JP6899066B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vending machine that automatically sells temperature-controlled products.

For vending machines that automatically sell temperature-controlled products, consideration is given so that products that are not temperature-controlled within the set temperature range are not sold. Patent Document 1 describes a vending machine having a plurality of product storage columns and in which the number of products that can be sold is set for each product storage column. In Patent Document 2, the number of remaining products at an appropriate temperature (remaining number of products that can be sold) is managed for each column selected by the operation of the product selection unit, and when the product temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the product Vending machines that stop selling are listed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-12238 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-167222

In the method of associating one type of product with one column and sequentially providing the products on the lower end side of the column each time the product is instructed to be provided, after the product is put into the column. Insufficient elapsed time limits the number of products that can be sold and can lead to lost sales opportunities.

The present invention has been made based on the above recognition of problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an advantageous vending machine for selling products within a set temperature range while suppressing loss of sales opportunities. ..

One aspect of the present invention comprises a vending machine having a plurality of columns for storing products and providing the products in the storage in response to a product provision request. A control unit that selects a column from which the product should be provided from the plurality of columns according to the provision request, a temperature controller that adjusts the temperature of the product in the storage, and the plurality of columns. A plurality of temperature sensors provided so as to correspond to each other are provided, and the control unit makes the provision request according to the order information indicating the order of selecting the column to be provided with the product from the plurality of columns. Each time it is received, the column next to the previously selected column is selected from the plurality of columns, and the order information is the plurality of the order information after the Nth selection (N is a natural number) is made for all of the plurality of columns. It is defined that the (N + 1) th selection is made for all of the columns of the above, and the control unit is measured by the temperature sensor provided in the next column selected from the plurality of columns according to the order information. If the temperature is not within the set temperature range, the next column of the next column is selected based on the order information.

According to the present invention, there is provided a vending machine that is advantageous for selling products within a set temperature range while suppressing loss of sales opportunities.

The schematic front view of the vending machine of one Embodiment of this invention. Schematic cross-sectional view of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The functional block diagram of the vending machine of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the order setting by order information and the number setting by quantity information. The figure which illustrates the operation of the control part concerning the provision of the product stored in the storage for supercooling.

Hereinafter, the vending machine of the present invention will be described through an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3 show a schematic configuration of a vending machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram. The vending machine 100 includes a housing 10, and may include a plurality of storages 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 in the housing 10. Each of the plurality of storages 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 may have a plurality of columns for storing goods. The product can be a beverage filled in a container such as a can or a PET bottle. For example, the storage 13 may have a plurality of columns C1 to C6 as illustrated in FIG. Products 1 of the same type (same name and same specifications) can be stored in the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. Products of the same type (same name and specifications) may be stored in each of the plurality of columns of the other storages 11, 12, 14, and 15, or products different from each other may be stored.

The vending machine 100 includes a temperature controller 30. The temperature controller 30 may be configured so that the temperature of the plurality of storages 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 can be adjusted independently. In the following, an example of cooling the product will be described as an example of temperature control of the product, but the temperature controller 30 may be configured to heat the product by a heater. In one example, the temperature controller 30 may be set in the storage 13 so that the product 1 stored therein is supercooled (for example, cooled to a temperature of −10 ° C. or higher and lower than 0 ° C.). The supercooled product 1 may be a product in which the beverage in the container begins to freeze when the cap is opened.

In the other storages 11, 12, 14, and 15, the temperature controller 30 may be set so that the products stored therein are cooled to a normal cooling temperature (for example, 7 ° C.). The storage 13 for supercooling the product 1 includes storages 11 and 12 (second storage) for cooling the product to a normal cooling temperature and other storages (third storage) for cooling the product to a normal cooling temperature. ) It is preferable that it is arranged between 14 and 15. Such arrangement or operation is advantageous for efficiently lowering the temperature of the storage 13.

The vending machine 100 includes a product selection unit 50 arranged on the front cover 60. The product selection unit 50 may have a plurality of selection buttons 51 to 55. Each of the plurality of selection buttons 51 to 55 is used to select one type of product. For example, the selection button 53 is used to select (purchase) the product 1 stored in the storage 13. When any one of the plurality of selection buttons 51 to 55 is pressed (operated), it means that a request for providing a product corresponding to the selection button related to the pressing is made. Requests for the provision of goods may be made on condition of payment of money.

In response to the product provision request, the control unit 40 provides (supplies) the product in the storage containing the product selected by the provision request to the take-out port 20. For example, when a request for providing the product 1 stored in the storage 13 is received, the control unit 40 provides the product 1 stored in the storage 13 to the take-out port 20. Here, as described above, the same type of product 1 is stored in the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. Therefore, when the control unit 40 receives a request for providing the product 1 stored in the storage 13, the control unit 40 selects a column to be provided with the product 1 from the plurality of columns C1 to C6 in response to the request for provision. ..

The temperature controller 30 may include a compressor 31, a condenser 33, a blower fan 34, a capillary tube 35, an evaporator 36 and a blower fan 37. The evaporator 36 and the blower fan 37 may be provided for each of the plurality of storages 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Each evaporator 12 cools the air in the corresponding storage of the storages 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, thereby cooling the goods. In each of the storages 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, the temperature-controlled air is circulated by the blower fan 37 to adjust the temperature inside the storage.

The product 1 is loaded into the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13 from the upper input port with the front cover 60 open, and the product 1 is provided to the outlet 20 by the lower gate mechanisms D1 to D6. Will be done. Similarly, for each of the plurality of columns of the other storages 11, 12, 14, and 15, with the front cover 60 open, products are loaded from the upper slot, and the products are loaded at the lower gate. Provided to the outlet by the mechanism. The temperature controller 30 may be configured such that the lower product is cooler than the upper product. Further, since the product located below is stored in the storage for a longer period of time than the product located above, it is easy to guarantee that the temperature adjustment is completed.

The vending machine 100 may include a plurality of temperature sensors T1 to T6 provided so as to correspond to each of the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. The plurality of temperature sensors T1 to T6 may be arranged so as to measure the temperature of the leading product 1 (the lowest product 1) in each of the plurality of columns C1 to C6. Here, the plurality of temperature sensors T1 to T6 may be configured to directly measure the temperature of the leading product 1 in each of the plurality of columns C1 to C6, or may measure the ambient temperature of the leading product 1. It may be configured to measure.

Further, the vending machine 100 may further include a plurality of temperature sensors provided so as to correspond to the other storages 11, 12, 14, and 15. Regarding the other storages 11, 12, 14, and 15, temperature sensors may be provided for each column, but may also be provided for each storage.

The control unit 40 may have, for example, a processor that can be configured by an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) 41 or the like, and a non-volatile memory 42. The non-volatile memory 42 can store the order information 43 and the number information 44. The FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 selects one column from a plurality of columns of the storage that stores the product selected by the product selection request in response to the product provision request given by the product selection unit 50, and the column is the column. The gate mechanism of the column is controlled so that the goods in the column are provided to the take-out port 20.

The FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 causes the product 1 out of the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13 to be provided in response to the request for providing the product 1 (supercooled product 1) stored in the storage 13. A column to be selected is selected, and the gate mechanism of the column is controlled so that the product 1 is provided to the take-out port 20. Here, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 can control the provision of the product 1 stored in the storage 13 based on the order information 43 and the number information 44.

The order information 43 is information indicating the order in which the column to be provided with the product 1 is selected from the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. Each time the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 receives a request for providing the product 1 from the product selection unit 50, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 selects one column from the plurality of columns C1 to C6 according to the order information 43. At this time, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 is a temperature sensor provided in a column selected from a plurality of columns C1 to C6 according to the sequence information 43 (temperature sensor provided in the selected column among the temperature sensors T1 to T6). If the temperature measured by is not within the set temperature range, the next column is selected based on the sequence information 43.

The quantity information 44 indicates the number of products 1 that can be provided per predetermined time (for example, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, etc.) for each of the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. This is the information to be shown. With the quantity information 44, the number of products 1 that can be provided per predetermined time can be set for each of the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of the storage 13. In the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40, the number of products 1 provided within the past predetermined time from the column selected according to the order information 43 exceeds the number of products 1 that can be provided per predetermined time (hereinafter, “set number”). If so, the product 1 may not be provided from the column, and the next column may be selected according to the order information 43. The management of the provision of the product 1 from each column by the quantity information 44 is advantageous in order to more reliably prevent the product 1 that is not within the set temperature range from being provided to the take-out port 20.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of setting the order by the order information 43 and setting the number by the number information 44. In FIG. 4, the circle indicates the product 1. Further, the number of shaded circles (commodity 1) for each column shows an example of the set number set for each of columns C1 to C6 by the number information 44. Further, the numbers in the circle indicate the order in which the columns to be provided with the product 1 are selected from the plurality of columns C1 to C6 (that is, an example of the order information 43).

In the example shown in FIG. 4, columns are selected in the order of columns C2, C3, C4, C5, C5, C6, C1, and then columns C2, C3, C4, C5, C5, C6, C1. The column is selected. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the order information 43 is used for all of the plurality of columns C1 to C6 (N + 1) after the Nth selection (N is a natural number) is made for all of the plurality of columns C1 to C6. ) It is stipulated that the second selection be made. The order information 43 and the number information 44 can be set according to the temperature distribution (cooling capacity distribution) in the storage 13. For example, the column having the highest cooling capacity for the first product 1 may be selected first. Further, the number of columns having the highest cooling capacity can be set to the largest value.

As described above, in this embodiment, the same type of products are stored in the plurality of columns C1 to C6 of one storage 13 and each time the provision request is received according to the order information 43, the plurality of columns C1 of the storage 13 are stored. Select one column from ~ C6. Then, when the temperature measured by the temperature sensor provided in the selected column is not within the set temperature range, the next column is selected based on the order information 43. According to such a configuration and control, the temperature of the product can be adjusted in parallel in the plurality of columns C1 to C6, and the product whose temperature is guaranteed can be provided. Therefore, such a configuration and control is advantageous for selling a product within a set temperature range while suppressing a loss of sales opportunity of the product due to insufficient temperature adjustment.

Even in the method of storing the same type of products in a plurality of columns, a plurality of products are continuously provided to the take-out port from one column, and then a plurality of products are continuously taken out from the next column to the take-out port. In such a form, it is difficult to continuously provide products that are guaranteed to be within a set temperature range. For example, even if the first product in one column is in the set temperature range, one or more products offered from the same column immediately after the product is offered can be sufficiently temperature-controlled. It may not have been done.

FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the control unit 40 regarding the provision of the product 1 stored in the storage 13. This operation is started when the selection button 53 of the product selection unit 50 is pressed to request the provision of the product 1 stored in the storage 13. In response to the provision request, in step S410, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 selects a column from the plurality of columns C1 to C6 to be provided with the product 1 according to the order information 43.

Next, in step S420, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 has a set temperature range of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor of the column selected in step S410 (the temperature sensor provided in the selected column among the temperature sensors T1 to T6). Determine if it is within. Then, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 proceeds to step S430 when the temperature measured by the temperature sensor is within the set temperature range, and returns to step S410 when the temperature is not within the set temperature range. When returning to step S410, the next column is selected according to the sequence information 43.

In step S430, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 sets the number of products 1 provided in the past predetermined time from the column last selected in step S410 among the plurality of columns C1 to C6 by the quantity information 44. Determine if it is within. Then, if the provided number is within the set number, the process proceeds to step S440, and if the number is not within the set number, the process returns to step S410. When returning to step S410, the next column is selected according to the sequence information 43.

In step S440, the FPGA 41 or the control unit 40 gates the columns so that the product 1 in the plurality of columns selected last in step S410 among the plurality of columns C1 to C6 is provided to the take-out port 20. To control.

100: Vending machine, 10: Housing, 20: Take-out port, 30: Temperature controller, 31: Compressor, 33: Condenser, 34: Blower fan, 35: Capillary tube, 36: Evaporator, 37: Blower fan , 40: Control unit, 41: FPGA, 42: Non-volatile memory, 50: Product selection unit, 51-55: Selection button, 60: Front cover, T1-T6: Temperature sensor, D1-D6: Gate mechanism

Claims (6)

A vending machine equipped with a storage room having a plurality of columns for storing products, and providing products in the storage room in response to a product provision request.
A control unit that selects a column from which the product should be provided from the plurality of columns in response to the provision request, and a control unit.
A temperature controller that adjusts the temperature of the products in the storage
A plurality of temperature sensors provided so as to correspond to the plurality of columns are provided.
The control unit follows the column previously selected from the plurality of columns each time the provision request is received, according to the order information indicating the order in which the column to be provided with the product is selected from the plurality of columns. Select the column and
The order information is defined so that the Nth selection (N is a natural number) is made for all of the plurality of columns, and then the (N + 1) th selection is made for all of the plurality of columns.
Wherein, when the plurality of temperature measured by a temperature sensor provided to selected the next column from the column is not within the preset temperature range in accordance with the order information, the following on the basis of the sequence information in addition to select the next column of the column,
A vending machine that features that. Each of the plurality of temperature sensors is arranged so as to measure the temperature of the leading product in each of the plurality of columns.
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine is characterized in that. For each of the plurality of columns, the number of products that can be provided per predetermined time is set.
The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vending machine is characterized in that. The temperature controller cools the goods in the storage.
The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vending machine is characterized by the above. The temperature controller supercools the goods in the storage.
The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vending machine is characterized by the above. A second storage and a third storage are further provided, and the temperature controller makes the products in the second storage and the products in the third storage higher in temperature than the products in the storage. Cool to
The storage is arranged between the second storage and the third storage.
The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vending machine is characterized by the above.

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