JP5316268B2 - Product storage device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a product storage device, and more particularly to a product storage device that delivers a product through a bucket to a product rack in which a plurality of product storage columns are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction.

  Some vending machines include a product storage column for storing products and a bucket for transporting products. The product storage column stores a plurality of products in an aligned state, and when the bend mech is driven, the products are discharged one by one from the front end. In a general vending machine, a plurality of product storage columns are juxtaposed along the left-right direction on the product rack, and a plurality of product racks are provided along the vertical direction between a pair of left and right rack support side plates. . The bucket delivers goods to and from the product storage column, and is arranged to be movable in the front area of the product rack. If it demonstrates in detail, the bucket will be arrange | positioned by the bucket drive means so that the front area of a goods rack can be moved up and down, right and left.

  The bucket driving means includes an X-axis transport mechanism that can move the bucket along the left-right direction, and a Y-axis transport mechanism that moves the bucket including the X-axis transport mechanism along the vertical direction. Has been. And this Y-axis conveyance mechanism is provided in the opposite side to the mutually opposing surface of a pair of rack support side plate which supports a goods rack.

  In such a vending machine, a translucent panel is provided on the outer door that constitutes the front surface, and the inside is generally visible from the front side through the translucent panel. And as what was produced at the time of sale of goods to a user, what was provided with the light source which lights at the time of bucket movement in the front part of a bucket is known (for example, refer to patent documents 1).

JP 2008-262249 A

  By the way, the vending machine as described above is generally installed in an indoor facility, and is provided with a fluorescent lamp that illuminates the inside of the vending machine body, that is, illuminates a product stored in a product storage column. ing. In addition, due to recent demands for energy saving, products may be sold in a state where the fluorescent lamp is turned off at a predetermined time. In such a case, the interior of the vending machine is illuminated by the illumination of the indoor facility, but depending on the installation location of the vending machine, the illumination of the indoor facility may not be sufficient. Even in the vending machine proposed in Patent Document 1 described above, since the light source is disposed on the front surface portion of the bucket, light can be emitted to a user in front of the vending machine. The product received in the bucket could not be illuminated and the visibility was not sufficient.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a product storage device capable of improving visibility in the light of a product received in a bucket while making a good effect when selling the product.

In order to achieve the above object, the product storage device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a plurality of product storage columns juxtaposed along the left-right direction, and a plurality of product storage chambers along the vertical direction. A product rack provided in steps and a front region of the product rack are movably disposed, and when the product rack is disposed opposite to an arbitrary product storage column, the product can be delivered to and from the product storage column. In the product storage apparatus, comprising: a bucket; and a bucket drive means for driving the bucket so as to face the corresponding product storage column when the product storage column to be delivered is designated. It comprises an illuminating means for illuminating the front area of the receiving zone and the receiving zone for receiving the products, while turning off the illuminating means in the standby state, little if If you are to drive the bucket by the bucket driving means comprises a lighting control means for lighting the illuminating means in accordance lighting pattern predetermined, the illumination means, the pair constituting the bucket Illuminating the product in the product storage column provided in a manner facing the receiving area in a state of being fitted in a recess formed in the side wall, and when the bucket is disposed opposite to an arbitrary product storage column Features.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the product storage device according to the first aspect, wherein the lighting control means is a case where a sales instruction is given, and the bucket driving means causes the bucket to move from the standby position. The lighting means is lit in a blinking manner until it is opposed to the designated product storage column, and the lighting means is always lit until the oppositely arranged bucket is moved by the bucket driving means, and the bucket is driven by the bucket. The lighting means is lit in a blinking manner until it moves to a product presence / absence judgment position preset by the means.

  The product storage device according to claim 3 of the present invention is the product storage device according to claim 2 described above, wherein the lighting control unit detects the lighting unit when it is detected that no product exists at the product presence determination position. It is characterized by being turned off.

  According to the present invention, the illumination means arranged in the bucket illuminates the front area of the receiving area, and the illumination control means turns off the illumination means in the standby state, while driving the bucket by at least the bucket drive means. The lighting means is turned on according to a predetermined lighting pattern, so that when the bucket is placed opposite to the product storage column storing the selected product, the product in the product storage column When a product is received from the product storage column, the product, that is, a product in the receiving area can be illuminated, and the driving of the bucket can be clearly indicated. Therefore, it is possible to improve the visibility by illuminating the product received in the bucket while making the production at the time of selling the product good.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine in which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is embodied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the vending machine in which the product storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention is embodied. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the commodity storage. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the commodity storage. FIG. 5 shows a bucket and is a perspective view showing a case when viewed from the front side. FIG. 6 shows a bucket and is a perspective view showing the bucket as viewed from the rear side. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the lighting control process performed by the illumination control unit.

  Exemplary embodiments of a product storage device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a product storage device of a vending machine will be described as an embodiment of the present invention.

  1 and 2 each show a vending machine in which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is embodied. FIG. 1 is a front view and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure. . The vending machine illustrated here sells products such as canned beverages, plastic bottled beverages, and paper-packed beverages in a cooled or heated state, and includes a main body cabinet 10.

  The main body cabinet 10 has a rectangular shape with an open front surface. The main body cabinet 10 is divided into two parts. The upper part is a commodity storage 11 and the lower part is a machine room 12. The product storage 11 is a chamber that holds the interior of the product storage 11 in a preset temperature state, and the wall members that configure the product storage 11 are each formed of a heat insulating material. Although not shown in the figure, there are provided cooling means for cooling the internal atmosphere, such as an evaporator constituting the refrigeration cycle, and heating means for heating the internal atmosphere, such as an electric heater. On the other hand, the machine room 12 is provided with a refrigerator (compressor and condenser) 13 that constitutes a refrigeration cycle together with the evaporator, various control devices, and the like.

  A plurality of fluorescent lamps 14 (see FIG. 7) are provided at predetermined locations of such a commodity storage 11. These fluorescent lamps 14 are for illuminating the inside of the commodity storage 11.

  An outer door 1 and an inner door 2 are provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet 10. The inner door 2 is a door body formed by fitting a transparent plate material 3 such as heat insulating glass, and has a size sufficient to cover the front surface of the commodity storage 11. The inner door 2 is a heat insulating member that constitutes the front surface of the commodity storage 11 when the inner door 2 is closed to close the front of the commodity storage 11.

  A rectangular product outlet 4 is formed in the lower area of the central portion of the transparent plate 3 of the inner door 2, and a carry-out flapper 5 for opening and closing the product outlet 4 is provided. The carry-out flapper 5 is pivotally supported so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction in such a manner that the lower end is a free end, and normally closes the product carry-out port 4 by its own weight.

  Further, a protruding member 6 protrudes directly above the commodity outlet 4 of the inner door 2. The protruding member 6 is made of a metallic material, and is provided in a manner protruding from the rear surface of the inner door 2. More specifically, the protruding member 6 is rearward when the inner door 2 closes the front surface of the commodity storage 11. It is provided in such a manner that it protrudes toward.

  The outer door 1 is for opening and closing the front opening of the main body cabinet 10 and is configured using a heat insulating material as necessary, and has a window 7 in which a transparent plate material such as heat insulating glass is fitted. ing. Therefore, the vending machine is of a so-called view type in which the inside can be visually recognized through the window 7 of the outer door 1. Further, on the front surface of the outer door 1, a configuration necessary for automatically selling products, such as a selection switch 8 for selecting a product for sale and a deposit port 9 for inserting money, is disposed. . Hereinafter, in this specification, the left direction refers to the left direction when the vending machine is viewed from the front, and the right direction refers to the right direction when the vending machine is viewed from the front. explain.

  3 and 4 show the internal structure of the commodity storage, respectively. FIG. 3 is a perspective view, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically. In the following, the commodity container 11 will be described using these FIGS. 3 and 4 as appropriate.

  The product storage 11 is provided with a product rack 20 and a bucket driving means 30. The product rack 20 is configured by arranging a plurality of product storage columns 21 side by side in the left-right direction, and aligns a plurality of products in the product storage passage 22 defined in each product storage column 21 in the front-rear direction. It is possible to store it in the state that has been done. Such merchandise racks 20 are provided in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction in such a manner that the merchandise racks 20 are spanned between the rack support side plates 23 mounted in a pair of left and right in the merchandise storage case 11.

  The rack support side plate 23 that supports the product rack 20 is a long plate-like body configured by appropriately processing sheet metal or the like, for example, and is provided in such a manner that one surface (inner surface) faces each other. Specifically, it is provided by being attached to a top plate, a bottom plate or the like constituting the commodity storage 11 via an attachment member such as a screw.

  Each product storage column 21 of the product rack 20 supported by the rack support side plate 23 includes a transport mechanism in which an endless transport belt 24 is wound around rollers (not shown) arranged in parallel in the front and rear directions. The product is placed and stored on the top surface. A bend mech for controlling the delivery of the product is provided at the front end of each product storage column 21. The bendmec does not have a drive unit separated from a power source such as a drive motor or a solenoid, and the electric motor built in the bucket 40 when a bucket 40 described later is disposed opposite the designated product storage column 21. The power from the drive mechanism 411 (see FIG. 7) is transmitted and driven. Here, reference numeral 25 in the figure denotes a gate member constituting the bend mech.

  The bucket drive means 30 is configured as an assembly of an X-axis transport mechanism 31 and a Y-axis transport mechanism 32. The X-axis transport mechanism 31 includes a rail member 311 that extends in the left-right direction inside the main body cabinet 10 and in the front region of the product rack 20, and is driven by the X-axis motor 312 (see FIG. 7). The bucket 40 mounted along the extending direction (left-right direction) 311 is moved.

  The X-axis motor 312 is driven by, for example, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). Here, the PWM drive is to intermittently turn on / off the drive voltage of the motor, and the motor rotates at a higher speed as the ON duty is larger, and the motor rotates at a lower speed as the OFF duty is larger. Such a structure of the X-axis transport mechanism 31 itself is well known, and a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The Y-axis transport mechanism 32 is provided on a pair of left and right transport support frames (not shown). A pulley 321 is disposed in the vicinity of the upper end of these transport support frames in a manner that allows rotation. A belt 322, which is a long cord-like body, is looped around the pulley 321. A waiter 323 is connected to one end of the belt 322, and a holding for holding the rail member 311 is held at the other end. Members (not shown) are connected. The Y-axis transport mechanism 32 rotates the pulley 321 by driving the Y-axis motor 324, thereby moving the rail member 311 held by the holding member and the mounted bucket 40 along the vertical direction. . Here, the Y-axis motor 324 is PWM-driven in the same manner as the X-axis motor 312 described above.

  5 and 6 each show a bucket. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the case seen from the front side, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the case seen from the rear side. The bucket 40 exemplified here includes a pair of left and right side wall portions 41, a support member 42, and a placement member 43.

  The side wall 41 is provided in such a manner that the inner surfaces 41a face each other. These side walls 41 accommodate various devices in a resin casing, and, for example, accommodate an electric drive mechanism 411. When the bucket 40 is disposed opposite to the designated product storage column 21, the electric drive mechanism 411 transmits the drive force to the bend mech at the front end of the product storage column 21 to give the drive force. Moreover, although the area | region pinched | interposed by these side wall parts 41 is mentioned later for details, it becomes the receiving area 44 which receives a goods, and, thereby, the side wall part 41 defines the receiving area 44.

  The support member 42 is made of a metallic material and is disposed between the pair of side wall portions 41. The support member 42 includes a flat plate-like base portion 421 and a rear extension portion 422 that extends rearward from both ends of the base portion 421. As a result of the end portions of the rear extension portions 422, that is, the rear end portions being pivotally supported by the side wall portions 41, the support member 42 is disposed so as to be swingable with respect to the side wall portions 41.

  The mounting member 43 is disposed so as to be swingable between the pair of side wall portions 41. The mounting member 43 includes a front surface portion 431, side portions 432, and a mounting portion 433. The front surface portion 431 has a rectangular opening 431a. Through this opening 431a, a pin member 423 disposed on the support member 42 projects forward. The side portions 432 extend rearward from both ends of the front surface portion 431 in such a manner that the inner surfaces of the side portions 432 face each other. Although not clearly shown in the drawing, these side portions 432 are supported by the side wall portions 41 so as to be swingable. The placement portion 433 is disposed between the pair of left and right side portions 432 so as to be swingable via a shaft-like portion (not shown), and is for placing a product.

  In such a bucket 40, a receiving area 44 for receiving a product from the product storage column 21 is defined by the pair of left and right side wall portions 41, the placement portion 433 of the placement member 43, and the base portion 421 of the support member 42. It is. A plurality of bucket light sources (illuminating means) 45 are embedded in the side wall 41 so as to face the receiving area 44. The light source 45 for buckets is comprised from LED etc., for example, and is provided in the state fitted by the recessed part formed in the side wall part 41. FIG. The inner surface of the recess forms a reflecting surface for reflecting light emitted from the bucket light source 45. Such a bucket light source 45 illuminates the receiving area 44 and the front area of the receiving area 44 by lighting itself.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, only the characteristic features of the present invention are shown. As shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the fluorescent lamp 14, the X-axis motor 312, the Y-axis motor 324, the electric drive mechanism 411, and the bucket light source 45, the vending machine includes a human sensor 51 and a selection switch. A light source 52, an advertising panel light source 53, an X-axis position sensor 54, a Y-axis position sensor 55, a product presence / absence detection sensor 56, a vending machine control unit 60, a vending machine illumination control unit 61, and a conveyance control unit 62 are provided.

  The human sensor 51 is disposed on the front surface of the outer door 1 and receives, for example, reflection of infrared rays (wavelength: 850 nm) emitted from an infrared LED by a light receiving element (PIN diode), thereby allowing a vending machine (main body cabinet). 10) It detects whether there is a person in front.

  The selection switch light source 52 is, for example, an LED built in the selection switch 8. The advertisement panel light source is a light source for irradiating the advertisement panel of the vending machine, although not explicitly shown in the drawing.

  The X-axis position sensor 54 is a photo interrupter, for example, and detects the position of the bucket 40 in the X-axis direction (left-right direction) by detecting a notch groove 314 formed in the X-axis position detection plate 313. Is. The Y-axis position sensor 55 is, for example, a photo interrupter, and detects a notch groove 325 formed in a Y-axis position detection plate (not shown) to detect the bucket 40 in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction). The position is detected. The product presence / absence detection sensor 56 detects whether or not there is a product in the receiving area 44 of the bucket 40 at a later-described product presence / absence determination position D.

  The vending machine control unit 60 is a control unit that controls basic operations of the vending machine, that is, sales operations such as product selection and money processing.

  The vending machine illumination control unit 61 turns on a light source installed in the vending machine based on a program or data stored in a built-in memory (not shown), that is, a fluorescent lamp 14, a light source 52 for a selection switch, a light source 53 for an advertisement panel, etc. Control is performed. More specifically, the vending machine illumination control unit 61 turns off the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch when the vending machine is in a standby state. When the energy saving mode is selected, the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch are turned off even when a sales instruction is given from the vending machine control unit 60, while when the normal mode is selected, When a sales command is given from the vending machine control unit 60, the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch are turned on.

  The vending machine illumination control unit 61 performs lighting control of the light source installed in the vending machine as follows, in addition to receiving a sales command from the vending machine control unit 60. That is, when the human sensor 51 detects the reflection of the infrared rays emitted from the infrared LED beyond the predetermined reference time by the light receiving element, it is determined that there is a person on the front of the vending machine, and the normal mode is set. Is turned on, the advertisement panel light source 53 is turned on, and when the energy saving mode is selected, the fluorescent lamp 14 and the selection switch light source 52 are turned off. The advertisement panel light source 53 is lit while being left.

  The vending machine illumination control unit 61 includes a dimming control unit 611. The dimming control unit 611 adjusts the lighting level of the advertising panel light source 53. When the vending machine is in a standby state, the advertising panel light source 53 is turned on with low brightness, while the vending machine control unit 60 is turned on. When the sales instruction is given from the above, the advertising panel light source 53 is turned on with high luminance.

  The transport control unit 62 performs overall control on the movement of the bucket 40 and the lighting of the bucket light source 45 based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 63.

  The storage unit 63 stores various programs and data. More specifically, the position information and the number information of each product storage column 21 are stored by a known cleaning operation performed at the start of operation of the vending machine (when the power is turned on), and the relay position determined in advance is stored. A, standby position b, via position c, and product presence / absence determination position d (all refer to FIG. 3).

  The relay position a is determined in advance in the region directly above the protruding member 6. The position detection of the relay position (a) is performed by detecting dedicated notch grooves (70, 71) that serve as marks indicating the relay position (a) shown in FIG. As a result, the protruding member 6 protruding from the inner door 2 is positioned directly below the relay position (a).

  The standby position b is determined in advance at the lower right position. The route position C is determined in advance on the right side of the relay position A, for example. The product presence / absence determination position D is determined in advance in the region directly below the protruding member 6.

  In addition, the transport control unit 62 includes an illumination control unit 621. The illumination control unit 621 lights the bucket light source 45 according to the lighting pattern stored in the memory. More specifically, when the vending machine is in a standby state, the bucket light source 45 is turned off, and the bucket drive unit 30 waits for the bucket 40 when a sales instruction is given from the vending machine control unit 60. The bucket light source 45 is lit in a blinking manner until it is placed opposite to the commodity storage column 21 selected from the position b. And after arrange | positioning facing the selected goods storage column 21, until the bucket 40 moves by the bucket drive means 30, the light source 45 for buckets is always lighted. After the bucket 40 starts moving by the bucket driving means 30, the bucket light source 45 is lit in a blinking manner until it passes through the relay position a and moves to the product presence / absence determination position D. Thereafter, when the product presence / absence detection sensor 56 detects that there is no product at the product presence / absence determination position D, the bucket light source 45 is turned off.

  The operation of the vending machine having the above configuration will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the energy saving mode is selected, and the operation of the commodity storage device will be described while explaining the operation of the vending machine.

  In the sales standby state, the vending machine illumination control unit 61 turns off the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch, and the dimming control unit 611 turns on the advertisement panel light source 53 with low luminance. Further, the bucket light source 45 is turned off by the illumination control unit 621.

  When the merchandise selection information through the selection switch 8 and the deposit information of money inserted through the deposit slot 9 satisfy predetermined sales conditions, a vending machine control unit 60 gives a sales command to the transport control unit 62.

  The conveyance control unit 62 gives drive commands to the X-axis motor 312 and the Y-axis motor 324 to drive them. In this case, the conveyance control unit 62 moves the bucket 40 through the via position C, and arranges it to face the selected product storage column 21. When the X-axis position sensor 54 and the Y-axis position sensor 55 detect that the bucket 40 is disposed opposite to the target product storage column 21, the conveyance control unit 62 gives a drive command to the electric drive mechanism 411. Thereby, the electric drive mechanism 411 drives the bend mech of the corresponding product storage column 21. As a result, only one product moves to the bucket 40 and is received in the receiving area 44 in a manner of being placed on the placement portion 433. When the bucket 40 receives the commodity, the conveyance control unit 62 gives drive commands to the X-axis motor 312 and the Y-axis motor 324 and moves them toward the relay position a.

  When it is detected that the bucket 40 is located at the relay position A, the transport control unit 62 drives only the Y-axis motor 324 to move it out. The conveyance control unit 62 stops driving the Y-axis motor 324 for a preset time (for example, 1 second) during the payout movement. Thereby, the bucket 40 is paid out and moved downward by inertia. After such time has elapsed, the conveyance control unit 62 drives the Y-axis motor 324 to move the bucket 40 downward.

  Here, the payout movement will be described. When the bucket 40 located at the relay position a is moved out, the pin member 423 of the bucket 40 comes into contact with the protruding member 6. When the pin member 423 comes into contact with the projecting member 6 in this way, the support member 42 swings upward, and the mounting member 43 in contact with the pin member 423 also swings upward. As the mounting member 43 swings, the mounting portion 433 also leans forward and assumes a forward tilt posture. Thereby, the bottom surface of the mounting member 43 is greatly opened and the commodity placed on the placement portion 433 is tilted, so that the commodity is paid out from the bucket 40. The product delivered from the bucket 40 contacts the carry-out flapper 5 and pushes and opens the carry-out flapper 5 and then reaches a predetermined product take-out chamber through the opened product carry-out port 4. Thereafter, once the drive of the Y-axis motor 324 is stopped, the bucket 40 moves downward due to inertia. Then, the tip of the pin member 423 comes into contact with the top surface (vertical plane (horizontal plane)) of the protruding member 6 and maintains the tilting posture of the support member 42 and the front surface portion 431 and the side portion 432 of the mounting member 43. As a result, it is ensured that the commodity is reliably paid out from the bucket 40.

  Thereafter, the conveyance control unit 62 gives a drive command to the Y-axis motor 324 and moves the bucket 40 toward the product presence / absence determination position D. When the X-axis position sensor 54 and the Y-axis position sensor 55 detect that the bucket 40 is located at the product presence / absence determination position D, the conveyance control unit 62 gives a drive stop command to the Y-axis motor 324 to place the bucket 40 in the product. The presence / absence detection sensor 56 is stopped. Then, the conveyance control unit 62 detects whether or not there is a product in the receiving area 44 of the bucket 40 by the product presence / absence detection sensor 56, and if it is detected that there is no product, the product is surely paid out. As a result, a drive command is given to the X-axis motor 312 to move the bucket 40 to the standby position b. If it is detected that there is a product at the product presence / absence determination position D, the conveyance control unit 62 gives drive commands to the X-axis motor 312 and the Y-axis motor 324 to drive them, and relays the bucket 40 again. The payout movement described above is performed after the movement to the position a.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the lighting control process performed by the illumination control unit. The operation of the product carry-out device will be described while explaining the lighting control process. As a premise for the description of the lighting control process, it is assumed that the vending machine is in a standby state and the illumination control unit 621 turns off the bucket light source 45.

  When a sales command is given from the vending machine control unit 60 (step S101: Yes), the illumination control unit 621 turns on and off the bucket light source 45 (step S102). As a result, the state in which the bucket 40 is operating can be clearly shown to the product purchaser.

  If the X-axis position sensor 54 and the Y-axis position sensor 55 detect that the target product storage column 21 is disposed opposite to the target product storage column 21 (step S103: Yes), the illumination control unit 621 turns the bucket light source 45 on. Always lit (step S104). As a result, the electric drive mechanism 411 is driven as described above, and the product from the product storage column 21 is received by the bucket 40. However, the product can be clearly shown to the product purchaser.

  When the conveyance control unit 62 gives a drive command to the X-axis motor 312 and the Y-axis motor 324 (step S105: Yes), the illumination control unit 621 blinks and turns on the bucket light source 45 (step S106). As a result, the state in which the bucket 40 is operating can be clearly shown to the product purchaser.

  Thereafter, after the bucket 40 passes through the relay position a and performs a payout movement, the bucket 40 moves to the commodity presence / absence determination position D. When the product presence / absence detection position 56 detects that there is no product (Yes at Step S107), the illumination control unit 621 turns off the bucket light source 45 (Step S108). To return the procedure to end the current process.

  As described above, according to the product storage device of the present embodiment, the bucket light source 45 disposed on the side wall 41 constituting the bucket 40 includes the receiving area 44 defined by the side wall 41, and the receiving area. When the illumination control unit 621 turns off the bucket light source 45 in the standby state and moves the bucket 40 at least by the bucket driving means 30, the lighting pattern determined in advance is illuminated. Accordingly, the bucket light source 45 is turned on according to the above. More specifically, when the sales instruction is given, the bucket drive means 30 causes the bucket 40 to be disposed opposite the designated product storage column 21 from the standby position b. The bucket light source 45 blinks until the bucket 40 is moved by the bucket drive means 30 until the bucket 40 moves oppositely. The bucket light source 45 is always lit, and the bucket light source 45 blinks and lit until the bucket 40 is moved to the commodity presence / absence determination position D by the bucket driving means 30, so that the bucket 40 stores the selected commodity. When placed opposite to the storage column 21, the product in the product storage column 21 can be illuminated. When the product is received from the product storage column 21, the product, that is, the receiving area 44. Can be illuminated, and the operating state of the bucket 40 can be clearly indicated. Therefore, it is possible to improve the visibility by illuminating the product received in the bucket 40, while making a good effect when selling the product. In particular, when the vending machine turns off the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch by the energy saving mode or the like, the illumination by the bucket light source 45 can be made more obvious, and the production effect is more excellent. Become.

  According to the product storage device, by turning on the light source 45 for the bucket, the receiving area 44 of the bucket 40 and the front area of the receiving area 44 can also be illuminated. Even after the fluorescent lamp 14 or the like is turned off, the user can visually recognize the product, and while improving energy efficiency, the visibility of the product that has been accepted as a good effect at the time of product sales can be improved. .

  Moreover, according to the vending machine provided with the said product storage apparatus, the vending machine illumination control part 61 detected the reflection of the infrared rays which the human sensitive sensor 51 emitted from infrared LED exceeding a predetermined reference time with a light receiving element. In this case, it is determined that there is a person in front of the vending machine, and when the normal mode is selected, the fluorescent lamp 14 and the light source 52 for the selection switch are turned on and the light source 53 for the advertisement panel is turned on. When the energy saving mode is selected, the advertisement panel light source 53 is turned on while the fluorescent lamp 14 and the selection switch light source 52 are turned off, so that the number of times of turning on various lights can be minimized. Thereby, power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, the dimming control unit 611 turns on the advertising panel light source 53 with low luminance when the vending machine is in a standby state, while the vending machine control unit 60 gives a sales instruction, Since the panel light source 53 is lit with high brightness, the amount of product power can be reduced while the advertising effect is satisfactorily exhibited.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, while the bucket 40 is being moved by the bucket driving means 30, the bucket light source 45 is flashed and lit, and when the bucket 40 is disposed opposite the target product storage column 21, Although the bucket light source 45 is always lit, the present invention is not limited to this, and various lighting patterns can be employed. In other words, while the bucket is being moved by the bucket drive means, the illumination means (bucket light source) is always lit, and when the bucket is placed opposite the target product storage column, the illumination means (bucket use The light source may be turned on and off.

  As described above, the product storage device according to the present invention is useful for vending machines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body cabinet 11 Goods storage 14 Fluorescent lamp 20 Goods rack 21 Goods storage column 22 Goods storage passage 30 Bucket drive means 31 X-axis conveyance mechanism 311 Rail member 312 X-axis motor 32 Y-axis conveyance mechanism 321 Pulley 322 Belt 323 Waiter 324 Y Axis motor 40 Bucket 41 Side wall portion 41a Inner surface 411 Electric drive mechanism 42 Support member 421 Base portion 422 Rear extension portion 423 Pin member 43 Mounting member 431 Front surface portion 432 Side portion 433 Mounting portion 44 Receiving area 45 Bucket light source 51 Human feeling Sensor 52 Light source for selection switch 53 Light source for advertising panel 54 X-axis position sensor 55 Y-axis position sensor 56 Product presence / absence detection sensor 60 Vending machine control unit 61 Vending machine illumination control unit 611 Dimming control unit 62 Transport control unit 621 Illumination control unit

Claims (3)

Each product rack is composed of a plurality of product storage columns arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and a product rack provided in the product storage room in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction;
A bucket in which a front region of the product rack is movably disposed, and when the product rack is disposed to face an arbitrary product storage column, the bucket can deliver products to and from the product storage column;
In a product storage device comprising: a product storage column for delivery, and bucket drive means for driving the bucket to place the bucket opposite the corresponding product storage column by driving the bucket,
The bucket is
Illumination means for illuminating a receiving area for receiving the commodity and a front area of the receiving area ;
An illumination control means for turning off the illumination means in accordance with a predetermined lighting pattern when the illumination means is turned off in the standby state and at least when the bucket is driven by the bucket drive means ;
With
The illuminating means is provided in such a manner that it faces the receiving area in a state of being fitted in a recess formed in a pair of left and right side walls constituting the bucket, and the bucket is disposed to face an arbitrary commodity storage column. A product storage device for illuminating a product in the product storage column .   The lighting control means is a case where a sales instruction is given, and the lighting means blinks until the bucket is opposed to the designated product storage column from the standby position by the bucket driving means. The lighting means is always lit until the arranged bucket is moved by the bucket driving means, and the lighting means is flashed until the bucket is moved to a preset product presence / absence judgment position by the bucket driving means. The product storage device according to claim 1.   The product storage device according to claim 2, wherein the illumination control unit turns off the illumination unit when it is detected that no product exists at the product presence / absence determination position.

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