CA1296427C - Vending machine with monitoring system - Google Patents
Vending machine with monitoring systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1296427C CA1296427C CA000582555A CA582555A CA1296427C CA 1296427 C CA1296427 C CA 1296427C CA 000582555 A CA000582555 A CA 000582555A CA 582555 A CA582555 A CA 582555A CA 1296427 C CA1296427 C CA 1296427C
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Abstract
VENDING MACHINE WITH MONITORING SYSTEM
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A large inventory vending machine with monitoring system comprises a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed, user activated dispensing apparatus connected to respective ones of the compartments for dispensing individual ones of the articles, circuitry for detecting the number of articles in respective ones of the compartments, and circuitry for communicating the number of articles in respective ones of the compartments to a remote location, whereby inventory status of the vending machine is maintained at the remote location.
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A large inventory vending machine with monitoring system comprises a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed, user activated dispensing apparatus connected to respective ones of the compartments for dispensing individual ones of the articles, circuitry for detecting the number of articles in respective ones of the compartments, and circuitry for communicating the number of articles in respective ones of the compartments to a remote location, whereby inventory status of the vending machine is maintained at the remote location.
Description
~6~7 '~he present. invention re}at~s in general to vending machine~ an~ more p~rticularly ~o a vending machine in~poratir~g circuitry for communicatin~
inventory status to a remote location.
S Y~nding machines are well known in the prior art for storing quant~ties o~ artic:Le~ or merchandise to ~e dispensed. Such vending machines typically include user activated appara-tus such as motors, etc~ for dispensing ind.ividua~ articles (Q. g. cans ~f soft drink, potato chips, etc.) upon payment o~ coin monies to the vending machine.
Prior art vending machines typically incorporate visual indication means such as lamps or lights for indicating depleted inventory in a specific 1~ selection of articles~ Thus, a prospective purchaser is apprised of any empty stock prior to depositing monies into the machine.
Owners o~ such vending machines, herein referred to as vending companie~, usually employ full-; 20 time service personnel to periodically visit respective locations of the vending machines to ascertain inventory status in the various merchandise compartments of the vending machines and to replenish depleted or dwindling merchandise supplies, i~ necessary. In practice, present day vending machines are periodically monitored and filled on a time scheduled basis since merchandise : sales of the machines are not sufficiently documented to permit an accurate assessment of inventory.
Thus, vending machine companies are faced with an on~going cost for maintaining inventory check and replenishment schedules involving a great many man-hours as well as depreciation and wear on the trucks or vehicles used ~y such personnel ~or travelling to ,~
various locations of the vending machines to ascertain inventory, etc. Moreover, service personnel often arrive at a vending machirle location only to discover ' i~",r~,~'!', ' .
.
6~:7 that the inventory is almost full and that he or she has wasted a trip to the site. Furthermore, in the event the inventory associated with a particular merchandise becomes depleted between successive visits of the service personnel, prospective customers are faced with the frustration of being unable to order the depleted merchandise.
In an effort to overcome the disadvantages associated with the above-discussed prior art, the system of the present invention comprises a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of the machines including circuitry for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within the machines. Each of the machines includes a communications circuit such as a modem, for communicating digital signals representative of respective inventories for different merchandise within the machines to a remote inventory control centre via respective telephone lines.
The self-monitoring vending machine of the present invention can be operated in one of two modes.
According to the first mode, each of the machines can be interrogated by the remote inventory control centre via the telephone lines in order for a person at the inventory control centre to determine the exact inventory within the machine. Alternatively, according to a second mode of operation, the vending machines may be programmed to automatically communicate to the inventory control centre depletion or near depletion of any selection of merchandise within the machines. In this way, the inventory control centre is alerted to near depletion of inventory in advance, such that service personnel may be dispatched to the particular vending machine for replenishing the supply prior to depletion. In this regard, each of the vending machines according to the present invention incorporates circuitry for generating an identification signal for identifying to the inventory control centre which of the vending machines it is communicating with.
Thus, it is expected that the vending machine system of the present invention will result in considerable cost savings in terms of manpower and vehicle wear over prior art systems, and will result in less user dissatisfaction with vending machines which are frequently depleted of one or more selections of merchandise.
Another disadvantage associated with prior art vending machines is the problem of bridging or jamming of articles stored within the storage and dispensing portions of the machine. U.S. patents 3,095,997 and 3,175,669 (Garvin) disclose a vending machine which utilizes baffles to support and distribute the weight of articles within an article storage hopper so as to provide spaces within the hopper to permit movement of at least some of the articles to break up natural bridges formed therein.
The baffles have been found to waste space within the storage hopper so as to offset maximal storage capacity. Furthermore, the effect of rotating motion provided by the baffle is affected by the size of the cavity as well as the size and weight of the object.
In other words, the baffle arrangement may be useful for cylindrical objects of a particular size (e.g. soft drink cans), but will not typically work for objects having irregular dimensions and sizes (e.g. chocolate bars, sandwiches, etc.), such that all of the articles stored within the vending machine of Garvin are required to be of the same dimensions or sizes.
Bridging or jamming of articles of different sizes within a single hopper or compartment cannot be prevented in accordance with the Garvin machine.
~ ~ r ~ 7 According to a further aspect of the present invention, a vertical V-belt drive is disposed within a large capacity hopper or storage compartment of the vending machine for contacting articles and merchandise stored therewithin. The V-belt drive is activated by a motor for rotating the belt such that the surface of the belt in contact with the merchandise articles moves upwardly within the compartment. Upward movement of the vertically oriented V-belt has been found to cause shifting and re-distribution of articles within the compartment so as to prevent jamming or bridging of the articles therewithin. Furthermore, the V-belt anti-bridging system of the present invention works equally well for articles of varying sizes and shapes, and does not require the use of space wasting baffles, etc.
U.S. Patent 1,835,595 (Friedrichs) discloses a horizontal belt drive for dispensing cigarettes. The belt is used strictly as a dispensing mechanism and not as a means to break the bridging effect of stored articles. Specifically, Friedrichs does not address the problem of bridging since cigarettes are light weight in relation to volume such that bridging is not typically a problem. Furthermore, the belt drive of Friedrichs specifically teaches rotation in a direction such that the surface contacting the cigarettes moves horizontally and downwardly relative to the storage container in order to dispense the cigarettes therefrom. Vertical orientation of the V-belt drive and upward rotation thereof for the purpose of eliminating bridging of heavy articles within the container, is nowhere contemplated or suggested in the Friedrichs patent.
In general, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising at least one compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed, user activated means for ~ ~ Q ~ ~ 7 dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment, means for counting said individual ones of said articles dispensed by said user activated means and in response maintaining a predetermined count value representative thereof, means for subtracting said predetermined count value from said predetermined quantity and in response generating a signal representative of the number of said articles remaining in said compartment, and means for transmitting said signal to a remote location, whereby inventory status of said vending machine is communicated to said remote location.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed, user activated means connected to respective ones of said compartments for dispensing individual ones of said articles, means for detecting the number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments, and means for communicating said number of said articles to a remote location.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine system comprising a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of said machines including means for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within said machines, an inventory control centre for connection to respective ones of said machines via respective telephone lines, and a plurality : of communication means connected to respective ones of said vending machines for generating and transmitting respective status signals to said inventory control centre via said telephone lines, said status signals representing said inventory count of articles stored within respective ones of said machines.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine, comprising:
at least one large capacity compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed;
user activated means for dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment:
a V-belt mounted within said compartment and having a rolling surface in contact with said articles; and drive means for causing rotation of said rolling surface in response to activation of said user activated means, such that said articles in contact with said rolling surface shift and reposition relative to one another, thereby alleviating bridging of said articles within said compartment.
A ~referred embodiment of the present invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the vending machine system of the present invention : according to a general aspect;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an : internal portion of a vending machine in accordance with : a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a microprocessor and communication circuitry according to the preferred embodiment.
Turning to Figure 1, the vending machine system according to the present invention is shown comprising a plurality of vending machines 1, 3, 5 ... 7 ~:~ connected via respective telephone lines 9, 11, 13 15 to an inventory control centre 17.
Each of the vending machines 1-7 comprises a plurality of selection switches 19 by which a customer , ' .
~ 7 enters a merchandise selection after inserting coinage into a coin slot 21. In response, the associated one of vending machines 1-7 dispenses an individual article of merchandise at a delivery port 23 thereof.
The articles of merchandise which are dispensed from the vending machines 1-7 can be, for instance, cans of soft drink or pop, candy or chocolate bars, potato chips, sandwiches, etc. Merchandise may be stored in the vending machines stacked in separate compartments, or disposed in revolving or rotating carousels which can be viewed by the customer, etc., in a well known manner.
According to the present invention, as described in greater detail below with reference to Figure 3, each of the vending machines 1-7 include circuitry for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within respective compartments of the vending machines. Each vending machine also incorporates a communication circuit such as a modem connected to respective ones of telephone lines 9-15 for communicating respective status signals indicative of the inventory count of articles stored within respective ones of the machines to the inventory control centre 17.
Thus, in the event that the inventory of a particular article of merchandise within one of the vending machines (e.g. machine 3) is close to depletion, the circuitry within the machine 3 may be programmed to initiate a telephone call via line 11 to the inventory control centre for communicating inventory information to the control centre 17. A central operator or operators at the inventory control centre 17 may tpus be apprised of the depleting inventory in machine 3, and may then dispatch service personnel for replenishing the supply within machine 3 prior to depletion.
In this regard, each of the vending machines 1-7 also comprises circuitry for generating an identification signal representative of the particular vending machine, in order that personnel or apparatus at the inventory control centre 17 may distinguish between respective ones of the machines.
Alternatively, as described in greater detail with reference to Figure 3, an operator or operators at the inventory control centre 17 may individually interrogate or poll specific ones of the vending machines 1-7 via telephone lines 9-15, respectively, in order to periodically ascertain inventory levels of merchandise stored therewithin.
Turning to Figure 2, a compartment 30 of a plurality of compartments comprising large inventory vending machine is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The compartment shown is preferably approximately thirty inches deep by four and thirteen tenths inches wide by sixty-six inches h gh. Soft drink cans 25 are stored from left to right in Figure 2 along the depth of the compartment for housing up to thirty-two rows of twelve cans each, or three hundred and eighty-four cans in each of preferably eight compartments, for a total of three thousand seventy-two cans in the entire machine.
Dispensing mechanism 27 is shown for releasing individual soft drink cans in response to user activation of a selection switch (not shown). Such dispensing apparatus is well known in the art, as exemplified by dispensing rocker assembly apparatus disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,175,669 (Garvin). An electrically isolated sensor 29 optically detects movement of the dispensing mechanism 27 for detecting dispensing of individual ones of the soft drink cans 25 ~;~ 35 from the compartment. The sensor 29 can, for instance, be mounted across the motor windings of an electric .~ .
:;
:
~?~C.'6~7 .~
m~tol ~n~t shown3 :~or ~!peratin~ th~ d~sp~nsin~ ~echanism ~7. ~ny other convenient and well .known mounting of optic~l sensor 29 m~y ~e en1ployed.
A "V belt drive 3.1 er1trairled around mutually spaced apart. rollers 32 is activated by a motor through ~ drive belt 34 or other drivin~ app~ratus als~
responsi~e t.o user ~ctivation of one of the selection switches l9. By activating the belt drive 31, the r~ll;.ng surface of dri~e 31 whi.ch is i.n contact. with the cans 25 rotates upw~rdl~ in relation to t}le compartment 30 such that the soft. drink cans in contac-t therewith roll and shift into cooperative positioning relative to adjacent cans, therehy alleviating bridging o~ the cans within the compartment. As discussed hereln abo~e, this ~ridging phenomenon is a well known disadvant~ge o~
prior art vending machines.
Turning to Figure 3, in accordance with the preferred embodimerlt for monitoring the inventory status of respective compartm0nts of respective vendin~
machines 1-7, a pair of digital multiplexers 33 and 3~
are shown having sixtsen input lines X0-Xl5 each connected to a corresponding one of the optical sensors 29 (Figure 2) and a single ~omplementary output line OUT
connected via an AND gate 37 to an input port PB5 of microprocessor 39.
Output ports PBO-PB3 of microprocessor 39 provide a four~~it address signal to correspondin~
address inputs ADDR of multiplexers 33 and 35 for selecting a predetermined one of the sixteen input lines X0-Xl5 in each of the multiplexers 33 and 35. An ~: additional output port line PB4 is connected directly toan ena~le ~nput of multiplexer 33 and via an inverting clrcuit 41 to the enable input EN of multiplexer 3~.
:~ In operation, microprocessor 39 executes software for serially polling respective inputs o~
~: multiplexers 33 and 3~ ~y virtue o~ generatin~
' ~Y
:
,~6~7 ~?~t~l~t~t.t?rn~in~ s ~-lnd ~ na.~ p~rt.s P~:3 and P~4. A ~ellrce ~od~ li.sting of the 5Q~tw.~r~
~xec~ted hy mi~r~proeess~r ~ is incorporated herein as ApE.en~:li.x A.
F~r ex~mple ! in response to generation of an address value of 000l on the peo-pB3 ~utputs of microprocessor 3'3 iil conjunGt.ion w th a logic low level signal on the P~ ou-tput, muitiplexer 35 is ena~.led and the second input. line X1 is select;ed for ~pplication to ~ND gate 37. The multiplexer 33 i5 disabled such that the clata output O~T thereof ~enerates a logic high signal.
Accordingly~ AN~ gate 37 generates a signal which is equal to the logic le~el appearing on the selected .~nput line X1 of multiplexer 35, for application to the PB5 input port of microprocessor 39.
Within microprocessor 39, an internal RAM
memory location is associated with the selected input line X1 of multiplexer 35 for storing a count ~alue indicative of the number o articles which have been dispensed from the compartment of the vending machine associated with input line X1 of multiplexer 35. The count va~ue is incremented in the event that the input line is at 8 logic hi8h level ~i.e. one article from the associated compartment has been dispensed) or else is maintained at the current value in the event that the input line X1 is at a logic low level (i.e~ indicating that no article is being dispensed) Thus, internal ~AM memory of microprocessor 39 contains thirty-two predefined memory locations for storing count values associated with respective ones of the inputs X~-X15 for the two sixteen-~it multiplexers 33 and 35~ The software listed in Appendix A includes sub-routines for software de~ouncing of signals received from optical sensors 29, in order to ensure integrity of - the monitoring system.
~.
~_~J~.6~7 In this ~1ay~ miorop--ocessor 39 monitors the counl, ~alue and sub1-,racts this val1le ~rom the known ,luantity of artic.Les originally loaded into the compartment for arL~i~ing at an accurate inventory count ` articles in the compa~-tment. In the eYent that the inventory in one or more of the compartments reachcs a critically low so~tware def.ina~le level, the microprocessor 3g formulates and transmit,s a serial message for transmi.ssion to the inventory control centre 17 via modem 43 and tip and ring lines T and R of the associated one of telephone, lines 9-15 (Figure l)~
Circuitry 45 i5 provided for establishing a digital identification number associated with individual ones of the vending machines. According to the pre~erred embodiment, circuitry 45 is in th~ form of eight micro-switches, each connectable between a source of logic low and logic high voltage for creating an eight-bit digital identi~icati3n number signal. The identificatiorl number signal from circuitry 45 is applied to input ports PAO~PA7 o~ microprocessor 39.
The identification number signal is output as part of the serial message transmitted via modem 43 to inventory control centre l7~ thereby allowing inventory control centre 17 to distinguish between vaxious ones of the ', ~5 vending machines l-7.
', The serial message signal is output from microprocessor 39 via the PCl port for connection to a 1, TxD serial input of modem 43~ Modem 43 operates in a ~, well known manner to convert the ser~al message into a modulated digital carrier signal ~or transmission ~ia I the tip and ring lines T and R of the associated one of l~ telephone line~ 9-15 along with appropriate handshaking communication signalling via the control output of modem 43 connected to the PC2 input of microprocessor 39.
The handshaking communication protocol , established between microprocessor 3g and modem 43 is :
~ ~,Q ~ ~7 well known, and fully disclosed in the attached source code listing shown in Appendix A.
Alternatively, as discussed above, inventory control centre 17 may interrogate each of the vending machines 1-7 by means of generating an appropriate interrogation message signal via the telephone lines for reception by the associated modem 43. The modem 43 demodulates the message signal carried by the telephone line and transmits the demodulated serial message signal via a RxD serial output port to the PCO input of microprocessor 39.
A reset switch 47 is connected to external interrupt input INT of the microprocessor 39 for resetting or bootstrapping the microprocessor 39 at start-up. The reset or bootstrap routine clears all registers and memory locations within microprocessor 39, in a well known manner.
Thus, according to the present invention, each of the vending machines 1-7 actually notifies the inventory control centre 17 in the event that one or more of the vending machine merchandise compartments require replenishment of inventory. This feature effectively saves the vending machine company or soft drink supplier from having to undertake periodic unnecessary trips to remote vending machine sites in order to ascertain the state of inventory and replenish if necessary.
Other embodiments and variations of the present invention are contemplated. For example, one or more of the optical sensors 29 may be replaced by motion detectors or other alarm switches or circuits, and the software may be modified accordingly to generate and transmit an alarm message to the central inventory control centre 17 in the event of unauthorized tampering with the associated vending machine. Furthermore, the alarm switches or circuits may be connected to doors or ,a_~ J r J 6L~7 windows remote from the vending machine itself, for implementing a standard burglar alarm system for the vending machine location premises. Also, although the preferred embodiment of the vending machine utilizes a modem in conjunction with telephone lines connected to the inventory control centre, it is contemplated that other communication links such as radio or cellular telephone may be used. In particular, an alternative embodiment of the invention utilizing a cellular telephone allows the inventory control centre 17 to be in the form of a mobile service vehicle.
All these and other embodiments are believed to be within the sphere and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
inventory status to a remote location.
S Y~nding machines are well known in the prior art for storing quant~ties o~ artic:Le~ or merchandise to ~e dispensed. Such vending machines typically include user activated appara-tus such as motors, etc~ for dispensing ind.ividua~ articles (Q. g. cans ~f soft drink, potato chips, etc.) upon payment o~ coin monies to the vending machine.
Prior art vending machines typically incorporate visual indication means such as lamps or lights for indicating depleted inventory in a specific 1~ selection of articles~ Thus, a prospective purchaser is apprised of any empty stock prior to depositing monies into the machine.
Owners o~ such vending machines, herein referred to as vending companie~, usually employ full-; 20 time service personnel to periodically visit respective locations of the vending machines to ascertain inventory status in the various merchandise compartments of the vending machines and to replenish depleted or dwindling merchandise supplies, i~ necessary. In practice, present day vending machines are periodically monitored and filled on a time scheduled basis since merchandise : sales of the machines are not sufficiently documented to permit an accurate assessment of inventory.
Thus, vending machine companies are faced with an on~going cost for maintaining inventory check and replenishment schedules involving a great many man-hours as well as depreciation and wear on the trucks or vehicles used ~y such personnel ~or travelling to ,~
various locations of the vending machines to ascertain inventory, etc. Moreover, service personnel often arrive at a vending machirle location only to discover ' i~",r~,~'!', ' .
.
6~:7 that the inventory is almost full and that he or she has wasted a trip to the site. Furthermore, in the event the inventory associated with a particular merchandise becomes depleted between successive visits of the service personnel, prospective customers are faced with the frustration of being unable to order the depleted merchandise.
In an effort to overcome the disadvantages associated with the above-discussed prior art, the system of the present invention comprises a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of the machines including circuitry for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within the machines. Each of the machines includes a communications circuit such as a modem, for communicating digital signals representative of respective inventories for different merchandise within the machines to a remote inventory control centre via respective telephone lines.
The self-monitoring vending machine of the present invention can be operated in one of two modes.
According to the first mode, each of the machines can be interrogated by the remote inventory control centre via the telephone lines in order for a person at the inventory control centre to determine the exact inventory within the machine. Alternatively, according to a second mode of operation, the vending machines may be programmed to automatically communicate to the inventory control centre depletion or near depletion of any selection of merchandise within the machines. In this way, the inventory control centre is alerted to near depletion of inventory in advance, such that service personnel may be dispatched to the particular vending machine for replenishing the supply prior to depletion. In this regard, each of the vending machines according to the present invention incorporates circuitry for generating an identification signal for identifying to the inventory control centre which of the vending machines it is communicating with.
Thus, it is expected that the vending machine system of the present invention will result in considerable cost savings in terms of manpower and vehicle wear over prior art systems, and will result in less user dissatisfaction with vending machines which are frequently depleted of one or more selections of merchandise.
Another disadvantage associated with prior art vending machines is the problem of bridging or jamming of articles stored within the storage and dispensing portions of the machine. U.S. patents 3,095,997 and 3,175,669 (Garvin) disclose a vending machine which utilizes baffles to support and distribute the weight of articles within an article storage hopper so as to provide spaces within the hopper to permit movement of at least some of the articles to break up natural bridges formed therein.
The baffles have been found to waste space within the storage hopper so as to offset maximal storage capacity. Furthermore, the effect of rotating motion provided by the baffle is affected by the size of the cavity as well as the size and weight of the object.
In other words, the baffle arrangement may be useful for cylindrical objects of a particular size (e.g. soft drink cans), but will not typically work for objects having irregular dimensions and sizes (e.g. chocolate bars, sandwiches, etc.), such that all of the articles stored within the vending machine of Garvin are required to be of the same dimensions or sizes.
Bridging or jamming of articles of different sizes within a single hopper or compartment cannot be prevented in accordance with the Garvin machine.
~ ~ r ~ 7 According to a further aspect of the present invention, a vertical V-belt drive is disposed within a large capacity hopper or storage compartment of the vending machine for contacting articles and merchandise stored therewithin. The V-belt drive is activated by a motor for rotating the belt such that the surface of the belt in contact with the merchandise articles moves upwardly within the compartment. Upward movement of the vertically oriented V-belt has been found to cause shifting and re-distribution of articles within the compartment so as to prevent jamming or bridging of the articles therewithin. Furthermore, the V-belt anti-bridging system of the present invention works equally well for articles of varying sizes and shapes, and does not require the use of space wasting baffles, etc.
U.S. Patent 1,835,595 (Friedrichs) discloses a horizontal belt drive for dispensing cigarettes. The belt is used strictly as a dispensing mechanism and not as a means to break the bridging effect of stored articles. Specifically, Friedrichs does not address the problem of bridging since cigarettes are light weight in relation to volume such that bridging is not typically a problem. Furthermore, the belt drive of Friedrichs specifically teaches rotation in a direction such that the surface contacting the cigarettes moves horizontally and downwardly relative to the storage container in order to dispense the cigarettes therefrom. Vertical orientation of the V-belt drive and upward rotation thereof for the purpose of eliminating bridging of heavy articles within the container, is nowhere contemplated or suggested in the Friedrichs patent.
In general, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising at least one compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed, user activated means for ~ ~ Q ~ ~ 7 dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment, means for counting said individual ones of said articles dispensed by said user activated means and in response maintaining a predetermined count value representative thereof, means for subtracting said predetermined count value from said predetermined quantity and in response generating a signal representative of the number of said articles remaining in said compartment, and means for transmitting said signal to a remote location, whereby inventory status of said vending machine is communicated to said remote location.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed, user activated means connected to respective ones of said compartments for dispensing individual ones of said articles, means for detecting the number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments, and means for communicating said number of said articles to a remote location.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine system comprising a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of said machines including means for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within said machines, an inventory control centre for connection to respective ones of said machines via respective telephone lines, and a plurality : of communication means connected to respective ones of said vending machines for generating and transmitting respective status signals to said inventory control centre via said telephone lines, said status signals representing said inventory count of articles stored within respective ones of said machines.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine, comprising:
at least one large capacity compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed;
user activated means for dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment:
a V-belt mounted within said compartment and having a rolling surface in contact with said articles; and drive means for causing rotation of said rolling surface in response to activation of said user activated means, such that said articles in contact with said rolling surface shift and reposition relative to one another, thereby alleviating bridging of said articles within said compartment.
A ~referred embodiment of the present invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the vending machine system of the present invention : according to a general aspect;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an : internal portion of a vending machine in accordance with : a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a microprocessor and communication circuitry according to the preferred embodiment.
Turning to Figure 1, the vending machine system according to the present invention is shown comprising a plurality of vending machines 1, 3, 5 ... 7 ~:~ connected via respective telephone lines 9, 11, 13 15 to an inventory control centre 17.
Each of the vending machines 1-7 comprises a plurality of selection switches 19 by which a customer , ' .
~ 7 enters a merchandise selection after inserting coinage into a coin slot 21. In response, the associated one of vending machines 1-7 dispenses an individual article of merchandise at a delivery port 23 thereof.
The articles of merchandise which are dispensed from the vending machines 1-7 can be, for instance, cans of soft drink or pop, candy or chocolate bars, potato chips, sandwiches, etc. Merchandise may be stored in the vending machines stacked in separate compartments, or disposed in revolving or rotating carousels which can be viewed by the customer, etc., in a well known manner.
According to the present invention, as described in greater detail below with reference to Figure 3, each of the vending machines 1-7 include circuitry for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within respective compartments of the vending machines. Each vending machine also incorporates a communication circuit such as a modem connected to respective ones of telephone lines 9-15 for communicating respective status signals indicative of the inventory count of articles stored within respective ones of the machines to the inventory control centre 17.
Thus, in the event that the inventory of a particular article of merchandise within one of the vending machines (e.g. machine 3) is close to depletion, the circuitry within the machine 3 may be programmed to initiate a telephone call via line 11 to the inventory control centre for communicating inventory information to the control centre 17. A central operator or operators at the inventory control centre 17 may tpus be apprised of the depleting inventory in machine 3, and may then dispatch service personnel for replenishing the supply within machine 3 prior to depletion.
In this regard, each of the vending machines 1-7 also comprises circuitry for generating an identification signal representative of the particular vending machine, in order that personnel or apparatus at the inventory control centre 17 may distinguish between respective ones of the machines.
Alternatively, as described in greater detail with reference to Figure 3, an operator or operators at the inventory control centre 17 may individually interrogate or poll specific ones of the vending machines 1-7 via telephone lines 9-15, respectively, in order to periodically ascertain inventory levels of merchandise stored therewithin.
Turning to Figure 2, a compartment 30 of a plurality of compartments comprising large inventory vending machine is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The compartment shown is preferably approximately thirty inches deep by four and thirteen tenths inches wide by sixty-six inches h gh. Soft drink cans 25 are stored from left to right in Figure 2 along the depth of the compartment for housing up to thirty-two rows of twelve cans each, or three hundred and eighty-four cans in each of preferably eight compartments, for a total of three thousand seventy-two cans in the entire machine.
Dispensing mechanism 27 is shown for releasing individual soft drink cans in response to user activation of a selection switch (not shown). Such dispensing apparatus is well known in the art, as exemplified by dispensing rocker assembly apparatus disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,175,669 (Garvin). An electrically isolated sensor 29 optically detects movement of the dispensing mechanism 27 for detecting dispensing of individual ones of the soft drink cans 25 ~;~ 35 from the compartment. The sensor 29 can, for instance, be mounted across the motor windings of an electric .~ .
:;
:
~?~C.'6~7 .~
m~tol ~n~t shown3 :~or ~!peratin~ th~ d~sp~nsin~ ~echanism ~7. ~ny other convenient and well .known mounting of optic~l sensor 29 m~y ~e en1ployed.
A "V belt drive 3.1 er1trairled around mutually spaced apart. rollers 32 is activated by a motor through ~ drive belt 34 or other drivin~ app~ratus als~
responsi~e t.o user ~ctivation of one of the selection switches l9. By activating the belt drive 31, the r~ll;.ng surface of dri~e 31 whi.ch is i.n contact. with the cans 25 rotates upw~rdl~ in relation to t}le compartment 30 such that the soft. drink cans in contac-t therewith roll and shift into cooperative positioning relative to adjacent cans, therehy alleviating bridging o~ the cans within the compartment. As discussed hereln abo~e, this ~ridging phenomenon is a well known disadvant~ge o~
prior art vending machines.
Turning to Figure 3, in accordance with the preferred embodimerlt for monitoring the inventory status of respective compartm0nts of respective vendin~
machines 1-7, a pair of digital multiplexers 33 and 3~
are shown having sixtsen input lines X0-Xl5 each connected to a corresponding one of the optical sensors 29 (Figure 2) and a single ~omplementary output line OUT
connected via an AND gate 37 to an input port PB5 of microprocessor 39.
Output ports PBO-PB3 of microprocessor 39 provide a four~~it address signal to correspondin~
address inputs ADDR of multiplexers 33 and 35 for selecting a predetermined one of the sixteen input lines X0-Xl5 in each of the multiplexers 33 and 35. An ~: additional output port line PB4 is connected directly toan ena~le ~nput of multiplexer 33 and via an inverting clrcuit 41 to the enable input EN of multiplexer 3~.
:~ In operation, microprocessor 39 executes software for serially polling respective inputs o~
~: multiplexers 33 and 3~ ~y virtue o~ generatin~
' ~Y
:
,~6~7 ~?~t~l~t~t.t?rn~in~ s ~-lnd ~ na.~ p~rt.s P~:3 and P~4. A ~ellrce ~od~ li.sting of the 5Q~tw.~r~
~xec~ted hy mi~r~proeess~r ~ is incorporated herein as ApE.en~:li.x A.
F~r ex~mple ! in response to generation of an address value of 000l on the peo-pB3 ~utputs of microprocessor 3'3 iil conjunGt.ion w th a logic low level signal on the P~ ou-tput, muitiplexer 35 is ena~.led and the second input. line X1 is select;ed for ~pplication to ~ND gate 37. The multiplexer 33 i5 disabled such that the clata output O~T thereof ~enerates a logic high signal.
Accordingly~ AN~ gate 37 generates a signal which is equal to the logic le~el appearing on the selected .~nput line X1 of multiplexer 35, for application to the PB5 input port of microprocessor 39.
Within microprocessor 39, an internal RAM
memory location is associated with the selected input line X1 of multiplexer 35 for storing a count ~alue indicative of the number o articles which have been dispensed from the compartment of the vending machine associated with input line X1 of multiplexer 35. The count va~ue is incremented in the event that the input line is at 8 logic hi8h level ~i.e. one article from the associated compartment has been dispensed) or else is maintained at the current value in the event that the input line X1 is at a logic low level (i.e~ indicating that no article is being dispensed) Thus, internal ~AM memory of microprocessor 39 contains thirty-two predefined memory locations for storing count values associated with respective ones of the inputs X~-X15 for the two sixteen-~it multiplexers 33 and 35~ The software listed in Appendix A includes sub-routines for software de~ouncing of signals received from optical sensors 29, in order to ensure integrity of - the monitoring system.
~.
~_~J~.6~7 In this ~1ay~ miorop--ocessor 39 monitors the counl, ~alue and sub1-,racts this val1le ~rom the known ,luantity of artic.Les originally loaded into the compartment for arL~i~ing at an accurate inventory count ` articles in the compa~-tment. In the eYent that the inventory in one or more of the compartments reachcs a critically low so~tware def.ina~le level, the microprocessor 3g formulates and transmit,s a serial message for transmi.ssion to the inventory control centre 17 via modem 43 and tip and ring lines T and R of the associated one of telephone, lines 9-15 (Figure l)~
Circuitry 45 i5 provided for establishing a digital identification number associated with individual ones of the vending machines. According to the pre~erred embodiment, circuitry 45 is in th~ form of eight micro-switches, each connectable between a source of logic low and logic high voltage for creating an eight-bit digital identi~icati3n number signal. The identificatiorl number signal from circuitry 45 is applied to input ports PAO~PA7 o~ microprocessor 39.
The identification number signal is output as part of the serial message transmitted via modem 43 to inventory control centre l7~ thereby allowing inventory control centre 17 to distinguish between vaxious ones of the ', ~5 vending machines l-7.
', The serial message signal is output from microprocessor 39 via the PCl port for connection to a 1, TxD serial input of modem 43~ Modem 43 operates in a ~, well known manner to convert the ser~al message into a modulated digital carrier signal ~or transmission ~ia I the tip and ring lines T and R of the associated one of l~ telephone line~ 9-15 along with appropriate handshaking communication signalling via the control output of modem 43 connected to the PC2 input of microprocessor 39.
The handshaking communication protocol , established between microprocessor 3g and modem 43 is :
~ ~,Q ~ ~7 well known, and fully disclosed in the attached source code listing shown in Appendix A.
Alternatively, as discussed above, inventory control centre 17 may interrogate each of the vending machines 1-7 by means of generating an appropriate interrogation message signal via the telephone lines for reception by the associated modem 43. The modem 43 demodulates the message signal carried by the telephone line and transmits the demodulated serial message signal via a RxD serial output port to the PCO input of microprocessor 39.
A reset switch 47 is connected to external interrupt input INT of the microprocessor 39 for resetting or bootstrapping the microprocessor 39 at start-up. The reset or bootstrap routine clears all registers and memory locations within microprocessor 39, in a well known manner.
Thus, according to the present invention, each of the vending machines 1-7 actually notifies the inventory control centre 17 in the event that one or more of the vending machine merchandise compartments require replenishment of inventory. This feature effectively saves the vending machine company or soft drink supplier from having to undertake periodic unnecessary trips to remote vending machine sites in order to ascertain the state of inventory and replenish if necessary.
Other embodiments and variations of the present invention are contemplated. For example, one or more of the optical sensors 29 may be replaced by motion detectors or other alarm switches or circuits, and the software may be modified accordingly to generate and transmit an alarm message to the central inventory control centre 17 in the event of unauthorized tampering with the associated vending machine. Furthermore, the alarm switches or circuits may be connected to doors or ,a_~ J r J 6L~7 windows remote from the vending machine itself, for implementing a standard burglar alarm system for the vending machine location premises. Also, although the preferred embodiment of the vending machine utilizes a modem in conjunction with telephone lines connected to the inventory control centre, it is contemplated that other communication links such as radio or cellular telephone may be used. In particular, an alternative embodiment of the invention utilizing a cellular telephone allows the inventory control centre 17 to be in the form of a mobile service vehicle.
All these and other embodiments are believed to be within the sphere and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
Claims (21)
1. Vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising:
a) at least one compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed;
b) user activated means for dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment;
c) means for counting said individual ones of said articles dispensed by said user activated means and in response maintaining a predetermined count value representative thereof;
d) means for subtracting said predetermined count value from said predetermined quantity and in response generating a signal representative of the number of said articles remaining in said compartment; and e) means for transmitting said signal to a remote location, whereby inventory status of said vending apparatus is communicated to said remote location.
a) at least one compartment for storing a predetermined quantity of articles to be dispensed;
b) user activated means for dispensing individual ones of said articles from said compartment;
c) means for counting said individual ones of said articles dispensed by said user activated means and in response maintaining a predetermined count value representative thereof;
d) means for subtracting said predetermined count value from said predetermined quantity and in response generating a signal representative of the number of said articles remaining in said compartment; and e) means for transmitting said signal to a remote location, whereby inventory status of said vending apparatus is communicated to said remote location.
2. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising means for initiating automatic transmission of said signal to said remote location in the event said number of articles remaining falls below a further predetermined value.
3. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 2, further comprising means for receiving an interrogation signal from said remote location and in response initiating transmission of said signal to said remote location.
4. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said means for transmitting said signal further comprises a modem for transmitting said signal to said remote location via a telephone line.
5. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said means for counting and said means for subtracting are further comprised of a microprocessor for executing a predetermined program.
6. Vending apparatus with self-monitoring system, comprising:
a) a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed;
b) user activated means connected to respective ones of said compartments, for dispensing individual ones of said articles;
c) means for detecting the number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments, and d) means for communicating said number of said articles to a remote location.
a) a plurality of compartments for storing articles to be dispensed;
b) user activated means connected to respective ones of said compartments, for dispensing individual ones of said articles;
c) means for detecting the number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments, and d) means for communicating said number of said articles to a remote location.
7. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said means for detecting comprises a microprocessor for counting said dispensing of individual ones of said articles, and in response generating respective count values for each of said plurality of compartments, subtracting said respective count values from respective predetermined total values representing initial inventories of said articles in respective ones of said compartments and in response generating respective digital signals representative of the number of said articles remaining in respective ones of said compartments.
8. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said means for communicating comprises a modem for receiving and transmitting said respective digital signals via one or more telephone circuits to said remote location.
9. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 6, 7 or 8, further comprising means for generating and transmitting an identification data signal for identifying said vending apparatus to said remote location via said means for communicating.
10. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 6, 7 or 8, further comprising one or more alarm sensors for detecting unauthorized tampering with said vending apparatus and in response generating an alarm signal for transmission to said remote location via said means for communicating.
11 A Vending apparatus as defined in claim 6, further comprising:
a) a plurality of optically isolated sensors adapted for detecting said dispensing of said individual ones of said articles and in response generating respective status signals;
b) multiplexer means for polling successive ones of said sensors for detecting one of either presence or absence of said respective status signal 5;
c) microprocessor means for maintaining respective count values corresponding to the quantity of said articles dispensed from respective ones of said compartments and incrementing said respective count values in response to detection of presence of said respective status signals; and d) modem means for transmitting said number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments in the event at least one of said count values exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
a) a plurality of optically isolated sensors adapted for detecting said dispensing of said individual ones of said articles and in response generating respective status signals;
b) multiplexer means for polling successive ones of said sensors for detecting one of either presence or absence of said respective status signal 5;
c) microprocessor means for maintaining respective count values corresponding to the quantity of said articles dispensed from respective ones of said compartments and incrementing said respective count values in response to detection of presence of said respective status signals; and d) modem means for transmitting said number of said articles in respective ones of said compartments in the event at least one of said count values exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
12. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a "V" belt drive mounted within said at least one compartment, for shifting said articles stored within said compartment in response to activation of said user activated means, thereby preventing bridging of said articles within said compartment.
13. Vending apparatus as defined in claim 6, 7 or 8, further comprising a plurality of "V" belt drives mounted within respective ones of said compartments, for shifting said articles stored within said respective compartments, thereby preventing bridging of said articles within said compartment.
14. A vending machine system, comprising:
a) a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of said machines including means for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within said machines;
b) an inventory control centre for connection to respective ones of said vending machines via respective telephone lines; and c) a plurality of communication means connected -to respective ones of said vending machines for generating and transmitting respective status signals to said inventory control centre via said telephone lines, said status signals representing said inventory count of articles stored wtihin respective ones of said machines.
a) a plurality of user operated vending machines, each of said machines including means for detecting and maintaining an accurate inventory count of articles stored within said machines;
b) an inventory control centre for connection to respective ones of said vending machines via respective telephone lines; and c) a plurality of communication means connected -to respective ones of said vending machines for generating and transmitting respective status signals to said inventory control centre via said telephone lines, said status signals representing said inventory count of articles stored wtihin respective ones of said machines.
15. A vending machine system as defined in claim 14, wherein each of said vending machines further includes means for generating respective identification signals for identifying said respective ones of said machines to said inventory control centre.
16. A vending machine system as defined in claim 15, wherein said communication means are each comprised of respective modem circuits for receiving and transmitting said respective status signals and said respective identification signals to said inventory control centre.
17. A vending machine comprising:
at least one compartment for storing a predetermined number of generally cylindrical articles in a plurality of rows with outer peripheral walls of such articles in mutually supporting engagement, said compartment being defined by side walls mutually spaced apart a distance such as to receive one of said articles length-wise therebetween and defining a discharge opening for dispensing such articles individually therethrough;
user-activated dispensing means for causing individual ones of such articles to be dispensed from said compartment through said discharge opening;
a rotatable repositioning means disposed within said compartment for tangentially engaging at least one of such articles therewithin; and drive means operatively associated with said repositioning means and adapted to cause rotational movement thereof so as, in turn, on such movement, to cause rolling movement and repositioning of at least one of such articles relative to others thereof thereby to disarrange any bridging of such articles which otherwise might prevent movement of such articles towards said discharge opening.
at least one compartment for storing a predetermined number of generally cylindrical articles in a plurality of rows with outer peripheral walls of such articles in mutually supporting engagement, said compartment being defined by side walls mutually spaced apart a distance such as to receive one of said articles length-wise therebetween and defining a discharge opening for dispensing such articles individually therethrough;
user-activated dispensing means for causing individual ones of such articles to be dispensed from said compartment through said discharge opening;
a rotatable repositioning means disposed within said compartment for tangentially engaging at least one of such articles therewithin; and drive means operatively associated with said repositioning means and adapted to cause rotational movement thereof so as, in turn, on such movement, to cause rolling movement and repositioning of at least one of such articles relative to others thereof thereby to disarrange any bridging of such articles which otherwise might prevent movement of such articles towards said discharge opening.
18. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 17 and in which said rotatable repositioning means comprises a continuous belt entrained around two spaced-apart rollers to provide first and second flights, said first flight of which engages at least one of such articles tangentially within said compartment.
19. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 18 and in which said first flight of said belt extends generally vertically within said compartment
20. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 19 and in which said drive means and said user-activated dispensing means are operatively interconnected automatically to cause operation of said drive means on operation of said user-activated dispensing means.
21. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 19 and which comprises a plurality of said compartments in side-by-side disposition and in which said user-activated dispensing means comprises a selection means adapted selectively to permit a said article to be dispensed from a selected one of said compartments.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000582555A CA1296427C (en) | 1988-11-08 | 1988-11-08 | Vending machine with monitoring system |
| JP28983089A JPH02181290A (en) | 1988-11-08 | 1989-11-07 | Vending machine with monitor |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000582555A CA1296427C (en) | 1988-11-08 | 1988-11-08 | Vending machine with monitoring system |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1296427C true CA1296427C (en) | 1992-02-25 |
Family
ID=4139072
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000582555A Expired - Lifetime CA1296427C (en) | 1988-11-08 | 1988-11-08 | Vending machine with monitoring system |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPH02181290A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1296427C (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6462644B1 (en) | 1998-11-19 | 2002-10-08 | The Coca-Cola Company | Network of vending machines connected interactively to data-base building host |
| CN111212957A (en) * | 2018-09-19 | 2020-05-29 | 智能井口系统有限公司 | Apparatus, system, and process for adjusting control mechanisms of an oil well |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPH04120689A (en) * | 1990-09-12 | 1992-04-21 | Fuji Electric Co Ltd | Automatic vending machine |
| JPH0676149A (en) * | 1992-06-19 | 1994-03-18 | Csk Corp | Commodity control system for vending machine |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS5574681A (en) * | 1978-11-28 | 1980-06-05 | Kubota Ltd | Vending machine |
| JPS6320690A (en) * | 1986-07-15 | 1988-01-28 | 富士電機株式会社 | Sales information collection system for vending machine |
-
1988
- 1988-11-08 CA CA000582555A patent/CA1296427C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1989
- 1989-11-07 JP JP28983089A patent/JPH02181290A/en active Pending
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6462644B1 (en) | 1998-11-19 | 2002-10-08 | The Coca-Cola Company | Network of vending machines connected interactively to data-base building host |
| CN111212957A (en) * | 2018-09-19 | 2020-05-29 | 智能井口系统有限公司 | Apparatus, system, and process for adjusting control mechanisms of an oil well |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPH02181290A (en) | 1990-07-16 |
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