KR0136252B1 - Goods lifter control device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

In the vending machine provided with the goods lifter, the treatment when the goods carried out from the goods shelf do not reach the goods exit is improved, and the reduction of a sales opportunity is suppressed.

The goods taken out from the goods shelf 3 are returned to the goods exit 11 by the goods lifter 12, and the goods are not placed on the goods lifter 12 or the goods lifter 12 is locked due to the clogging of goods. If it does not return normally, the operation | movement which reverses | reverses the goods lifter 12 is repeated a predetermined number of times, and the above repair is attempted. As a result, when the goods are returned to the top of the product, the next sale is possible, and the sales stop due to the product lifter failure is very small.

Description

Goods lifter control device of vending machine

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view of a main portion of the vending machine in the opened state of the first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a control device of the vending machine of FIG.

3 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the vending machine of FIG.

4A is a front view of the main portion of the vending machine in the opened state in the second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the vending machine of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

3: product shelf 4: product outlet

11: product outlet 12: product lifter

17: lifter self starting switch 18: conveyance detection switch

21 control means 23 product recovery container

24: recovery detection switch

The present invention relates to a vending machine having a commodity lifter for transporting commodities such as bottles or cans, which are carried out from commodity shelves through commodity outlets, to commodity outlets located above commodity outlets. It relates to a product lifter control device which improves the treatment when an abnormality occurs in the conveyance process.

When the goods can be transported through the chute through the goods outlet at the bottom of the goods shelf through the goods outlet, the user has to bend the waist to take out the goods. A vending machine for receiving a product back to a product lifter (hereinafter referred to as a lifter) and returning it to a product outlet located at a position higher than the product outlet has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application No. 2-113592).

However, in a vending machine equipped with such a lifter, for some reason, the goods taken out of the goods shelf may not be placed on the lifter, or the lifter may be locked due to the blockage of the goods during transportation, and the goods may not reach the product outlet. Must indicate it as a fault and stop the subsequent selling operation.

Therefore, in the past, when an abnormality occurred in returning goods, such treatment was performed immediately.

However, the failure of the return of goods is not only a waste to the user, but also a loss for the vending machine installer since the subsequent sales operation is stopped. Therefore, even when the above-mentioned conveyance abnormality occurs, it is preferable not to treat it as a failure immediately, but to recover the situation as much as possible.

In the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the product conveyance operation by the lifter, the product lifter control device of the automatic vending machine is provided so as to deviate from the abnormality of the automatic vending machine itself so as to reduce the inability to pay the sales product or the opportunity of the subsequent stop of the sales. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, firstly, the present invention provides a lifter motion detecting means for detecting whether or not the goods lifter started in accordance with the release of goods from the goods shelf is operating normally, and the goods conveyed by the goods lifter. The product lifter if the product conveyance detection means for detecting whether or not the product outlet has been reached and the signal from these detection means are not detected that the product has reached the product outlet and the abnormality of operation of the product lifter is detected. Stops, reverses the rotation and then rotates forward again a predetermined number of times, and when it is detected that the goods have reached the product outlet, according to this operation, the product lifter is stopped and placed in a waiting state for sale. If it is not detected that the product has reached the product outlet, The control means which stops the said goods lifter and performs a fault process is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lifter motion detection means for detecting whether or not the product lifter started in accordance with the release of goods from the goods shelf is operating normally, and the goods conveyed by the goods lifter Goods return detecting means for detecting whether the goods exit has been reached, and if the goods have not reached the goods exit despite the normal operation of the goods lifter by the signals from the detection means, Once stopped, the operation of forward rotation again is repeated a predetermined number of times, and when it is detected that the goods have reached the product outlet according to this operation, the product lifter is stopped and placed in a sales standby state, and the operation ends. Even if the goods have reached the product outlet is not detected The control means which stops the said goods lifter and performs a fault process is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lifter motion detection means for detecting whether or not the product lifter started in accordance with the release of the goods from the goods shelf is operating normally, and the goods conveyed by the goods lifter Commodity conveyance detecting means for detecting whether or not the product outlet is reached, a commodity collection container for recovering the commodity that has not reached the commodity outlet, collection sensing means for sensing that the commodity has been collected in the commodity collection container; When the abnormality of the operation of the goods lifter is detected by the signals from the lifter motion detecting means and the goods conveyance detecting means, the goods lifter is rotated reversely from the reverse rotation start of the goods lifter by the signal from the collection detecting means. The product collected in the product collection container within a certain time If it is detected to a standby state by stopping the sales of the goods and the lifter, and if a certain time even if the number of the item is detected to install control means for performing fixing processing by stopping the product lifter.

When the lifter is locked and stopped due to a blockage of goods, the normalization operation (hereinafter referred to as "retry") that reverses the lifter, retracts it, and rotates it forward again is repeated for a predetermined number of times to release the lock.

In addition, when the lifter is operating normally but the goods are not returned to the goods outlet, the goods are not placed on the goods lifter correctly. Therefore, the lifter is stopped once and then rotated forward again. The goods are placed on the lifter.

And even if the said retry is performed, if the goods do not reach the goods outlet finally, it will take a breakdown treatment as rain.

In addition, a container for recovering the goods excluded by the reverse rotation of the lifter is installed, and when the product is detected to be recovered in the container, the blockage of the product is repaired, and the next sale can be made, and the lifter is fixed from the reverse rotation of the lifter. If the collection of goods is not detected even after the time elapses, a failure measure shall be taken.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Example of this invention in a can goods vending machine is demonstrated based on FIG.

Example 1

1 to 3 show Example 1.

1 is a front view of the main portion of the vending machine with the outer door opened, 1 is a vending machine main body, and 2 is an outer door which opens only one side with its left end as a point. In the vending machine main body 1, the product shelf 3 of the serpentine which consists of goods storage passage | route in four layers before and behind is arranged 5 rows from side to side, and is common to the two product shelves 3 on the left side. In addition, one of the product shelves 3 in the center, and one in common to the two product shelves 3 on the right side, a total of three product outlets 4 are installed to open to the front of the main body. Reference numeral 5 denotes a product inlet opening at the upper portion of each product storage passage, and reference numeral 6 denotes a refrigerator for cooling the inside of the main body.

On the other hand, the outer door (2) is provided with various indicators such as a product selection push button (7), a coin inlet (8), a coin return port (9), a failure indicator (10), a lamp, a product outlet (11), and the like. Again, an L-shaped product lifter comprising a horizontal portion 12A facing directly below the product outlet 4 in the vending machine body 1 and a vertical portion 12B upright from its one end to the product outlet 11. (12) is attached.

The product lifter 12 is of the same configuration as described in the above-mentioned JP-A 2-113592 application, and is composed of a belt conveyor 16 composed of an endless belt tensioned by upper and lower pulleys 13 and corner guide rollers 14. It is provided with and is driven by the lifter motor (15). On the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 16, a plurality of projections 16a are formed integrally at equal intervals, and the projections 16a are coupled to the product at the time of conveyance and at the same time, lifter motion detection provided at the end of the horizontal portion 12A. Activate the lifter self starting switch 17 as a means. Reference numeral 18 is a conveyance detection switch serving as a product conveyance detecting means, and is provided at the product outlet end of the lifter 12.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the lifter control device in the vending machine of FIG. 1, wherein the failure indicator 10 and the lifter 12, which are already shown in the control means 21 composed of the calculation unit 19 and the storage unit 20, are shown in FIG. The lifter self-start switch 17, the conveyance detection switch 18, and the like are connected.

Next, the lifter control operation in the above configuration will be described using the flowchart in FIG. 3.

When the goods export solenoid in the goods shelf 3 which is not shown is driven by a sales command, and goods are taken out (step S1), it waits for 1.0 second (step S2), and the lifter 12 is started (step S3). The setting of 1.0 second is to wait for the goods to be transferred to the belt conveyor 16 because there is a possibility that the goods fall on the belt conveyor 16 while moving. When the lifter 12 operates normally, the goods to be taken out are placed on the belt conveyor 16 horizontally and then vertically with the help of the projections 16a to reach the product outlet 11. At the same time, the projection 16a turns on the lifter self starting switch 17 at regular time intervals. Then, it is checked whether there is an ON signal of the lifter self-start switch 17 (step S4), and if there is an ON signal of the conveyance detection switch 18 (step S5).

When the ON signal is present, the goods are moved from the lifter 12 to the goods outlet 11, and for safety, the lifter 12 is rotated forward by 0.3 seconds again (step S6), and then the lifter itself start switch 17 The detection of the ON signal by one pulse is checked (step S7), and when detected, the lifter 12 is stopped and placed in the stand-by state (step S8). The stopping of the lifter 12 by the one pulse detection is for regulating the stop position constantly. If no pulse is detected in step S7, the inspection is continued for 3 seconds (step S9). If there is still no detection, the failure is determined to be a fault, the lifter 12 is stopped, a fault signal is sent, and the fault indicator 10 is notified of the fault. At the same time, the selling operation is stopped (step S10).

On the other hand, if it is not possible to detect the ON signal of the lifter self-start switch 17 in step S4, the lifter 12 may be locked due to the blockage of goods and may be stopped, but again check whether the conveyance detection switch 18 is turned on. (Step S11) If there is an ON signal, it moves to step S6. If there is no ON signal, the inspection of step S11 is continued from step S4 until 3 seconds have elapsed (step S12). If there is no ON signal of the conveyance detection switch 18 even after 3 seconds have elapsed, it is determined that the lifter 12 is locked, and the lifter 12 is stopped for 0.2 seconds, and then reversed for 1.0 second, then stopped for 0.2 seconds, and then again set for 3.0 seconds. The product is placed on the lifter 12 by rotating (step S13). Then, it is checked whether the conveyance detection switch 18 is turned on (step S14).

Here, if there is an ON signal of the conveyance detection switch 18, it moves to step S6, but if there is no ON signal, this check is continued for 3 seconds (step S15), and if there is still no ON signal, operation | movement of steps S13 to S15 is performed 3 times Repeat until step S16. And finally, when there is no ON signal of the conveyance detection switch 18 at last, the lifter 12 is stopped in the event of a failure, and a failure signal is transmitted.

In addition, when there is an ON signal of the lifter self-start switch 17 in step S4 but there is no ON signal of the conveyance detection switch 18 in step S5, the lifter 12 is operating normally, but the goods are lifted to the lifter 12. Since it is judged that it is not placed correctly, the lifter 12 is stopped for 0.2 seconds, and then the forward rotation is performed for 3.0 seconds so that the product is placed on the lifter 12 (step S18), and thereafter, the conveyance detection switch 18 is checked to be turned on. (Step S19). If there is no ON signal, this check is continued for 3 seconds (step S20), and if it is turned on in the meantime, the process moves to step S6, but if it is not turned on, the operations of steps S18 and S19 are repeated up to three times (step S21). And if the conveyance detection switch 18 does not turn ON until the last, it will move to step S10 and it will fail.

Example 2

4A to 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention.

The front view of the front door of the vending machine. 4B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the same reference numerals as those of the first diagram. The actual configuration of the vending machine is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the product recovery container 23 is installed below the terminal of the horizontal part of the lifter 12, and the recovery detection switch 24 as the recovery detection means is provided on the upper surface thereof. It is different from Example 1.

The control operation of the second embodiment will be described below in the flowchart of FIG.

When the goods 22 are taken out by the sales command (step S1), the lifter 12 is started for one second (from step S2 to S3). After that, it is checked whether the conveyance detection switch 18 is turned on within a predetermined time (step S4), and when it is turned on, it is determined that the conveyance is normal, and the lifter 12 is stopped at a predetermined position and placed in a sales standby state (step). S5).

On the other hand, if the conveyance of the product 22 is not detected in step S4, the product retry (retry) same as in Example 1 is repeated a predetermined number of times (step S6), and the conveyance detection switch 18 of the conveyance detection switch 18 is fixed within a certain time at that time. Check the ON (step S7).

When the conveyance detection switch 18 is turned ON in step S7, it moves to step S5 and waits for a sale, but if it is not turned ON, the lifter self-start switch 17 is checked (step S8). Here, if the switch 17 is not turned ON, it is considered that the lifter 12 is locked due to clogging of the product, so that the lifter 12 is reversely rotated (step S9), and the product is returned to the product collection container within a predetermined time from the reverse rotation. It is checked whether or not the number 23 is recovered with or without the number detecting switch 24 being turned on (step S10).

When the product count is detected, the transfer abnormality is determined to have been repaired, and the flow proceeds to step S5. If the product count is not detected, the lifter 12 is stopped and a failure signal is sent (step S11). On the other hand, when the lifter self-starting switch 17 is turned ON in step S8, it is considered that the conveyance abnormality is due to other causes than the clogging of the product, and therefore, the flow is moved to step S11 to take a troubleshooting procedure.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a conveyance abnormality occurs in a vending machine equipped with a lifter, it is not immediately handled as a failure and the operation such as the forwarding of the lifter, the reverse rotation and the collection of undelivered goods is performed. If it is determined that this is resolved, the next sale can be controlled to minimize the worst occurrence of the suspension.

Claims (3)

In the vending machine 1 provided with the goods lifter 12 which receives the goods 22 carried out from the goods shelf 3, and conveys them to the goods outlet 11, Lifter motion detecting means 17 for detecting whether or not the goods lifter 12 started up in accordance with the release of goods 22 from the goods shelf 3; Goods conveyance detecting means 18 for detecting whether the goods 22 conveyed by the goods lifter 12 reach the goods outlet 11; Signals from the lifter motion detection means and the goods conveyance detection means 17, 18 are not detected that the goods 22 have reached the product outlet 11 and the operation abnormality of the product lifter 12 is not detected. When the product is lifted, the product lifter 12 is once stopped, reversely rotated, and then rotated forward again. The product lifter 12 is repeatedly rotated a predetermined number of times. When the product 22 is detected to reach the product outlet 11 according to the operation, the product The lifter 12 is stopped and placed in a sales wait state. If the product 22 is not detected as reaching the product outlet 11 even when the operation is completed, the product lifter 12 is stopped to perform a failure process. The product lifter control apparatus of the vending machine characterized by providing the control means 21 to perform. In the vending machine 1 provided with the goods lifter 12 which receives the goods 22 carried out from the goods shelf 3, and conveys them to the goods outlet 11, A lifter motion detecting means 17 for detecting whether or not the goods lifter 12 started in accordance with the removal of the goods from the goods shelf; Goods conveyance detecting means 18 for detecting whether the goods 22 conveyed by the goods lifter 12 reach the goods outlet 11; The goods 22 reach the goods outlet 11 despite the normal operation of the lifter 12 of the goods by the signals from the lifter motion detection means and the goods conveyance detection means 17, 18. If it is not detected, the operation of stopping the goods lifter 12 once and then forward rotation again is repeated a predetermined number of times, and when it is detected that the goods 22 reach the goods outlet 11 according to this operation, the goods lifter And stops the product lifter 12 to perform a failure process if it is not sensed that the product 22 has reached the product outlet 11 even after the operation is completed. A product lifter control device for a vending machine, comprising a control means (21). In the vending machine 1 provided with the goods lifter 12 which receives the goods 22 carried out from the goods shelf 3, and conveys them to the goods outlet 11, Lifter motion detecting means 17 for detecting whether or not the goods lifter 12 started up in accordance with the release of goods 22 from the goods shelf 3; Goods conveyance detecting means 18 for detecting whether the goods 22 conveyed by the goods lifter 12 reach the goods outlet 11; A commodity recovery container 23 for recovering the commodity 22 which has not reached the commodity outlet 11; Recovery detection means 24 for detecting that the goods have been recovered in the goods recovery container 23; The recovery detection means 24 which reversely rotates the goods lifter 12 when an abnormal operation of the goods lifter 12 is detected by signals from the lifter motion detection means 17 and the goods conveyance detection means 18. When the product 22 detects that the goods 22 have been collected in the goods recovery container 23 within a predetermined time from the reverse rotational start of the goods lifter 12 by a signal from the product lifter 12, the goods lifter 12 is stopped for sale. Further, if the number of goods 22 is not detected even after a certain time has elapsed, the goods lifter control of the vending machine is provided with a control means 21 which stops the goods lifter 12 and performs a failure process. Device.