JPH0444315B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is directed to a distributed control system in which, for example, a control unit that controls a vending machine is distributed into a plurality of units, each of which is connected by a transmission line, and data is exchanged. Regarding vending systems.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, vending machine control systems have been equipped with a centralized control system with only the main controller, a main controller, and a slave controller, and the main controller is connected to a master controller via bus connection.
Two types of systems are known: one that controls the functions of a vending machine using a slave system.

As the name suggests, the former method uses only the main control unit to control each device inside the vending machine.In recent vending machines, there are many types of products to sell, and therefore the number of push buttons for product selection has also increased. At the same time, the number of sales ready/sold lamps and ejection mechanisms corresponding to the push buttons has increased, and the number of wires connecting the parts and the main control unit has increased, and the number of wires has increased due to contact with the door or main unit. In addition, if the main control section breaks down, the entire vending machine will stop functioning, which may impede sales efficiency or require the entire control section to be replaced in the event of a breakdown. .

The latter method will be explained with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, taking as an example a configuration in which solid products such as products in cans and bottles are sold.

In FIG. 13, 1 is a main control section provided in the front outer door of the vending machine, which will be described later, and 1-1 is a sub-control section, including an amount display (not shown) and selectable push buttons 3, 3.
1, and the sold-out lamps 3b, 31b, which indicate that the product is sold out, etc., and communicate data with the main control section 1.
Reference numeral 1-2 denotes a carry-out control unit, which controls driving the corresponding product carry-out mechanism 4 to carry out the product, and communicates data with the main control unit 1. A transmission line 5 is used to transmit the previous data.

In this configuration, the operation of the circuit will be explained. When the main control unit 1 inputs the denomination signal from the coin discrimination unit (e.g. coin pick) 2, the main control unit 1 inputs the information to display the input amount on the amount display (not shown) and the input amount. Find out if there are any products that can be sold at that price, and if there is, information that should light up the sellable lamp corresponding to the selection button, other information that should turn off, and if it is sold out, the corresponding sold out lamp should be turned on. information, etc., to the customer service control unit 1- via a two-wire transmission line 5, for example.
Send to 1. The control unit 1-1 outputs a signal to each device based on the information. Next, the customer service control unit 1-1 detects whether the push button is turned on, and if push button 3 is selected, it transmits information to turn on the push button 3 and turn the others off to the main control unit 1 via the transmission line 5. do. When the main control unit inputs the above information, it checks the product delivery mechanism corresponding to the selected push button, transmits the information to the delivery control unit 1-2 via the transmission line 5, and the control unit 1-2 A signal is output to drive the corresponding product carrying out mechanism 4, and the product is carried out. When the product is completely removed, the information is transmitted to the main control section 1 via the transmission line 5. After this, the main control unit 1 transmits information to turn off all displays to the customer service control unit 1-1, and outputs a signal such as change to the currency discrimination unit. The device is turned off and becomes ready again to accept coins.

An example of the arrangement of this control unit inside a vending machine is shown in the 14th example.
To roughly explain using the figure, 11 is the main body of the vending machine, 12 is the front outer door provided on the front thereof,
13 is a product storage shelf provided in the main body 11; 14;
1 is a control box, and 15 is a power supply. On the back side of the front outer door 12, the customer service control section 1-
1. Currency discriminator 2, push buttons, sell-ready and sold-out lamps, etc. are arranged on the front side, and at the bottom of the product storage shelf 13, the above-mentioned product delivery mechanism 4, delivery control unit 1-
3 is placed. In addition, the box 14 is placed on an inner door (not shown) that serves to cool or insulate the products sold with the outer door 12 opened, or inside the main body.
The main control section 1 described above is installed in the box 14, and is thus protected from external shocks or mischief. It is wired to the slave control section (customer service, delivery) via a transmission line 5.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional system configured in this way, the wiring to each device is in a one-to-one correspondence, so the number of wires required is greater than the number of terminal devices, and the increase in wiring for vending machines causes problems such as wiring errors, disconnections, and poor connections. There are high failure rates, difficulty in repairing failures, and
Since the device itself is large, there are restrictions on its placement due to the balance with each device, and there are problems such as the placement is fixed to a certain extent and there is less freedom in terms of design and configuration.Furthermore, there are problems such as the vending machine control specifications Such changes require changing the control content of the main control unit, which is a time-consuming and expensive process, and there is a need for a solution to this problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to simplify the wiring, improve the reliability of the control section, and
By decentralizing the control unit and simplifying the device itself, making it easy to change the layout, and also making it easy to change the control contents, it is possible to control the vending machine efficiently and reliably. The purpose is to provide a distributed control vending system.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention consists of a coin mark, a bill bar, etc., which discriminates between accepting coins and dispensing change.The present invention includes a coin distinguishing means, which is provided with a control section for each coin mark and bill bar, and a push button for product selection, a sellable lamp, and a bill bar. A plurality of customer service means each consisting of one unit such as a turn off lamp and each unit having a control section;
It consists of a product dispensing mechanism provided corresponding to each of the product selection push buttons for dispensing the product, and a plurality of dispensing means each having a control section for each product discharging mechanism, and a plurality of dispensing means connected in common to each of the means, and dispensing the product. This is achieved by providing a transmission means for transmitting information of each means, such as information, product selection information, and product delivery information.

[Effect]

According to the means, compared to conventional distributed control,
This aims to decentralize functions in more detail.

That is, the currency discrimination means includes a control section for coins and banknotes, and the customer service means includes a product selection push button, a sell-ready lamp, and a sold-out lamp as units, and each unit has a control section. Next, as a carrying out means, a control section is provided for each product carrying out function, and signals are sent and received using a common transmission means, thereby distributing the functions.

〔Example〕

1 to 12 show embodiments of the present invention, which will be explained below.

In Fig. 1, 20 is a control unit provided for each function, 21 is a main power supply, 22 is a common two-wire transmission line, and 3, 31, and 32 are push buttons for product selection. Take it. 3a, 3
1a and 32a are sales ready lamps corresponding to each push button;
3b, 31b, and 32b are sold-out lamps that indicate that the product corresponding to the push button is sold out. The push button, the ready-to-sell lamp, and the sold-out lamp are made into one unit, and each unit has its own control section 20. 4,
41 and 42 are product delivery mechanisms for transporting products;
It corresponds to each push button 3, 31, 32, and has a control section 20 for each product delivery mechanism. Reference numeral 23 denotes a currency discriminating unit (coin mark for coins, bill validator for banknotes) which accepts coins and dispenses change.
have. This configuration is the main configuration for carrying out products.In addition, as shown in the figure, there are also product heating and cooling equipment such as a compressor 24 and heater 25, a keyboard 26, and setting displays such as a digital display (amount display) 27. In addition, each of the controlled mechanisms of a well-known vending machine has a control section 20. Each of these devices is connected to a common transmission line 22 via a power supply 15, and communicates data through the transmission line 22.

As for the actual arrangement of this control section, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the control section 20 is attached to each device located on the back side of the front outer door 12, the inner door, and the main body 11 of the vending machine. , the control unit is distributed in this way, and the control unit is connected to the common transmission line 2.
Only 2 are connected.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the transmission line 22. For example, serial transmission is used, and signal lines A,
It consists of five lines: B, power GND line, +5V run-in, and +24V line, and a plurality of couplers 28, for example, are attached to connect the control section 20 of each device.

4 and 5 show an example of the control unit 20, where 1A and 1B are serial ports connected to signal lines A and B of the transmission line 22, and PI and PO are input ports for signals with each device. Input/output port for output, 2
01 is a CPU, 202 is a ROM that stores operating programs, and 203 stores various settings, etc.
RAM 204 is an I/R as a transmitter/receiver with the outside.
O, serial ports 1A, 1B, input/output ports
Connected to PI and PO respectively. 205 is a communication return device that converts signals received or transmitted by the serial ports 1A and 1B into serial signals or parallel signals. Therefore, the control unit 20 can perform communication processing, information processing, arithmetic processing, and storage processing.

FIGS. 6 to 8 each show an example in which the control section 20 is connected to each device, and will be explained in order.

First, FIG. 6 shows an example in which the control section 20 is attached to a push button section, and the ports 1A and 1B of the control section 20 are attached to the push button section.
The signal lines A and B of the transmission line 22 are connected to
Further, the push button 3, the ready-for-sale lamp 3a, and the sold-out lamp 3b are connected to the input/output ports PI and PO of the control unit 20, respectively. Although the push button section has been described as a representative example, it may also be used to control an out-of-change lamp and various SWs.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the control section 20 is attached to the product delivery mechanism section, and the signal lines A of the transmission line 22,
Ports 1A and 1B of the control unit 20 are connected to B,
Further, the input/output ports PI and PO of the control unit 20 are connected to a sales confirmation SW 4a, a sell-out SW 4b, and a non-contact relay 29 provided in the product delivery mechanism 4. The wireless point relay 8 is for voltage conversion, converts +24V of the transmission line 22 to AC100V, and drives, for example, a motor M as the product delivery mechanism 4,
It is configured like this.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the control section 20 is attached to a coin mesh section, and the signal lines A of the transmission line 22,
Ports 1A and 1B of the control unit 20 are connected to B,
In addition, the input/output ports PI and PO of the control unit 20 are connected to each terminal of the coin hook, although detailed description thereof will not be given. Although the coin pick is described as a representative example, it may also be used to control a digital display or various optional functions.

The schematic circuit diagram in FIG. 9 and the operational flow chart in FIG. 10 are for explaining the operation of the present invention, and the operation of the present invention will be explained step by step with reference to the above-mentioned figures.

First of all, in Figure 9, only the main parts necessary for sale are extracted, including the power supply 21, coin hook 2,
Push buttons 3, 31, 32, sales ready lamps 3a, 31
a, 32a, sold-out lamp 3b, 31b, 32b,
It is composed of product delivery mechanisms 4, 41, and 42, and the control section 20 and power source 21 of each device are connected in a loop through a transmission line 22. In addition, push buttons 3, 31, 32
The selling price of the corresponding products is 80 yen and 100 yen, respectively.
yen, 120 yen.

In this configuration, if the power supply 21 is turned on and a 100 yen coin is inserted into the vending machine in step S1, a 100 yen coin is sent from the control unit 20 of the coin pick 2 to the transmission line 22 in step S2. Send the amount information data,
Proceed to step S3. In step S3, the control unit 20 of the push button 3 determines whether the product can be sold for 100 yen.
If it is not possible to sell (branch N), no data is received and the sellable lamp 3 is kept off, and if it is possible to sell (branch Y), the amount information data is received,
The process advances to step S4, in which a signal is output from the control section 20 of the push button 3 to light the sales ready lamp 3a corresponding to the push button 3, and the process advances to step S5. Also, in steps S31 and 32, the step S3
At the same time, it is determined as described above whether the products corresponding to the push buttons 31 and 32 can be sold. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the products of push buttons 3 and 31 can be sold. In step S5, if the customer selects the product of push button 3, then in step S6, the control unit 20 of push button 3 considers the selection to be valid based on the selection signal of push button 3, and sends signal data indicating that push button 3 has been selected. The transmission line 2
Send to 2. When the selection signal data is transmitted to the transmission line 22 in this way, the selection signal data of the push button 3 is received by the control unit 20 of the product delivery mechanism 4 corresponding to the push button 3 in step S7, and the selection signal data of the push button 3 is received in step S71. The selection signal data of the push button 3 is received by the control section 20 of the coin check 2, and in step S72, the selection signal data of the push button 3 is received by the control section 20 of the push button 31. In this way step S7,
Data is simultaneously received from the transmission line 22 in S71 and S72, and the process proceeds to the next step. When each selection signal data is received, a product delivery signal is sent from the control section 20 of the product delivery mechanism 4 to the motor 29 in step S8.
is output to start unloading of the product, and the process proceeds to step S9. In step S81, the control section 20 of the coin pick 2 calculates change. In step S82, the sales ready lamp 31a is sent from the control unit 20 of the push button 31.
A signal is output to turn off the lamp 3a. In this way, control is performed simultaneously in these steps as well. In step S9, the control unit 20 of the carry-out mechanism 4 determines whether the goods have been carried out reliably. If the signal is not input (branch N), the process may proceed to another flow to handle the abnormality, or it may be possible to sell another product other than the one that was pressed due to the failure. If it is normal, that is, if the sales confirmation SW 4a is turned on and an on signal is input to the control section 20 (branch Y), the step
Proceeding to S10, in response to the ON signal from the sales confirmation SW 4a, the control section 20 determines that the product delivery is complete, and transmits the product delivery completion data to the transmission line 2.
Send to 2. When the unloading completion data is transmitted to the transmission line 22 in this way, the data is received by the control unit 20 of the push button 3 corresponding to the unloading mechanism 4 from which the product was unloaded in step S11, and the coin picker 2 is controlled in step S111. The data is received at the section 20. In this way, data is simultaneously received from the transmission line 22 in steps S11 and S111, and the process proceeds to the next step. In step S12, a signal is output from the control unit 20 of the push button 3 to turn off the sales ready lamp 3a, and in step S121, a signal is output from the control unit 20 of the coin pick 2, change is dispensed from the coin pick 2, and the next Waiting for sale.
The vending machine is controlled in this way.

Next, the transmission line used in this invention will be explained.

The transmission line 22 consists of an address command and a data section.The address command specifies which control section 20 to send the data to, and the data section is for transmitting the content of information, and serves as a response section for the address command. It is something that has.

In this way, by having the address and data sections, it is possible to determine which control section 20 the signal is directed to.

Although not specifically mentioned in the description of the embodiments above, control as described below can also be performed.

(1) The control unit 20 of the digital display 27 also receives the amount information data indicating that a coin has been inserted, and a display signal is output from the control unit 20.
The input amount is displayed on the display 27, a product is selected, and if there is change, the change data is received,
A display signal is output from the control unit 20, the amount of change is displayed on the display, data indicating that change has been paid out is received, a signal is output from the control unit 20, and the display 27 is turned off. Although not specifically explained, this is a normal operation and there is no particular problem.

(2) To control the sold-out of a product, first, when the sold-out switch of the product delivery mechanism is input, a sold-out signal is input to the corresponding control unit 20, and the control unit 20 sends data indicating that the product is sold out to the transmission line 22. Then,
Data is received by the control unit of the push button corresponding to the sold-out item, and the control unit outputs a sold-out signal to the sold-out lamp, thereby lighting the sold-out lamp.

(3) Although shown in the figure, it is clear that the above control can be applied to multiple vending machines, such as parent-child vending machines, by simply installing the control unit and passing the transmission line. The same can be said of devices, audio, etc.

(4) The transmission method was two-wire serial transmission, but
It is not particularly limited.

(5) In the embodiment, the change is disbursed after receiving the data indicating the completion of product delivery, but the change may be disbursed immediately after the change is calculated. However, in this case, as a process when the product is not carried out normally, it is not possible to control to reselect another product other than the faulty product mentioned briefly in the previous explanation, and only the fault processing is performed.

(6) Three examples of the control unit 20 are shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and the explanation has been made using the push button section, the product delivery mechanism section, and the coin pick section as representatives, respectively.
Control units to be attached to other devices not specifically described may also be attached by selecting one from the above.

(7) Although each control unit and the power source are connected in a loop through a transmission line, it is clear that this is not the case.

(8) Although this embodiment has been explained for a vending machine that sells can and bottle products, it can also be applied to a cup-type beverage vending machine, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, and its general operation. The explanation is the same as for cans and bottles, and the beverage delivery operation is well known, so the explanation will be omitted.

As in the embodiment, the control units for each device are distributed within the vending machine along with the device, so the wiring can be short and less, and the wiring is not concentrated in one place as in the past. The space inside the vending machine can be used effectively.

It is also of course possible to control a group of vending machines via a common transmission line.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention consists of coin marks, bill burrs, etc. that discriminate between accepting coins and dispensing change.The present invention includes a coin distinguishing means provided with a control unit for each coin mark and bill burr, a push button for product selection, a sales ready lamp, and a bill burr. A plurality of customer service means each consisting of one unit such as a turn off lamp and each unit having a control section;
comprising a product delivery mechanism provided corresponding to each product selection push button for dispensing the product, and commonly connected to a plurality of delivery means each having a control unit provided for each product delivery mechanism, and each of the means; It is configured to include a transmission means for transmitting information of each means such as currency information, product selection information, product delivery information, etc. In other words, a control unit having a judgment function for each of the currency discrimination means, the customer service means, and the delivery means. The control units were distributed so that the control units of each device could send and receive signals to each other by connecting them via a transmission means.
In the event of a failure in the control unit, you only need to replace the failed control unit without stopping the entire vending machine function, and you can freely change part of the control specifications or add functions, so it is easy to use as a standalone device. In addition, because the control parts of each device are simply connected by a common transmission line, the number of wires is significantly reduced compared to conventional distributed control, reducing the risk of disconnections and incorrect wiring. This significantly reduces the reliability of the vending machine control, and in addition, the control can be connected anywhere on a common transmission line.
Effects such as freedom in arrangement of each device can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a control block circuit diagram of a distributed control vending system showing one embodiment of a solid product (can/bottle) vending machine of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a control block circuit diagram of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. A schematic perspective view of the arrangement of each device, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a transmission line of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of a control section of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. , 5th
The figure is a block diagram of a control section of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 6 to 8 show examples of connection states between the control section of a vending machine and each device showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an enlarged control circuit diagram of the main parts in FIG. 1. FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation in FIG. 9. FIG. A control block circuit diagram when the present invention is applied to a vending machine, Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the arrangement of each device when the present invention is applied to a cup-type beverage vending machine, and Fig. 13 is a control block diagram of a conventional vending machine. Block circuit diagram, No. 14
The figure is a schematic perspective view of the arrangement of various devices in a conventional vending machine. 2... Coin identification department (coin detection, bilbari),
3, 31, 32...push button, 4, 41, 42...product delivery mechanism, 20...control unit, 21...power supply.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A currency discrimination means consisting of a coin mark and a bill validator for discriminating acceptance of money and disbursement of change, and a control unit including a CPU, memory, and input/output unit is provided for each coin mark and bill validator. , consists of one unit: a push button for product selection, a sales ready lamp, and a sold out lamp, and each unit has a CPU,
It consists of a plurality of customer service means provided with a control section equipped with a memory and an input/output section, and a product delivery mechanism provided corresponding to each product selection push button for delivering products, and each product delivery mechanism for delivering one product. A plurality of carrying out means each having a control unit including a CPU, a memory, and an input/output unit; and a plurality of carrying out means which are connected in common to each of the above means, and which are connected to each of the above means, and which are connected to each of the above means, and which are connected to each of the means, and which are connected to each of the means, and which are connected to each of the means, and which are connected to each of the above means and that information about currency information, product selection information and product carrying out information is stored in each of the means. A transmission means for specifying an address and transmitting data in order to perform the transmission, and the money discrimination means controls sending deposit information data to the customer service means via the transmission means in accordance with the insertion of coins, and the customer service means Controls the payment of change based on the product delivery data from the store, and the customer service means determines whether the product can be sold by pressing its own button based on the deposit information data, and if it is possible to sell it,
It controls the lighting of its own sell-ready lamp, and when a push button is pressed, it sends the product delivery data to the corresponding delivery means via the transmission means, and
The currency discriminating means is also controlled to send out the product delivery data, and when receiving the product sold-out data from the delivery means, the corresponding customer service means is controlled to turn on the sold-out lamp, and the delivery means is controlled to send out the sold-out lamp through the transmission means. It is characterized by receiving delivery data through a transmission means, operating its own delivery function, and controlling the delivery of products, and when the product is sold out, controlling sending the product sold-out data to the customer service means via the transmission means. A distributed control vending system.