JP3457356B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is used as an automatic vending machine for drinking water or other products that are heated or cooled before being sold. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is an automatic vending machine capable of displaying whether a product is stored in a cooled state (COLD) or a heated state (HOT) for each product or for all products at the same time, and changing and switching the storage state. Regarding the improvement of the machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vending machine that sells processed drinking water,
It is necessary to switch the product to a cooling state or a heating state depending on the season, and for that purpose, the manager of the vending machine needs a complicated operation. Many of the current devices are configured to manually switch between the cooling device and the heating device and replace the sales display panel.

As an improvement on this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-2
There is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 0893. This is to easily switch the display by using a liquid crystal plate for displaying the cooling state or the heating state of the product and switching the electric signal supplied to the liquid crystal plate.

[0004]

However, since this conventional device only displays liquid crystal display characters, color display is not possible in principle, and customers using the vending machine can see at a glance. 'Or' cold '(often displayed in blue) and' HOT 'or' warm '
It's not so popular because it can't be identified (often displayed in red).

When a color display of blue or red is performed by using a liquid crystal plate, the liquid crystal plate becomes expensive, the thickness of the liquid crystal plate is large, and the electric circuit applied to the liquid crystal plate is complicated by a plurality of systems. To do.

The present invention is to improve this, and to provide a device which can easily switch the display by electric circuit means and can display the display in color, and which has a simple structure and is inexpensive. With the goal.

Further, the present invention provides a structure that enables this color display even when the lighting of the vending machine is extinguished during the day, and is linked to an electric circuit for switching the cooling device or the heating device of the product. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic vending machine which can automatically switch the sales display.

[0008]

The first object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine provided with a display plate for displaying whether a product to be sold is stored in a cooled state or a heated state,
The display plate is a combination plate of a color translucent plate having both a display of a cooling state and a display of a heating state, and a shutter plate which is overlaid on the plate and covers one of the display of the cooling state and the display of the heating state. And a shutter plate is a liquid crystal shutter whose light-transmitting state is opened and closed by an applied voltage, and an electric circuit means for applying an opening / closing control voltage to the liquid crystal shutter. It is characterized by that.

The light source is a light source common to a light source for illuminating a sample of a product to be sold, and the combination board is arranged corresponding to each push button designating the product, and the electric circuit of the combination board and the push button of the combination board are arranged. The electric circuit can be wired to a common circuit board. Further, a half mirror is arranged between the light source and the display plate, and the installation angle of the half mirror is such that the light of the light source is transmitted when the light source is turned on, and the product sample is displayed when the light source is not turned on. It is preferable that the external light entering from a position is set to be reflected behind the combination plate, and the price of the product is also displayed on the display plate.

A second aspect of the present invention is an automatic vending machine equipped with a display plate for displaying whether a product to be sold is stored in a cooled state or a heated state, wherein the display plate is for displaying the cooling state and heating. A polarizing plate that is semi-translucent in color and has both a display in a warm state and reflects colored light when the surroundings are bright and transmits colored light when the surroundings are dark to display a cooled state or a heated state. A liquid crystal plate including a light source for illuminating the display plate from behind, the liquid crystal plate being an electrically controlled type for displaying color by an applied voltage, and an electric circuit means for applying a control voltage to the liquid crystal plate. It is characterized by having.

[0011]

[Function] In order to indicate that the product to be sold is in the cooling state or the heating state, the changeover switch for applying the opening / closing control voltage to the shutter plate (liquid crystal shutter) of the display plate arranged for each product sample is manually operated. When set to the cooling state display side or the heating state display side, the control voltage from the electric circuit means is applied to each section corresponding to the display characters of the shutter plate that constitutes the display plate, and the section is set to the translucent state. The letters on the color-transparent plate arranged on the back surface are made visible by the light from the light source to indicate that they are in a cooling state or a heating state.

As described above, since the structure can be constituted by a simple structure in which the color-transparent plate and the liquid crystal shutter are simply combined, it can be manufactured at low cost and only by operating the changeover switch. The display can be switched between the cooling state and the heating state. Further, when the illumination is extinguished during the daytime, the same color display can be performed by utilizing the external light.

Also, when a semi-transparent polarizing plate is used, it is possible to display by switching the color to blue or red by applying a control voltage using the same electric circuit.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a structure of a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the structure of a display plate in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of an electric circuit in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment of the present invention is provided with a display plate 1 for displaying whether a product to be sold is stored in a cooled state or a heated state. The display plate 1 displays the cooled state and the heated state. Color translucent plate 1a having both display
And a shutter plate 1b which is placed on the plate 1a and covers one of the display of the cooling state and the display of the heating state, and the combination of the shutter plate 1b is provided with a light source 2 for irradiating the combination plate from the rear side. Is a liquid crystal shutter whose light-transmitting state is opened and closed by a voltage applied to the liquid crystal shutter, and is provided with electric circuit means 3 for applying an open / close control voltage to the liquid crystal shutter.

The light source 2 is a light source common to the light source for illuminating the product sample 7 to be sold, and the combination plate is arranged corresponding to each push button 4 for designating the product and the electric circuit means 3 of the combination plate. The electric circuit of the push button 4 is wired to a common circuit board, and a half mirror 6 is arranged between the light source 2 and the display board 1. The installation angle of the half mirror 6 is the light source when the light source 2 is turned on. 2 is transmitted, and when the light source 2 is not turned on, external light entering from the display position of the product sample 7 is set to be reflected behind the combination plate.
The price of the product is also displayed on the display board 1.

On the color translucent plate 1a, as shown in FIG. 3, a character'C for displaying a selected cooling state or heating state is displayed.
Of the HOOLTD ',' H ',' O 'and'T' are drawn in red, and'C ',' O ',' L 'and'D' are drawn in blue. The shutter plate 1b is divided corresponding to each of these characters, corresponding to'H ',' O ',' T 'and'C', 'O', 'L', 'D'. Changeover switches SW1 to SW1 connected to the power source 3a so that the voltage is applied in a system different from that for the division, and switching the voltage application
SWn is individually provided on each display panel 1.

A power supply 3a and changeover switches SW1 to SWn are connected to the electric circuit means 3, and the power supply circuit is opened and closed at a constant cycle upon receiving a signal sent when the coin identification machine 8 identifies a coin, and displays the coin. A flicker 3b for blinking the characters displayed on the board 1 is provided. The flicker 3b stops its operation when the sale is completed and coins are stored.

Each of the plurality of changeover switches SW1 to SWn is switched to the heating state display side and the cooling state display side by manual operation. In the case of the display plate 1 set on the heating state display side, as shown in FIG.
A voltage is applied to the sections of the shutter plate 1b corresponding to the letters "O" and "T" to bring them into a transparent state, and the letters "HOT" are displayed in red by the light from the light source 2.

Further, in the case of the display plate 1 set on the cooling state display side, as shown in FIG.
Shutter plate 1 corresponding to the letters "O", "L", "D"
A voltage is applied to each section of b, and each section is made to be in a light-transmitting state, and the letters'COLD 'are displayed in blue by the light from the light source 2.

The light source 2 illuminates the color translucent plate 1a of the display plate 1 from behind through the half mirror 6, and illuminates the inside of the product sample 7 arranged above the product mirror 7 to see the product sample 7 from the outside. Make it stand out when you play. When the light source 2 is turned off during the daytime, the half mirror 6 reflects a part of the light entering from the display position of the product sample to the back of the display plate 1 to display by the light source 2.

Although it has been described that the changeover switches SW1 to SWn are manually operated, the changeover switches SW1 to SWn can be configured to be automatically changed over in conjunction with the setting of cooling or heating of the vending machine.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment of the present invention is provided with a display board 11 for displaying whether the product to be sold is stored in a cooled state or a heated state. The display board 11 displays the cooled state and the heated state. A liquid crystal including a polarizing plate which is semi-translucent in color and which reflects color light when the surroundings are bright and transmits the color light when the surroundings are dark so as to display a cooled state or a heated state. The liquid crystal plate is a plate, which is provided with a light source 2 which illuminates the display plate 11 from the rear side, and the liquid crystal plate is an electrically controlled type which displays a color by an applied voltage, and an electric circuit means 3 for applying a control voltage to the liquid crystal plate. Equipped with.

The display plate 11 is semi-transmissive, and is reflected and displayed when the ambient light in the daytime is bright, and is displayed by the transmitted light from the back when there is no ambient light in the nighttime. Similarly to the first embodiment, the light source 2 illuminates the sample of the product to be sold in common, and the display board 11 is arranged corresponding to each push button 4 designating the product, and the electric circuit means 3 of the display board 11 is arranged.
The electric circuit of the push button 4 is wired to the common circuit board 5. The electric circuit means 3 is constructed similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment as well, "of the characters" CHOLTTD "to be displayed by selecting the cooling state or the heating state.
H ',' O ',' T 'are displayed in red,' C ','
O ',' L ', and'D' are displayed in blue, and '¥' and the figures indicating the amount are displayed in black.

The display plate (liquid crystal plate) 11 is "H" or "O".
, 'T'and'C',' O ',' L ','
D'is divided according to the letters and connected so that the voltage of the power source 3a is applied in a separate system, and the changeover switches SW1 to SWn for switching the voltage application are individually provided on the respective display boards 11. It is provided. Regardless of which of the changeover switches SW1 to SWn is changed over, “¥” and the numeral indicating the amount of money are displayed in black.

As in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the electric circuit means 3 is connected to the power source 3a and the changeover switches SW1 to SWn and receives a signal sent when the coin discriminator 8 discriminates a coin. There is provided a flicker 3b for opening and closing the power supply circuit at fixed intervals to blink the characters displayed on the display board 11. The flicker 3b stops its operation when the sale is completed and coins are stored.

Each of the plurality of changeover switches SW1 to SWn is switched to the heating state display side and the cooling state display side by manual operation. When it is set to the heating state display side, as shown in FIG. 4A, 'H', 'O',
A voltage is applied to the section of the display panel 11 corresponding to the letter "T", and the letter "HOT" is displayed in red.

When set to the cooling state display side, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), 'C', 'O', '
A voltage is applied to each section of the display panel 11 corresponding to the letters L'and'D ', and the letters'COLD' in each section are displayed in blue.

The light source 2 illuminates the display plate 11 from behind and illuminates the inside of the product sample 7 arranged above the display plate 11 so that the product sample 7 can be seen upright when viewed from the outside. Further, the changeover switches SW1 to SWn
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which is automatically switched in conjunction with the setting of cooling or heating of the vending machine.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform the color display in the cooling state or the heating state with a simple structure and to switch the display by an electric circuit. Further, there is an effect that color display can be performed by utilizing external light even when the illumination is extinguished during the daytime.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the display plate in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of an electric circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 (a) is a diagram for explaining a heating state display of the display plate in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 (b) is a diagram for explaining a cooling state display of the display plate in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of the main part of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 11 Display board 1a color transparent plate 1b Shutter plate (liquid crystal shutter) 2 light sources 3 Electric circuit means 3a power supply 3b flicker 4 push buttons 5 circuit board 6 half mirror 7 product sample 8 coin identification machine

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 5/00-9/10 G07D 1/00-13/00

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product to be sold is in a cooled state or a heated state.
The display board that shows which is storedProducts
For each push button you specifyIn the vending machine equipped with The display board is a color message that indicates the cooling status.CharacterAnd addition
Color statement for displaying temperatureSingle letterregionWithinMixed in
PlacedCan display words that show both states in one area
NaColor-transparent plate and superimposed on this plate to show the cooling state
SentenceCharacterOr a sentence indicating the heating stateCharacterSelect one state
It is a combination plate with the shutter plate that makes the letters shown in the transparent state.
, Equipped with a light source that illuminates this combination plate from the back, The shutter plate is,Depending on the applied voltageFor each character
The liquid crystal shutter that opens and closes the translucent state is a color translucent plate.
A plurality of shatters are arranged corresponding to each of the above characters.
Is a board A changeover switch is provided for each of the display boards.
The switch is a liquid crystal shutter that corresponds to the characters displayed in the cooling state.
Alternatively, the liquid crystal shutter corresponding to the warmed state display character
Set the gap to the translucent state Vending characterized by
Machine. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the light source is a common light source for illuminating a sample of a product to be sold. 3. The combination board is arranged corresponding to each push button designating a product, and the electric circuit of the combination board and the electric circuit of the push button are wired on a common circuit board. Vending machine. 4. A half mirror is arranged between the light source and the display plate, and an installation angle of the half mirror is such that the light of the light source is transmitted when the light source is turned on, and the product is turned on when the light source is not turned on. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine is set so that external light entering from a sample display position is reflected behind the combination plate. 5. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the price of the product is also displayed on the display plate. 6. The display panel products for sale displays whether stored in either the cooling condition or warming condition items
Vending machine provided with each pushbutton specified, the display panel is character color for displaying the character you and a heated state of the color for displaying the cooled state is mixed in a single region It is a semi-transparent color that can display words indicating both states in one area. <br /> It is a cooling state by reflecting colored light when the surroundings are bright and transmitting colored light when the surroundings are dark. Includes a polarizing plate that displays the
A liquid crystal shutter is a liquid crystal plate arranged in a plurality corresponding to each of the characters, and is provided with a light source that illuminates the display plate from behind, and the liquid crystal shutter displays a cooling state by an applied voltage. the character or an electrically-controlled to reflect or transmit a character indicating the one state to select a character for displaying a heated state, the changeover switch is provided for each of the panel, the switching scan
The switch allows display characters for cooling the LCD shutter to pass through.
Liquid crystal shutters or characters displayed in the heated state are transmitted.
A vending machine characterized by setting one of the liquid crystal shutters to be in a transparent state .