JPH09305849A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an vending machine which can easily change the layout of a commodity panel even when the price of a commodity is different from the original one. SOLUTION: This vending machine has a front panel which forms the front face of a main door 12 and has many through-holes and a commodity display/ selection unit 13A which is attached to every through-hole of the front panel and has a commodity display panel 131 and a commodity selection button 133 which are attached to a frame member 130. When the layout of the panels 131 are changed, the attachment positions of panels 131 are changed for every unit 13A.

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 that sells a product displayed on a product panel based on the operation of a selection switch corresponding to the product, and more particularly, it facilitates changing the layout of the product panel. Regarding vending machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional automatic vending machine of this type, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-66476.

FIG. 12 shows this conventional vending machine. This vending machine 1 includes a front panel 2a that constitutes the front surface of the main door 2 and has a plurality of windows 3, a product panel 4 that is attached to each window 3 and displays information about products, and a window near each window 3. It is provided with a selection switch 5 for selecting a product displayed on the product panel 4. The vending machine 1 further includes a memory for storing the column number assigned to each selection switch 5, a plurality of columns for storing products corresponding to the column number, and the selection switch 5 being pressed based on the memory. There is provided a product processing unit for taking out a product corresponding to the column number assigned to the selection switch 5 from the column and discharging the product to the product outlet 6.

FIG. 13 shows the back surface of the front panel 2a. The product panel 4 is detachably attached to the front panel 2a by a panel support 7 fixed to the back surface of the front panel 2a.
The wiring 5a to the selection switch 5 is attached to the panel support 7 and is held by a wiring clamp 8 integrally formed with the panel support 7.

Since the conventional vending machine 1 is configured as described above, even if it is necessary to change the layout of the product panel 4 in response to a change in popular products, the appearance of new products, etc. The front panel 4 can be easily removed from the support 7 and replaced with another one.

[0006]

However, according to the conventional vending machine 1, since the product panel 4 and the selection switch 5 are separately mounted on the front panel 2a, the newly replaced product panel 4 can be replaced. If the price of the displayed product is different from the original one, the product panel 4
It is necessary to change the mounting position of the selection switch 5 and also change the position of the selection switch 5 while the wiring 5a is still connected, or at least reset the column number assigned to the selection switch 5. There was a problem that it took time to change.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine in which the layout of the product panel can be easily changed even when the price of the product is different from the original one.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention is an automatic vending system for selling a product displayed on a product panel arranged on a front panel based on the operation of a selection switch corresponding to the product. In the machine, the product panel and the selection switch are integrated, and a plurality of mounting structure parts that are mounted on the front panel according to a predetermined layout are provided.

According to the above construction, when the layout of the product panel is changed, the mounting position of the product panel and the selection switch to the mounting structure portion is changed according to the layout.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic vending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine 10A has a substantially box-shaped vending machine body 11, and a main door 12 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 11.

The main door 12 has a plurality of detachable commodity display selection units 13A provided in a plurality of rows, for example, upper, middle and lower rows, and a coin slot 14 for inserting coins.
And a return lever 15 for returning the inserted coins, an indicator 16 for displaying a change of coins and the amount of coins inserted from the coin insertion port 14 (inserted amount), and the main door 12 by locking.
A door lock 17 for locking the opening operation of the item 1, a product outlet 18 for taking out a product, and a change return port 19 for returning change are provided.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the main door 12 showing the details of the product display selection unit 13A. The product display selection unit 13A includes a rectangular frame member 130 and a frame member 130.
Product panel 131 mounted on the back side of the product, and product panel 1
A transparent protection plate 132 that is disposed on the front side of 31 to protect the product panel 131 and a selection switch 133 that is disposed on the frame member 130 are provided.

The product panel 131 has a thickness of 0.5 m, for example.
It is made up of m polycarbonate and has information about the product on the surface, such as a photo of the product, the price of the product, and whether the product is a hot product or a cold product.
"T", "COLD", etc. are printed, and white is printed on the back surface for light diffusion.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line I--I of FIG. Main door 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a front panel 120 having a front surface made of a steel plate or the like. The front panel 120 has rectangular openings 120 at a plurality of positions where the product display selection unit 13A is arranged.
a.

The frame member 130 is made of a flexible material such as rubber, and is pushed in from the front side to the back side to lock the frame member 130 at the open end of the open hole 120a of the front panel 120. 130a are provided on the upper and lower sides, and fitting grooves 130b as product panel support portions into which the rectangular product panel 131 is fitted are provided on the upper, lower, left and right sides. Frame member 13
0 can be detached from the opening 120a by moving the locking pieces 130a, 130a inward.
By bending the product panel 131, the frame member 1
It can be attached to or detached from the fitting groove 130b of 30.

The selection switch 133 is provided with a sellable lamp 20 indicating that the product can be sold and a sold-out lamp 21 indicating that the product is sold out on the internal circuit board (see FIG. 6). Further, the selection switch 133 has a connector 24 of the signal cable 23 led to the control unit 30 side described later.
Is connected. On the back side of the product panel 131, panel irradiation lamps 22 that illuminate the panel 131 and brightly illuminate the information printed on the panel 131 are provided in the upper, middle, and lower rows corresponding to the respective columns of the product display selection unit 13A. It is arranged.

FIG. 4 shows a frame member 130, a product panel 131,
6 is an exploded perspective view of a protection plate 132 and a selection switch 133. FIG. The selection switch 133 is provided with a cylindrical portion 133b that protects the connector 133a, and includes a female screw 133c for attaching the selection switch 133 to the frame member 130. Frame member 130, product panel 131, and protective plate 132
Are provided with through holes 130c, 131a, 132a through which the cylindrical portion 133b of the selection switch 133 is inserted,
Screw 1 screwed into the female screw 133c of the selection switch 133
Mounting holes 130d, 131b, and 132b for inserting 34 are respectively provided. The selection switch 133 includes the tubular portion 1.
33b is a frame member 130, a product panel 131, and a protection plate 1.
32 through the through holes 130c, 131a, and 132a, and the tubular portion 133b is inserted into the frame member 130 and the product panel 131.
And the mounting holes 130d, 131b, 132 of the protective plate 132
It is fixed to the frame member 130 by screwing the screw 134 into the female screw 133c through b.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main part of the control system of the automatic vending machine 10A. This vending machine 10A
A control unit 30 that controls the entire machine 10A is provided. In the control unit 30, a plurality of selection switches 133 having a sellable lamp 20 and a sold-out lamp 21, a plurality of panel irradiation lamps 22, and a coin processing unit are provided. The unit 31 and the product processing unit 32 are connected.

The coin processing unit 31 is adapted to collect the coins inserted from the coin slot 14. That is, the coin processing unit 31 obtains the amount (coin amount) of coins inserted from the coin insertion port 14, subtracts the sales amount from the input amount after the product is sold, and if there is a remaining amount, the change is returned to the change return port. When the return lever 15 is operated before being sold to the product 19, the inserted coin is discharged to the change return port 19. In addition, the coin processing unit 31,
A change-out sensor (not shown) is provided, and when the change-out sensor detects a change-out, the change-out detection signal is sent to the control unit 30.

The control unit 30 stores a CPU for controlling each unit of the automatic vending machine 10A, a program of this CPU, various information such as sales information including a column number assigned to each selection switch 133 and temperature conditions. And a commodity processing section 32 for selling the commodity corresponding to the column number assigned to the selection switch 133 based on the coin receiving processing of the coin processing section 31 and the depression of the selection switch 133. To control. Also,
The control unit 30 displays on the display 16 the amount of money inserted by the coin processing unit 31 and the change-out detected by the change-out sensor, and the sale-permitted / sold-out display for each column is for sale. The lamp 21 is turned on.

The merchandise processing section 32 takes out the merchandise corresponding to the column number from the column based on the sales information from the control section 30 and discharges it to the merchandise outlet 18.

Next, the operation and effect of the vending machine 10A according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

6 and 7 are front views showing an example of the layout of the product panel 131. 6 and 7, A to O represent different products. For example, A, B,-, N, on the product panel 131 shown in FIG.
When the layout of O is changed to the arrangement order of J, B,-, A, O shown in FIG. 7, when A, D, E,
A frame member 130 holding a product panel 131 indicated by G, I, J, K, L, and N is shown in FIG. 7 with the product panel 131, the selection switch 133, and the connector 24 from the control unit 30 side attached. It can be done by mounting in position. That is, when changing the arrangement order of the product panels 131, the mounting position may be changed for each product display selection unit 13A without resetting the column number assigned to the selection switch 133.
Even if the price of the product is different from the original one, the layout of the product panel 131 can be easily changed. Further, since the product panel 131 is detachable, the display content can be easily changed. The mounting position of the product display selection unit 13A may be changed by removing the connector 24 from the control unit 30 side. In this case, the column number assigned to the selection switch 133, which is stored in the memory of the control unit 30, is reset.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an automatic vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This vending machine 10B is a modification of a part of the vending machine 10A shown in FIG. 1, and differs from the vending machine 10A shown in FIG. 1 in that it has a plurality of openings 120a formed in the front panel 120. The product display selection unit 13A or the blind lid 13B is attached. Note that in FIG. 8, A to E represent different products.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the blind lid 13B is attached to the opening 120a of the front panel 120. Blind lid 1
3B is similar to the frame member 130 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,
For example, locking pieces 135 and 135, which are made of a flexible material such as rubber, and which are locked to the open end of the open hole 120a by being pushed in from the front side to the back side, are provided to project vertically, and the central portion 136 is formed. I am blind. The blind lid 13B is provided with the opening 120 by bringing the locking pieces 135, 135 inward.
It can be removed from a.

Next, the operation and effect of the vending machine 10B according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing another example of the layout of the product panel 131. Note that in FIG. 10, A to H represent different products. Multiple holes 1
The opening 120a in which the product display selection unit 13A is desired to be arranged is selected from among 20a according to the layout of the product panel 131, and the product display selection unit 13 is placed in the opening 120a.
By mounting A and mounting the blind lid 13B on the other opening 120a, the layout shown in FIG. 8 can be easily changed to the layout shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a product display selection unit according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This product display selection unit 13C is, for example, a transparent front panel 1
For example, a transparent base member 137 that is attached to a predetermined plurality of positions of 21 with adhesives or screws, a product panel 138 that is attached to the base member 137 with adhesives or screws, and a screw to the base member 137. And a selection switch 133. In this case, the front panel 121 is provided with a through hole 121b for inserting the tubular portion 133b of the selection switch 133 and an attachment hole for attaching the selection switch 133. Further, the panel irradiation lamp 22 is arranged inside the front panel 121.

According to the product display / selection unit 13C according to the third embodiment configured as described above, the mounting position can be changed with the selection switch 133 and the product panel 138 mounted on the base member 137. Therefore, the layout of the product panel 138 can be easily changed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various embodiments are possible. For example, a plurality of product panels 131 mounted in the openings 120a of the front panel 120 may include products of the same type. Also, the wiring from the selection switch 133 is eliminated, and the selection switch 1
The pressing signal based on the selection of 33 may be transmitted to the control unit 30 side by a non-contact communication means such as wireless or magnetic coupling. As a result, when changing the layout, it is not necessary to change the wiring, and the work becomes easier.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the layout of the product panel is changed, the product panel and the selection switch are integrally changed only in the mounting position to the mounting structure, so that the price of the product is increased. Even when the above is different from the original one, it is possible to provide the vending machine in which the layout of the product panel can be easily changed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a main door showing details of the product display selection unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a frame member, a product panel, and a protection plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining effects of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining effects of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of the blind lid according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining effects of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a product display selection unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a conventional vending machine.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a back surface of a front panel of a conventional vending machine.

[Explanation of reference symbols] 10A, 10B Vending machine 13A, 13C Product display selection unit 13B Blind lid 120 Front panel 120a Open hole 130 Frame member 131,138 Product panel 133 Selection switch 136 Base member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic vending machine that sells a product displayed on a product panel arranged on a front panel based on an operation of a selection switch corresponding to the product, wherein the product panel and the selection switch are integrated and predetermined. An automatic vending machine comprising a plurality of mounting structure parts mounted on the front panel according to the layout of FIG. 2. The mounting structure section has a product panel support section for fitting and supporting the product panel, and a switch mounting section for mounting the selection switch, and a plurality of opening sections formed on the front panel. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine comprises a frame member that fits into the hole. 3. The mounting structure is composed of a base member mounted on the front panel and having the product panel and the selection switch mounted on the surface thereof.
The vending machine described. 4. The front panel has a configuration in which a blind lid is fitted in another opening of the plurality of openings to which the product panel and the selection switch are not integrated is attached. The vending machine described in 2.