JPH03219392A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To buy commodities in a mass through a single conveying path and to continue a vending operation by supplying the commodities in the conveying paths to a sub pocket when executing an operation for buying the commodities in a mass. CONSTITUTION:In the normal vending operation, a commodity 4 is conveyed to an upper commodity take-out port 13 and when executing the operation for buying the commodities in a mass, however, the commodity 4 in the conveying path gets out of the path in the middle of conveyance and guided to a bus pocket 15. On the other hand, when the operation for buying the commodities in a mass is not executed but the next purchase operation is executed before taking out the vended commodity 4 in the commodity take-out port 13, the commodity 4 in the conveying path is automatically guided to the sub pocket 15 by a rotary shooter 18 and presented to a customer. Thus, the commodities can be bought in a mass and even when there is any foreign object at the commodity take-out port 13, the commodities can be presented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a vending machine, and particularly to an automatic vending machine equipped with a means for conveying a product to a product outlet provided at a relatively high position. Regarding vending machines.

(Prior Art) Conventional vending machines are generally located at a higher position than the product storage chamber or the product takeout port, and due to the height difference between the product storage chamber and the product takeout port, the products carried out may naturally fall or slide down. , and is configured to be guided to the product outlet. Also,
In order to store as many products as possible, the vertical dimension of the product storage room is increased, but if the product storage room with large vertical dimensions is set at a high position, the height of the vending machine will increase. At the same time, it becomes difficult to replenish products. For these reasons, the product outlet has to be set at a relatively low position, making it extremely difficult for adults to remove products from the product outlet as they must bend over. There is.

Therefore, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 83-201893, an automated system is proposed in which the product taken out from the product storage chamber is slid down by a chute and then transported to the product take-out port using a conveyance device. A vending machine is proposed. According to this configuration, the product storage capacity can be increased without increasing the height dimension of the vending machine more than necessary, and the product outlet can be set at a high position, making it possible for purchasers to This makes it possible to take out products without bending over, but since such vending machines generally have only one conveyance path to transport the products to the product takeout port, it is difficult to take out multiple products at once. “Bulk purchases” are not possible. In order to make bulk purchasing possible, it would be sufficient to provide multiple transport routes, or the equipment would become larger and more complex.

Furthermore, since there is only one conveyance route, there is a problem in that if the product guided to the product takeout port is not taken out, the subsequent sales operation cannot be continued.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in conventional vending machines that use a conveyance device to convey products to a product takeout port set at a relatively high position, the conveyance path is one system. It is difficult to buy in bulk, and if a problem occurs in the conveyance route or the product is not taken out from the product outlet, there is a problem that the sales operation cannot be continued.

The present invention was made in order to solve such problems, and is a vending machine that transports products to a product outlet set at a relatively high position, and allows bulk purchasing through a single transport route. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can continue to perform the vending operation even when the product in the product outlet is not taken out.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving Alli) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a product receptacle that is provided to be able to lift and lower products carried out from the lower part of a product storage room that stores a plurality of products. The product tray is received at almost the bottom dead center position by the machine, and the product tray is raised to almost the top dead center position along a predetermined conveyance path, and the product tray is placed in a vending machine that conveys the product inside to the product takeout port. A sub-pocket configured to allow internal objects to be taken out from the outside is provided at a position where the object can be taken out from the outside, and a selection means for selecting either the product take-out port or the sub-pocket as a supply destination for the product in the conveyance route, and a bulk purchase operation. The basic feature is that it includes means for controlling the selection means so that, when the selection is made, the goods in the conveyance path are supplied to the sub-pockets.

In addition, if necessary, a means for detecting the product in the product outlet and a means for supplying the product in the transport path to the sub-pocket when a purchase operation is performed while the product or foreign object is detected by this means. The apparatus further includes means for controlling the selection means.

(Function) In the automatic vending machine of the present invention, during normal vending operations, products are transported to the product takeout port located above, but when a bulk purchase operation is performed, products within the transport path are removed from the transport path midway. It comes off and is guided to the sub pocket. Therefore, if the sub-pocket has a certain capacity, a plurality of products can be sold at once in a single sales operation.

On the other hand, even if no bulk purchase operation is performed,
If the next purchase operation is performed before the sold product is taken out of the product outlet, the product in the conveyance path is automatically guided to the sub-pocket and provided to the purchaser. Further, with this configuration, even if there is a foreign object in the product outlet, the sold product can be provided to the customer from the sub-pocket.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front side of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main parts.

1 and 2, a product storage chamber 2 for storing a plurality of products (for example, canned drinks) in a stacked manner in an overturned state is arranged in a main body 1 of the vending machine. At the bottom, there is disposed a product delivery device 3 that drops selected products one by one from the bottom when the customer presses a product selection switch (not shown).

A fixed chute 5 is arranged below the product delivery device 3 for receiving the product 4 and sliding it down toward the lower front of the main body 1 to guide it. A product carry-out port 6, which is the exit of the fixed chute 5, is provided with a door 7 for heat insulation, which can be opened and closed. This door 7 is normally closed, and is pushed open by the product 4 when the product 4 passes through.

On the front side of the main body 1, there is a belt 8 that receives the products 4 led from the product storage chamber 2 through the product delivery device 3, the fixed chute 5, and the delivery port 6 by pushing open the door 7, and transports them laterally. ,
A motor 9 that drives the belt 8, a product receiver 10 that receives the product 4 discharged from the end of the belt 8, a chain 11 that raises the product receiver 10 and transports the product 4, and drives the chain 11. A motor 12 is provided. The chain 11 is driven by a motor 12 to raise the product 4 received by the product receiver 10 at approximately the bottom dead center position, and transport it to the product outlet 13 located at the top dead center. After that, receive the product 1
0 is lowered to the bottom dead center position. An automatic door 14 is provided at the product outlet 13.

On the other hand, a sub-pocket 15 is provided at a position away from the transport route for transporting the product 4 to the product outlet 13.

As will be described later, this sub-pocket 15 is for accommodating products to be discharged when purchasing in bulk, etc., and has an opening 16 opened on the front side of the vending machine main body 1. A door 17 is provided in the opening 16.

Moreover, above the sub-pocket 15 and the fixed shooter 5
Place it in a position where it can catch the product 4 that has slid down.
A rotary shooter 18 is provided. This rotary chute 18 is rotatable about a shaft 19, and is rotationally driven by a chute drive mechanism 20 using a motor, so that the chute 18 serves as a supply destination for the product 4 in the conveyance path and the product outlet 13 and the sub-pocket 18. Either one is to be selected.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
3, a light emitting section 2 such as an infrared LED constituting a photo interrupter and a light receiving section 22 such as a phototransistor are provided facing each other as product detection means.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the main part of the control system in this embodiment, and the output of the oscillator 23 and the output of the light receiving section 22 that drive the light emitting section 21 are input to the determination circuit 24. This determination circuit 24 compares the output of the oscillator 23 and the output of the light receiving section 22, and if the two waveforms match, the product 4 is present in the product outlet 13, and if the two waveforms do not match, the product 4 is present. It is determined that there is no. The determination result of the determination circuit 24 is input to the control circuit 25. The control circuit 25 is configured using, for example, a CPU,
The shooter drive mechanism 20 is controlled according to the determination result of the determination circuit 25 and a signal from a bulk purchase switch (not shown).

Next, the operation of the vending machine of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in a normal sales operation, as a general rule, the products 4 within the conveyance route are supplied to the product takeout port 13. That is,
At the start of the selling operation, it is determined in step S1 whether the bulk purchase switch has been pressed, and if it has not been pressed, it is subsequently determined in step S2 whether or not there is a product 4 in the product outlet 13. When there is no product 4 in the product outlet 13, the rotary chute 18 is maintained on an extension of the fixed chute 5, as shown by the solid line in FIG. Therefore, the product 4 that has slid down on the fixed chute 5 is guided onto the belt 8 by the rotary chute 18, and is transported by the belt 8 to the product receiver 10. Thereafter, the product receiver 10 is conveyed to the product outlet 12 by the chain 11 (step S3).

On the other hand, if the bulk purchase switch is pressed, the process moves to step S4, and the product 4 in the conveyance route is placed in the sub pocket 15.
is supplied to That is, in this case, the chute 18 is rotated counterclockwise by the chute drive mechanism 20,
It is in an almost upright state as shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the product 4 that has slid down the fixed chute 5 does not land on the rotary chute 18, but directly or on the rotary chute 1.
8 and then falls into the sub pocket 15. Product 4 supplied to sub pocket 15 in this way
can be taken out all at once by the purchaser opening the door 17.

Even if the bulk purchase switch is not pressed, if it is determined in step S2 that the product 4 is in the product takeout port 13, the process moves to step S4 as in the case of bulk purchase, and then the product slides down on the fixed chute 5. The delivered product 4 is supplied to the sub-pocket 15.

After the product 4 is supplied to the sub pocket 15, step S
In step S5, it is determined whether or not to make an additional purchase, and in the case of an additional purchase, the process returns to step S4 and the same operation is repeated.
If it is not an additional purchase, the sales operation ends.

Furthermore, if there is a foreign object inserted into the product takeout port 13 by mischief, the product to be sold will be placed in the sub pocket 1 in the same way as if the product 4 was in the product takeout port]3.
5, and sales operations can be carried out without any hassle.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, bulk purchases can be made by supplying products to the sub-pocket even though there is a single conveyance route, and the purchase operation can be performed without taking out the products from the product outlet. Even if the sales operation is continued, the sales operation can be continued. Furthermore, even if there is a foreign object in the product outlet, the product in the transport path can be supplied to the sub-pocket and provided to the customer.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main part of the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a product outlet and product detection FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the means, FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a main part of the same embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the same embodiment. 1...Vending machine body, 2...Product storage room, 3...
Product unloading device, 4...Product, 5...Fixed chute, 6
...Product outlet, 7...Insulation door, 8...Belt, 9
...Motor, 10...Product receiver, 11...Chain, 12...Motor, 13...Product outlet, 14.
... Automatic door, 15... Sub pocket, 16... Opening, 17... Door, 18... Rotating shooter (selection means), 19... Axis, 20... Shooter drive mechanism, 21
．． 22... Light emitting part and light receiving part for product detection, 25...
・Control circuit.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A product carried out from a product storage room that stores multiple products is received at approximately the bottom dead center position by a product receiver that can be raised and lowered, and the product receiver is moved along a predetermined conveyance path to approximately the top dead center position. A vending machine that has a function of lifting the product in the product tray and transporting the product to the product takeout port, the sub-pocket being provided at a position away from the transport path and configured to allow objects inside to be taken out from the outside. , selection means for selecting either the product takeout port or the sub-pocket as a supply destination for the products in the transport route, and a selection means for supplying the products in the transport route to the sub-pocket when a bulk purchase operation is performed. and means for controlling the selection means. (2) means for detecting a product in the product outlet; and a means for supplying the product in the transport path to the sub-pocket when a purchase operation is performed while the product or foreign object is being detected by the means. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising means for controlling said selection means.