for customer's height by arranging two commodity selecting pushbuttons and two commodity take-out ports on high and low positions and carrying a commodity to the commodity take-out port arranged on the depressed pushbutton side. CONSTITUTION:When the upper pushbutton 2H is depressed, a carrying control part turns on an elevator motor 13, carries out a specified commodity 9 from a commodity rack 7 and then turns off the motor 13 after the lapse of an elevating time interval. Thereby, the commodity 9 carried out to a main chuter 8 is carried to the upper commodity take-out port 3H by a lifting elevator 12. When the lower pushbutton 2L is depressed, a dropping solenoid 10 is turned on, the main chuter 8 is opened, a commodity is carried out, and then the solenoid 10 is turned off to close the shuter 8. Thereby, the commodity 9 is dropped into a lower shuter 15 and carried to the lower commodity take-out port 3L. Consequently, the commodity can easily be taken out independently of customer's height.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells canned products, bottled products, etc., and more particularly to a vending machine that allows products to be delivered to a height position that is easy to take out according to the user's height.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when selling canned or bottled products in a vending machine, the product is generally taken out from the shelf and guided through a chute to the product outlet at the bottom of the front of the vending machine. Some are designed to be lifted up to the exit.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with the conventional configuration in which the product is dropped into the product outlet at a lower position, the user must bend down to take out the product, and in order to improve this point, the product was lifted up to the product outlet at a higher position. In some cases, short people and children were unable to reach and remove items. The object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that allows users to easily take out products regardless of their height.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine of this invention has the following features:
A product selection pushbutton and a product take-out port at two high and low locations; a product transport mechanism that selectively transports sales products taken from a product shelf to either the high or low product take-out port; and a product selection pushbutton at either the high or low location. and control means for determining whether or not is pressed and driving the product transport mechanism so as to transport the sales product to the product outlet on the pressed side.

[For use]

Product selection pushbuttons and product extraction ports are provided at two locations, high and low.
Depending on which product selection pushbutton is pressed, the product is transported to the product takeout port on the pressed side, making it possible to operate the pushbutton and take out the product in a way that is appropriate for the user's height.

【Example】

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention in a can product vending machine will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. First, Figure 1 shows the appearance of the vending machine.The front door l of the vending machine main body has two product selection pushbuttons 2H and 2L at high and low positions, product ejection ports 3H and 3L, and a coin slot 4H. and 4L, coin return levers 5H and 5L, and coin return ports 6H and 6L. Fig. 2 shows the internal structure of the vending machine, with 7 being a product shelf that stores canned products, 8 being a main chute that receives and stops products 9 taken out from the product shelf 7, and 10 being a main shaft with a shaft 11 as a fulcrum. A drop solenoid 12 that opens the tip 8a of the chute 8 from the solid line position to the broken line position in the figure is driven by the elevator motor 13, and the receiver carries the picked up product 9 from the main chute 8 through the guide 14 to the upper product outlet 3H. The transporting elevator 15 is a lower chute that guides the product 9 that has fallen from the main chute 8 opened to the broken line position to the lower product outlet 3L. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram, in which 16 is a main control unit that controls the entire vending machine, 17 is a door control unit that controls operation panel units such as product selection pushbuttons 2H and 2L and product sold-out lamps (not shown); Reference numeral 18 denotes a carry-out control unit that controls a product carry-out mechanism (not shown) in the product shelf 7, a dropping solenoid 101, an elevator motor 13, and the like. Now, the operation of the vending machine having such a configuration will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. The door control section 17 includes a product selection push button 2H. Upon detecting that 2L has been pressed (step SL), a push button signal is transmitted to the main control section 16 via the communication line 19. The main control section 16 determines whether it is the upper push button 2H or the lower push button 2L that has been pressed, and issues a command to the unloading control section 18 (step S2). If the upper pushbutton 2H is pressed, the unloading control unit 18 turns on the elevator motor 13 (step S3), and after unloading the designated product 9 from the unillustrated product s7 (step S4), a rising time interval is set. (step S5), and turns off the elevator motor 13 (step S6). Thereby, the product 9 carried out onto the main shooter 8 is transported to the upper product outlet 3H by the ascending elevator 12. Further, if the lower push button 2L is pressed, the conveyance control unit 18 turns on the drop solenoid 10 to open the main chute 8 (step S7), unloads the product (step S8), and then solenoid 10
is turned off and the main shooter 8 is closed (step S9).
As a result, the product 9 falls onto the lower chute 15 and reaches the lower product outlet 3L. As described above, in the illustrated vending machine, depending on whether the user presses the high or low product selection push button 2H or 2L, the product outlet 3H on the pressed side. Since the product 9 is conveyed to 3L, the user can take out the product from the product take-out ports 3H and 3L at a height position suitable for the user.

【Effect of the invention】

According to this invention, since the product is delivered to the product takeout port according to the user's height condition, it becomes easy to take out the product, and the inconvenience of bending down or having to ask someone else's hand is eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the vending machine, FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the inside of the vending machine, FIG. 3 is a control block diagram, and FIG. The figure is a flowchart of control operation. 2H..., 2L...Product selection push button, 3H, 3L
...Product outlet, 8...Main shooter, 9...
Product, 10... Driving solenoid for falling, 12... Elevator for ascending, 15... Lower chute. ``Side'' by Yoshihide Komada, a scientist

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) Product selection pushbuttons and product extraction ports at two locations, high and low;
a product transport mechanism that selectively transports the sales product taken out from the product shelf to either the high or low product take-out port; A vending machine characterized by comprising: a control means for driving the product transport mechanism so as to transport sales products to a product takeout port.