Patent Application
20210264715
This application claims the priority of Chinese patent application No. 201810664919.9, which was filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jun. 25, 2018 and the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This application relates to the technical field of automatic vending, such as a vending machine and a merchandise dispensing method thereof.
The vending machine is a commercial automation device used for automatic sales of commodities. Vending machines are more and more widely used, as they have advantages of no time and place restrictions, manpower reduction and easy transactions.
A vending machine is disclosed in the related art. The vending machine includes a cabinet body and a control device. A pickup port is arranged at the surface of the cabinet body and provided with a gate for its blocking or opening. Storage columns and a bucket are arranged in the cabinet body. The storage columns are used to contain the commodities for sale. The bucket is located between the storage columns and the pickup port and is configured to transport commodities between the storage columns and the pickup port. The bucket has a receiving bin which is rotatable arranged in the bucket and can be located at a receiving position or a dispensing position. When the bucket receives the commodities from the storage columns, the receiving bin is located at the receiving position; when the bucket is waiting for the user to pick up the commodity, the receiving bin is located at the dispensing position. After the receiving bin receives the commodities from the storage columns and the bucket moves to the pickup port, the control device first controls the gate for opening the pickup port, and then controls the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position, so that the user can pick up the commodity in the receiving bin through the pickup port.
However, the applicant finds that during the dispensing of the vending machine in the related art, after the gate opens the pickup port, if the user extends his hand through the pickup port to the bottom of the receiving bin when the receiving bin has not yet rotated from the receiving position to the dispensing position or it is rotating from the receiving position to the dispensing position, the receiving bin will squeeze the user's hand, and when it does so, it causes personal injury.
The following is a summary of the subject detailed in this document. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
This application provides a vending machine and a merchandise dispensing method thereof to prevent the vending machine in the related art from squeezing a user's hand by a rotating receiving bin when the user extending his hand to the bottom of the receiving bin during the dispensing, so as to avoid personal injury to the user.
The embodiment of this application provides a merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine. The vending machine includes a cabinet body in which a bucket and storage columns for storage of commodities are arranged. A pickup port is arranged at the surface of the cabinet body and provided with a gate in an open position for opening the pickup port or in a closed position for blocking the pickup port. The bucket is located between the pickup port and the storage columns and includes a receiving bin with an opening and a baffle arranged on one side of the opening close to the pickup port. The receiving bin is configured to rotate between a receiving position and a dispensing position and receive commodities from the storage columns in the case where the receiving bin is located in the receiving position. The baffle is configured to be inserted into the pickup port in the case where the receiving bin is located in the dispensing position, and the opening is configured to face the pickup port in the case where the receiving bin is located in the dispensing position. The merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine includes the following: controlling the receiving bin to receive the commodity from a target storage column at the receiving position according to a purchase instruction of a user; driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position and driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port. The movement of the gate and the rotation of the receiving bin meet the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to a first preset value which is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle and the gate.
In an embodiment, the gate moves from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is that between the intersection line of the planes where the baffle and the pickup port are located and the upper edge of the gate.
In an embodiment, driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position and driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port, including: driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port; driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position when the gate reaches a first preset position, so that after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value. The first preset position is located between the open position and the closed position.
In an embodiment, the gate moves from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom, when the gate moves to the first preset position, the height of the upper edge of the gate is equal to that of the upper edge of the baffle reaching the plane where the pickup port is located with the rotation of the receiving bin.
In an embodiment, the movement of the gate from the closed position to the open position and rotation of the receiving bin from the receiving position to the dispensing position also satisfy the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always greater than or equal to a second preset value which is greater than zero and less than the first preset value.
In an embodiment, the movement of the gate and the rotation of the receiving bin are stopped when the gate reaches the open position.
In an embodiment, the merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine further includes: driving the bucket to the pickup port after the commodity for sale is fed into the bucket.
In an embodiment, the merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine further includes: recording the rotation angle of the receiving bin in the process of driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position; driving the receiving bin to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position and driving the gate to move from the open position to the closed position when the commodity for sale in the bucket is taken away; where the rotation angle for driving the receiving bin to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position is that recorded in the process of driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position.
In an embodiment, the rotation of the receiving bin from the dispensing position to the receiving position and the movement of the gate from the open position to the closed position meet the following requirements: when the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value.
The embodiment of this application provides a vending machine, including a cabinet body and a control device, where a bucket and storage columns for storage of commodities are arranged in the cabinet body. A pickup port is arranged at the surface of the cabinet body and provided with a gate in an open position for opening the pickup port or in a closed position for blocking the pickup port. The bucket is located between the pickup port and the storage columns and includes a receiving bin with an opening and a baffle arranged on one side of the opening close to the pickup port. The receiving bin is configured to rotate between a receiving position and a dispensing position and receive commodities from the storage columns in the case where the receiving bin is located in the receiving position. The baffle is configured to be inserted into the pickup port in the case where the receiving bin is located in the dispensing position, and the opening is configured to face the pickup port in the case where the receiving bin is located in the dispensing position. The control device is configured to control a receiving bin to receive the commodity from a target storage column at the receiving position according to a purchase instruction of a user; drive the gate to move from the closed position to the open position and drive the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port. The movement of the gate and the rotation of the receiving bin meet the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to a first preset value which is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle and the gate.
In an embodiment, the gate moves from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is that between the intersection line of the planes where the baffle and the pickup port are located and the upper edge of the gate.
In an embodiment, the control device is configured to drive the gate to move from the closed position to the open position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port and drive the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position when the gate reaches the first preset position, so that after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value. The first preset position is located between the open position and the closed position.
In an embodiment, the gate moves from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom. When the gate moves to the first preset position, the height of the upper edge of the gate is equal to that of the upper edge of the baffle reaching the plane where the pickup port is located with the rotation of the receiving bin.
In an embodiment, the movement of the gate from the closed position to the open position and the rotation of the receiving bin from the receiving position to the dispensing position also satisfy the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always greater than or equal to a second preset value which is greater than zero and less than the first preset value.
In an embodiment, the control device is configured to stop the movement of the gate and the receiving bin when the gate reaches the open position.
In an embodiment, the control device is also configured to drive the bucket to the pickup port after the commodity for sale is fed into the bucket.
In an embodiment, the control device is configured to record the rotation angle of the receiving bin in the process of driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position; the control device is also configured to drive the receiving bin to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position and drive the gate to move from the open position to the closed position when the commodity for sale in the bucket is taken away; where the rotation angle for driving the receiving bin to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position is that recorded in the process of driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position.
In an embodiment, the rotation of the receiving bin from the dispensing position to the receiving position and the movement of the gate from the open position to the closed position meet the following requirements: when the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value.
Other aspects will become apparent after the drawings and the detailed description are read and understood.
Brief introduction is provided in the following for the drawings necessary in embodiment description to give a more clear description of the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that drawings below illustrate only some embodiments of the present application, and, therefore, should not be construed as a limitation of scope, and other related drawings may be acquired based on the said drawings by general technicians in the field without making any creative effort.
In the figure: 010—vending machine; 100—cabinet; 110—cabinet body; 120—cabinet door; 130—pickup port; 140—gate device; 141—gate; 141a—first detecting member; 141b—second detecting member; 142—gate driving mechanism; 143—base frame; 200—storage device; 210—storage column; 211—commodity conveying mechanism; 300—delivering device; 310—bucket; 311—framework; 312—receiving bin; 312a—opening; 313—rotating shaft; 314—receiving bin driving mechanism; 315—baffle; 315a—first portion; 315b—second portion; 320—bucket driving mechanism; 321—horizontal driving mechanism; 322—vertical driving mechanism; 400—detecting device; 410—first sensor; 420—second sensor; 430—third sensor; 500—human-computer interaction device; 600—memory device; 700—control device.
The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described as follows by combining with the drawings herein. Obviously, the said embodiments are only some of rather than all of the embodiments of this application. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present application, which are described and illustrated in the drawings herein, may be arranged and designed in various different configurations.
Therefore, the following detailed descriptions of embodiments of the present application in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely represent selected embodiments of the present application. Other embodiments based on the present application as acquired by general technicians in the field without making any creative effort also belong to the protection scope of the present application.
Note that similar numbers and letters refer to similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, the item will not be further defined or explained in the subsequent drawings.
It needs to be noted in the descriptions of embodiments of the present application that the terms “upper”, “lower”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “inside”, “outside” and the like indicate an orientation or positional relationship based on those shown in the drawings or on how the inventive product is normally placed, and are used only for facilitating the description of the present application and for simplified description, not for indicating or implying that the target devices or components must have a special direction and be structured and operated at the special direction, thereby they cannot be understood as the restrictions to the present application. Moreover, the words “first”, “second” and “third” are only used for distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.
Besides, the terms “horizontal”, “vertical” and the like do not mean that the components are required to be absolutely horizontal or overhanging, but may be slightly inclined. For example, “horizontal” only means that its direction is more horizontal than “vertical”, which does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but may be slightly inclined.
The technical solutions of the present application will be further explained below by combining with drawings and embodiments.
As shown in
As shown in
The storage device 200 is configured to contain commodities for sale. As shown in
The delivering device 300 is configured to convey commodities between the storage device 200 and the pickup port 130. The delivering device 300 is located between the cabinet door 120 and the storage device 200. The delivering device 300 includes a bucket 310.
In an embodiment, the delivering device 300 also includes a bucket driving mechanism 320. As shown in
The detecting device 400 is configured to detect the position of the gate 141. The detecting device 400 includes a first sensor 410, a second sensor 420, and a third sensor 430, where the first sensor 410 is configured to detect whether the gate 141 is in the closed position, the second sensor 420 is configured to detect whether the gate 141 is in the open position, the third sensor 430 is configured to detect whether the gate 141 is in the first preset position. As shown in
The human-computer interaction device 500 is configured to complete information interaction between the user and the vending machine 010, for example, the human-computer interaction device 500 is configured to receive a purchase instruction input by the user, output operation information to the user, and the like. As shown in
The memory device 600 is configured to store the control program of the vending machine 010 and the data and variables generated during the process when the program is running. For example, the storage device 600 is configured to store a first preset value S1 and a second preset value S2, where the first preset value S1 is the maximum value of the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 after the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130 in the process of dispensing commodities of the vending machine 010. The spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 refers to, in the plane (hereinafter referred to as a first plane) in which the pickup port 130 is located, the distance between an intersection line (hereinafter referred to as a first intersection line) of the baffle 315 and the first plane and the upper edge of the gate 141. The first preset value S1 is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle 315 and the gate 141, that is, when the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is less than or equal to the first preset value S1, the user's finger cannot protrude under the receiving bin 312 through the gap between the baffle 315 and the gate 141. The second preset value S2 is the minimum value of the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 after the commodities are dispensed by the vending machine 010 and the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130. The second preset value S2 is set to be greater than zero and less than the first preset value S1. For another example, the memory device 600 is configured to store a first preset angle A1, where the first preset angle A1 is the angle at which the receiving bin 312 rotates from the receiving position to the dispensing position.
The control device 700 is electrically connected with the storage device 200, the delivering device 300, the detecting device 400, the human-computer interaction device 500, and the memory device 600 and configured to control the storage device 200, the delivering device 300, the detecting device 400, the human-computer interaction device 500 and the storage device 600 of the vending machine 010. For example, the control device 700 is configured to acquire a purchase instruction input by the user through the human-computer interaction device 500; determine the target storage column 210 containing the commodities for sale according to the purchase instruction; control the bucket driving mechanism 320 of the delivering device 300 to drive the bucket 310 to the target storage column 210; control the commodity conveying mechanism 211 of the target storage column 210 to convey the commodity to be purchased by the user from the target storage column 210 to the bucket 310, and control the bucket driving mechanism 320 to drive the bucket 310 to the pickup port 130. The control device 700 is further configured to control the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position and control the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket 310 containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port 130, where the movement of the gate 141 and the rotation of the receiving bin 312 meet the following requirements: after the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value S1 which is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle 315 and the gate 141. In an embodiment, the control device 700 is configured to stop the movement of the gate 141 and the receiving bin 312 when the gate 141 reaches the open position. In an embodiment, the control device 700 is also configured to record the rotation angle of the receiving bin 312 in the process of driving the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position. In an embodiment, the control device 700 is also configured to control the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position and control the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the open position to the closed position when the commodity for sale in the bucket 310 is taken away. In an embodiment, the rotation angle for driving the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position is that recorded in the process of driving the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position.
Step S200: controlling the receiving bin to receive the commodity from a target storage column at the receiving position according to a purchase instruction of a user.
Taking the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application as an example, the human-computer interaction device 500 receives a purchase instruction input by a user; the control device 700 determines the commodity to be purchased by the user according to the purchase instruction, that is, the commodity for sale, and further determines the storage column 210 containing the commodity for sale, that is, the target storage column 210. The control device 700 controls the bucket driving mechanism 320 of the delivering device 300 to drive the bucket 310 to the target storage column 210, and controls the commodity conveying mechanism 211 in the target storage column 210 to convey the commodity for sale into the bucket 310. When the bucket 310 receives the commodity from the target storage column 210, the receiving bin 312 is located at the receiving position to receive the commodity for sale conveyed from the target storage column 210.
Step S400: driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position and driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port. The movement of the gate and the rotation of the receiving bin meet the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value which is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle and the gate.
Taking the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application as an example, the control device 700 controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom and controls the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket 310 containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port 130. The movement of the gate 141 and the rotation of the receiving bin 312 meet the following requirements: after the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value. The spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 refers to, in the plane (hereinafter referred to as a first plane) in which the pickup port 130 is located, the distance between an intersection line (hereinafter referred to as a first intersection line) of the baffle 315 and the first plane and the upper edge of the gate 141. The first preset value S1 is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle 315 and the gate 141, that is, when the spacing between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is less than or equal to the first preset value S1, the user's finger cannot protrude under the receiving bin 312 through the gap between the baffle 315 and the gate 141.
In an embodiment, the control device 700, in accordance with the signal sent by the detecting device 400, controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position, where, the control device 700 detects the signal sent by the second sensor 420 during the movement of the gate 141 and determines whether the gate 141 reaches the open position in accordance with the signal sent by the second sensor 420. For example, when it is detected that the signal sent by the second sensor 420 changes from the fourth signal to the third signal, the control device 700 determines that the gate 141 reaches the open position, and then controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to stop driving the gate 141 to move. In an embodiment, after the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously; when the gate 141 reaches the open position, the control device 700 determines that the receiving bin 312 reaches the dispensing position, and controls the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to stop driving the receiving bin 312 to rotate. Of course, in other embodiments of the present application, the control device 700 may also control the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate the first preset angle A1 from the receiving position to the dispensing position, where the first preset angle A1 can be obtained in advance through experiments or tests and stored in the memory device 600. For example, the first preset angle is 45 degrees, and the first preset angle A1 meets the following requirement: the receiving bin 312 does not interfere with the gate 141 during rotation from the receiving position to the dispensing position.
Step S410: driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port.
The control device 700 controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position in the case where the bucket 310 containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port 130. For the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application, the control device 700 controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom.
Step S420: driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position when the gate reaches the first preset position, so that after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value.
The control device 700 determines whether the gate 141 reaches the first preset position in accordance with the signal sent by the detecting device 400 when controlling the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position. In an embodiment, the control device 700 detects the signal sent by the third sensor 430 during the movement of the gate 141 and determines whether the gate 141 reaches the first preset position in accordance with the signal sent by the third sensor 430. For example, when it is detected that the signal sent by the third sensor 430 changes from the fifth signal to the sixth signal, the control device 700 determines that the gate 141 reaches the first preset position. At this time, the control device 700 controls the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position, so that after the baffle 315 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously, and the distance D between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value.
The first preset position can be obtained in advance through experiments or tests. For example, in this embodiment, the control device 700 controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the closed position to the open position from top to bottom. When the gate 141 moves to the first preset position, the height of the upper edge of the gate 141 is equal to the height of the upper edge of the baffle 315 when the upper edge of the baffle 315 rotates with the receiving bin 312 and reaches the plane of the pickup port 130. In an embodiment, when the bucket 310 is located at the pickup port 130 and the receiving bin 312 is in the receiving position, the baffle 315 is adjacent to the pickup port 130; when the receiving bin 312 starts to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position, the first portion 315a of the baffle 315 first reaches the pickup port 130. Given the height of the first intersection line when the first portion 315a of the baffle 315 reaches the pickup port 130 is H, the first preset position can be set to meet the following requirement: when the gate 141 reaches the first preset position, the height of the upper edge of the gate 141 is H. When the gate 141 reaches the first preset position, the control device 700 controls the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position. Since the gate 141 continues to move downward at this time, the upper edge of the gate 141 is located below the first intersection line when the first portion 315a of the baffle 315 reaches the pickup port 130. The manufacturer of the vending machine 010 may preset the position of the third sensor 430 according to the height H and the first preset value S1, so that after it is detected that the gate 141 reaches the first preset position according to the signal sent by the third sensor 430 and the receiving bin 312 is controlled to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position, when the first portion 315a of the baffle 315 reaches the pickup port 130, the distance D between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is equal to or less than the first preset value S1. Of course, in other embodiments of the present application, it is also possible to record the movement distance of the gate 141 during its movement from the closed position to the open position. When the movement distance of the gate 141 reaches the preset value, it is determined that the gate 141 reaches the first preset position.
It should be noted that since the movement of the gate 141 from the closed position to the open position is linear but circular motion occurs when the baffle 315 moves during the rotation of the receiving bin 312 from the receiving position to the dispensing position, the movement speed of the gate 141 can be adjusted during its movement, or the rotation speed of the receiving bin 312 can be adjusted during its rotation, or both the movement speed of the gate 141 during its movement and the rotation speed of the receiving bin 312 during its rotation can be adjusted, so that the distance D between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value S1. In an embodiment, as shown in
It should be noted that the movement of the gate 141 of the vending machine 010 from the closed position to the open position and the rotation of the receiving bin 312 from the receiving position to the dispensing position meet the following requirements: after the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously, and the distance D between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value S1. The method for executing the movement of the gate 141 and the rotation of the receiving bin 312 is not limited by the method shown in
In the merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine according to the embodiment, driving the gate to move from the closed position to the open position and driving the receiving bin to rotate from the receiving position to the dispensing position in the case where the bucket containing the commodity for sale is located at the pickup port, where the movement of the gate and the rotation of the receiving bin meet the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously, and the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always less than or equal to the first preset value. Since the first preset value is set to prevent the user's finger from being inserted between the baffle and the gate, the merchandise dispensing method of the vending machine according to the embodiment can prevent the user from putting his hand under the receiving bin through the gap between the baffle and the gate when the vending machine dispenses commodities, so as to avoid the user's hand being squeezed by the receiving bin during its rotation. Therefore, it can prevent the vending machine in the related art from squeezing a user's hand by a rotating receiving bin when the user extending his hand to the bottom of the receiving bin during the dispensing, so as to avoid personal injury to the user.
In an embodiment, the movement of the gate from the closed position to the open position and rotation of the receiving bin from the receiving position to the dispensing position also satisfy the following requirements: after the baffle of the receiving bin is inserted into the pickup port, the baffle and the gate move simultaneously and the distance D between the baffle and the gate is always greater than or equal to the second preset value S2 which is set to be greater than zero and less than the first preset value S1. Similarly, the second preset value S2 can be obtained in advance through experiments or tests and stored in the memory device 600. As the spacing between the baffle and the gate is always greater than the second preset value during the movement of the gate from the closed position to the open position and the rotation of the receiving bin from the receiving position to the dispensing position, the baffle and the gate are not in contact during the process, thus avoiding abrasion or scratches caused by the contact between the baffle and the gate.
The vending machine according to the embodiment of the present application can also avoid the above situation, as the control device included in the vending machine can be used to control the vending machine to realize the above merchandise dispensing method.
Step S100: receiving the purchase instruction from a user and driving the bucket to the target storage column.
Taking the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application as an example, the control device 700 receives a purchase instruction input by a user through the human-computer interaction device 500, determines the commodity to be purchased by the user according to the purchase instruction, that is, the commodity for sale, and further determines the storage column 210 containing the commodity for sale, that is, the target storage column 210. The control device 700 then controls the bucket driving mechanism 320 of the delivering device 300 to drive the bucket 310 to the target storage column 210. When the bucket 310 receives the commodity from the target storage column 210, the receiving bin 312 is located at the receiving position to receive the commodity for sale conveyed from the target storage column 210.
Step S300: driving the bucket to the pickup port after the commodity for sale is fed into the bucket.
Taking the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application as an example, the bucket 310 is provided with a commodity detecting mechanism. When the commodity detecting mechanism detects that the commodity for sale is conveyed to the bucket 310, the control device 700 controls the bucket driving mechanism 320 of the delivering device 300 to drive the bucket 310 to the pickup port 130. During the movement of the bucket 310, the receiving bin 312 is located at the receiving position, and the baffle 315 prevents the commodity in the receiving bin 312 from falling out of the receiving bin 312, thus ensuring stability in the conveying of the commodity.
Step S500: driving the receiving bin to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position and driving the gate to move from the open position to the closed position when the commodity for sale in the bucket is taken away.
Taking the vending machine 010 according to the embodiment of the present application as an example, the control device 700 controls the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position and controls the gate driving mechanism 142 to drive the gate 141 to move from the open position to the closed position when it determines that the commodities for sale in the bucket 310 are taken away according to the commodity detecting mechanism in the bucket 310.
In an embodiment, the control device 700 controls the receiving bin 312 to rotate from the dispensing position to the receiving position by controlling the receiving bin driving mechanism 314 to drive the receiving bin 312 to rotate a preset angle. The preset angle is the angle at which the receiving bin 312 rotates from the receiving position to the dispensing position, for example, the first preset angle A1. In an embodiment, based on Step S400 according to the embodiment shown in
In an embodiment, the rotation of the receiving bin 312 from the dispensing position to the receiving position and the movement of the gate 141 from the open position to the closed position from bottom to top meet the following requirements: when the baffle 315 of the receiving bin 312 is inserted into the pickup port 130, the baffle 315 and the gate 141 move simultaneously, and the distance D between the baffle 315 and the gate 141 is always less than or equal to the first preset value S1. The configuration ensures that the user cannot put his hand under the receiving bin through the gap between the baffle and the gate in the process of closing the gate of the vending machine, so as to avoid squeezing the hand of the user during the closing process, thus further avoiding personal injury to the user.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201810664919.9 | Jun 2018 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2019/092068 | 6/20/2019 | WO | 00 |
