JPS6362793B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a means for attaching a plurality of product storage shelves to a circulating moving body such as a chain or belt, and storing a plurality of types of product storage shelves on each product storage shelf. In a conveyor-type vending machine in which products are stored and the product storage shelf storing the selected product is moved to a product exit to take out the product, the above-mentioned circulating movement is performed. The present invention relates to a display control device for a vending machine that displays the time between.

[Conventional technology]

The first conveyor-type vending machine of its kind.
What is shown in FIGS. 5 to 5 has been proposed.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the main parts of a conveyor-type vending machine, in which a chain 3 is stretched between sprockets 1 and 2, which are vertically separated and rotatably supported on an appropriate frame. A plurality (10) of product storage shelves 4-1, 4-2, . . . , 4-10 are fixed to the chain 3 at appropriate intervals.

Each shelf 4 is formed in the shape of a rectangular case with an open front 4a (Fig. 2) and one outer side 4b, and one product is stored in the space inside each shelf 4 from the front 4a. It is configured so that it can be taken in and taken out.

One sprocket 1 is connected to a motor (not shown), and by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor, the chain 3 travels around in either the left or right direction, and the chain 3 moves around the shelf 4.
be transported around.

Below the shelf carrying-out mechanism 5 configured as described above, a semi-circular guide plate 6 is provided along a trajectory drawn by the outer periphery of the shelf to be transported.
A product receiver 7 is provided at the lower center of the container 7 and has a rectangular front view and an opening 7a at the top.

The upper opening 7a of the product receiver 7 is supported by a fulcrum 10 so that a flat opening/closing plate 8 is tilted to be located at a lower position on the product outlet 9 (FIG. 2) side.

If the opening/closing plate 8 is kept in a horizontal state while the shelf 4 is being transported around with the above configuration, even when the shelf 4 reaches the lowest position (the position indicated by 4-2), the products will not be stored. It continues to circulate along the guide plate 6 without being ejected from the shelf 4, and when the opening/closing plate 8 is tilted as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, the shelf is moved to 4-2. The product is configured to fall into the product receptacle 7 along the opening/closing plate 8 upon reaching the position shown.

On the chain-side surface of each shelf 4, there is a code plate 1 having a protrusion corresponding to a multi-bit code indicating the type of product to be stored and the correspondence with the product selection switch.
1 is installed. Each code plate 11 is provided with protrusions 11X according to whether each 4-bit digit is 1 or 0, as shown in FIG.
A code discriminator 12 is provided near the lower sprocket 2, which is turned on and off in correspondence with each projection 11X. In addition, in FIG. 3, the left end protrusion 11Z is a protrusion for detecting a shelf. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the cord plate 11 has protrusions 11
1Z is fixed to the shelf 4 so as to protrude toward the chain side. The attachment position of this cord plate is arbitrary; for example, it may be fixed to the chain 3 in correspondence with each shelf.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the code discriminator 12 has a fan-shaped first cam plate 2 mounted on a fixed frame 20.
1 and a second cam plate 22 having arcuate edges are rotatably mounted on fulcrums 23 and 24, respectively, so that the arcuate surfaces of each cam plate 21 and 22 can come into contact with the protrusion of the code plate 11. At the same time, the free end 21a of the first cam plate 21 is provided so as to press the operating piece 26 of the micro switch (product code detection switch) 25 so as to be able to move toward and away from it. Furthermore, the first cam plate 21
An elongated hole 27 is formed in the elongated hole 27, and a protrusion 28 protruding from the second cam plate 22 is slidably engaged with the elongated hole 27, so that the rotation of the second cam plate 22 is controlled by the first cam plate 21. It is configured so that it can be transmitted to

The first cam plate 21 is urged in the direction of the product code detection switch 25 by a spring 29, and the protrusion 11X of the code plate 11 is pressed against the first cam plate 21.
When the first cam plate 21 is not in contact with the product code detection switch 25, the first cam plate 21 is configured to press the operating piece 26 of the product code detection switch 25.

The code discriminator 12 uses the code discriminator 12 as shown in FIG.
They are arranged in five rows as shown in the figure.

By providing the first cam plate 21 and the second cam plate 22, the product code detection switch 25 can be activated by engaging the protrusion of the code plate 11 whether the shelf 4 is turned clockwise or counterclockwise. I can do it.

Again in FIGS. 1 and 2, the product detection plate 30
is provided rotatably about a fulcrum 31 within the housing of the shelf 4, and a connecting arm 32 is attached to the product detection plate 30 with a fulcrum 33 as the fulcrum. The connecting arm 32 passes through a long groove 34 formed on the side surface of the shelf 4 on the chain side, projects outside the shelf 4, and connects to a sliding plate 35 provided so as to be able to come into sliding contact with the side surface of the shelf 4 on the chain side. They are connected to be rotatable about 36 as a fulcrum. A cam 37 is provided protruding from the sliding plate 35, and a limit switch (sold-out detection switch) 38 is fixed to the frame in correspondence with the cam 37.

A spring 39 is engaged with the sliding plate 35, urging the sliding plate 35 toward the exit 9a, and when there is no product on the shelf, the product detection plate 30 is activated as shown in the figure. It is in an upright state within the shelf, and the cam 37 is disengaged from the sold-out detection switch 38. On the other hand, when a product is pushed into a predetermined position within the shelf through the opening in the front face 4a, the product detection plate 30 rotates in the direction of arrow K.
The sliding plate 35 is connected to the spring 39 via the connecting plate 32.
The cam 37 moves toward the sold-out detection switch 38 against the tensile force of the sold-out detection switch 38, and comes into contact with the operating piece 38a of the sold-out detection switch 38, turning the sold-out detection switch 38 on.

When various products are stored and sold on the shelf 4 of a vending machine configured as described above, the position of the shelf where the selected product is stored is not constant.
The time from when the product selection switch is operated until the product is taken out is not constant. In other words, in the state shown in Figure 1, if the selected product is stored on shelves 4 to 7, the product will be taken out regardless of which direction the shelf is rotated and moved. shelf 4
It takes a long time to move to position -2,
If the selected product is stored on the shelf at the shelf 4-2, it does not take a long time from when the product selection switch is operated until the product is taken out.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As described above, if the time from when the product selection switch is operated to when the product is delivered is long, the customer becomes anxious. Therefore, some conventional devices are designed to display the time until the product is delivered, but this means that the delivery time is always constant, and as mentioned above, the time until the product is delivered is displayed. It is not known that the value is not constant.

In view of the above-mentioned points, the present invention provides a display control device for a vending machine that displays the product delivery (selling operation) status even though the time from when the product selection switch is operated until the product is delivered is not constant. The purpose is to

[Means to solve the problem]

As shown in FIG. 9, the present invention carries out a product from a product storage shelf storing a product selected at the time of sale from among a plurality of product storage shelves A storing products one by one. In a vending machine equipped with a product removal control means B that moves around to different locations and removes selected products from the product storage shelf, check the types of products stored in the product storage shelf A and whether the products are stored therein. a first storage means C that stores data indicating whether the product is stored in an address corresponding to the position of the product storage shelf for each of the plurality of product storage shelves; and a product that carries out the product selected based on the data and address at the time of sale. a determining means D for determining a storage shelf; a calculating means E for calculating the number of movement of a product storage shelf based on the address storing the data of the product storage shelf determined by the determining means D;
a second storage means F that stores the number of movements of the product storage shelf calculated by , and stores the number of movements that is sequentially subtracted according to the movement of the product storage shelf; This is achieved by including a display control means H that displays a progress indicator G that displays the movement status of A step by step.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, the number of shelf movements required to carry out the selected product is calculated based on which address of the first storage means stores the shelf data of the selected product. , the progress indicator G is lit according to the number of movements.

That is, although the time from when the selection switch is operated to when the product is removed is not constant, the product delivery (sales operation) status is displayed.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment of the present invention is a display control device for controlling the vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 described above,
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the main part of this.

In FIG. 6, 50 controls the entire vending machine using a microcomputer, and
A first storage means and a second storage means for internally storing data in a control circuit including a product delivery control means, a discrimination means, a calculation means, and a display control means.
RAM70 is provided. 51 is a product selection switch provided for each type of product to be sold; 38
53 is the aforementioned sold-out detection switch, 53 is the aforementioned shelf detection switch, 57 is a loading switch that is operated to move the shelves one by one when replenishing products, and 55 is a loading switch that is operated after replenishing products to separate shelves. 25 is the above-mentioned product code switch; 60 is a motor connected to the above-mentioned sprocket 1 and capable of forward and reverse rotation for moving the shelf 4 around;
61 drives the above-mentioned opening/closing plate 8 to open the shelf 4- in FIG.
A motor 64 for carrying out the products on the shelf at position 2 displays the status from when the selection switch 51 consisting of four lamps 64-1 to 64-4 is operated until the products are carried out. progress indicator,
Reference numeral 80 denotes an amount display for displaying the amount of money to be deposited.

In addition, among RAM70, RAM70-1 ~
The RAM 70-10 corresponds to the first storage means (see FIG. 7), and the RAM 70-11 corresponds to the second storage means.

Next, the operation will be explained. Product replenishment is the second step.
This is done through the front opening 4a shown in the figure. This replenishment is 1
Since only one shelf is available, the loading switch 57 must be operated once to replenish the next shelf. Then, the motor 60 is driven to rotate normally, and the shelf 4 begins to move around. When the next shelf is detected by the shelf detection switch 53 (when the switch 53 is turned on), the motor 60 is stopped. Therefore, products are replenished from the front opening 4a to the next shelf. After replenishing all the shelves 4 with products in this way, the set switch 55 is operated to store the product code and sold-out data for each shelf in the RAM 70. When the set switch 55 is operated, the motor 60 is rotated in the normal direction to move the shelf 4 around. During this patrol movement, the shelf detection switch 53 is turned on, and at the same time, the product code detection switch 25 and the sold-out detection switch 38 are activated.
The signals are read in and sequentially stored in the RAM 70 for each shelf as product codes and sold-out data. After storing the data of all the shelves, the motor 60 is stopped. At this time, the data for each shelf stored in the RAM 70 is as shown in FIG. 7, the data for the lowest shelf is stored in the RAM 70-1, and the data for the other shelves are stored in the RAM 70-2 to 70-10 in order. The shelf position and shelf data were memorized as follows.
Make sure the RAM addresses correspond.

Next, regarding the sales operation, when the selection switch 51 is pressed, it is determined whether the product can be sold or not, and if it is, the product shown in FIG.
Based on the data and addresses stored in the RAMs 70-1 to 70-10, determine the shelf that stores the selected product and is closest to the position (lowest position) from which the product is to be carried out, and determines the shelf to be carried out. do. In this case, it is also determined whether the motor 60 should be rotated forward or reverse. That is, in FIG. 7, if the direction of the arrow is normal rotation, if the products on the shelves numbered 1 to 5 are selected, the rotation is normal, and if the products on the shelves numbered 6 to 9 are selected, the rotation is reversed. The number of shelf movements necessary to carry out the selected product is also calculated based on which address of the RAM stores the data of the shelf storing the selected product. Thereafter, the motor 60 is rotated forward or backward by the number of movements to move the shelf, and after this movement, the motor 61 is driven to carry out the selected product. When moving this shelf, use the RAM shown in Figure 7.
The data also moves along with the movement of the shelves. That is,
The data stored in the RAM 70-1 is always the data of the lowest shelf so that the shelf position and the address of the shelf data correspond. Further, after the selected product is carried out, the sold-out data for that shelf is set to a sold-out state.

Next, the progress indicator 6 in the above operation
The display operation in step 4 will be explained. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing this display operation.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration that starts at terminal 100 and ends at terminal 114. In FIG. In the case of a sales operation, the number of shelves is ``10'', and in the case of a sales operation, the number of movements to carry out the selected product) is stored in the RAM 70-11, and the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, it is determined whether the operation is a sales operation, and if it is a sales operation, the process proceeds to step 104, and if it is not a sales operation, the process proceeds to step 103. In step 103, the amount of money to be moved is displayed on the amount display 80, and the process proceeds to step 104. That is, when there is no sales operation, the input amount is zero, so the number of moves can be displayed. In step 104, it is determined whether the number of movements stored in the RAM 70-11 is 5 or more. If it is 5 or more, the process proceeds to step 105; if it is not 5 or more, the process proceeds to step 106. In step 105, all the lamps 64-1 to 64-4 of the progress indicator 64 are blinked, and the process proceeds to step 107. In step 106, the lamps 64-1 to 64-4 of the progress indicator 64 are changed according to the number of movements (i.e., if the number of movements is 4, the number of lamps is 4; if the number of movements is 3, the lamp numbers 1 to 3 are changed to 3). In the case of 2, the two lamps numbered 1 and 2 are turned on; in the case of 1, the lamp numbered 1 is turned on) and the process proceeds to step 107. In step 107, it is determined whether or not the shelf has been moved by one shelf based on the signal from the shelf detection step 53.
If the shelf has been moved, the process advances to step 108, and if one shelf has not yet been moved, the process returns to step 104. step
In step 108, the number of movements stored in the RAM 70-11 is decremented by 1 and the process proceeds to step 109. In step 109, it is determined whether the number of movements stored in the RAM 70-11 is zero, and if it is zero, the step
Proceed to step 110, and if it does not zero, return to step 102. In step 110, it is determined whether it is a sales operation or not.
If it is a sales operation, the process advances to step 111, and if it is not a sales operation, the process advances to step 113. In step 111, the lamp 64-1 is blinked and the process proceeds to step 112.
In step 112, it is determined whether or not the motor 61 is driven to finish carrying out the product. If it is finished, the process proceeds to step 113; if not, the process returns to step 111. In step 113, the progress indicator 64 and the amount indicator 80 are turned off, and the process ends at the terminal 114.

In this way, during the sales operation, the progress indicator 64 displays the shelf movement status (sales status) according to the movement of the shelf.
is displayed. Furthermore, since the amount is displayed on the amount display when replenishing the product, it is effective for checking the operation when replenishing the product. Furthermore, since the lighting state of the lamps (blinking or continuous) is changed depending on the number of movements, it is effective to reduce the number of lamps and display many sales statuses.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention as described above, a product storage shelf storing a product selected at the time of sale from among a plurality of product storage shelves storing products one by one is circulated to a position where the product is to be carried out. In a vending machine equipped with a product removal control means that moves and takes out a selected product from the product storage shelf, the type of product (product code) stored in the product storage shelf and the product stored therein are determined. Whether there is one (sold out or not)
a first storage means for storing data indicative of each of the plurality of product storage shelves at an address corresponding to the position of the product storage shelf; and a product storage shelf for carrying out a product selected based on the data and address at the time of sale. a calculating means for calculating the number of movement of the product storage shelf based on the address storing the data of the product storage shelf determined by the determining means, and a product calculated by the calculating means. a second storage means that stores the number of movements of the storage shelf and also stores the number of movements that is sequentially subtracted according to the movement of the product storage shelf; Since the display control means is equipped with a display control means that displays a progress indicator that displays the progress indicator, even if the time from when the product selection switch is operated to when the product is delivered is not constant, the product delivery status can be reliably monitored. displayed without causing anxiety to customers.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of main parts of a conventional device and a conveyor type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a code plate.
4 is a side view of the code discriminator, FIG. 5 is a front view of the code discriminator shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the main part of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. of
Diagram showing the relationship between main data in RAM and shelf position,
FIG. 8 is an operational flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a claim correspondence diagram showing the structure of the present invention. 1, 2...Sprocket, 3...Chain, 4
...Product storage shelf, 7...Product receiver, 9...Product outlet, 25...Product code detection switch, 38
...Sold out detection switch, 50...Control circuit, 51
... Product selection switch, 53 ... Shelf detection switch, 55 ... Set switch, 57 ... Loading switch, 60, 61 ... Motor, 64 ...
Progress indicator, 70... RAM, 80... Amount display.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A product storage shelf storing a product selected at the time of sale from among a plurality of product storage shelves storing each product one by one is moved to a position where the product is to be carried out, and the product storage shelf selected from the product storage shelf is moved to a position where the product is to be carried out. In a vending machine equipped with a product removal control means configured to take out products stored in the product storage shelves, data indicating the types of products stored in the product storage shelves and whether or not the products are stored is stored in the plurality of product storage shelves. a first storage means that stores the information separately at an address corresponding to the position of the product storage shelf;
a determining means for determining a product storage shelf from which to carry out the selected product based on the data and address at the time of sale; and determining a product storage shelf based on the address storing the data of the product storage shelf determined by the determining means. a calculation means for calculating the number of storage shelves to be moved;
a second storage means that stores the number of movements of the product storage shelf calculated by the calculation means and also stores the number of movements that is sequentially subtracted according to the movement of the product storage shelf;
1. A display control device for a vending machine, comprising display control means for displaying a progress indicator that displays the movement status of the product storage shelf in stages according to the number of movements of the storage means.