KR950015038B1 - Automatic vending machine and the control method - Google Patents

Abstract

a central control unit for controlling the whole system; a time controller for supplying a timing signal; a coin identifying unit for identifying an inserted coin and outputting small change; a predetermined data display and numeral key input unit for displaying a predetermined data and inputting a changed data of a user; a product selection button sensor for sensing if a user selects any product; a temperature sensing and displaying unit for sensing the temperature of the water to be supplied and informing a user of it; a cup taking out and out-of-stock sensor for sensing the out-of-stock of a cup and taking out a cup when selling the product; a water valve and original material ejecting motor driving unit for opening/closing a water valve for a predetermined time by a central control unit when selling the product and driving an original material ejecting motor; an out-of-stock lamp display and product-selling-enable lamp display unit for displaying the out-of-stock of corresponding product if the original material is out of stock and displaying the products which can be sold; and a "no need a cup" button sensor for sensing if a cup is needed when selling the product.

Description

Vending Machine and Control Method

1 is a block diagram showing a vending machine of the prior art.

2 and 3 are detailed flowcharts showing the vending machine control method of the prior art.

4 is a block diagram showing the vending machine of the present invention.

5 and 6 are detailed flowcharts showing the vending machine control method of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: Raw material 2: Raw material storage

3: discharge port 4: spring for discharging raw materials

5: raw material discharge motor 6: cup

7: Cup storage 8: Micro switch

9: product selection unit 10: product selection button unit

11,22: coin identifier 12: water supply valve

13: Cam type timer 14: Sales counter

15,23: Setting data display and numeric key input unit

16,20: central control unit 21: time control unit

24: product selection button detection unit 25: temperature detection and display unit

26: cup discharging and out of stock detection unit 27: water supply valve and raw material discharge motor drive unit

28: Out of stock lamp display and lamp for product sale

29: no cup required button detection unit

The present invention relates to a vending machine and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a vending machine and a control method thereof in which a built-in cup or an external cup can be selectively used according to a user's intention.

Conventional vending machines, as shown in Figure 1, the raw material storage container (2) for storing the raw material (1), such as powdered coffee, prim, sugar or domestic tea, and the raw material (2) of the raw material storage container (2) during the upper wind sales operation ( 1) a container for storing a raw material discharging spring 4 for discharging up to the discharge port 3, a raw material discharging motor 5 for rotating the raw material discharging spring 4, and a predetermined number of cups 6; 7), the micro switch (8) for detecting the sold out of the cup (6), the display lamp (9) to display the merchandise available and sold out, the selection of products such as sugar coffee, milk coffee, black coffee or domestic tea The product selection button detection unit 10 for detecting whether the button is on or off, the coin identification unit 11 for identifying the coin to be introduced, and supplies the water to the cup (6) containing the raw material (1) when selling the product Water supply valve 12, Cam type timer 13 for adjusting the mixing ratio of the raw material 1, Sales quantity car for sales management A display of the setting data, the setting data, the setting data display for receiving the user's change data input, the numeric key input unit 15, and the respective parts 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 It is composed of a central control unit 16 for controlling, Figure 2 shows a vending machine control method according to the first diagram, the description thereof is as follows.

When power is applied to the vending machine, the central control unit 16 checks whether the cup is out of stock through the micro switch 8 (101). If the cup 6 is out of stock, the display lamp unit 9 is turned on. 102, after notifying the user that the merchandise is out of stock, and stops any sales operation and is in a waiting state.

However, if the cup 6 is not out of stock, the coin identification unit 11 checks whether the coin is inserted (103), and when the coin is input, compares the set price with the amount of the coin put (104). If the value is greater than or equal to the set price, the display lamp unit 9 is turned on (105) to indicate that the product can be sold, and whether the product is selected through the product selection button detecting unit (10) is checked (106). If this is selected, after discharging the cup 6 (107), the water supply valve 12 and the raw material discharging motor 5 are driven for the time set in the cam type timer (108, 109, 110) corresponding to the cup (6). The raw material 1 and water are supplied.

After the above process, the marketable lamp of the display lamp unit 9 is turned off (111), the driving of the water supply valve 12 and the raw material discharge motor 5 is stopped (112, 113), and the sales counter 14 is increased by one. (114) The selling operation is stopped.

In addition, by checking the amount of raw material discharged per operation time of the raw material discharging motor (5), to determine the remaining amount of raw material in the storage container (2), and to determine whether the sold out of each raw material (1) in the case of + 10% remaining raw material Is shown in FIG. 3 and the explanation is as follows.

First, when the setting switch is on (201), the operation time setting mode of the raw material discharging motor 5, the raw material discharging amount setting mode, and the raw material holding amount changing mode can be selected using the mode key, and the raw material discharging motor operating time by the mode key. In the setting mode (202), the milk coffee raw material discharge motor operation time is displayed in the setting data and the numeric key input of the numeric key input unit 15 (204), the change data is displayed (205) and the input switch is not turned on. At 206, pressing the minimum switch (207) displays the data before the change (208) and executes again from the numeric key input process (204).

However, when the input switch is turned on (206), the set data is stored in the RAM (209), and the milk coffee raw material discharge motor operation time setting is completed, and the sugar coffee raw material discharge motor operation time setting mode is entered, and the sugar coffee raw material discharge motor operation time is recalled. The setting data display and the numeric key input unit 15 are displayed (210).

After setting the sugar raw material discharge motor operation time and coffee raw material discharge motor operation time after pressing the input key (211), the change data is displayed (212) when the input switch is not on (213) pressing the cancel switch ( 214) The data before the change is displayed (215) and when the input switch is turned on (213), the setting data is stored in the RAM (216).

After the above process, the black coffee raw material discharge motor operation time setting mode is executed, which is also performed through the same process as the milk coffee and sugar coffee raw material discharge motor operation time setting process.

That is, when the black coffee raw material discharge motor operation time setting mode is set, the coffee raw material discharge motor operating time is set by input of the numeric keys (217 to 219) and then the input switch is pressed (220, 221, 222, 223). Set the discharge motor operation time of domestic car raw materials using the numeric keys (224, 225, 226) and save the setting data in RAM as the input switch is pressed (227,228,229,230) .Set the raw material discharge motor operation time for each type and set the completion key. When it is pressed (231), the setting data display and the data display of the numeric key input unit 15 are turned off (232), and the raw material discharge motor operation time setting is finished.

In addition, if the raw material discharge motor operation time setting mode 202, not the raw material discharge amount setting mode (233), the operating time of the raw material discharge motor is displayed in units of 0.1 seconds (234) operating time of the raw material discharge motor using the numeric keys. After setting the unit by 0.1 seconds (235,236), if the cancel switch is pressed while the input switch is not on (237,238), the data before the change is displayed (239). When the input switch is pressed, the changed setting time is stored in the RAM (240).

After the process 240, the raw material discharge amount is displayed on the set data display and the numeric key input unit 15 in units of 1 g (241), after changing the raw material discharge amount by input of the numeric keys (242, 243) in the state that the input switch is not turned on. Pressing the cancel switch (244,245) displays the data before the change (246), and pressing the input switch (244) terminates the input of the raw material discharge setting for the changed motor operation time (247), depending on the completion switch input (231) Becomes

On the other hand, in the raw material holding amount change mode, the current data of the coffee material is displayed on the setting data display and the numeric key input unit 15 (248), the raw material holding data is changed according to the numeric key input (249, 250) and the input switch is not turned on. If the minimum switch is pressed (251 252), the data before the change is displayed (253), and if the input switch is pressed (251), the changed data is stored in the RAM (254).

In addition, the prim raw material change mode (255 to 261), the sugar raw material change mode (262 to 268), and the domestic dimension material change mode (269 to 275) are also inputted by using the numeric keys in the same manner as described above, and the completion switch. (231, 232) returns to the sales standby mode.

As can be seen from the above, the vending machine and its control method according to the related art load the cup 6 into the cup storage container 7 by the sales residual amount in consideration of the expected sales balance of the amount of the raw material 1 in the raw material storage container 2. The product is sold until the cup 6 is sold out without checking the quality of 1). When the quantity of holding of the cup is incorrectly calculated from the amount of the raw material (1), the cup (6) is not present. ) There is a case that the product is sold by exporting only) and the user is damaged, and there is a raw material (1) but the cup (6) is out of stock, there is a problem that the owner of the vending machine is not sold because the product is not sold. Due to the use of, there was a problem that not only in terms of nature conservation but also waste of resources.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, the user to select whether to use the inherent cup when selling the product of the vending machine using the cup and to sell the product by supplying the cup from the outside when the cup is sold out The purpose is to provide a vending machine and its control method by inviting consumers to return the cup price when purchasing a product using an external glass without using a disposable cup, thereby incentivizing consumers to buy and higher profits for the vending machine manager. .

The present invention realizes an embodiment for achieving the above object as shown in Figures 4 to 6, and the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a vending machine of the present invention having a function to select whether to use the cup as a description thereof is as follows.

Vending machine of the present invention, the central control unit 20 for controlling the overall control of the system, the time control unit 21 for supplying a timing signal so that the central control unit 20 can control the required operation at a desired time, coin When the coin is identified and the coin input signal is sent to the central control device 20, the coin control unit 22 for receiving the signal to calculate the input currency amount compared to the set price in the central control device 20 to pay the change coins, Raw data discharging motor operation time, raw material discharging amount, current raw material holding amount and discount amount when the vending machine cup is not used, setting data display and numeric key input unit (23), sugar coffee, milk coffee, black Product selection button detection unit 24 for detecting whether the product selection button on the product selection button, such as coffee or domestic tea, whether the temperature of the water tank, always hot drinks The temperature detection and display unit 25 to inform the user of the temperature of the water to be provided to detect the sold out of the cup, to inform the central control unit 20 whether the cup is out of stock and to take out the cup when the goods are sold out and sold out Water supply valve and raw material discharging for opening and closing the water supply valve (FIG. 1: 12) and driving the raw material discharging motor (FIG. 1: 5) during the time period set by the sensing unit 26, the central control device 20 at the time of merchandise sales. Out of stock lamps and merchandise sales that display the sold-out of the product and notify the sold-out lamp of the merchandise that can be sold during the sales operation by being notified of the absence of the raw material from the motor driving unit 27 and the central control unit 20. The lamp display unit 28, when selecting the need to buy a cup when the product is configured as a cup-free button detection unit 29 for detecting this.

Method for controlling the vending machine of the present invention configured as described above is shown in Figure 5 and the description thereof is as follows.

The vending machine control method of the present invention includes a first step of storing the data set by the setting data display and the numeric key input unit 23, a second step of checking whether the cup and the raw materials are sold out, and a coin being put into the vending machine. The third step of detecting the use of the embedded cup and selecting the product, the third step to export the product, and the third step to send out the sale amount after the third step, and even the discounted amount when sending out the cup.

When explaining the vending machine control method of the present invention in more detail as follows.

First, when power is supplied to the vending machine, the central control unit 20 initializes input and output (301), and the discount amount, raw material holding amount, and raw material discharging amount when the cup is not used and recorded in the EEP ROM in the central control unit 20 are recorded. After reading the raw material discharge motor operation time data for each product (302) and storing it at each address of the RAM in the central control unit (2) (303) and inspecting whether the cup is sold out from the cup discharging and out of stock detecting unit (26). (304) When the cup is sold out, the cup sold out lamp of the sold out lamp display and the merchandise available lamp display unit 28 is turned on (305), and the cup sold out flag indicating that the cup is sold out is set to 1 (306).

However, if the cup is not sold out, turn off the cup sold out lamp (307), clear the cup sold out flag (308) and examine the sold out of the coffee raw material (309). The coffee and sugar ingredients are sold out (310) and the coffee ingredients are sold out (311). If the sugar ingredients are sold out (311), the milk and sugar coffee sold out without the sugar ingredients are sold out (312). If the prim material is sold out (313) milk coffee sold out to turn on the lamp (314).

Investigate the sold-out of domestic tea raw materials sold as one-liquid raw materials after the above process (315) when the sold-out domestic car sold out lamp (316), if not sold out to detect whether the coin identifier from the coin identifier 22 (317) If the coin is not inputted, the process is executed again from the above step 304, and if the coin is inputted, the coin is available for sale if the input coin is equal to or greater than the set price (318). Be sure to

When the cup becomes available, the cup is not required. The button detecting unit 29 detects whether the user needs the cup (319) and the cup is not required. (320) No cup is required at the time of the button off the cup sold out check frag check the cup sold out flag (321) If the cup is sold out to run again from the above step 304, if the cup sold out cup take flag to 1 After the set, that is, the cup is used in the selling operation (322), the merchandise available lamp is turned on to display the merchandise available on the sold-out lamp display and the merchandise available lamp display unit 28 (323).

After the process, the product selection button detecting unit 24 detects whether the product selection button is on (324). If the product selection button is not turned on, the process is executed again from step 318. According to (325) the cup discharge and out of stock detection unit 26 commanded whether to take out the cup (326) drive the water supply motor and raw material discharge motor of the water supply valve and the raw material discharge motor drive unit 27 until the end of the motor operation time When the motor operation time ends (328), the marketable lamp is turned off (329).

In addition, the driving of the raw material discharge motor is stopped (330), the water supply valve is turned off (331), the sales counter is increased by one (332), and the remaining raw material reduction is compared with the operating time of the raw material discharge motor (333). 22, the sales amount is sent (334).

When the cup is not used (335), when the cup is not used, the amount corresponding to the cup amount is sent to the coin identifier 22 so as to return the amount (336) and one selling operation ends.

FIG. 6 shows a method of setting a discount amount for discounting an amount corresponding to a cup amount depending on whether a cup is used or not.

When the discount amount is set by the mode key (401), the discount amount is displayed on the setting data display and the numeric key input unit 23, and the setting data display and the numeric key of the numeric key input unit 23 are used (402) for 10 won. The discount amount of the unit is set (403), and retained as the discount amount data by the input switch (404), and then the data display is turned off (405).

However, if the discount amount is not set (402), if the completion switch is turned on by checking the completion switch (406), the process is immediately terminated after executing step 405, and if the completion switch is not turned on (406), the input switch is executed by executing step 404. If the discounted amount data is not retained (404), the data before the change is displayed (408) according to the on / off of the minimum switch (407), and then the process is executed again from step 402.

As described above, the present invention allows the product to be sold by supplying the cup from the outside of the raw material in the sold out state of the cup, and discounting the price by the amount of the cup to prevent disadvantages to consumers, and even if the user is not sold out of the cup. Optionally, the external cup can be used to reduce the use of disposable cups, so that the product can be sold until the effect of nature protection and raw materials are sold out, giving the vending machine owners more profits. It can increase the effect.

Claims (6)

In a vending machine having a raw material discharge motor (5) for supplying raw materials and a water supply valve (12) for supplying water, a central control device (20) for overall control of the system and a desired time for the central control device (20) Time control unit 21 for supplying a timing signal so as to control an operation required for the coin, when coin is inputted, coin identifier 22 for identifying coins and discharging change of the amount of coins inputted to the set price, and displaying setting data Set data display and numeric key input unit 23 to receive the change data input of the product selection button detection unit 24 to detect whether the product selection, temperature sensing and display unit 25 to detect the temperature of the water to be supplied to the user , Cup out and out of stock detection unit 26 to detect the sold out of the cup and to take out the cup when the product is sold, opening and closing the water supply valve 12 for the time set in the central control unit 20 when selling the product Water supply valve for driving the discharge motor (5) and the raw material discharge motor drive unit 27, the out-of-stock lamp display and merchandise available lamp display unit to display the sold out of the corresponding product when sold out of the raw material and the product available for sale (28) Vending machine, characterized in that it consists of a cup-free button detecting unit 29 to detect the need of the cup when purchasing the product. A vending machine having a setting data display and a numeric key input unit 12, comprising: a first step of storing data set by the setting data display and numeric key input unit 12; Step 2, if coins are inserted, detects the use of cups in the vending machine, and if a product is selected, the third step is to take out the goods, and the fourth step is to send out the sales amount and even the to-do amount when the cup is taken out. Control method of the vending machine characterized in that. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein when the cup inherent in the vending machine is not used in the third step, the discount amount is set by the cup price and displayed, and the discount amount data is retained (401, 402, 403, 404, 405). And a second step of checking whether the discounted amount data is retained (step 402, 404, 406), and displaying a data before change if the discounted amount data is not held (404, 407, 408). The method of claim 2, wherein the second step is to investigate whether the cup is out of stock and to set the cup sold out flag to 1 when the cup is sold out and to remove the cup sold out flag when the cup is not sold out (304, 305, 306, 307, 308). A vending machine comprising a second process of informing the user of a product that is impossible to sell in the absence of each raw material when the prim raw material is sold out (309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314), and a third process of notifying the sale of a domestic car when sold out of domestic car raw material (315,316). Control method. The method of claim 2, wherein the third step is to check whether or not the coin is inserted into the first step (317) if the coin is not injected (317), compared to the amount and the set price of the coin if the coin is injected (318) The second process, if the cup is not needed, the cup carrying flag is set to zero, and if the cup is needed, the cup sold flag is checked to display the product selling function if the cup is not sold out (319,320,321,322,323) The control method of the vending machine, characterized in that the fourth step of taking out the cup and the raw material and water if selected (324,325,326,327,328,329). 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the fourth step includes stopping sales of the raw materials and water (steps 330, 331, 332) and increasing the sales counter by one; subtracting the remaining amount of the exported raw materials and sending the sales amount (333, 334). Process, the control method of the vending machine comprising the third process of sending out a discount amount when the cup is not used (335, 336).