WO2018235508A1

WO2018235508A1 - Product delivering device for automatic vending machine

Info

Publication number: WO2018235508A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/019731
Authority: WO
Inventors: 祐吾上畑; 昭松本
Original assignee: サンデン・リテールシステム株式会社
Priority date: 2017-06-19
Filing date: 2018-05-15
Publication date: 2018-12-27
Also published as: CN110741417A; TWI704532B; DE112018003123T5; JP2019003539A; TW201905859A; KR20200019879A

Abstract

Provided is a product delivering device for an automatic vending machine, the device being capable of detecting when a product is sold-out before a delivery operation of the product is carried out, and being capable of selling a product suspended via one or more product holding members without setting the feeding amount of each of the product holding members. Each hook (22) is attached to a chain (23) so as to be in a different state depending on whether a product is suspended thereon or not. A sold-out detection switch (28) for detecting the hook (22) in a state where a product is not suspended thereon is provided before a product delivery position. Thus, a sold-out product can be detected before the product delivery operation is carried out. Therefore, the product delivering device exhibits the advantage of being able to handle electronic money which cannot be refunded, and preventing a failure in selling caused by erroneous setting as it is not necessary to set the feeding amount depending on the product even when the product is suspended via one or more product holding members.

Description

Product unloading device for vending machines

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a commodity unloading device of a vending machine that sells commodities having various shapes and sizes, such as, for example, boxed or bag-shaped confectionery.

Conventionally, as this type of vending machine, a plurality of hooks for hanging and holding goods, an endless chain having the hooks attached to each other at a distance from each other, and a pair of front and rear sprockets on which the chain is wound A vending machine for moving the hook holding the goods forward by turning the chain and discharging the goods by releasing and dropping the goods from the hook by reversing the chain in the forward sprocket A goods delivery device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this product unloading device, when the product suspended by the hook ascends with the hook at the reverse position of the chain, the lever in contact with the product is pushed up to turn on the micro switch, and when the product falls off the hook and falls, the lever Is lowered to turn off the micro switch, so that the delivery of the product is detected to stop the rotation of the chain. In this case, the turning amount of the chain is also detected simultaneously with the goods unloading operation, and the product is sold out if the microswitch is not turned on / off by the lever even if the turning amount of the chain reaches the unloading operation of one goods. It is determined that the money is returned.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-70552

By the way, in recent years, with the spread of electronic money, some vending machines are also provided with a card reader / writer so that products can be purchased by electronic money payment using an IC card. On the other hand, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the money is inserted and the product is selected, the unloading operation is started, and the hook not holding the product passes the detection position of the lever to detect the sold out of the product and return the money. It is like that. However, since electronic money is settled when a product is selected, as in the conventional example, in the configuration in which the sold out can not be detected unless the product is selected and the unloading operation is performed, refund is made on the spot once it is settled. There was a problem that it was not possible to cope with impossible electronic money.
Also, if the product can not be suspended one by one on each hook, such as when the depth dimension of the product is large, one or more hooks are interposed between each product according to the size of the product. In this case, it is necessary to set the feed amount of the hook for one product, though it is suspended at intervals. However, since such setting work is manually performed, incorrect setting may occur. For example, when the feed amount of the hook for one product is set shorter than the proper feed amount, a plurality of the operations can be performed in one unloading operation. However, if the hook feed amount for one product is set to be longer than the appropriate feed amount, the product is determined to be sold out despite the presence of the next product.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to detect the sold-out of the product before carrying out the discharge operation of the product, and to set the feed amount of the product holding member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a commodity unloading device of a vending machine capable of selling a suspended commodity with at least one or more commodity holding members interposed therebetween.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention achieves a plurality of product holding members for holding products, an endless member on which the respective product holding members are attached at intervals, and a driving means for rotating the endless member. The goods of the vending machine which was made to carry out goods by releasing goods from a goods holding member at a predetermined goods delivery position while moving each goods holding member in a predetermined direction by rotation of an endless member. In the carry-out device, the respective commodity holding members are attached to the endless member so that the state is different when holding the commodity and when not holding the commodity,
In front of the goods delivery position, there is provided a sold-out detection means for detecting a goods holding member in a state of holding goods or a goods holding member in a state of not holding goods.
As a result, the commodity holding member in a state holding a commodity or a commodity holding member in a state not holding a commodity is detected by the sold-out detection means before the commodity delivery position, so that the commodity carrying out operation is performed. Before the sale of goods can be detected. At that time, even when the product holding member in the state not holding the product is detected, the endless member continues to rotate, and the product holding member in the state holding the product is not detected, and the detection frequency is predetermined. When the upper limit number of times is reached, it is determined that the product is sold out, for example, in the case of selling a product with a large depth dimension, etc., depending on the product even if the product is held with one or more product holding members in between There is no need to set the feed amount.

According to the present invention, it is possible to detect sold-out of a product before performing a product unloading operation, so it is possible to cope with electronic money that can not be refunded, and convenience for the user who uses electronic money settlement. Can be enhanced. In addition, even when one or more goods holding members are interposed to hold goods, there is no need to set the feed amount according to the goods, and there is an advantage that sales defects due to missetting do not occur. .

Front view of a vending machine provided with a product storage column according to an embodiment of the present invention Side cross section of vending machine Right side view of the main part of the product unloading device Left side view of the main part of the product delivery device Right side view of hook and chain Front cross-sectional view of the product delivery device Hook perspective view Side view of feed amount detection switch Block diagram showing control system Flow chart showing operation of control unit Main part right side view showing the operation of the commodity delivery device Main part left side view showing the operation of the product delivery device Main part right side view showing the operation of the commodity delivery device Main part right side view showing the operation of the commodity delivery device Main part right side view showing the operation of the commodity delivery device Main part right side view showing the operation of the commodity delivery device Main part right side view showing a modified example of the hook

FIG. 1 to FIG. 16 show an embodiment of the present invention, and for example, show a commodity unloading device of a vending machine that sells commodities having various shapes and sizes, such as boxed or bagged confectionery. .
In this vending machine, a vending machine main body 10 in which a part of the front surface is formed transparently, a plurality of commodity unloading apparatuses 20 disposed above the vending machine main body 10, and each commodity unloading apparatus 20 , A bucket moving mechanism 40 for moving the product bucket 30 in the vertical direction and the left and right direction, and a control unit 50 for controlling the operation of each product delivery device 20.
The vending machine body 10 is open at the front, and the front opening is opened and closed by the outer door 11. A transparent glass window 11a is provided in the portion except the front lower portion and one side of the outer door 11, and the inside of the vending machine main body 10 can be viewed from the outside through the glass window 11a. Further, on the front of the vending machine main body 10, a bill insertion slot 12, a coin insertion slot 13, an amount display portion 14, a coin return port 15, a commodity selection operation portion 16, a card reader / writer 17, and a commodity outlet 18 are provided. It is done. A commodity storage 19 is provided in the vending machine main body 10, and each commodity unloading device 20 is disposed in the commodity storage 19.
The commodity carry-out device 20 is configured to carry out, for example, a bag-like product A containing a food such as a confectionery, and a plurality of the commodity carry-out devices 20 are provided in the vertical direction and the width direction in the commodity storage 19. In the product delivery device 20, the device body 21 extending in the front-rear direction, the hooks 22 as a plurality of product holding members for suspending and holding the product A below the device body 21, and the hooks 22 are mutually spaced apart A chain 23 as the endless member, a pair of front and rear sprockets 24 around which the chain 23 is wound, a motor 25 as a drive means for rotating the sprocket 23, and a feed amount detection for detecting the feed amount of the chain 23 A switch 26, a carry-out detection switch 27 for detecting the carry-out of the product A, and a sold-out detection switch 28 for detecting the sold-out of the product A are provided.
The apparatus main body 21 has a pair of side plates 21a facing each other at intervals in the width direction, and between the side plates 21a, the chain 23, the sprockets 24, the motor 25 and the sold out detection attached with the hooks 22 A switch 28 is arranged. Further, the lower end between the side plates 21a is open, and the lower end side of the hook 22 below the opening is located outside.
The hook 22 includes an attaching portion 22a attached to the chain 23, and a hook-shaped suspending portion 22b formed below the attaching portion 22a, and the suspending portion 22b is formed to be narrower than the attaching portion 22a. There is. The mounting portion 22a is provided with a first engagement hole 22c and a second engagement hole 22d for mounting the chain 23 at an interval in the front-rear direction.
The chain 23 is composed of a large number of links 23a and a large number of connecting pins 23b rotatably connecting the links 23a, and one end side of each connecting pin 23b extends by a predetermined length outward in the width direction of the links 23a. It is formed to go out. The first engagement hole 22c and the second engagement hole 22d of the hook 22 are engaged with one end of a part of the connection pin 23b, whereby the hook 22 is rotatably attached to the chain 23. ing. In this case, the first engagement hole 22c is formed in a round hole shape having an inner diameter equal to that of the connection pin 23b so as to rotatably engage with the connection pin 23b, and the second engagement hole 22d is The connecting pin 23b is formed in a shape of a long hole movable in the radial direction. That is, the hook 22 is rotatably attached to the chain 23 centering on the connection pin 23b engaged with the first engagement hole 22c, and the connection pin 23b engaged with the second engagement hole 22d is second The rotation is restricted by engaging one end or the other end of the engagement hole 22d. Further, the hook 22 is biased in one rotational direction by a spring 22e provided between the hook 22 and the connecting pin 23b, and as shown in FIG. The hook 22 pivots against the spring 22e so that the side descends, and in the state where the product A is not suspended, the hook 22 pivots by the spring 22e so that one end side of the mounting portion 22a rises.
Each sprocket 24 has six teeth 24a provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the sprocket 24, and is rotatably attached to the front end side and the rear end side of the apparatus main body 21 via the support shaft 24b. ing. Each sprocket 24 rotates with the chain 23 as the teeth 24 a mesh between the connection pins 23 b of the chain 23.
The motor 25 is connected to the rear sprocket 24 (the position of the motor 25 is not shown), and is adapted to drive the chain 23 by rotating the rear sprocket 24.
The feed amount detection switch 26 is a well-known micro switch disposed on the side of the front and rear sprockets 24, and the lever 26b for pressing the contact portion 26a of the switch is vertically rotated by a cam disk 26c coaxially with the sprocket 24. It is turned on and off by moving it. The cam disc 26c has two cam protrusions 26d provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the cam disc 26c, and when the cam disc 26c rotates with the sprocket 24, as shown in FIG. The lever 26b is pushed down to press the contact portion 26a, and the feed amount detection switch 26 is turned on. When the cam projection 26d is released from the lever 26b as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the lever 26b returns to its original position, the contact portion 26a is released from the pressing, and the feed amount detection switch 26 is turned off. In the present embodiment, since the hooks 22 are arranged every three connection pins 23 b of the chain 23, the distance between the cam protrusions 26 d corresponds to three teeth 24 a of the sprocket 24 (three connection pins 23 b , And one on / off operation of the feed amount detection switch 26 corresponds to the feed amount of one hook 22.
The carry-out detection switch 27 is a well-known micro switch disposed on one side of the apparatus main body 21, and is moved on / off by moving the lever 27b for pressing the contact portion 27a of the switch by the product A held by the hook 22. It is supposed to turn off. That is, when the hook 22 holding the product A ascends at the reverse position of the chain 23, the lever 27b is pushed up by the product A, the contact portion 27a is pressed, the discharge detection switch 27 is turned on, and the product A is detached from the hook 22 When it falls, the lever 27b is lowered and the pressing of the contact portion 27a is released, and the carry-out detection switch 27 is turned off.
The sold-out detection switch 28 is a well-known micro switch disposed in the apparatus main body 21. The hook 22 in a state in which the product A is suspended passes without contacting the contact portion 28a of the switch and suspends the product A. The hook 22 in the non-lowered state contacts the contact portion 28a, the contact portion 28a is pressed by the hook 22, and the sold-out detection switch 28 is turned on.
The product buckets 30 are disposed in the space between the back side of the outer door 11 and the product carry-out devices 20, and are moved by the bucket moving mechanism 40 in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction.
The bucket moving mechanism 40 includes a first drive unit 41 for moving the product bucket 30 in the left and right direction, and a pair of left and right second drives 42 for moving the first drive unit 41 in the vertical direction. The two drive units 42 are disposed on both sides in the width direction of the vending machine body 10. The first drive portion 41 movably supports the product bucket 30 by a guide rail (not shown) extending in the left-right direction, and the motor (not shown) moves the product bucket 30 in the left-right direction along the guide rail There is. The second drive unit 42 movably supports the first drive unit 41 by the guide rails 42 a extending in the vertical direction, and moves the product bucket 30 in the vertical direction along the guide rails 42 a by a motor (not shown). It is supposed to be.
The control unit 50 is constituted by a microcomputer and is connected to the commodity selection operation unit 16, the feed amount detection switch 26, the carry-out detection switch 27 and the sold-out detection switch 28. The control unit 50 stores whether the product is sold out and the upper limit number N1 of the number of times of detection of the hook feed amount. In this case, the upper limit number N1 may be, for example, the number of all the hooks 22 attached to one chain 23, or may be a predetermined number (for example, six times) smaller than the number of all the hooks 22.
In the vending machine configured as described above, when money is input and an arbitrary item is selected by the item selection operation unit 16, the item moving device 40 corresponds to the selected item by the bucket moving mechanism 40. After moving to 20, the product A is carried out of the product carry-out device 20 and received by the product bucket 30. Next, the product bucket 30 receiving the product A is moved to the product outlet 18 by the bucket moving mechanism 40, and the product A in the product bucket 30 is unloaded to the product outlet 18.
Further, in the commodity delivery apparatus 20, the hook 22 holding the commodity A is moved forward by the rotation of the chain 23, and the commodity A is detached from the hook 22 and dropped by the inversion of the chain 23 in the forward sprocket 24. Goods A are carried out.
Here, the operation of the control unit 50 at the time of unloading of the goods of the goods unloading device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, the case where the goods A are suspended on each hook 22 is shown.
First, when a product is selected by the product selection operation unit 16 (S1), it is determined whether the selected product is sold out (S2). If the product is sold out, the process returns to step S1. If it is determined in step S2 that the product is not sold out, the motor 25 is rotated (S3), and the chain 23 is rotated. Here, before the feed amount detection switch 26 is turned on / off, that is, before the feed amount of one hook 22 is detected (S4), as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, after the lever 27b is pushed up by the product A and the discharge detection switch 27 is turned on (S5), the product A is disengaged from the hook 22 as shown in FIG. When the carry-out detection switch 27 is turned off (S6), the number N of times of detection of the hook feed amount is set to an initial value "0" (S7). Here, the feed amount of one hook 22 is detected (S8), and if the sold-out detection switch 28 is not on (S9), the motor 25 is stopped (S10), and the process returns to step S1 to wait for sale. It becomes.
Further, when the feed amount of one hook 22 is detected in step S4 before the discharge detection switch 27 is turned on in step S5, for example, the product A is not suspended by the hook 22 or the like. Assuming that the delivery abnormality has occurred, the motor 25 is stopped (S11), and the error state of the delivery abnormality is established (S12). Furthermore, after the carry-out detection switch 27 is turned on in step S5, for example, when a feed amount of one hook 22 is detected in step S4 before the carry-out detection switch 27 is turned off in step S6, for example, The motor 25 is stopped on the assumption that the delivery abnormality such that the product A is not caught and falls does not occur (S11), and the error state of the delivery abnormality is established (S12).
Further, when the feed amount of one hook 22 is detected in the step S8, as shown in FIG. 14, there is no product A in the next hook 22 and the sellout detection switch 28 is turned on in the step S9. In this case, “1” is added to the detection count N of the hook feed amount (S13), and if the detection count N has not reached the upper limit count N1 (S14), the rotation of the motor 25 is continued and the process returns to step S8. Thereafter, the operations of steps S8, S9, S13, and S14 are repeated, and in step S9, it is determined that the sold-out detection switch 28 is on each time, and in step S14 the number N of hook feed detections reaches the upper limit N1. The motor 25 is stopped (S15), and it is determined that the motor 25 is sold out (S16).
Also, as shown in FIG. 15, when the product B having a large depth dimension is suspended at a distance corresponding to the size of the product B with one hook 22 in between, the product B is obtained as shown in FIG. When the contact portion 28a of the sold-out detection switch 28 is pressed by the hook 22 not suspended and the sold-out detection switch 28 is turned on in step S9, “1” is added to the number N of hook feed detections ( S13) If the number of times of detection N has not reached the upper limit number of times N1 (S14), the rotation of the motor 25 is continued and the process returns to step S8, but if the next hook 22 suspends the product B, step S9 Since the sold-out detection switch 28 is not turned on at this time, the motor 25 is not determined to be sold out, the motor 25 is stopped (S10), and the process returns to step S1 to enter the sales standby state.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the hooks 22 are attached to the chain 23 so that the state is different when the product is suspended and when the product is not suspended. Since the sold-out detection switch 28 for detecting the hook 22 in a state where the product is not suspended is provided, it is possible to detect sold-out of the product before performing the product carry-out operation. As a result, even if an item is selected by the item selection operation unit 16 and an item is purchased from the card reader 17 with electronic money, if the item is sold out, electronic money payment processing is not performed. It is possible to cope with electronic money which can not be processed, and the convenience for the user who uses electronic money settlement can be enhanced.
Further, even when the hook 22 in a state in which the product is not suspended is detected, the chain 23 continues to rotate, and the hook 22 in a state in which the product is suspended is not detected and the number of detections reaches a predetermined upper limit number. If it is determined that the product B is sold out, the product B may be suspended depending on the product even if one or more hooks 22 are interposed between the product B and the like. There is an advantage that there is no need to set the feed amount, and there is no possibility of causing a sales defect due to an erroneous setting.
Furthermore, since each hook 22 is rotatably attached to the chain 23 so that the rotational position is different in a state in which the product is suspended and in a state in which the product is not suspended, the sold out detection is detected by the rotational state of the hook 22 Can be done easily.
In this case, since the hook 22 is pivoted to the position where the product is not suspended by urging the hook 22 in the predetermined pivoting direction by the spring 22e, the product is not suspended The hook 22 can be reliably pivoted to the position.
Further, since the hook 22 is rotatably supported by the connection pin 23b of the chain 23, there is no need to separately provide a member for rotatably supporting the hook 22, and the structure can be simplified. it can.
In the embodiment described above, the hook 22 is biased by the spring 22e in a predetermined rotational direction, but as shown in a modified example of FIG. 17, for example, as shown by an alternate long and short dash line in the figure. The hook 22 is formed by expanding a part of the hook 22 and forming the hook 22 so that the position of the center of gravity G is on the opposite side of the other connection pin 23 b than the one connection pin 23 b serving as the rotation center. The hook 22 may be pivoted to a position where the product is not suspended by its own weight.
In the embodiment, the hook 22 in a state in which the product is not suspended is detected by the sold-out detection switch 28. However, the hook in a state in which the product is suspended is detected It is also good.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the hook 22 is rotatably attached to the chain 23. However, the hook 22 may be attached to be vertically movable.
In the above embodiment, the products A and B are suspended and held by the hooks 22 as product holding members. However, for example, the chain is installed so as to extend in the vertical direction and is attached to the chain A product is released from the product holding member by reversing the product holding member at the lower end of the chain and releasing the product from the product holding member (so-called chain elevator type product storage column) The present invention can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Goods delivery apparatus, 22 ... Hook, 22e ... Spring, 23 ... Chain, 24 ... Sprocket, 25 ... Motor, 26 ... Feed amount detection switch, 27 ... Delivery detection switch, 28 ... Selling out detection switch, A, B ... Product.

Claims

A plurality of product holding members for holding products, an endless member in which the respective product holding members are attached to each other at intervals, and a driving means for rotating the endless member, each member being rotated by the rotation of the endless member In a commodity unloading device of a vending machine, wherein a commodity holding member is moved in a predetermined direction and a commodity is carried out by releasing the commodity from the commodity holding member at a predetermined commodity unloading position,
Attach each of the product holding members to the endless member so that the state is different when holding the product and when not holding the product,
A vending machine provided with a sold-out detection means for detecting a commodity holding member in a state holding a commodity or a commodity holding member in a state not holding a commodity, in front of the commodity delivery position. Product unloading device.
Even when the product holding member in the state of holding the product or the product holding member in the state of not holding the product is detected by the sold-out detection unit, rotation of the endless member is continued, and detection by the sold-out detection unit The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the number of times reaches a predetermined upper limit number, it is determined that the item is sold out.
The automatic sale according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sold-out detection means is constituted by a product holding member in a state of holding a product or a switch in contact with a product holding member in a state of holding no product. Machine unloading equipment.
The respective commodity holding members are rotatably attached to the endless member so that the pivotal positions are different in the state where the commodity is held and the state where the commodity is not held. Or the goods delivery apparatus of the vending machine of 3 statement.
The respective product holding members are configured to be rotated to a position of holding the product or a position of not holding the product by urging the members in a predetermined rotation direction with a spring. The commodity carrying-out apparatus of the vending machine according to claim 4, characterized in that:
The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein each of the product holding members is pivoted to a position of holding a product or a position of holding no product by its own weight. Product unloading device.
The endless member is formed by a chain;
Each commodity holding member is rotatably supported by a connection pin which connects the links of a chain. The commodity unloading of the vending machine according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. apparatus.
The commodity unloading apparatus for a vending machine according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, wherein each commodity holding member is formed to suspend and hold a commodity.