JPH09147222A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine which can fast sell warm foods at low cost even in such a place where many sale requests are concentrated in a limited time band. SOLUTION: When the sale of an optional commodity A is reserved at a sale reservation part 6, the commodity A is sent to a commodity warmer box 2 from a commodity store box 1 and warmed there until a prescribed sale time. Then the warmed commodity A is carried out of the box 2 at its sale time and discharged to the customer who reserved it. Thus it is possible to always offer the warm foods at a high speed even in such a place where many sale requests are concentrated in a limited time band. Furthermore, a frozen commodity A or a commodity A of an ordinary temperature can be directly sold out of the box 1. Thus even a customer who has no reservation of the commodity A can purchase a warm commodity A by heating first the commodity via a heating device 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine for selling warm products such as foods at various business establishments, schools, etc. at a predetermined time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a place where a relatively large number of employees stay for a long time, a dining room equipped with a kitchen and a kitchen is provided, for example, for employees of various business establishments and students of schools. We provide meals such as lunch.

[0003]

However, in order to operate a cafeteria, not only material costs but also personnel and equipment costs are large. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to provide a dedicated cafeteria in a small business establishment. Have difficulty. In addition, even if the restaurant is provided, it is not always satisfying to the user, such as having to wait for a long time for cooking or getting tired of eating because there are few items. Therefore, as one that can provide meals without requiring labor costs and large-scale facilities,
For example, as described in JP-A-5-135270, a frozen food vending machine equipped with a heating device such as a microwave oven is known. In this vending machine, frozen foods, cooked rice, etc. Food items are heated by a heating device before being sold. However, in this vending machine, frozen products are heated at the same time as they are sold, so it takes a long time to dispense the products, and it can be used in places where many sales requests are concentrated in a limited time zone. I couldn't.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to quickly prepare hot food at a low cost even in a place where many sales requests are concentrated in a limited time zone. It is to provide a vending machine that can be sold to.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, in claim 1, a product storage part for storing a product, and a product heat insulation part for heating the product to a predetermined temperature or higher to keep it warm. Inside the product heat insulation section by a sales reservation means that reserves the sale of the product, a product transportation means that conveys the product reserved by the sales reservation means from the product storage section to the product heat retention section, and a sales request based on the reservation information of the sales reservation means And a product delivering means for delivering the product. As a result, when the sale reservation unit reserves the sale of the product, the product is conveyed from the product storage unit to the product heat retaining unit and heated to a predetermined temperature or higher in the product heat retaining unit to be kept warm. After that, if there is a sales request based on the reservation information of the sales reservation means, the product that has been kept warm in the product warming unit will be paid out, so it is possible to always purchase a warm product quickly by reserving the sale of the product. it can.

[0006] According to a second aspect, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, a commodity dispensing means for dispensing the commodity in the commodity storage section and a heating means for heating the dispensed commodity according to an arbitrary sales request. It has and. This allows
Since the products in the product storage section are paid out by an arbitrary sales request, and the paid out products can be heated by the heating means, for example, even if you have not made a reservation to sell the product, you can purchase the product. Can be warmed.

[0007]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, which conceptually illustrates an automatic vending machine of the present invention. That is, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vending machine, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part thereof.

This vending machine includes a product storage 1 for storing a product A, a product heat storage 2 for keeping the product A warm, and a product A.
A merchandise transport mechanism 3 that conveys the merchandise, a first merchandise delivery section 4 that dispenses the merchandise A in the merchandise warming storage 2, and a merchandise A in the merchandise storage 1.
A second product dispensing unit 5 for dispensing the product A, a sales reservation unit 6 for booking the sale of the product A, a discharge container 7 for receiving the unsold product A, and a heating device 8 capable of heating the dispensed product A.
And a first product outlet 4 as a product outlet.
a, a second product outlet 5a and a product outlet 7a.

The product storage 1 stores various cooked products that need to be frozen, and products A such as cooked rice that can be stored at room temperature.
When the product A that needs to be frozen is stored, it has a function of cooling the inside of the refrigerator.

The product warming cabinet 2 has a plurality of shelves 2a for storing the products A, and a moving mechanism 2b for putting the products A in and out of the shelves 2a.
The inside of the refrigerator is constantly heated to a predetermined temperature or higher by a heating means (not shown).

The product transfer mechanism 3 is composed of a plurality of conveyors 3a, and has a transfer operation for transferring the product A carried out from the product storage 1 to the product heat storage 2 and the product A transferred from the product heat storage 2 as a first operation. Transporting operation to carry out to the product outlet 4a of
Each of the conveyors 3a has a carrying operation for carrying out the product A carried out from the product storage 1 to the second product carrying-out port 5a and a carrying operation for carrying out the product A carried out from the product warming storage 2 to the product discharge port 7a. It is supposed to be done by.

The first product delivery section 4 is the first product outlet 4
The product A is carried out from a, and the product A is paid out by an identification card B made of, for example, a magnetic storage medium.

The second product delivery section 5 is the second product delivery port 5.
The product A is carried out from a, and the product A is paid out by money, a prepaid card, or the like.

The sales reservation section 6 makes a reservation for sales of a desired product A using the identification card B. By inserting the identification card B owned by the purchaser and paying money in advance to select the product A, The reservation information of the product is stored.

The discharge container 7 receives the unnecessary product A discharged from the product discharge port 7a, and the product A housed inside is separately discarded.

The heating device 8 arbitrarily heats the product A dispensed from the second product dispensing part 5, and is constructed by attaching a well-known microwave oven or the like to this device.

In the above configuration, the purchaser inserts the identification card B into the sales reservation section 6 by a predetermined time before the reserved product sales time (for example, during lunch), and an arbitrary cooked product (side dish).
By selecting a desired product A such as rice or cooked rice and paying money, the product A is reserved. When an arbitrary product A is reserved by the sales reservation unit 6, the product A is unloaded from the product storage 1 and transferred to the product warming storage 2 by the product transfer mechanism 3. At that time, in the product warming warehouse 2,
The merchandise A conveyed by the merchandise conveying mechanism 3 is stored in the vacant shelf 2a by the moving mechanism 2b of the merchandise warming box 2, and the position of the shelf 2a is stored together with the reservation information of the merchandise A. When the reservation of the product A and the storage of the product A in the product heat storage box 2 are completed in this manner, the product A is heated to a predetermined temperature and kept warm in the product heat box 2. Next, when the reserved product sales time is reached and the reservation person inserts the identification card B into the first product dispensing unit 4, the reserved product A is stored in the product warming box 2 based on the reservation information of the sales reservation unit 6. The product is taken out from the shelf 2a, carried out from the product warming storage 2 by the moving mechanism 2c, and paid out to the first product paying-out section 4 via the product carrying mechanism 3. Further, when the user does not make a reservation or wants to purchase the product A at times other than the reserved product sales time, when the user pays money to the second product dispensing unit 5 and selects the desired product A, the product A is stored. The product is unloaded from the warehouse 1 and is delivered to the second product delivery unit 5 via the product transport mechanism 3. In this case, since the product A directly carried out from the product storage 1 is in a frozen or normal temperature state, the purchaser can warm the product A by using the heating device 8 as needed. In addition, if the reserved product A is not paid out even when the reserved product sales time arrives and the predetermined time has passed, the product A
Is discharged from the product heat storage box 2 and discharged from the product discharge port 7a to the discharge container 7 via the product transport mechanism 3.

As described above, according to the vending machine of this embodiment, when the sale of an arbitrary product A is reserved, the product A is reserved.
Is conveyed from the product storage 1 to the product heat storage 2 and kept warm until the predetermined sales time is reached. At the sales time, the product A is carried out from the product heat storage 2 and paid out to the reservation person. Even in a place where a large number of sales requests are concentrated in a limited time zone, the warm product A can always be sold quickly. Also, unlike the cafeteria, it does not require labor costs and high maintenance costs, so it is cost-effective and
Not only can different types of products A be sold at the same time, but also the types of products A can be easily changed, so that the purchaser who uses them on a daily basis can always be provided with satisfactory products A. . Furthermore, since the frozen or normal temperature product A can be directly carried out from the product storage 1 and sold,
By heating the purchased product A by the heating device 8, it is possible to provide the warm product A to users who have not made a reservation.

The sales reservation section 6 makes a reservation using the identification card B owned by the purchaser. In addition to using such an identification card B, a reservation ticket in which reservation information is stored is issued at the time of reservation. Alternatively, the reservation may be made using the extension telephone of the business office or the communication function of the personal computer. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of sales reservation units 6 are provided remotely from the apparatus main body via a communication cable or the like, and each sales reservation unit 6 can be installed at any desired plural places, for example, on each floor of a large-scale business establishment. By arranging them, it is possible to make a reservation without going to the main body of the apparatus, and it is possible to improve serviceability to the purchaser.

4 to 9 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the vending machine of the present invention is constructed as a stationary type similar to a general vending machine. That is, FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the vending machine, FIG. 5 is a front sectional view thereof, and FIG.
Is a plan sectional view thereof, FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a commodity storage box, FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a commodity heat storage cabinet, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control system.

This vending machine comprises a first vending machine body 10, a second vending machine body 20, a third vending machine body 30, and a control section 40 for controlling the selling operation. The vending machine bodies 10, 20, 30 are arranged side by side in the width direction and communicate with each other through the side surfaces.

The first vending machine main body 10 has a product storage 11 and a conveyor 12 inside, and a product sample display section 13, a product selection button 14, an identification card insertion port 15, a money insertion port 16 and a product on the front side. An outlet 17 and the like are provided. The product storage 11 is surrounded by a heat insulating wall 11a, and a product outlet 11c that is opened and closed by a heat insulating door 11b is provided at the lower front portion thereof. Product storage 11
A plurality of product columns 18 are housed inside, and each product column 18 holds the product A in the gap between spirally formed spirals 18a, and the product A is dropped from the lower end by the rotation of the spiral 18a. Has been done. Each product column 18 stores a product A in which various cooked products such as side dishes are frozen, and the inside of the product storage 11 is cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower (for example, −20 ° C. or lower) by a refrigerating device (not shown). Further, a plurality of product columns 19 similar to the product columns 18 are provided outside the product storage 11 on the front side inside the vending machine body 10, and each product column 19 includes aseptically packed rice, etc. The product A that can be stored at room temperature is stored. That is, each product column 1 in the product storage 11
The product A dropped from 8 slides on the inclined bottom surface in the product storage 11 and drops onto the conveyor 12 from the product outlet 11c, and the product A carried out from each external product column 19 is directly onto the conveyor 12. It is designed to fall. The conveyor 12 extends to a portion communicating with the second vending machine body 20, and a product outlet 17 is arranged on the terminal side thereof.

The second vending machine main body 20 has a product heat storage compartment 21 and two conveyors 22 inside, and a public notice display section 23, an identification card insertion slot 24, and a commodity ejection slot 25 on the front surface.
Etc. are provided. The product heat storage box 21 is surrounded by a heat insulating wall 21a, and a product outlet 21c that is opened and closed by a heat insulating door 21b is provided on the front surface thereof. Also,
The inside of the product heat storage box 21 is heated to a predetermined temperature or higher (for example, 80 ° C. or higher) by a heating means (not shown). A merchandise shelf 26 for accommodating the merchandise A is provided in the merchandise warming storage 21, and the merchandise shelf 26 includes a plurality of upper and lower storage sections 26a. The product shelves 26 are configured to rotate in the forward and reverse directions by a driving unit (not shown), and the storage units 26a are provided in four rows at intervals of 90 ° around the center of rotation. The product A can be stored by the number of rows and columns. A product elevating mechanism 27 that moves in the vertical direction is provided on the front side inside the vending machine body 20, and the product elevating mechanism 27 is configured to elevate and lower in front of the product outlet 21c by elevating means (not shown). That is, the product elevating mechanism 27 is moved from the standby position below to an arbitrary storage section 26a.
And the product shelf 2
By rotating 6 to move the row of the arbitrary storage section 26a to the front position, it is possible to drive the moving means (not shown) to take in and out the product A between the product elevating mechanism 27 and the storage section 26a. There is. The conveyors 22 are arranged on both sides of the product lifting mechanism 27 in the width direction, one conveyor 22 is continuous with the conveyor 12 of the first vending machine body 10, and the other conveyor 22 is the third vending machine body. It extends to a portion communicating with 30. A product outlet 25 is arranged in front of the standby position of the product lifting mechanism 27.

The third vending machine main body 30 is provided with a plurality of heaters 31 such as microwave ovens in the upper part, and a discharge container 32 for containing the unnecessary product A is provided in the lower part. Each heater 31 is disposed on the front surface of the vending machine body 30 and can be freely operated from the outside. The discharge container 32 is disposed below the portion communicating with the second vending machine body 20, and an opening / closing door 33 for removing the contents in the discharge container 32 is provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 30. .

The control unit 40 is composed of a microcomputer, and has a product selection button 14, each product column 18,
19, the product shelf 26, the conveyors 12 and 22, the product elevating mechanism 27, and the sales reservation unit 41. The sales reservation section 41 includes a product selection button 14, a card reader 15a provided in the identification card insertion slot 15 of the first vending machine body 10, and an identification card insertion slot 24 of the second vending machine body 20. The card reader 15 on the first vending machine body 10 side is connected to the provided card reader 24a.
The purchaser identification information read from a and the position of the storage section 26a in which the reserved product A is stored are stored as reservation data. Further, corresponding reservation data is selected from the purchaser's identification information read from the card reader 24a on the second vending machine body 20 side, and the control unit 40 is instructed to carry out the operation based on the selected reservation data. That is, the control unit 40
Then, by controlling the product columns 18 and 19, the product shelf 26, the conveyors 12 and 22, and the product elevating mechanism 27, the selling operation described later is performed.

In the vending machine configured as described above, the purchaser inserts the identification card B into the identification card insertion slot 15 of the first vending machine body 10 by a predetermined time before the reserved product sales time. For example, when a desired product A such as an arbitrary cooked food (side dish) and cooked rice is selected by the product selection button 14 and money is paid, the product A is carried out from the product column 18 or the product column 19 of the product storage 11. The conveyors 12 and 22 convey the products to the product lifting mechanism 27. Next, when the product A is received by the product lifting mechanism 27,
The product elevating mechanism 27 is raised to an arbitrary height position, the product A is stored in the empty storage part 26a of the product shelf 26, and the position of the storage part 26a storing the product A is set in the sales reservation part 41. Remembered. In this way, when the reservation of the product A and the storage in the product heat storage box 21 are completed, the product heat storage box 2
In 1, the product A is heated to a predetermined temperature and kept warm. Next, when the reserved product sales time is reached and the reservation person inserts the identification card B into the identification card insertion slot 24 of the second vending machine body 20, the product elevating mechanism 27 is operated based on the reservation data of the sales reservation unit 41. The user ascends to the storage unit 26a of the product shelf 26 in which the product A of the reservation person is stored, takes out the product A from the storage unit 26a, and descends to the standby position. As a result, the product A is taken out from the product take-out port 25 located in front of the product lifting mechanism 27. Also, if you have not made a reservation or want to purchase product A outside the reserved product sales time,
When paying money to the cash slot 16 of the vending machine body 10 and selecting a desired product A with the product selection button 14, the product A is carried out from the product column 18 or the product column 19 of the product storage 11. , Conveyor 1
2 is transported to the product outlet 17 and the product outlet 1
The product A is taken out from 7. In this case, the product storage 11
Since the product A directly delivered from the product is in a frozen or normal temperature state, the purchaser can warm the product A by using the heater 31 of the third vending machine body 30 as needed. Further, when the reserved product A reaches the reserved product sales time and is not paid out, and when the predetermined time has elapsed, the storage section 26 in which the product A is stored is stored.
The product elevating mechanism 27 rises to a, the product A is taken out from the storage section 26a, and descends to the height position of each conveyor 22. Next, the product A is transferred from the product elevating mechanism 27 to the other conveyor 22, is transported to the third vending machine body 30 side by the conveyor 22, and is discharged into the discharge container 32.

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, by making reservation for the sale of the product A, the warm product A is always sold quickly at a predetermined time. can do. Further, in the present embodiment, each vending machine body 10, 20, 30 can be installed in a corridor in a building or a corner of a room, like a general vending machine, so that it can be installed in a kitchen or a kitchen of a dining room. It is possible to easily introduce the meal providing system using the vending machine according to the present embodiment even in a business office or the like having a small space without requiring a large-scale facility. In addition, by arranging the vending machine of the present embodiment in parallel with a known vending machine that sells various beverages, dried foods, etc., it is possible to increase sales opportunities for other products and improve services to users. You can also plan.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show modified examples of product shelves provided in the second vending machine main body 20, which are respectively second
2 is a plan sectional view of the vending machine body of FIG. That is, in the product shelf 28 shown in FIG. 10, each storage unit 28a is provided in a total of 6 rows at intervals of 60 ° around the rotation center.
The storage amount of the product A can be increased by a total of two rows as compared with the second embodiment. Further, the product shelf 29 shown in FIG.
Is a structure in which an endless rotary band 29a is wound around a pair of rotary shafts, a plurality of rows of storage parts 28b are attached to the rotary band 29a, and each storage part 28b is moved by the rotary band 29a. It is possible to realize a large increase in the storage capacity.

[0029]

As described above, according to the vending machine according to the first aspect, it is possible to always quickly sell warm products by reserving the sale of the products. For example, lunch at an office or school. It is possible to sufficiently deal with a large number of sales requests concentrated in a limited time zone such as time. Moreover, unlike the cafeteria, it does not require labor costs and high maintenance costs, which is advantageous in terms of cost, as well as simultaneous sales of products of different types, and the type of products can be easily changed. , Can always offer a wide variety of products. Therefore, as compared with the conventional cafeteria, the cost can be significantly reduced, the waiting time can be significantly shortened, and the products for sale can be enhanced, which is extremely effective as a meal providing facility that replaces the conventional cafeteria.

According to the vending machine of claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, warm products can be provided to users who have not made a reservation, so that the serviceability can be improved. You can

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vending machine showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vending machine showing a modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a vending machine showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 5] Front sectional view of a vending machine

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of the vending machine.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a vending machine showing a product storage.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the vending machine showing a product warming box.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control system.

FIG. 10 is a plan sectional view of a main part of a vending machine showing a modified example of a product shelf.

FIG. 11 is a plan sectional view of a main part of a vending machine showing a modified example of a product shelf.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Product storage, 2 ... Product heat storage, 3 ... Product transport mechanism,
4 ... 1st goods delivery part, 5 ... 2nd goods delivery part, 6 ... Sales reservation part, 8 ... Heating device, 11 ... Product storage, 12 ... Conveyor, 21 ... Product heat storage, 22 ... Conveyor, 31 … Heater, 41… Sales reservation department, A… Product.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A product storage unit for storing a product, a product heat-retaining unit for heating a product to a predetermined temperature or higher to keep it warm, a sales reservation means for preserving the sale of the product, and a product reserved by the sales reservation means. An automatic vending machine, comprising: a product transporting unit that transports the product from the product storage unit to the product warming unit; and a product dispensing unit that dispenses a product in the product warming unit in response to a sales request based on the reservation information of the sales reservation unit. . 2. The automatic system according to claim 1, further comprising: a product dispensing device for dispensing the product in the product storage unit in response to an arbitrary sales request, and a heating device capable of heating the dispensed product. Vending machine.