JPS642998B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a means for attaching a plurality of product storage shelves to a circulating moving body such as a chain or a belt, and storing arbitrary types of product storage shelves on each product storage shelf. This invention relates to a control device for a conveyor-type vending machine that stores products and carries out the products by moving the product storage shelf storing the product selected at the time of sale to a product delivery position.

[Conventional technology]

This type of conveyor-type vending machine is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-206582 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-1988) by the same applicant.
No. 95691) and has already been applied for in Figures 1 to 5.
This will be explained using figures.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the main parts of a conveyor-type vending machine, in which a chain 3 is stretched between sprockets 1 and 2, which are vertically separated and rotatably supported on an appropriate frame. The chain 3 is provided with shelves 4- for storing a plurality of products at appropriate intervals.
1, 4-2, . . . , 4-10 are fixed.

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

One sprocket 1 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the chain 3 is rotated by the rotation of the motor.
The shelf 4 is circulated by traveling in either the left or right direction.

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

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

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

A code plate 11 as an identification means is attached to the chain side surface of each shelf 4, and has a protrusion corresponding to a multi-bit code indicating the type of product to be stored and the correspondence with the product selection switch. In each code plate 11, each 4-bit digit is 1 as shown in FIG.
A code discriminator 12 is provided with protrusions 11X depending on whether the value is 0 or 0, and the code discriminator 12 is turned on or off in accordance with each protrusion 11X.
is provided near the lower sprocket 2. In addition, in FIG. 3, the left end protrusion 11Z is a protrusion for detecting a shelf. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the cord plate 11 is fixed to the shelf 4 so that the protrusions 11X, 11Z protrude toward the chain from rectangular holes 13 formed in the side surface of each shelf 4 on the chain side. The attachment position of this cord plate is arbitrary; for example, it may be fixed to the chain 3 in correspondence with each shelf.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the code discriminator 12 has a fan-shaped first cam plate 2 mounted on a fixed frame 20.
1 and a second cam plate 22 having arcuate edges are rotatably mounted on fulcrums 23 and 24, respectively, so that the arc-shaped surfaces of each cam plate 21 and 22 can come into contact with the protrusion of the code plate 11. At the same time, the free end 21a of the first cam plate 21 is connected to the operating piece 26 of the micro switch 25.
It is provided so that it can be pressed in such a way that it can be freely approached and separated.
Furthermore, a long hole 27 is formed in the first cam plate 21, and a projection 2 protruding from the second cam plate 22 is inserted into this long hole 27.
8 are slidably engaged to transmit rotation of the second cam plate 22 to the first cam plate 21.

Note that the first cam plate 21 is urged in the direction of the micro switch 25 by a spring 29, and when the protrusion 11X of the code plate 11 is not in contact with the first cam plate 21, the first cam plate 21 is It is configured to press the actuating piece 26 of the micro switch 25.

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

By providing the first cam plate 21 and the second cam plate 22, the shelf 4 can engage with the protrusion of the code plate 11 both clockwise and counterclockwise to operate the micro switch 25. .

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

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

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In a vending machine with such a configuration, the customer presses the product selection switch at the time of sale, depending on the position of the product storage shelf in which the product selected by the customer by pressing the product selection switch is stored. If the time from when the product is selected to when the product is removed is different, and the product storage shelf is cycled in only one direction to remove the selected product, the product may be removed after the product selection switch is pressed. There may be cases where the waiting time until the For example, the first
In the figure, when carrying out products by going around the shelves clockwise, if the selected product is stored on the shelf at shelf 4-3, it can be carried out in a short time; If it is stored on the shelf in the position, the shelf is almost 1
There was a problem in that it took a long time to transport the products because they had to be rotated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device for a vending machine that shortens the time from when a customer operates a product selection switch until the product is taken out.

[Means to solve the problem]

As shown in FIG. 10, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of product storage shelves A are attached to a traveling mobile body, and each product storage shelf stores arbitrary types of products. Identification means A1 provided correspondingly and having information representing the type of product stored in the product storage shelf A; and identification means A1.
and a discriminating means A2 for discriminating the information, selectively selects a predetermined product storage shelf according to the product selected at the time of product sale, moves the product storage shelf around to the product delivery port, and carries out the product. In the conveyor-type vending machine, a drive means A3 capable of forward and reverse rotation for moving the product storage shelf A in both left and right directions, and a discriminating means A2 are provided.
storage means B for storing shelf-specific data indicating the product type code and the presence or absence of the product in an address indicating the position of the product storage shelf relative to the product delivery position according to the individual position of the product storage shelf; the minimum number of shelves required to move the product storage shelves that store the products stored therein to the product carry-out position is calculated for each left and right movement direction based on the shelf-specific data and addresses in the storage means; A calculation means C, a comparison means D that compares the number of movable shelves for each left and right movement direction calculated by the calculation means C, and as a result of the comparison by the comparison means D, the product storage shelf is moved by the drive means A3 in the direction where the number of movable shelves is smaller. This is achieved by including a carry-out control means E that moves the goods A and carries out the goods.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, the discrimination means determines the shelf-specific data indicating the type code of the product stored in the product storage shelf and the presence or absence of the stored product, and the product is stored according to the individual position of the product storage shelf. The minimum number of moving shelves required to move the product storage shelf storing the product selected at the time of product sale to the product carry-out position is stored in advance in a predetermined address of the storage means indicating the position of the shelf. The calculation means calculates the left and right movement directions of the shelves from the data in the storage means, and the comparison means compares the calculated number of left and right movement shelves, and the driving means moves the product storage shelves by the number of movement shelves in the direction where the number of movement shelves is smaller. By moving the product and taking out the product, the aim is to shorten the time from when the customer operates the product selection switch until the product is taken out.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, which controls the conveyor type vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 described above.

In FIG. 6, 100 is a control device using a microcomputer 200 as calculation means, comparison means, and unloading control means, 300 is a RAM as a storage means for storing control data, etc., and M is connected to the sprocket 1 described above. A motor capable of forward and reverse rotation as a driving means for circulating the shelves 4, S
In order to drop the products stored on the shelf 4 at the lowest position (the position of the product receiver 7 in the product delivery device) into the product receiver 7, the opening/closing plate 8 is moved as indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. Solenoid for tilting as shown, VL ₁ to _{VL 3} are product type sales availability indicator lamps, SL ₁ to _{SL 3} are product type sold out indicator lamps, P ₁
~ _P3 is a product selection switch for the product type; 25X is a four code detection switch for detecting the protrusion 11X of the code board 11; 25Z is a shelf detection switch for detecting the protrusion 11Z of the code board 11; LS is a loading switch that is pressed when going through the shelves 4 one by one in order to replenish products one by one from the front opening 4a, and SS is a loading switch that is pressed after replenishing products to store codes, etc. for all shelves 4. The set switch 38 is the above-mentioned product presence/absence detection switch.

In this example, a case is shown in which three types of products are sold, and the first type (code: "0001") is placed on shelves 4-1 to 4-4, and the second type (code is "0001") is placed on shelves 4-1 to 4-4. Products with a code such as "0010" are placed on shelves 4-5 to 4-7, and products with the third type (code such as "0011") are placed on shelves 4-8 to 4-10.
When storing and selling the products, code boards corresponding to the codes of these types are attached to each shelf 4. Here, the selection switch corresponding to the shelf on which the code board with code "0001" is installed is P ₁ , the available-for-sale indicator lamp is VL ₁ , the sold-out indicator lamp is SL ₁ , and the shelf with code "0010" is P ₂ , VL ₂ , SL ₂ ,
The shelf with code "0011" corresponds to P ₃ , VL ₃ and SL ₃ , respectively.

FIGS. ₇ and ₈ are RAM maps showing the main parts of the RAM 300 in FIG. Shelf-specific data is stored in "F000" to "F009". That is, 4 of bits b ₀ to b ₃
The bit stores the code read from the code detection switch 25X for each shelf, and the bit _b5 stores the presence or absence of products stored on each shelf. Here, bit _b5 indicates that the product is available when it is "1", and "0"
, it shows that there is no product. Also, b ₄ , b ₆ ,
b ₇ is not used.

Next, the operation of the embodiment having such a configuration will be explained.

First, product replenishment is performed through the front opening 4a (FIG. 2). That is, if the positions of each shelf are as shown in FIG.
Press LS once. Then, in the control device 100,
When it is detected that the loading switch LS has been pressed, the motor M is rotated in the normal direction, and the shelf 4 is rotated (moved) by one shelf in the right direction in FIG. This movement of one shelf is detected by a signal from the shelf detection switch 25Z. That is, the shelf detection switch 25Z
It is sufficient to stop the motor M by capturing the moment when the signal changes from OFF to ON (signal change). Therefore, the manager replenishes the next shelf, shelf 4-3, with products from the front opening 4a.

After replenishing the individual shelves in this way,
When the administrator presses the set switch SS, the control device 100 detects this and rotates the motor M in the normal direction to move the shelf 4 one turn in the right direction (moves 10 shelves). During this one rotation, the control device 100 counts the number of moved shelves every time a signal from the shelf detection switch 25Z is input (changes from OFF to ON), and also counts the number of shelves that are being moved, and also calculates the signal (code) from the code detection switch. The signal from the product presence/absence detection switch 38 is stored in bits _{b0 to b3} in FIG. When the number of movable shelves reaches 10 (one rotation), motor M is stopped. If the position of each shelf is as shown in Figure 1 after product replenishment, the set switch
After the SS is pressed and the shelves 4 rotate once, the data for each shelf (code and product presence/absence) becomes as shown in FIG. In other words, address "F009" contains data for shelf 4-3,
Address "F008" contains data for shelf 4-4, address "F007" contains data for shelf 4-5, address "F006" contains data for shelf 4-6, and address "F005" contains data for shelf 4. -7 data, the data of shelf 4-8 is in address "F004", the data of shelf 4-9 is in address "F003", the data of shelf 4-10 is in address "F002", and the data of shelf 4-10 is in address "F004". The data for the shelf 4-1 is stored in the address "F001", and the data for the shelf 4-2 is stored in the address "F000".

At this time, the data of the shelf at the lowest position (product delivery position) is stored in the address "F000", and the position of each shelf corresponds to the memory address. Then, based on these stored data, the number of products (even if there are products) stored by product type (i.e. code) is counted and stored in RAM 300.
The remaining quantity is stored in the memory 301 (Fig. 6) for each product type, and if this content is zero, a sold-out indicator lamp is displayed.
SL ₁ to SL ₃ are lit, and those that are not zero are turned off.
When all the shelves are replenished with products as shown in FIG. 3", "3", so the sold out indicator lamp
SL ₁ to SL ₃ are all turned off. That is, remaining memory 3
If the content of 01 is zero, it is assumed that the item is sold out, and if it is not zero, it is assumed that the item is not sold out.

Next, the operation when selling a product will be explained. First, when a customer inserts a coin, a coin signal is sent from a coin sorting device (not shown), so the control device 100 calculates the amount of money inserted using this curing signal.
It is stored at a predetermined address in RAM 300. Then, the sales price of each product type (by code) preset in the control device 100 is compared with the input amount, and the presence or absence of change (not shown) and the presence or absence of products (contents of remaining quantity memory 301) are performed. It is determined whether or not the product can be sold by taking into account the following, and the sellable display lamps (VL ₁ to VL ₃ ) of the items that can be sold are turned on. Therefore, when the customer presses one of the selection switches _P1 to P3 to select a product, the control device 100 selects a product by pressing the selection switch P1 to _P3 , and if the product selected by pressing the selection switch is available for sale, the control device 100 selects the product according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Perform the operation to transport the selected product shown in .

FIG. 9 shows a configuration that starts with a terminal 900 and ends with a terminal 920. First, in step 901, when the shelf 4 is rotated (moved) to the right (in FIG. 1) to carry out the selected product, The minimum number of movable shelves (referred to as a) is calculated and stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 300, and the process proceeds to step 902. This moving shelf number a matches the product whose product presence/absence (bit b ₅ ) is "1" (product available) and the code (bits b ₀ to b ₃ ) is selected in the shelf-specific data (Figure 7). The address is determined sequentially from address "F009" in the direction in which the address decreases by 1, and the first address that stores the data determined to match the product presence/absence is "1" and the code selected is the selected product. Alternatively, the number of times of discrimination until the first match may be counted. Next, in step 902, contrary to step 901, the minimum number of shelves to be moved (referred to as b) when the shelf 4 is rotated to the left is calculated and stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 300, and the process proceeds to step 903. move on. This moving shelf number b is the product presence/absence (bit b ₅ ) of the shelf-specific data (Figure 7).
is "1" (product available) and code (bits b ₀ to _{b 3} )
It is determined whether the code matches the selected product or not, starting from the address "F001" and sequentially increasing the address by 1. First, it is determined that the product presence/absence is "1" and the code matches the selected product. It can be calculated from the address where the data stored is stored, or the number of determinations until the first match can be counted. Next, in step 903, the number of movable shelves a calculated in step 901 and the number b of movable shelves calculated in step 902 are compared, and if a≦b, proceed to step 904, and if a≦b, proceed to step 906. Proceed to. In step 904, the number of movable shelves a is stored in the movable shelf number memory 302 (FIG. 6) in the RAM 300, and the process proceeds to step 905.
is rotated in the normal direction to rotate the shelf 4 to the right (as shown in FIG. 1), and the process proceeds to step 908. Further, in step 904, the number b of movable shelves is stored in the movable shelf number memory 302, and the process proceeds to step 907. In step 905, the motor M is reversed to rotate the shelf 4 to the left (in FIG. 1), and the process proceeds to step 908. Proceed to. In step 908, the signal from the shelf detection switch 25Z changes from "0" to "1" (shelf detection state), that is, the shelf detection switch 25Z changes from "0" to "1" (shelf detection state).
Step by capturing the moment when it changes from OFF to ON.
Proceed to 909. In step 909, step shelf 4.
When rotating clockwise at 905, the shelf-specific data is shifted by one address in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 7 (the data at address "F000" is moved to address "F001", and the data at address "F001" is shifted to When the shelf 4 is rotated to the left in step 907, the data at the address "F009" is shifted to the address "F000". , shift the shelf-specific data by one address in the direction opposite to the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 7 (data at address "F009" is moved to address "F008", data at address "F008" is moved to address "F007", and so on). , and the data at address "F000" is shifted to address "F009"), and proceeds to step 910.
In step 910, the contents of the moving shelf number memory 302 are decremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step 911. In step 911, it is determined whether the content of the moving shelf number memory 302 is zero. If it is not zero, the process returns to step 908, and if it is not zero, the process proceeds to step 912. In step 912, the motor M is stopped, the shelf 4 is stopped, and the process proceeds to step 913. In step 913, the solenoid S is driven to tilt the opening/closing plate 8 as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. The products stored on the shelf 4 at the position (product delivery position) are carried out to the product receiver 7, and the process proceeds to step 914.
Set bit _b5 , which indicates the presence or absence of products, of the shelf data exported in (this data is always stored at address "F000") to "0" (no products) and proceed to step
The process advances to step 915, in which the content of the remaining quantity memory 301 corresponding to the code of the product carried out in step 913 is decremented by 1, and the process advances to step 916.
Then, it is determined whether the item is sold out based on whether the content of the remaining quantity memory 301 is zero, the sold-out indicator lamp (SL ₁ to _{SL 3} ) of the item that is sold out is lit, and the process proceeds to step 918. The remaining amount is calculated by subtracting the selling price of the product, and the operation of discharging the selected product at the terminal 920 is completed. After that, the remaining amount can be paid out as change as in a well-known vending machine, or the remaining amount can be used to make a selection again. Is it possible?

For example, in the state shown in FIG. 7 (the shelf position is shown in FIG. 1), the product with the code "0011" is selected by pressing the selection switch _P3 . Regarding the number of shelves a, if the addresses are sequentially determined from address "F009" in a decreasing direction, the product presence/absence (bit b ₅ ) is "1" at address "F004" and the code (bits b ₀ to b ₃ ) becomes "0011", so the number of movable shelves a=6, and the number b of movable shelves calculated in step 902 is determined sequentially in the direction of increasing addresses from address "F001" to address "F002". At first, the presence or absence of the product is "1" and the code is "0011", so the number of shelves to be moved is b = 2, and in step 903 it is determined that a≦b is not satisfied, so the process proceeds to step 906 and the shelf is moved to the left. be rotated. Further, in step 907, the number of movable shelves b=2 is stored in the memory 302 for the number of movable shelves. Then, when the shelf 4 moves one shelf to the left, that is,
When the shelf 4-1 reaches the lowest position in FIG.
The data is shifted by one address (for one shelf) in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow in Figure 7, and then another
Proceeding to the left of the shelf, that is, in FIG. 1, the shelf 4-
When 10 reaches the lowest position, one address data is similarly shifted in the direction opposite to the arrow direction in FIG. When two shelves are moved, the contents of the moved shelf number memory 302 are subtracted twice in step 910 and become zero, so the motor M is stopped in step 912. At this time, the address "F000" has shelf 4-
After the solenoid S is driven in step 913 to carry out the products stored on the shelf 4-10, bit _b5 , which indicates the presence or absence of the product at address "F000", is set to "0" in step 914. ”, and the data by shelf is shown in Figure 8.
At step 915, the remaining number of memory for code "0011" is 30
1 is subtracted by -1 and the content becomes "2".

In this way, in step 909, the data is shifted every time the shelf is moved according to the direction of shelf movement, so the data for the lowest shelf is always stored at address "F000", and the data for other shelves is It will be stored at an address corresponding to the shelf position, and the address will indicate the shelf position.

Note that in steps 901 and 902, the data at address "F000" is not determined (determining whether the selected product is stored);
Bit indicating whether there is a product at this address “F000”
b ₅ is set to "1" (product available) only for the first sale after product replenishment, so there is no need to make a particular judgment, but if you do this, it will only be the first sale after product replenishment. , there are cases where it is possible to carry out the products without moving the shelves 4.

In addition, as a countermeasure in the event of a power outage, the initial setting after double power is to rotate the shelf 4 once in the same way as when the set switch SS is pressed, read and store the data for each shelf. Alternatively, you can back up the RAM 300 with a battery.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention as described above, in a conveyor-type vending machine, shelf-specific data indicating the type code of the product stored in the product storage shelf and the presence or absence of the product stored in the product storage shelf is transmitted to the product storage shelf. Storage means for storing the address indicating the position of the product storage shelf with respect to the product carry-out position according to each position, and storing the product selected based on the shelf-specific data and address of the storage means. Calculation means for calculating the minimum number of shelves to be moved required to move the product storage shelf to the product carry-out position for each left and right movement direction of the product storage shelf, and comparison means for comparing the calculated number of movement shelves for the left and right sides. As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, the product storage shelf is moved in the moving direction corresponding to the number of moving shelves in that direction, and the product is carried out. The selected products are delivered in the shortest possible time, reducing customer waiting time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 5 are block diagrams of a conveyor-type vending machine, Figure 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 7 and 8 are RAM of the main parts.
FIG. 9 is an operational flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a claim correspondence diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. 1, 2...Sprocket, 3...Chain, 4
...Product storage shelf, 7...Product receiver, 8...Opening/closing plate, 9...Product outlet, 11...Code board, 12
...Code discriminator, 30...Product detection board, 100
...Control device, 200...Microcomputer, 300...RAM, M...Motor, VL ₁ ~
VL ₃ ...Available for sale display lamp, SL ₁ to SL ₃ ...Sold out display lamp, _P1 to _P3 ...Product selection switch,
25X...Code detection switch, 25Z...Shelf detection switch, LS...Loading switch, SS
...Set switch, 38...Product presence/absence detection switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of product storage shelves are mounted on a traveling moving body, each product storage shelf stores an arbitrary type of product, and a plurality of product storage shelves are provided corresponding to each product storage shelf, A predetermined product storage shelf is equipped with an identification means having information representing the type of product stored in the product storage shelf, and a discrimination means for determining the information of the identification means, and a predetermined product storage shelf is selected according to the product selected at the time of product sale. In a conveyor-type vending machine that selectively moves a product storage shelf to a product exit and carries out the product, the product storage shelf can be rotated in forward and reverse directions to move the product storage shelf in both left and right directions. a drive means, and a memory for storing the product type code and shelf-specific data indicating the presence or absence of the product by the discrimination means at an address indicating the position of the product storage shelf with respect to the product carry-out position according to each position of the product storage shelf. and a minimum number of shelves to be moved required to move a product storage shelf storing a product selected at the time of product sale to the product delivery position based on the shelf-specific data and address of the storage device. a calculation means for calculating each left and right movement direction;
a comparison means for comparing the number of movable shelves in each left and right movement direction calculated by the calculation means; and as a result of the comparison by the comparison means, the product storage shelf is moved by the drive means in a direction with a smaller number of movable shelves to store the product. 1. A control device for a vending machine, characterized in that it is equipped with an unloading control means for unloading the vending machine.