JPS63214897A - Automatic goods renting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This reform applies to products in which a customer selects a product from among stored products through a predetermined procedure and returns it, and a predetermined fee is collected. Regarding automatic lending devices.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of automatic product lending device has the purpose of automatically lending and returning products.When lending a product, the product is selectively taken out from the storage location, delivered to the customer through the customer service entrance, and when the product is returned, it is retrieved from the customer service gate. It automatically receives the inserted product and stores it in a designated storage location.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the automatic product lending device. In the figure, 1 is a main control section, and this main control section 1 receives information from mechanical sections 2 to 15 described below. It has a function to appropriately control the operation of each of these mechanical parts based on the following.

2 is a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) that stores the control program for the device; 3 is a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) that temporarily stores information from the input operation unit, card reader/writer, etc., which will be described later; 4 is the current date and time; Calendar 5 outputs the current time and other information as needed. Reference numeral 5 is a battery bank up RAM that secures necessary information when the device's power is cut off. It also serves as a bank amplifier.

6 reads out information from a floppy disk that stores information related to products such as the cassette storage location and storage status in the cassette storage shelf described later, and information provided to the customer such as the card information, or writes new information thereon. This is a floppy disk drive (hereinafter referred to as FDD).

7 is a product storage shelf that stores video cassettes as rental products; 8 is a product take-out and return mechanism that mechanically takes out and stores products from the product storage shelf 7; 9 is an instruction from the main control unit 1; This is a product control section that controls the product storage shelves 7 and the product take-out/return mechanism 8 based on the following.These 7 to 9 constitute an automatic warehouse, and the specific structure and operation thereof will be explained in detail later.

10 is a cash processing mechanism for processing cash such as membership fees,
It has a deposit/withdrawal function that counts cash deposited by customers and releases change as needed.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a printing mechanism that prints the rented product, returned product, deposit/withdrawal amount, etc. on the receipt, and 12 is an operation guidance display that shows the member the parts to be operated when lending or returning the product. uses a flicker lamp here.

Reference numeral 13 indicates an input operation section consisting of input keys to be described later; 14 indicates an operation guidance display section (hereinafter referred to as CRT') for guiding and displaying necessary information to the customer regarding the operation of the device; and 15 indicates an input operation section from the membership card. A card reader/writer (hereinafter referred to as CardR/
W), 16 is a voice generating mechanism that outputs a message corresponding to the guidance of the CRTI 4 etc. by voice.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an automatic product lending device comprising the above-mentioned mechanical sections, etc., and 17 is a casing of the device containing the mechanical sections.

The upper part of this housing 1T is formed as a customer service area, and on the front thereof is provided a product guide panel 18 that shows the titles of representative products handled, that is, video cassettes that are expected to be rented frequently here. ing.

Further, on the side of the customer service department, there is a product take-out/return port 19 for discharging products taken out from the automated warehouse to customers or for inserting products to be returned by the customers, and a product take-out/return port 19 for discharging products taken out from the automated warehouse to customers or for inserting products to be returned by the customers; Bill deposit slot 2 for inserting bills to be deposited
0, a coin deposit slot 21 for inserting coins, a coin return button 22 for returning coins, and the card R
/'Wl 5 card insertion/return slot 23 is provided together with 7 return lamps 12a to 12c forming the operation guidance display 12, and a handling display section 24 is provided to indicate whether or not the device is in operation. Furthermore, a coin discharge port 25 for discharging coins as change or return coins is provided at a predetermined position at the lower front of the housing 1T.

A discharge port 26 for discharging the receipt printed by the printing mechanism 11 and a CRT are provided on the lower surface of the customer service area.
There are input keys such as I 4 , a 7-inch key (hereinafter referred to as F key) 13a forming the input operation section 13, a numeric keypad 13b, a confirmation key 13C, and a cancel key 13d.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the structure of the product storage shelves 7 and the product take-out/return mechanism 8 in the automated warehouse described above, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG.

Here, the product storage shelf T has a large number of storage chambers 7a partitioned into a grid pattern as shown in the figure, and video cassettes as products are stored in each storage chamber Ia while being protected by a predetermined package. Each storage room Ta is assigned an address, and this address is also stored on the floppy disk of the FDDB as part of the information regarding the product.

On the other hand, the product take-out and return mechanism 8 for taking out products from each storage chamber and returning stored W products is constituted by the following 27 to 44.

That is, 27 is a vertical guide shaft arranged along the vertical direction on both sides of the product storage shelf 7, and a support plate 28 is attached to each of the vertical guide shafts 27 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The support plate 28 of Boo! It is coupled to a part of a drive belt 31 that is wound around J 29 and 30 and stretched in the vertical direction.

A drive shaft 32 has the pulleys 29 attached to both ends, and is horizontally and rotatably supported at the lower front of the product storage shelf 7. A gear 33 is attached to a predetermined position of the drive shaft 32, and the gear 33 is attached to a predetermined position of the drive shaft 32. - The gear 33 meshes with a drive gear 35 on the rotating shaft of a motor 34 fixed to the product storage shelf 7.

Reference numeral 36 indicates a screw shaft, and 37# indicates a horizontal side shaft. Both shafts 36 and 37 are supported by passing between the two supporting plates 28 so as to be parallel to each other. Here, the screw shaft 36 Both ends of support plate 2
It is rotatably held by bearings etc. provided at 8, and is rotated by a motor 38 attached to one support plate 28.

A carriage 39 is engaged with and held by the screw shaft 36 and the horizontal guide shaft 3T, and is moved in the left-right direction as the screw shaft 36 rotates.

On this carriage 39, there is a cylindrical holding part 40 capable of holding the product protected by the pan cage, and a space between the storage chamber 7a of the product storage shelf T and the holding part 40, and the housing. A product receiving/receiving means (not shown) having a function of transferring products between the product take-out/return port 19 of 17 and the holding section 40 is installed, and furthermore, on the holding section 40, there are information attached to each product. A reading means 41 such as a barcode league or OCR is provided for reading the identification code on the package.

A balance weight 42 is used to balance the load applied to the support plate 28, and is connected to one end of a rope 44 that passes through a pulley 43 provided on the product storage shelf T. The end is connected to a support plate 28.

Note that 45 shown in FIG. 12 is a product, and an identification code indicating the product name, product number, etc. is attached to this product.

The operation of this configuration is as follows.

First, when taking out the product 45 from the storage chamber 7a of the product storage shelf T and discharging it to the product take-out/return port 19, the holding part 40 is moved to a position facing the storage chamber 7a in which the product 45 to be taken out is stored.

Movement in this case is performed by driving motors 34 and 38.

That is, when the motor 34 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted to the drive shaft 32 via the drive gear 35 and the gear 33, thereby rotating the pulley 29 that is integrally attached to the drive shaft 32 at both ends thereof. do. Since the rotation of the pulley 29 is converted into vertical movement by the drive belt 31, each drive belt 31
The two supporting plates 28 coupled to the vertical guide shaft 27 move in the same direction and at the same speed, so that the holding part 40 moves up and down together with the screw shaft 36, the horizontal guide shaft 3T, the carriage 39, etc. do.

On the other hand, when the motor 38 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted to the screw shaft 36, thereby causing the carriage 3
9 moves in the left-right direction on the screw shaft 36 and the horizontal guide shaft 3T, the holding section 40 mounted on the carriage 39 also moves accordingly.

Therefore, by controlling the rotational direction and rotational force of the motors 34 and 3B, the holding portion 40 is positioned to face the storage chamber 7a containing the product 45 to be taken out.

Thereafter, the product 45 is extracted from the storage chamber 7a by a product transfer means (not shown) mounted on the carriage 39 together with the holder 40, pulled into the holder 40 from one opening of the holder 40, and held. At the same time, the product code attached to the product 45 is read by the reading means 41.

When the product 45 is held in the holding part 40 in this way, the motors 34 and 38 are driven again, and the holding part 40 moves together with the carriage 39 in the vertical and horizontal directions as before. As shown in FIG. 10, the product 45 is positioned at a position facing the product take-out and return port 19, and the product 45 is pushed out from the other opening of the product transfer means holding section 40 and released into the product take-out and return port 19. Ru.

When storing the product 45 inserted into the product take-out/return port 19 into the storage chamber 7a of the product storage shelf 7, the operation is reversed to the above.

These operations are controlled by the product control unit 9 based on commands from the main control unit 1 shown in FIG. At the same time, the product 45 put into the product take-out/return port 19 can be returned to the storage room 7a at any address.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional automatic product lending device described above,
The system automatically selects and transports the product to the customer service area when lending the product, and transports and stores the product to the designated storage location when returning the product, increasing the number of products stored. Then, there was a problem that the device was large and the cost was high.

Furthermore, there is a problem in that it is difficult for customers to visually inspect the stored products due to the structure of the warehouse.

Therefore, this invention was made by focusing on the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to reduce the cost, reduce the size and weight of the device, and also make it possible to increase the number of products that can be stored. To provide an automatic product lending device that allows products to be easily viewed from the outside.

[Means for solving problems]

The configuration of the present invention in accordance with the above object includes a product storage section that stores rental products in a removable manner and allows the stored rental products to be visually viewed from the outside, and a product storage section that confirms the authenticity of returned products and only returns products that are legitimate. The main feature is that it is equipped with a product return department that accommodates returns.

[Effect]

In the above configuration, when lending a product, the customer inserts the card into the card reader/writer section, specifies the loan and product address number, and also inserts the rental fee, which corresponds to the product address number specified by the control section. The solenoid is energized.

As a result, the solenoid rotates the lock lever and frees the latch lever.

Here, when the latch is pressed down, the product is pushed forward by the latch lever.

In addition, when returning a product, the customer must insert the card into the card reader/writer section and specify the return.
Furthermore, when the product is inserted into the return slot until it hits the shutter, the product code identification unit reads the product code displayed on the product label of the product to be returned and checks it against the card data.

When the product code is verified and the product can be returned, the shutter is opened by energizing the solenoid, and the product is then further inserted by the customer and dropped into the return storage box.

Therefore, the above problem can be eliminated.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the automatic product lending device according to the embodiment.

As shown in the figure, this automatic product lending device includes a control section 51 that controls the entire device, and a product! A product storage section 53 that removably accommodates i2 is provided adjacently and integrally.

The customer service side of the control unit 51 includes a card reader/writer unit 54 that reads and writes data on the card inserted by the customer, a storage address key part 55 that inputs the address number of the loaned product, and transaction types such as rental and return. A transaction key part 56 for inputting the amount, a bill depositing machine 57 for depositing rental fees and late fees, and a coin depositing machine 58 are provided in order downward, and a coin change opening 59 for discharging coin change is provided at the bottom.
is provided.

In addition, on the customer service side of the product storage section 53, storage openings 60 for the products 52 are arranged neatly in the vertical and horizontal directions.
It is possible to hold it via 1.

A product label 62 is attached to the product 52 so that the product 52 can be easily identified visually when the product 52 is held.

Further, on the surface of the product latch section 61, a product address number 63 necessary for input is written.

Further, a product return section 64 is provided on the customer service side of the product storage section 53 near the control section to accommodate and return the products 52 in an identifiable manner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the automatic product lending device.

In the figure, 51 is a control section, and this control section 51 includes a battery back amplifier RAM 66, an FDD 67°RO
M68, RAM69 and calendar 70 are connected.

These mechanical parts have substantially the same functions as those of the conventional example.

Furthermore, the control section 51 is connected to the product storage section 53, product return section 64, card reader/writer section 54, storage address key section 55, transaction key section 56, banknote deposit section 57, and coin deposit section 58. ing.

By exchanging data between the control unit 51 and each of the mechanical units, it is possible to control the operations of lending and returning merchandise.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing details of a product storage section, which constitutes the gist of the present invention.

In the figure, 72 is a product 52 with a product label 62 attached.
This storage rack T2 has a storage opening 60 on the customer service side and an opening lower 3 on the back side.

The detection lever 75 of the detection switch 74 is pressed against the back surface of the stored product 52 by the opening lower door 3.

Further, 76 is an inverted T-shaped latch lever that rotates around a latch lever post 77, and this latch lever 76 is provided with a latch T8 at the front end to hold the product 52 with a stopper, and a latch T8 at the rear end to hold the product 52. A latch lever spring 80 that urges clockwise rotation is provided in between, and the upper end is located at the opening lower 3, and the product 5 is rotated counterclockwise.
2 is pushed forward.

Reference numerals 81 and 82 are a limiter and a latch lever stopper that restrict the rotation of the latch bar T6.

83 is a solenoid, and a rod 84 of this solenoid 83 is connected to one end of a dogleg-shaped lock lever 86 via a link 85.

This lock lever 86 is rotatably provided around the lock lever boss 87t, and is urged to rotate clockwise by a lock lever spring 89 provided between the spring 19 and the other end of the lock lever 86. It stops when it hits the lock lever stopper 90, and is located at the rear end of the latch lever T6 to lock the counterclockwise rotation of the latch lever 76.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing details of the product return section.

In the figure, a return port 9 for returning used products 52
2, and a return storage box 93 for accommodating the return product 52 is installed behind the return I-co 92.

Further, a product code identification section 94 is provided above the return slot 92, and this product code identification section 94 reads the product code displayed on the product label 62 of the returned product 52 using a barcode reading method or an optical label reading method. It has a function to read by method.

Furthermore, a shutter 96 is provided below the return port 92 and is rotatable around a post 95. This shutter 96 is rotated counterclockwise by a shutter spring 98 provided between its front end and a spring hanger 97. The shutter 96 is energized to close the door, and a solenoid 100 connected to the rear end of the post 95 via a link 99 opens the shutter 96.

Reference numeral 101 is a stopper that restricts the rotation of the shutter 96 in the counterclockwise direction.

Next, the product lending operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 7.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 7 are a sectional view and a flowchart showing the product lending operation.

In FIG. 1, the product 52 is held by the storage shelf 72 and the lunch T8, and in this holding state, the product 52 cannot be removed.

Here, the card is transferred to the card reader/writer section 54 by the customer.
, "Rent" is entered in the transaction key part 56, and then the product address number 63 that displays the address where the desired product 52 is stored is entered in the storage address key part 55. After confirming that the rental fee for the product 52 has been paid, the solenoid 83 corresponding to the product address number 63 designated by the control unit 51 is energized.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
Rotate counterclockwise around the center.

Here, when the locking engagement between the lock lever 86 and the latch lever T6 is released and the latch γ8 is pushed down in the direction of the arrow 103, the product 52 is pushed out in the direction of the arrow 104 by the latch lever 76.

At this time, the detection switch 74 detects the product address number 63.
It is detected that the product 52 corresponding to the item 52 has been taken out, and a detection signal thereof is sent to the control unit 51.

The control unit 51 de-energizes the solenoid 83 and instructs the card held in the card reader/writer unit 54 to be released and returned to the customer.

Further, the product return operation of the device will be explained using FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 together.

FIGS. 6 and 8 are a sectional view and a flowchart showing the product return operation.

When a customer inserts a card into the card reader/writer section 54, the data recorded on the card, such as a membership code and a rental product code, are read.

Next, when "return" is input by the transaction key part 56,
The control unit 51 checks the rental period, and if the return is delayed, confirms the input of a delay sound, and the product code identification unit 94 enters an identification standby state.

Here, when the product 52 is inserted in the direction of arrow 105 by the customer's operation until it hits the shutter 96 in the closed state, the product code identification section 94 detects the product label 6 of the returned product 52.
Read the product code displayed in 2 and check it with the card data.

If the product 52 can be returned by checking this product code, the solenoid 10
0 is excited, and the shutter 96 is activated via the link 99 to the sixth
Rotate clockwise around the post 95 as shown in the figure,
Evacuate through the return port 92.

Thereafter, when the product 52 is inserted deeper by the customer's operation, the product 52 passes through the return opening 92 and is dropped into the return storage box 93.

The product code identification unit 94 monitors whether or not the product 52 is staying in the return port 92 using the reflected light from the product label 62, detects when the product 52 is dropped and is stored, and controls the detection signal. 51.

Upon receiving the detection signal, the control section 51 de-energizes the solenoid 100 and instructs the card reader/writer section 54 to release the card held in reserve 1 and return it to the customer.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided a product storage section in which rented products can be stored in a removable manner, and the stored rental products can be visually inspected from the outside, and the authenticity of the returned products can be confirmed. Since the product is configured to include a product return section that returns and accommodates only returned products that have a certain number, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The product storage section for selecting and extracting products has an extremely simple structure.

Q) The product return department does not require a complicated structure.

(3) The space created by simplifying the structure of the product accommodating section can be used as a product storage shelf, and therefore costs can be reduced and the device can be made smaller and smaller in width.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a product storage unit which is the gist of the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of an automatic product dispensing device according to an embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a control system of the automatic product dispensing device. A block diagram, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the product lending operation, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the product return section, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the product return operation, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the product lending operation. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the product return operation;
The figure is a functional block diagram showing a conventional product lending device.
11 is a perspective view showing the automatic warehouse, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 10. 51...Control unit 52...Product 53...Product storage unit 54...Card reader/writer unit 55...Part of storage address key 56...Part of transaction key 57...Banknote deposit machine 58... Coin deposit machine 60... Storage slot 6
1... Product latch part 62... Product label 63.
・Product address number 64 ・Product return department 72・
... Storage rack 74 ... Detection switch 76 ... Latch lever T8 ... Latch 83 ... Solenoid 86
...Lock lever 92...Return port 93...Return storage box 94...Product code identification section 100...Cross-sectional view showing the solenoid product lending operation @ 4 l Cross-sectional view showing the product return section Product return Cross-sectional view showing the operation Perspective view showing the external appearance of the automatic product lending device @1o-7 Perspective view of the automated warehouse Beat 11

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An operation unit for inputting information such as handling contents and selection of rental products, a card reader/writer unit for reading and writing data on the inserted card, and counting the inserted cash and issuing change. The machine is equipped with a cash handling mechanism section that releases cash and a control section that controls the entire device, and lends out and returns products selected from the stored products according to a prescribed procedure by the customer, and collects a prescribed fee. The automatic product lending device has a product storage section that stores the borrowed products in a removable manner, allows the stored borrowed products to be visually viewed from the outside, and confirms the authenticity of the returned products, allowing only legitimate returned products to be returned and accepted. An automatic product lending device characterized by comprising a product return section.