JP2002288722A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine dispensing with a commodity sample. SOLUTION: A bar code reader 11 reads a bar code printed on a commodity. A control part 12 makes a commodity information table 14a by commodity information specified by the bar code read by the bar code reader 11. The control part 12 displays the commodity information on a display part 2 on the basis of this commodity information table 14a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for storing a plurality of at least one kind of merchandise and releasing the merchandise upon purchase by a user. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vending machine which does not require a product sample by providing a display means for visually displaying product information recorded on the product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vending machine receives cash such as coins and discharges a product according to a user's selection.
The vending machine is provided with a selection button for selecting a product, and a user selects a product by pressing a selection button corresponding to a product to be purchased. Conventionally, in order to notify a user of what kind of product can be sold in such a vending machine, a product sample including a photograph, a model of the product, and the like is attached to the front of the vending machine. Was.

[0003]

However, in a vending machine, products are exchanged, for example, every season. Therefore, every time a product is exchanged, a corresponding product sample must be exchanged. There was a problem that it took time.

[0004] If the correspondence between the sold product and the product sample is inconsistent due to reasons such as forgetting to replace the product sample, the product selected by the user to purchase may actually appear. However, there is a problem in that the products that are used are different, resulting in a decrease in service.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of notifying a user of a sellable product without using a product sample. .

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A vending machine according to the present invention stores a plurality of at least one kind of merchandise, and in a vending machine which releases the merchandise upon purchase by a user, the merchandise for specifying the merchandise to be sold. A storage unit for storing information; a display unit for displaying the product information; and a control unit for displaying the product information stored in the storage unit on the display unit.

In the vending machine of the present invention, the product information stored in the storage means is called by the control means, and the called product information is displayed on the display means. As a result, since the product information is displayed according to the product actually sold, a product sample is not necessary, and the occurrence of an obstacle that the product selected by the user is different from the product actually output is prevented. Can be.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention. Vending machine 1
Is to store a plurality of types of commodities therein, and to release commodities purchased by a user from among them.

[0009] The display section 2 allows the commodities that can be sold by the vending machine 1 to be viewed. The display unit 2 is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like, and can switch the display. The selection button 3 allows the user to select a product to be purchased. The vending machine 1 is provided with a plurality of selection buttons 3 according to the type of product to be sold. Also, different numbers are given to these selection buttons 3 respectively.

The coin slot 4 receives coins from a user. Then, the change and the unsuitable coin are returned to the user from the coin return slot 5. The take-out port 6 is used to allow a product purchased by the user to be sent from the inside of the vending machine 1 and to be ready to be taken out.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing an internal structure of the vending machine according to the present embodiment. The commodity release mechanism 7 has a mechanism for holding a plurality of commodities 8 and releasing the retained commodities 8 one by one according to the purchase by the user.

The guide rail 9 is a member for holding the product 8, and has a length that allows a plurality of products 8 to be set in a line. Also, a guide rail 9 and a plurality of products 8
It is held so as to be movable in the direction along the line.

The guide rail 9 is provided with a transport mechanism 10 for transporting the product 8. The transport mechanism 10 is driven by a motor or the like (not shown) and pushes the product 8 set on the guide rail 9 along one side thereof toward one end of the guide rail 9.

One end of the guide rail 9 is open, and when the products 8 arranged on the guide rail 9 are pushed in the direction of the arrangement by the transport mechanism 10, the leading product 8 is released from the guide rail 9. You. The guide rail 9 and the transport mechanism 10 are provided with a mechanism (not shown) for releasing only the first product 8 among the products 8 arranged on the guide rail 9.

The take-out port 6 described with reference to FIG. 1 is provided below the product release mechanism 7, and the product 8 discharged from the guide rail 9 falls into the take-out port 6 and is sent into the take-out port 6, so that the user Is the product 8 from the outlet 6
Can be taken out. When there are a plurality of types of products 8 to be sold, a plurality of product release mechanisms 7 are provided as shown in FIG.

The commodity release mechanism 7 includes a bar code reader 11 as means for reading commodity information recorded on the commodity 8.
Is provided. The bar code reader 11 is provided at a position where information can be read from the leading product 8 on the guide rail 9, that is, the product 8 waiting at a predetermined position at one end of the guide rail 9 to be released next. .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the product of the present embodiment. In this embodiment, FIGS. 1 and 2
As an example of the product 8 sold by the vending machine 1 described in the above section, a beverage in which a container is made of a paper pack will be described. Product 8
Has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and a barcode 8a is printed on one side as an information recording unit for recording product information. The bar code 8a represents product information indicating what the product 8 is. The barcode 8a may be printed on the product 8 at the same time as the expiration date is printed, for example.

The bar code reader 11 described with reference to FIG.
The bar code 8a printed on the side of the product 8 is read. And the barcode reader 11
Next, it is provided at a position facing the barcode 8a of the product 8 waiting at a predetermined position at one end of the guide rail 9 to be released.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system of the vending machine according to the present embodiment. The vending machine 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is controlled by the control unit 12. That is, the display unit 2, the selection button 3, the transport mechanism 10, the barcode reader 11, the coin processing unit 13, and the storage unit 14 are connected to the control unit 12.

The control unit 12 receives the outputs of the plurality of selection buttons 3, detects which of the selection buttons 3 has been pressed, and determines the product 8 that the user is going to purchase.

The coin processing unit 13 has a mechanism for discriminating and storing coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 4 described with reference to FIG. The control unit 12 receives the output of the coin processing unit 13, performs discrimination of the coin inserted from the coin insertion slot 4, and controls the coin processing unit 13 if the discrimination result shows that the coin is suitable for use. store. In addition, coins that are not suitable for use are returned from the coin return slot 5 by controlling the coin processing unit 13.

Further, the control unit 12 receives the output of the coin processing unit 13 and counts the amount of coins identified as suitable for use. When the control unit 12 detects that the selection button 3 has been pressed at a stage when the amount of the inserted coin is equal to or more than the price of the product 8, the control unit 12 of the product release mechanism 7 storing the corresponding product 8 The product 8 is released by controlling the transport mechanism 10. If there is a change, the coin processing unit 13 is controlled to return the change from the coin return slot 5.

The storage unit 14 is provided with a product information table 14a for storing product information specified by the bar code 8a printed on the product 8 described with reference to FIG.

The control unit 12 receives the output of the bar code reader 11 and stores the bar code 8a read from the product 8 in the product information table 14a of the storage unit 14. Then, the control unit 12 displays the product information on the display unit 2 according to the product information stored in the product information table 14a.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the vending machine according to the present embodiment. The operation of the vending machine 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 will be described. First,
When the product 8 is loaded into the product release mechanism 7, the control unit 12
Reads the barcode 8a from the top product 8 by the barcode reader 11 and stores it in the product information table 14a of the storage unit 14. Here, since each selection button 3 and the product release mechanism 7 correspond one to one, the selection button 3
And the merchandise information including the barcode 8a is stored in association with the number (S1).

The control unit 12 reads the barcode 8a of the product 8 loaded in each product release mechanism 7 and creates the product information table 14a of the storage unit 14. Display.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example on the display unit 2. As the product information recorded in the barcode 8a, for example, the type and price of the product are recorded. And
In the product information table 14a, since the product information is stored in correspondence with the number of the selection button 3, the control unit 12
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the number of the selection button 3 is displayed in association with the image of the product and the price (S2).

The control section 12 receives the output of the coin processing section 13 and judges whether or not a coin has been inserted (S3). When the user inserts a coin through the coin slot 4, it is determined in S3 that the coin has been inserted. Thereby, the control unit 12 receives the output of the coin processing unit 13, performs discrimination of the coin inserted from the coin insertion slot 4, and controls the coin processing unit 13 if the discrimination result shows that the coin is suitable for use. Keep this. In addition, coins that are not suitable for use are returned from the coin return slot 5 by controlling the coin processing unit 13.

Then, the control unit 12 receives the output of the coin processing unit 13 and counts the amount of coins identified as being suitable for use. Is turned on to notify the user.

The controller 12 monitors the output of the selection button 3 at the stage when coins are inserted, and detects whether or not the selection button 3 has been pressed (S4). When the control unit 12 detects that the selection button 3 has been pressed in the determination in S4, the control unit 12 determines which of the plurality of selection buttons 3 has been pressed, and determines the product selected by the user to purchase. 8 is specified.

If the amount of money entered by the user is equal to or greater than the price of the commodity 8 selected by the user, the control unit 12
The transport mechanism 10 of the product release mechanism 7 storing the corresponding product 8 is controlled to release the product 8 (S5). Also,
If there is a change, the coin processing unit 13 is controlled and returned from the coin return slot 5.

When the first product 8 is released and the next product 8 is transported to the position facing the bar code reader 11 as the first product, the control unit 12 becomes the first product to be released next. The barcode 8a is read from the product 8 by the barcode reader 11, and the product information table 14 in the storage unit 14 is read.
a and updates the product information table 14a (S
1). Then, the control unit 12 controls the product information table 14
The display on the display unit 2 is updated based on a (S2). Usually, one product release mechanism 9 stores one type of product 8
Is set, the product information of the next product 8 is the same as the product information of the product 8 previously sold. Therefore, when updating the product information table 14a, it is determined whether or not the previous product information and the product information to be stored are the same, and if they are the same, the product information table 14a is not updated. The display unit 2 may continue to display the same product information.

As described above, in the vending machine 1 of the present embodiment, the bar code 8a of the product 8 is read and the product information specified by the bar code 8a is displayed on the display unit 2. As a result, it is possible to notify the user what products can be sold without using a product sample.

The product information is a bar code 8
Since it is recorded as “a”, even if the replacement of the product occurs, it can be easily handled without updating the information on the vending machine 1 side.

In this embodiment, each time the product 8 is sold, the bar code 8a is read and the product information table 14a is read.
Was decided to update. Since the product 8 from which the barcode 8a is read is waiting to be sold next, even when products are mixed, correct product information can be notified. .

On the other hand, a bar code reader 11 is separately provided, and when the product 8 is loaded, the operator reads the bar code 8a for each type of product and associates each selection button 3 with the product information. The product information table 14a may be created. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide the barcode reader 11 for each of the product release mechanisms 7, and it is possible to easily cope with existing devices. Further, by reading the barcode manually, the present invention can be applied to canned beverages and the like in which the position of the barcode cannot be set to a constant value in the product release mechanism 7.

In this embodiment, the barcode 8a is used as a means for recording product information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a magnetic stripe can be used.

Further, by providing the vending machine 1 with a bill processing section, it is possible to purchase goods using bills. Further, by providing a card processing unit such as a prepaid card, it is possible to purchase a product using the card.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, there are provided storage means for storing product information for specifying a product to be sold, display means for displaying the product information, and product information stored in the storage means. On the display means.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the product information is displayed according to the product actually sold, a product sample is not required. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the labor of the operator of replacing the product sample every time the product is replaced, and to eliminate the mistake of mistakenly associating the product sample with the actual product. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an obstacle that the product selected by the user differs from the product actually output.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a vending machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing an internal configuration of the vending machine of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a product of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control system of the vending machine according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the vending machine of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example on a display unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Display part 3 Selection button 4 Coin slot 5 Coin return port 6 Take-out port 7 Commodity release mechanism 8 Commodity 8a Barcode 9 Guide rail 10 Transport mechanism 11 Barcode reader 12 Control part 13 Coin processing part 14 Storage part 14a Product information table

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine that stores a plurality of at least one type of product and releases the product upon purchase by a user, storage means for storing product information specifying a product to be sold, and displaying the product information. A vending machine comprising: display means for displaying the product information stored in the storage means; and control means for causing the display means to display the product information. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising reading means for reading the product information from an information recording section provided on the product. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reading unit is provided at a position where the product information is read from an information recording unit of a product waiting to be sold next among a plurality of products. The vending machine described. 4. The control means, each time a product is sold,
4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein said vending machine controls said reading means to read product information from an information recording section of a product waiting to be sold next, and updates said storage means.