JPH0351990A - Display device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely switch displays of display parts, one by one, by providing a liquid crystal panel in front of a display part, and controlling a voltage applied to a liquid crystal panel and then cutting off or transmitting light transmitted through the display part. CONSTITUTION:The display part 2 formed by printing sales information on a transparent acryl plate is arranged behind a front panel part 1, a light source 3 is provided behind the display part 2, and the liquid crystal panel 4 is arranged between the front panel part 1 and display part 2. Light from the light source 3 which is transmitted through the display part 2 is transmitted through or cut off by the liquid crystal panel 4 according to the state of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal panel 4. For the purpose, the voltage is applied or not applied to the liquid crystal panel 4 while the light source 3 is driven to make a visual display on the display part 2 through the front panel part 1 or make no display. Consequently, the display of an article is surely switched and the article is easily selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a display device for displaying sales information such as brands of products sold in a vending machine.

Conventional technology The display device has a configuration in which sales information is displayed on the display side of a vending machine by illuminating a display section on which sales information is printed with light from behind. It is known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 130875/1983.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, conventional display devices display all sales information while the light source is illuminating, so they are not suitable for vending machines that sell many types of products. The amount of information displayed is large, causing confusion for customers. Therefore, it is possible to display only the necessary information by providing a light source for each of the multiple display sections and driving only a specific light source, but this would increase the size of the device and may not be practical in terms of cost. sea bream.

In addition, with conventional display devices, even if the light source is disabled so as not to display sales information, the printed content on the display may be visible due to light leaking from other sources, and in this case, incorrect information may be given to customers. This creates a problem of giving.

Therefore, the present invention provides a display device that can reliably switch the display for each display section by blocking or transmitting light passing through the display section as necessary.

(2) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, a display device of a vending machine according to the present invention includes a display portion on which characters, patterns, etc. are printed;
The display unit is equipped with a light source that illuminates the display unit from behind and a liquid crystal panel that is disposed on the display side of the vending machine in front of the display unit, and the display unit is illuminated by controlling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal panel. It is configured to block or transmit the transmitted light from the light source from proceeding to the display side of the vending machine.

(e) Operation By controlling the applied electrodes of the liquid crystal panel, the light passing through the display section can be transmitted through the liquid crystal panel or blocked by the liquid crystal panel, and when it is transmitted,
Printed information on the display can be viewed on the display side of the vending machine, but cannot be viewed when it is covered.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a display device for a vending machine according to the present invention.
This is a transparent front panel section installed in the customer service section, which is the display side of the vending machine, and behind the front panel section 1 is a display section 2 on which sales information is printed on a transparent acrylic board. ing. This sales information includes the brand name and selling price of the product, or characters or patterns that express comments such as "sold out".

Further, a light source 3 is provided behind the display section 2, and this light source 3 is prevented from being diffused by a light shielding plate 5, and illuminates only the display section 2 from its back side. Further, a liquid crystal panel 4 is arranged between the front panel section 1 and the display section 2, and the light from the light source 3 that passes through the display section 2 is adjusted to the liquid crystal panel 4 depending on the state of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal panel 4. or is blocked by the liquid crystal panel 4.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of the liquid crystal panel 4, which consists of a pair of glass plates 10 with a liquid crystal 11 sandwiched between them, and transparent electrodes 12 deposited on each of the liquid crystal side surfaces of the glass plates 10. A lead wire 13 is drawn out, and a polarizing plate 14 is attached to the opposite surface to the electrode surface. When no voltage is applied to the direct wire 13 of the liquid crystal panel 4, external light that has passed through one of the polarizing plates 14 is twisted by 90 degrees within the liquid crystal 11. The other polarizing plate 1
Since the direction of polarization is the same as that of polarization plate 14, the light also passes through this other polarizing plate 14. However, lead wire 1
When a predetermined AC voltage is applied to the polarizer 3, the light from the outside that has passed through one polarizer 14 passes through the liquid crystal 11 in the same direction without being twisted, so that the polarization of the other polarizer 14 changes. Therefore, this light is blocked by the liquid crystal panel 4.

Therefore, the display device can control voltage by applying or not applying voltage to the liquid crystal panel 4 while keeping the light source 3 driven.
Light from the light source 3 that passes through the display section 2 is blocked by the liquid crystal panel 4 or transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 4 . That is, unless a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal panel 4, the sales information printed on the display section 2 is displayed so as to be visible from the front panel section 1.

By using the display device described above, the display section 2 on which the brands and sales prices of products sold in vending machines are printed can be displayed visually from the front panel section 1 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. b, nothing may be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 4, a display section 2 showing the brands and sales prices of a large number of product types is displayed when the corresponding products are sold out or cannot be sold for other reasons. By making the vending machine invisible from the front panel part 1, customers can easily select products without seeing the display part 2 of products that cannot be sold by the vending machine. In this case, the liquid crystal panel 4 is required for each display section 2, but the light source 3 may be used for some display sections 2, and can be set arbitrarily as long as the necessary illuminance can be secured. .

Furthermore, even for products of the same brand, the selling price for cup vending machines, for example, differs depending on the size of the cup to be filled. An example of displaying the display unit 2 is shown. In this case, even if one display unit 2 is used, the number of liquid crystal panels 4 according to the price number
By providing this, only the necessary prices can be selectively displayed visually from the front panel section 1. Furthermore, in such a multi-price display unit 2, other sales prices can be displayed in a lighter manner by varying the intensity of the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 4 (FIG. 6).

(g) Effect of the invention According to the present invention, the display part can be used as a display of a vending machine {1111
Since the vending machine can be shown or hidden, unnecessary sales information is no longer given to customers, and the operational performance of the vending machine is improved. In addition, a display device with a simple configuration is provided that does not require as many light sources as the number of display sections in order to show or hide the display section while the light sources are driven.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since information is not directly displayed on the liquid crystal panel, when changing the displayed content, only the inexpensive display part needs to be replaced, making it possible to create an economical display device for vending machines. provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a display device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a liquid crystal panel.
Figure 3a shows a state in which the display is visible from the front panel, Figure 3b shows a state in which the display is no longer visible from the front panel, and Figure 4 shows a large number of product types. Figure 5 is a diagram explaining that in a vending machine with a display part, the display part is made selectively visible depending on the sales possibility of each product. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how to make the display on a single display unit partially visible. 2...Display r1;, 3...Light source, 4...Liquid crystal panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The liquid crystal panel comprises a display section on which characters, patterns, etc. are printed, a light source that illuminates the display section from behind, and a liquid crystal panel placed on the display side of the vending machine in front of the display section. A vending machine characterized in that, by controlling a voltage applied to a panel, light from the light source that passes through the display section is blocked from proceeding to the display side of the vending machine, or is allowed to pass therethrough. Display device.