JPH08161406A - Automatic vending system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the automatic sales system with which a space can be effectively utilized and further shopping can be easily performed. CONSTITUTION: This system is provided with a merchandise storage case 6 for storing a lot of kinds of merchandise on shelves, show case 20 for displaying various kinds of samples prepared corresponding to a lot of kinds of merchandise and equipped with codes containing information for identifying one and another, reader for reading the codes of various kinds of merchandise displayed in this showcase 20 and selecting the desired merchandise to be purchased, and merchandise conveying means 5 and 7 for extracting the merchandise corresponding to the code read by this reader from the merchandise storage case and conveying it to a prescribed place.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine which can be installed in a store such as a mini supermarket or a convenience store.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Users of stores such as mini supermarkets and convenience stores first take a basket at the entrance, take this basket to the store, and walk around the showcase corner where various products are displayed.
It is common to buy a product by picking up the displayed product, putting the product to be purchased in a basket, taking the basket to a cashier counter, and liquidating the product.

[0003]

However, carrying a basket containing a large number of products by hand is a heavy labor. Therefore, more and more people are shopping by putting baskets on carts. However, since the cart is relatively large, if you allow shopping using the cart,
There was a problem that the showcase corner would be reduced by that amount because the aisles had to be widened. Also,
If you carry around a basket with many products by hand, there is a risk that the baskets that users have may collide with each other and collide with each other when the store is crowded, causing unexpected accidents. There is also.

On the other hand, in recent years, 24-hour activation of cities has progressed, and the wave has reached the mini-supermarkets, convenience stores, etc., but the working population tends to decrease more and more in the future. Therefore, in order to satisfy the request for 24-hour business, a drastic change in the sales system itself is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can effectively use a space,
Moreover, its main purpose is to provide an automatic vending system that enables easy shopping.

[0006]

An automatic vending system according to claim 1 is a product storage case for storing a variety of products on a shelf, and a product storage case prepared for each of the various products to identify oneself and the other. A showcase displaying various sample products with codes containing information, a reader that can read the codes of various products displayed in this showcase and select the product you want to purchase, and the code read by this reader The product corresponding to the above item is taken out from the product storage case and is conveyed to a predetermined place.

The automatic vending system according to claim 2 is the automatic vending system according to claim 1, wherein a reader lending machine for lending out the reader in a prepaid manner and at least the reader is used after confirming that the reader has been returned. It is characterized by further comprising a product delivery machine for delivering to a person.

[0008]

According to the above-mentioned means, the showcase and the product storage case are separated, and the product is taken out from the product storage case by the product transport means. Therefore, the product storage cases can be densely installed. In addition, since there is no problem even if the height of the product storage case is increased, the space can be efficiently used.

[0009] Further, since the user only has to read the code of the sample product and the product transport means carries the product to a predetermined place, there is no need to select the product while holding the basket, and the product becomes hands-free, and shopping is possible. Can be done easily.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An automatic vending system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

How to use this automatic vending system will be described in order based on FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.
The user rents the reader 10 from the reader lending machine 1 near the entrance as shown in FIG. 3A (), goes to the showcase corner 2 (), and puts it in the showcase 20 as shown in FIG. 3B. After selecting all the desired products from the various products lined up and selecting all the products, go to the product delivery machine 3 and return the reader 10 as shown in FIG. And receive the basket 11 containing the products (). After that, the user goes to the packaging counter 4 as shown in FIG. 3 (f), appropriately packages the products in the basket 11, and returns from the exit.

Next, the internal structure of the automatic vending system will be briefly described. All internal structures of the automatic vending system are managed by a host computer (not shown).

That is, the reader lending machine 1 is controlled by the host computer, confirms that a certain amount of money has been put into the slot, and lends the reader 10 to the user. In addition, the product selection is in the showcase 20
It is performed by putting the reader 10 on the code label attached to the surface of the sample displayed on the screen and pressing the selection button (in the circle in FIG. 3 (b)), and information on which product has been selected is displayed. It is sent to a host computer (not shown), and a command for taking out a product is sent from the host computer to the product transport means 1
The product take-out device 5 (FIG. 3C), which is the third product, takes out a predetermined product from the shelf of the product storage case 6 and places it on the product storage table 60. Then, the product placed on the product storage table 60 is instructed by the host computer as shown in FIG.
The basket 1 in which all the products are packed in the basket 11 by the product delivery device 7
1 is conveyed to the product delivery machine 3. Then, in the product delivery machine 3, the reader 10
It was confirmed that the items were returned and cleared, and the basket 11
Is delivered to the user (FIG. 3 (e)).

The details of this automatic vending system will be described below.

The reader lending machine 1 is incorporated in a wall panel. The reader lending machine 1 is a prepaid lending machine, and it is arranged to lend the reader 10 after confirming that a predetermined amount of money has been inserted into the coin or the like.

The reader 10 has a code reading section and a ten-key pad (not shown) for selecting the number of products. A large number of readers 10 are prepared, and each reader 10
Is assigned a number, and information of which number of the reader 10 is lent out is sent to the host computer when the reader 10 is used. Then, in this reader 10, after the code is read, the number of selections of products to be purchased can be set with the ten keys. The read information of this code and the information of the selected number of products are respectively sent to the host computer. Also, the reader 1
0 is provided with a display (not shown), and the display shows the item name, unit price, selection number, total amount, balance, etc. of the product selected by the user. The display content of the reader 10 is managed by the host computer.

The showcase 20 displays the same sample products as the actual products. This sample product is the same as the actual product, and the user can actually pick up the sample product and select a product. A code label is attached to the surface of the sample product, and the code label includes information such as the product name and unit price of the product.

The product storage case 6 is provided in a room whose temperature is controlled. Each product storage case 6 has shelves arranged in a matrix. One product is stored in each shelf. Like the sample products, the code labels are attached to the products stored in each shelf. Here, the code content displayed on this code label is the same as that of the code label attached to the sample product. The code content of the code label attached to the product may be different from that of the code label attached to the sample product. The point is that the code content can identify various products.

The product take-out device 5 stores the product in the product storage case 6
It is for taking out from each shelf of. The product take-out device 5 is vertically and horizontally operable so as to take out a product from each shelf of the product storage case 6. The product take-out device 5 is configured so that the product can be taken out from the shelf of the product storage case 6 designated by the host computer and placed on the product storage table 60. On the other hand, the product take-out device 5 has a function of sequentially replenishing the empty shelves of the product storage case 6 with the products. That is, the product randomly placed by the worker on the shelf of the product replenishing case 61 beside the product storage case 6 is displayed on the empty shelf of the product storage case 6 based on a command from the host computer during the free time. It is designed to be put in. At this time, the code of the replenished product is read by the product take-out device 5, and the read information and the shelf number of the product storage case 6 are sent to the host computer.
A reader for reading the code of the product may be installed on each shelf of the product storage case 6 and the product replenishment case 61.

The product delivery device 7 is movable in the direction in which the product storage cases 5 are arranged side by side. That is, the rail 70 is provided on the ceiling along the direction in which the product storage cases 5 are arranged in parallel. A robot 71 having an arm 71a and a hand 71b is attached to the rail 70. Then, the robot 71 is capable of grasping products by the hand 71b and packing them in the basket 11, or grasping the handle of the basket 11 and carrying the basket 11 to the product delivery machine 3. The operation control of the product delivery device 7 is performed by the host computer.

The product delivery machine 3 has a coin insertion slot, a reader return port, and a product delivery port. Further, the product delivery machine 3 has a display, and the settlement amount and the like are displayed on this display. Then, the insertion information such as coins and the reader return information are sent to the host computer, and when the settlement and the reader return are made, the merchandise is delivered together with the receipt.

The packaging counter 4 is provided with a bag (not shown), and a microwave oven 40 and the like are installed.

In this automatic vending system,
A track-shaped leader conveyor 12 and a track-shaped basket conveyor 13 are provided behind the leader lending machine 1 and the commodity transfer machine 3. Leader conveyor 1
A large number of readers 10 are mounted on the leader lending machine 1, and when a coin or the like is inserted into the leader lending machine 1, the leader conveyor 1
The second reader 10 is rented out. On the other hand, the reader 10 returned by the product delivery machine 3 is returned to a predetermined portion on the reader conveyor 12. In addition, a large number of baskets 1 are provided on the basket conveyor 13.
1 is listed. A number is attached to this basket 11 or a portion on the basket conveyor 13 where the basket 11 is placed, and the number is associated with the reader 10 in a one-to-one correspondence. The operation of the basket conveyor 13 is controlled by a host computer, and the basket delivery device 7 cooperates with the basket 1 to store the products in a predetermined basket 1.
It can be put in 1. Further, although not shown, means for mounting the basket 11 on the leader conveyor 13 is provided, and each time the basket 11 on the leader conveyor 13 is discharged from the product transfer machine 3, the basket 11 is placed on the leader conveyor 13. Put.

According to the sales system configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, since the showcase 20 and the product storage case 6 are separated and the product is taken out from the product storage case 6 by the product extraction device 5, the product storage cases 6 can be installed densely. And
Since there is no problem even if the height of the product storage case 6 is increased, the space can be efficiently used.

Since the user simply reads the code of the sample product and the product take-out device 5 and the product delivery device 7 carry the product to a predetermined place, it is not necessary to select the product while holding the basket 11. It will be hands-free, making shopping easier.

Further, since the showcase corner 2 and the product storage case 6 are separated from each other, the site can be effectively used accordingly. In other words, since the users are rushing in the vicinity of the showcase corner 2, it is necessary to make the passage wide. On the other hand, since the users cannot pass near the product storage case 6, the passage can be narrow. Also, the product storage case 6
Since the product take-out device 5 takes out the product from the product, the product storage case 6 can be configured to be high near the ceiling. Therefore, effective use of the site becomes possible.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
It goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

[0029]

As described above, according to the automatic vending system of the present invention, the showcase and the product storage case are separated,
Since the product is taken out from the product storage case by the product transporting means, the product storage cases can be densely installed, and there is no problem even if the height of the product storage case is increased, so that the space is reduced. Will be used efficiently.

Further, since the user only needs to read the code of the sample product and the product transport means will carry the product to a predetermined place, there is no need to select a product while holding the basket, and the product becomes hands-free, and shopping is possible. Can be done easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic vending system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an automatic vending system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing each part of the automatic vending system according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Reader Rental Machine 2 Showcase Corner 3 Product Delivery Machine 5 Product Unloading Device (Product Transporting Means) 6 Product Storage Case 7 Product Delivery Device (Product Transporting Means) 10 Reader 20 Showcase

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area G07F 7/08

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A product storage case for storing a variety of products on a shelf, and a variety of sample products prepared corresponding to the various products and having codes including information for identifying oneself and the other are displayed. A showcase, a reader that can read the codes of various products displayed on the showcase and select the desired product, and a product corresponding to the code read by the reader is taken out from the product storage case and placed in a predetermined location. An automatic vending system, comprising: a product transporting means for transporting the product to the customer. 2. A reader lending machine for renting out the reader in a prepaid manner, and a product delivery machine for delivering a product to a user after confirming that at least the reader has been returned. The automatic vending system described in 1.