JPH08203402A - Article selecting switch device for dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve and stabilize the sensitiveness in operation of a selection switch by adopting a capacitance type of sensor for the selection switch of a dispenser and sticking fast an electrode to serve as a selection switch to the rear of the front panel easily with simple constitution. CONSTITUTION: A switch 2 is attached, being inserted between the front panel 4 of a door 2 and the opposite face 20b of a board member 20. At this time, the switch 5 is pushed against the front panel 4 by the elastic member 11 provided at the back of a switch frame 5a, and the electrode 12 of the switch 5 is fixed fast to the rear of the front panel 4. Accordingly, when a human body draws near the electrode 12 through the front panel 4, a touch panel sensor can detect the change of capacitance stably. Moreover, since the electrode 12 is not exposed to the surface of the front panel 4, this does not need waterproof structure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product selection switch device for a vending machine, and more particularly to a capacitance detection type switch device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic vending machine, a push button switch device having a mechanical contact has been generally used as a switch device for selecting a product. In this push button switch device, the switch is operated by pushing a push button provided on the front panel of the machine body. By the way, in this type of push button switch device, the push button portion is depressed to operate the contact type switch, and since the sliding portion is present, the waterproof structure becomes complicated, the assembly is complicated, and the cost is low. It becomes high. Further, since there is a portion for slidingly guiding the push button portion and the waterproof structure is provided, there is a limit in reducing the thickness of the switch device. In order to solve the problem when the above mechanical contact is used, the present applicant has found that the capacitance changes when the human body comes close to the electrode portion which is the selection switch provided on the back surface of the front panel. A switch device that employs a capacitance sensor for detecting is proposed (unknown).

[0003]

However, when the electrostatic capacity type sensor is adopted in the switch device of the vending machine as described above, the switch operates when the human body comes close to the electrode portion, and therefore the front panel. If there is a gap between the switch and the electrode part of the switch, a change in capacitance may not be detected even when a human body approaches, and there is a problem that the switch operation sensitivity deteriorates. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when a human body approaches an electrode portion which is a selection switch provided on the back surface of the front panel,
Adopting a capacitance type sensor that detects changes in capacitance, it does not require a waterproof structure and the electrode part can be easily attached to the front panel with a simple structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a product selection switch device for a vending machine, which has good operation sensitivity and can be stabilized.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a product selection switch device of a vending machine according to the invention of claim 1 is a front panel of a door body on the front of the machine displaying a sample of a product to be sold. 1. A product selection switch device for a vending machine, comprising a switch unit for selecting a displayed product inside a product, the switch unit being provided on a switch frame and a front face of the switch frame. An electrode and a touch panel sensor circuit that is provided inside the switch frame and detects that the capacitance changes when a human body approaches the electrode.The switch frame is a front panel and a door body member immediately behind it. Of the switch frame body and an elastic member provided on the back surface of the switch frame body or on the front surface of the door body side member, the switch frame body is pressed and fixed to the front panel. Further, the product selection switch device of the vending machine according to the invention of claim 2 has the structure according to claim 1 above.
The switch frame is formed by resin molding, and the elastic member is integrally formed on the back surface thereof. Also,
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the product selection switch device for a vending machine according to the second aspect, the door-side member is made of sheet metal, and the elastic member is integrally formed on a surface facing the front panel. It is provided as a leaf spring.

[0005]

In the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to claim 1 having the above structure, the switch portion can be attached by simply inserting it into the gap between the front panel and the door body side member immediately behind it. The switch frame body is pressed against the front panel by an elastic member provided on the back surface of the switch frame body or the front surface of the door body side member, and the electrodes of the switch section are fixed in close contact with the back surface of the front panel. Therefore,
When the human body approaches the electrode via the front panel, the change in capacitance can be detected stably by the touch panel sensor circuit. Moreover, since the electrodes are not exposed on the surface of the front panel, a waterproof structure is not required. In addition, in the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to claim 2, in addition to the above-mentioned operation, since the elastic member is integrally formed on the back surface of the resin-molded switch frame body, the switch frame body is provided on the front panel. The structure for closely fixing and fixing to the back surface of is simple. Further, in the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to claim 3, since the elastic member is provided as a leaf spring on the front surface of the door-side member made of sheet metal, an effect equivalent to that of the above-mentioned claim 2 is obtained. To be

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of an automatic vending machine equipped with a switch device according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view around a switch portion of the automatic vending machine 1. The vending machine 1 (machine 1) has a door 2 on the front of the machine 1 displaying a sample of a product to be sold and a transparent front for displaying a product sample 3 and the like provided on the door 2. Panel 4
And a switch section 5 for selecting a product stored inside the front panel 4 and displayed by the product sample 3.
(Switch device). Furthermore, the Aircraft 1 has
Provided are a coin insertion slot 6 and a bill insertion slot 7 for paying the price of a product, a takeout opening 8 for taking out change, a merchandise takingout opening 9 for taking out a product, a return lever 10 for returning coins and bills, and the like. Has been.

The door body 2 is provided with a plate member 20 as a door body side member for receiving the switch section 5 and the product sample 3.
The plate member 20 is orthogonal to the front panel 4 and has a horizontal surface 20a on which the product sample 3 is placed, a vertical facing surface 20b that faces the front panel 4, and a switch unit 5 that is orthogonal to the front panel 4 and is mounted thereon. The horizontal plane 20c is formed by bending. Then, the switch unit 5 includes the front panel 4
Is pressed between the back surface of the plate and the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20 facing the back surface. An elastic member 11 for pressing the switch section 5 against the back surface of the front panel 4 is provided on the back surface of the switch section 5. Due to the action of the elastic member 11, the product selection electrode 12 in the switch section 5 is fixed in close contact with the back surface of the front panel 4. That is, the gap between the back surface of the front panel 4 and the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20 is designed to be slightly smaller than the sum of the depth dimension of the switch portion 5 and the dimension of the protruding portion of the elastic member 11, and By inserting the switch unit 5 in the gap,
The elastic member 11 is elastically deformed and bent, and the switch portion 5 is pressed against the back surface of the front panel 4.

3A is a front view of the switch section 5, FIG. 3B is a rear view of the switch section 5, FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the rear side of the switch section 5, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the switch part 5 to the body. Switch part 5
Is provided inside the switch frame 5a, the electrode 12 embedded in the front side of the switch frame 5a, and the switch frame 5a, and detects that the capacitance changes when the human body approaches the electrode 12. The touch panel sensor circuit 14 (details of which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8) is formed on the substrate 13. The electrode 12 is composed of a resin molded product containing a conductive material.

Further, the switch frame body 5a is formed of a resin material, and the elastic member 11 is formed of the switch frame body 5.
It is configured in such a manner that a part thereof is integrally projected at the four corners of the back surface of a toward the back surface. A connector portion 15 connected to the control circuit of the machine body 1 by a harness is provided on the back surface of the board 13, and an LED 16 (FIG. 3) for displaying "sold out" and "on sale" is provided on the surface of the board 13. 3 (a) is indicated by a broken line)
Is provided. The switch frame 5a is provided with an opening (not shown) so that the LED 16 can be seen. The touch panel sensor circuit 14 has a circuit configuration in which when the fingers of the human body approach the electrodes 12 from the front surface of the front panel 4, the circuit conditions change due to the capacitance of the human body, and this change can be detected.

The switch section 5 is provided on the back surface of the front panel 4 (thickness: 2 mm to 5 mm) without exposing any member on the outer surface of the front panel 4, and the switch section 5 is provided.
A transparent sticker or thin plate 5b on the front of the
Is affixed. The seal or the thin plate 5b is printed with a mark or the like for recognizing the selection switch and the display of "sold out" or "on sale" at the position where the electrode 12 and the LED 16 which are the selection switch are located. In this case, only the necessary portion is recognized by printing the blindfold on the portion other than the display portion of the seal or the plate 5b.

Although the selection switch and the display of "sold out" and "on sale" are those printed on the seal or plate 5b, these displays are the seal or the thin plate 5
It is also possible to directly print and display on the surface of the front panel 4 without using b, and in the case of this direct printing display as well, the portions other than the display portion are blind printed. Also,
The switch frame 5a may be integrally provided with the display function without using the seal or the thin plate 5b.

As described above, the switch portion 5 inserted between the back surface of the front panel 4 and the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20.
Is pressed against the back surface of the front panel 4 by the elastic member 11 and brought into close contact therewith, whereby the gap between the electrode 12 and the back surface of the front panel 4 is eliminated, and therefore the sensitivity of the switch is not lowered, and the product selection Therefore, when the human body approaches through the front panel 4, the switch operation is surely performed.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a leaf spring 20d as an elastic member is formed on the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20 instead of the elastic member 11 provided on the switch section 5 side. The plate member 20 of the door body 2 is made of sheet metal, and the plate spring 20d is formed integrally with the sheet metal. The facing surface 2 of the plate member 20
An opening 20e into which a harness connected to the connector 14 is inserted is opened at a predetermined position of 0b (the same applies to the above-described embodiments). Also in this example, when the switch section 5 is inserted between the back surface of the front panel 4 and the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20 as shown by an arrow in the figure, the switch section 5 is moved to the leaf spring 20d.
Thus, the switch portion 5 is pushed forward to be brought into close contact with the back surface of the front panel 4, and the same operation as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

6 to 8 show an example of the capacitance type touch panel sensor circuit 14. As a touch sensor method for detecting a change in capacitance, there is a method for detecting a potential change, a pulse shift, a frequency change, and other changes. FIG. 6 shows a circuit for detecting a potential change. The human body 21 is the electrode 12
When it comes close to, it becomes equivalent to that the electrostatic capacitance C0 is connected between the electrode 12 and the ground, and thereby the output voltage V0 changes. This is detected using a comparator or the like.

FIG. 7 shows a circuit for detecting a pulse shift. When the human body 21 approaches the electrode 12, it becomes equivalent to that the electrostatic capacitance C0 is connected between the electrode 12 and the ground in the same manner as described above, and by utilizing the fact that the phase of the pulse oscillator is delayed by this, the flip-flop (F / F) 22 is operated. Specifically, when C0 is larger than the capacitor C1, the phase of the flip-flop 22 on the set S side is delayed and the output pulse changes. Thereby, the proximity of the human body 21 can be detected.

FIG. 8 shows a circuit for detecting frequency fluctuations. When the human body 21 approaches the electrode 12, it becomes equivalent to that the electrostatic capacitance C0 is connected between the electrode 12 and the ground in the same manner as described above, whereby the oscillation frequency of the LC oscillator 23 changes. As a result, the output of the bandpass filter 24 changes, and the proximity of the human body 21 can be detected. The human body 21
The oscillation frequency of the LC oscillator 23 when is not touched is adjusted to the center frequency of the bandpass filter 24. When the human body 21 touches in this state, the oscillation frequency decreases due to the electrostatic capacitance C0 of the human body, so the output of the bandpass filter 24 decreases. Although FIG. 8 shows an example of the LC oscillator 23,
A CR oscillator may be used. As described above, in any of the circuits shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, it is desirable to set the oscillation output (clock) frequency of the oscillator to a high value of 10 KHz or higher so that even a small capacitance change can be detected.

According to the product selection switch device of the vending machine of this embodiment, all the members of the switch section 5 are housed on the back side of the front panel 4, and the front panel 4 has an opening for exposing the switch section. It does not require processing such as opening, and does not have sliding parts unlike conventional switches with mechanical contacts, so it requires a simple waterproof structure, reduces cost, and has a semi-permanent life. Further, since the mounting work can be performed only by inserting the switch device into the rear surface side of the front panel 4, the replacement work can be easily performed, which is advantageous when the vending machine 1 is renewed.
Further, since the front panel 4 is flat and has no unevenness, dirt and dust are unlikely to collect and cleaning is easy. Further, by providing the plurality of sensor circuits 14 on one board 13 as described above, the number of parts and the number of mounting steps can be reduced.

Further, a touch panel sensor circuit 14 used as a switch device for detecting a change in electrostatic capacitance.
Needs to fill the gap between the back surface of the front panel 4 and the electrode 12 in order to ensure the sensor sensitivity.
Elastic member 11 or plate member 20 formed on the switch portion 5
With the leaf spring 20d formed on the facing surface 20b of the above, the switch portion 5 can be pressed and fixed to the back surface of the front panel 4. Therefore, the electrode 12 of the switch section 5 can be brought into close contact with the back surface of the front panel 4, and the switch operation sensitivity becomes stable.

Further, the elastic member 11 is integrally formed on the back surface of the switch frame body 5a formed by resin molding, or the plate spring 20d as an elastic member is integrally formed on the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20 made of sheet metal. Since it is formed, it is possible to simplify the structure for pressing and fixing the switch portion 5 against the back surface of the front panel 4.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, instead of the elastic member 11 or the plate spring 20d, a coil spring or the like may be attached to the back surface of the switch frame 5a or the facing surface 20b of the plate member 20.

[0021]

As described above, according to the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to the invention of claim 1, the elastic member is provided on the back surface of the switch frame body or the front surface of the door body side member, and the switch portion is provided on the front surface. It is inserted in the gap between the panel and the member on the door body side immediately behind it, and the switch frame is pressed against the front panel by the elastic member to fix it, so the electrodes of the switch section and the back surface of the front panel are in close contact, The switch operation sensitivity is increased, and stable switch operation can be obtained. Also, the work for fixing the switch part becomes extremely easy. Furthermore, since all the members of the switch part are housed on the back side of the front panel, no special waterproof structure is required, and the configuration is simple. The cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to the invention of claim 2, since the elastic member is integrally formed on the back surface of the switch frame body formed by resin molding, the electrode and the front surface are formed. The structure for filling the gap with the back surface of the panel can be simplified.

Further, according to the commodity selection switch device of the vending machine according to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the above effect, the elastic member is integrally formed as a leaf spring on the front surface of the door side member made of sheet metal. Therefore, the same effect as that of claim 2 can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with a switch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view showing a state in which the switch device is attached to a vending machine.

3A and 3B show a switch portion of the switch device, FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG. 3B is a rear view, and FIG. 3C is a rear perspective view.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the switch unit is attached to the machine body.

5A is a cutaway perspective view of an automatic vending machine showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a partial sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a touch panel sensor circuit provided in the switch device.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the touch panel sensor circuit.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing still another example of the touch panel sensor circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Door body 4 Front panel 5 Switch part (switch device) 5a Switch frame body 11 Elastic member 12 Electrode 13 Touch panel circuit board 14 Touch panel circuit 20 Plate member (door body side member) 20b Opposed surface 20d Leaf spring

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akihiro Morita 3-20-16 Kamishinjo, Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka City Komatsu Wright Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Within the corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A product selection switch for a vending machine, wherein a switch section for selecting a displayed product is provided inside a front panel of a door body on the front of the machine displaying a sample of a product to be sold. In the device, the switch unit is provided in a switch frame body, an electrode provided on a front surface of the switch frame body, and provided inside the switch frame body, and electrostatic capacitance changes when a human body approaches the electrode. The touch panel sensor circuit for detecting, the switch frame body is inserted into the gap between the front panel and the door body side member immediately behind it, and the elasticity provided on the back face of the switch frame body or the front face of the door body side member. A product selection switch device for a vending machine, characterized in that the switch frame is fixed to the front panel by a member so as to be pressed against the front panel. 2. The product selection switch device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the switch frame body is formed by resin molding, and the elastic member is integrally formed on a back surface thereof. 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the door-side member is made of sheet metal, and the elastic member is integrally provided as a leaf spring on a surface facing the front panel. Product selection switch device.