JPH05197865A - Remote control device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the remote control of an automatic vending machine so as to permit manpower saving. CONSTITUTION:This device is a centralized control device to control the operating state of an automatic vending machine 50 through a public line L by a centralized control device 100, and the centralized control device 100 is provided with a command input means 101 to input commands to the respective automatic vending machines 50, information communicating means 102 to transmit command information and to receive the information of the respective automatic vending machines 50, and public line control means 103 to execute communication between the centralized control device 100 and each automatic vending machine 50. Each automatic vending machine 50 is provided with a communication control means 51 to receive the command information of the centralized control device 100 and to transmit the operating condition of the automatic vending machine 50 to the centralized control device 100, shutter driving means 52 for switching a column to be hot/cold, heater driving power source 53, load control means 54 to control the shutter driving means 52 and the heater driving power source 53 based on the received command information, and storing means 55 to store the hot/cold state of the column.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device for controlling the operating state of vending machines installed in a wide area with a central control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, hot products such as seasonal change /
To change cold products, when the routeman delivers the products, he manually opens and closes the shutter between columns to switch between hot and cold columns, and displays hot and cold. In addition, it was necessary to set a timer for the ones that are not available at night.

[0003]

However, at the present time when the shortage of manpower for root man is rapidly becoming serious, there is an urgent need to reduce manual work as much as possible to save labor. Further, in view of the recent power situation, there is an increasing demand for energy saving in order to reduce the running cost. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device for an automatic vending machine, which can save labor and energy.

[0004]

Means and Actions for Solving the Problems The first invention is
As shown in FIG. 1, the centralized management device 100 is a remote control device in which the operating state of each vending machine 50 is controlled by the centralized management device 100 via the public line L. The state of 50 is displayed, the command input means 101 for inputting a desired command to each vending machine 50 based on the display, and the command information by the command input means 101 are transmitted, and via the public line L. Each vending machine 5
The information communication means 102 for receiving the vending machine information transmitted from 0, and the public line control means 103 for controlling the communication between the central control device 100 and each vending machine 50 are provided. Receives the command information from the centralized management device 100, drives the communication control means 51 for transmitting the operation status of the vending machine 50 to the centralized management device 50, and the shutter for switching the column to hot / cold. Shutter drive means 52, heater drive power supply 53 for energizing the heater, control means 54 for controlling shutter drive means 52 and heater drive power supply 53 based on command information received by the communication control means, and column hot / column state And a storage means 55 for storing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when it is desired to change the column of the vending machine 50 from cold to hot, the central control device 100 inputs a command from the command input means 101. By transmitting this command to the vending machine 50, the load control means 54 causes the heater drive power source 53
Is turned on to energize the heater in the column, and the shutter for that column is closed to isolate it from the adjacent cold column.

As described in claim 2 of the present invention,
In the above device, a hot / cold display means 60 for displaying hot or cold for each column, and a display for controlling the hot / cold display means 60 according to the hot / cold status set for each column. Control means 6
1 is further provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a certain column is changed from cold to hot, the display control means 61
The display in the hot / cold display means for the column switches from cold to hot.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, command input means 101, information communication means 102,
The public line control means 103 and the communication control means 51 are provided, and the sales control means 70 for controlling the sale of products based on the command information from the centralized management device 100 and the price change means for changing the price display based on the command information. 71
And a price storage means 72 for storing the changed product price.
Each vending machine 50 is provided with a price display means 73 for displaying the price stored in the price storage means 72.

The third aspect of the present invention makes it possible to change the price. When the price to be changed is set and input from the central control device 100, this information is sent to the vending machine 50,
The new price is stored in the price storage means 72, and this price is displayed on the price display means 73.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the command input means 101, the information communication means 102,
The public line control means 103 and the communication control means 51 are provided, and the out-of-stock detection means 80 that counts the sales in the vending machine 50 and detects the out-of-stock, the power supply 81 that supplies power to the vending machine 50, and the central management device 100 Each vending machine 50 is provided with control means 82 for controlling ON / OFF of the power supply 81 based on the command information of 1. and ON / OFF storage means 83 for storing the ON / OFF state of the vending machine 50.

A fourth aspect of the invention is provided with out-of-stock detecting means 80,
As a result, when the centralized management device 100 side detects that the product is out of stock, the centralized management device 100 inputs a power-off command to cause the vending machine 50 to store the current data according to the data stored in the on / off storage means 83. If the power supply of the vending machine 50 is on, the control means 82 supplies the power supply 8
Turn off 1.

The fifth invention, as shown in FIG.
The command input means 101, the information communication means 102, the public line control means 103, the communication control means 51, and the out-of-stock detection means 80 described above are provided, and a compressor power supply 90 for supplying power to the compressor and a control circuit 91 for controlling the compressor power supply 90. Is provided in each vending machine 50.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the central control device 100 detects that the product is out of stock or the like, the central control device 100 inputs a command to turn off the compressor, thereby controlling the vending machine 50. The compressor power supply 90 is turned off by 91.

[0014]

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram showing an embodiment of the device according to the first invention. Reference numeral 1 is a centralized management device, 2 is a public line control device for the centralized management device,
Reference numeral 3 indicates a public telephone network. 4 is a modem on the vending machine side, and 5 is an RS232C for the modem 4.
Interface. 6 is a CPU that controls communication control, and 7 is a RAM that stores communication control data. 8
Is a CP for controlling the load on the vending machine.
U. Reference numeral 9 denotes an RA that stores the state of the shutter 11.
M is a motor 10 is for opening and closing the shutter 11. Reference numeral 12 is a relay for turning on / off the heater 13.

The operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When changing the cold column X of the vending machine A to the hot column, the central control device 1 issues a command to the X column to change the cold column to the hot column. This command data is
It is transmitted to the corresponding modem 4 by the line control device 2,
It is fetched by the CPU 6 through the interface 5. C
The PU 6 refers to the control data stored in the RAM 7, determines that the information is hot / cold switching data, and sends a predetermined signal for hot / cold switching to the CPU 8. As a result, the CPU 8 causes the RAM 9
It is determined from the data of whether the column switching from cold to hot is necessary, and when it is determined that it is necessary, the motor 10 is driven to close the shutter 11 to block the entry of cold air from the adjacent cold column. , And CPU
8, the relay 12 is driven and the heater 13 for the column X is energized. Further, at this time, the RAM 9 stores that the column X is set to hot. After that, the completion of column switching is notified to the central control device 1 by a route opposite to the above.

Next, the device according to the second aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5 again. LCD driver 14 and LCD 15 are added. In this device, the column X
When is switched from cold to hot, the LCD driver 14 displays hot on the LCD 15 for this column X.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the device according to the third invention. What is different from FIG. 5 is that a numeric keypad 21 for setting a price is provided, the data of the set price is stored in the RAM 9, and the price of the product is displayed on the LCD 15.

As the control operation, the price set and input by the ten key 21 is stored in the RAM 9 and the price is displayed on the LCD 15. Now, the central control unit 1
When changing the price, when the column is designated and the amount is input, the data is transferred to the vending machine A and stored in the RAM 9 as in the previous embodiment, and at the same time, the data is stored in the LCD 15 according to the stored data. The changed price is displayed, and after that, the product is sold at this price.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the fourth invention,
5 is different from that shown in FIG. 5 in that it includes a master 31 for detecting a sales state such as a product out-of-stock, and a relay 33 for turning on / off power supply from a power supply box 32 for obtaining a control power supply. There is. In addition, the RAM 9 turns on the power of the vending machine A from the communication with the central control device 1.
It stores whether or not (power supply to the master 31 etc. is on).

As a control operation, the relay 33 is turned on during operation, and the master 31 which receives power supply detects sales information such as the number of sold and out of stock of the vending machine and transmits it to the central management unit. To do. On the side of the central control device 1,
Vending machine A from the sales information sent from each vending machine
When the out-of-stock or the like is detected at, the central management device 1 inputs a command to stop selling to the vending machine A. This command is transmitted to each vending machine, but in the vending machine A, the CPU 6 refers to the control data stored in the RAM 7 to determine that the transmitted command is for the vending machine A. , And transfers the command to the CPU 8. The CPU 8 checks from the data in the RAM 9 whether the vending machine A is powered on or off, and if it is powered on, the relay 3
Turn off 3. As a result, power supply to the master 31 is stopped and sales are stopped. In addition, the centralized control device 1 is notified of this power-off, and the power-on is the same as above.
A command is sent from the central control unit 1, and the CPU 8 causes the relay 3
3 is turned on to supply power to the master 31.

FIG. 8 shows an apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention.
By the temperature detection by the thermo 41 in the cold column,
The compressor 43 is turned on / off by turning the relay 42 on / off, but the difference from FIG.
A relay 44 for turning on / off the compressor 43 in response to a command from U8 is provided.

As a control operation, the operation of the compressor 43 is controlled by the temperature detection by the thermo 41. However, when the cooling operation in the vending machine A is stopped due to the product being out of stock or the like, the central control device 1 is used. When a command to stop the compressor is input, the CPU 8 that receives this command
Turns off the relay 44 to stop the operation of the compressor 43.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
From the central control unit side to each vending machine, it is possible to change from cold to hot in the column and to display whether the product is cold or hot with this change,
Also, since the price was changed and the power supply for the vending machine or the compressor was turned off, the change operation that was conventionally carried out by the route man could be omitted, greatly saving labor. Can contribute. In addition, the power can be turned off if necessary, so that the effect of energy saving is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to claims of a remote control device according to the first and second inventions.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the third invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the fourth invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the fifth invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device based on the first and second inventions.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device according to the third invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device according to the fifth invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 centralized control device 2 line control device 3 telephone network 4 modem 5 interface 6 CPU 7 RAM 8 CPU 9 RAM 10 motor 11 shutter 12 relay 13 heater 14 driver 15 LCD 21 numeric keypad 31 master 32 power box 33 relay 41 thermo 32 relay 43 Compressor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device in which the operating state of each vending machine 50 is controlled by a centralized management device 100 via a public line L. The centralized management device 100 is a remote control device; The state is displayed, and command input means 101 for inputting a desired command to each vending machine 50 based on the display, and command information by the command input means 101 are transmitted,
Information communication means 102 for receiving vending machine information transmitted from each vending machine 50 via the public line L, and public line control means for controlling communication between the centralized management device 100 and each vending machine 50. Each of the vending machines 50 includes a communication control unit 51 that receives command information from the centralized management device 100 and transmits the operation status of the vending machine 50 to the centralized management device 50.
A shutter drive means 52 for driving a shutter for switching the column between hot and cold; a heater drive power supply 53 for energizing the heater; and a shutter drive means 52 and a heater drive power supply 53 based on command information received by the communication control means. And a storage means 55 for storing the hot / column state of the column.
And a remote control device for a vending machine. 2. Hot / cold display means 60 for displaying hot or cold for each column in each vending machine, and hot / cold display according to the hot / cold status set for each column. The remote control device for a vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising display control means 61 for controlling the means 60. 3. The command input means 101, the information communication means 102, the public line control means 103, and the communication control means 51 according to claim 1 are provided, and the sale of goods is controlled based on the command information from the centralized management device 100. The sale control means 70, the price changing means 71 for changing the price display based on the command information, the price storing means 72 for storing the changed commodity price, and the price stored in the price storing means 72 are displayed. A remote control device for a vending machine, characterized in that each vending machine 50 is provided with a price display means 73. 4. The out-of-stock detection, which comprises the command input means 101, the information communication means 102, the public line control means 103 and the communication control means 51 according to claim 1, counts the sales in the vending machine 50, and detects the out-of-stock. Means 80, power supply 81 for supplying power to the vending machine 50, control means 82 for controlling on / off of the power supply 81 based on command information from the central control device 100, and on / off state of the vending machine 50 are stored. A remote control device for a vending machine, characterized in that each vending machine 50 is provided with an on / off storage means 83. 5. A compressor power supply 90 for supplying power to a compressor, which comprises the command input means 101, the information communication means 102, the public line control means 103, the communication control means 51 and the out-of-stock detection means 80 according to claim 4, and a compressor power supply. A remote control device for a vending machine, wherein each vending machine 50 is provided with a control circuit 91 for controlling 90.