Vending machine and control method

Abstract

Provided is a vending machine and a control method thereof, the vending machine including a freezer (100), a door (120) and an entrance (110) on one side wall of the freezer (100), a circulation shelf (130) installed inside the freezer (100), a plurality of trays (140) installed on the circulation shelf (130), and a robot arm (200) installed outside the freezer (100). By installing the door (110) with a small opening area on one side wall of the freezer (100), the efficiency of temperature exchange between the inside and outside of the freezer (100) is reduced when the door (120) is opened, and by installing the circulation shelf (130), empty or occupied trays (140) are moved to the door (110). The robot arm (200) is installed outside the freezer (100) to prevent the robot arm (200) from being affected by the flow of hot and cold air as much as possible, and to prevent water vapor or frost from condensing on the robot arm (200).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] [CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS] This application claims priority to Application No. 202210594571.7, filed with the China Patent Office on May 27, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application relates to the field of vending machine technology, and more particularly to vending machines and control methods. [Background technology]

[0003] The vending equipment can be applied to places such as homes, communities, department stores, or office buildings to realize automatic sales of goods. For goods that require low-temperature storage, a freezer is further installed in the vending equipment to ensure the quality of the goods, and some vending equipment is further installed with a goods processing area. For example, when selling instant foods, a picking robot is installed inside the freezer. When selling the goods, the picking robot picks up the goods from inside the freezer and transports them to the exit of the freezer, the door of the freezer exit opens, and the picking robot transfers the goods out of the freezer. After the goods are taken out of the freezer, they enter the heating area to complete the heating of the food, and are provided to the purchaser after the heating is completed. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The process of picking items from within the freezers described above can cause mechanical failure of the picking robot and / or the freezer shelves. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a vending machine, the vending machine including a freezer, and a side wall of the freezer is provided with an entrance and an opening / closing door for closing the entrance; A circulation shelf is installed in the freezer, a plurality of trays are installed on the circulation shelf, and the circulation shelf drives the trays to circulate within the freezer, and can move any one of the trays to the position of the entrance / exit; A robot arm is further installed on the exterior of the freezer near the doorway to place food boxes onto the tray through the doorway or pick up food boxes from the tray.

[0006] In one embodiment, the freezer further comprises a code scanner for scanning the first sensor, the second sensor, and an identity code of the food box; A first target object that is detected by a first sensor is further placed on the circulation shelf, and second targets that are detected by a second sensor are placed on all of the trays.

[0007] In one embodiment, the entrance is provided with a food inlet area for replenishing products and a food outlet area for picking up products, A toggle is provided in the food feed area to sense the insertion of a food box.

[0008] In one embodiment, the circulating shelf includes at least two rotating shafts and a rotating body that meshes with the rotating shafts.

[0009] In one embodiment, the circulating shelf further includes a drive device, and a power output end of the drive device is connected to any one of the rotating shafts.

[0010] In one embodiment, the trays are further provided with indicator lamps, which are used to indicate whether the corresponding trays are in an occupied or unoccupied state.

[0011] In one embodiment, the robot arm includes a first axis of movement and a second axis of movement perpendicular to each other so that a picking end of the robot arm can face the tray; The pinching end can rotate in a horizontal plane to move away from or towards the tray.

[0012] In one embodiment, the vending machine further includes a controller that connects to and controls the robot arm, the circulating shelf, the first sensor, the second sensor, and the code scanner.

[0013] In one embodiment, the vending machine further includes a processing area, the processing area being provided with a food delivery port through which the robotic arm delivers food boxes.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first sensor and the second sensor are metal sensors.

[0015] In one embodiment, at least two food placement areas are provided on one said tray, and each said food placement area is used to place one said food box.

[0016] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a control method, the control method being applied to a vending machine according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, traversing all the trays and determining the position of each tray; obtaining a state of each tray, the state of the tray including an occupied state and an empty state, and if the state of the tray is an occupied state, obtaining information of food boxes in the occupied tray; When food needs to be placed, the circulation shelf drives a first tray to move, moves the first tray to an entrance, places a food box to be placed on the first tray, obtains information on the food box to be placed, and pairs the information on the food box to be placed with the position information of the first tray, the first tray being one of each of the empty trays; When food needs to be picked up, information on the food box to be picked up and position information of the second tray are obtained, the circulating shelf drives the second tray to move and moves the food box to be picked up to the entrance / exit, and the robot arm picks up the food box to be picked up, the second tray being the tray on which the food box to be picked up is placed. Effect of the Invention

[0017] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, an embodiment of the present application provides a vending machine and a control method, the vending machine including a freezer, an entrance and an opening and closing door for closing the entrance and exit are provided on one side wall of the freezer, a circulating shelf is provided inside the freezer, and a plurality of trays are provided on the circulating shelf, the circulating shelf drives the trays to circulate within the freezer and can move any one of the trays to the position of the entrance and exit, and a robot arm is further provided on the outside of the freezer near the entrance and exit to place a food box on the tray from the entrance and exit, or pick up a food box from the tray.

[0018] In the actual application process, an entrance with a small opening area is installed on one side wall of the freezer, thereby reducing the efficiency of temperature exchange between the inside and outside of the freezer when the door is opened, and reducing the inflow of a large amount of humid outside air into the freezer. A circulating shelf is installed to move empty or occupied trays to the entrance and exit, and a robot arm installed outside the freezer places or picks up products. Compared to an embodiment in which a picking robot is installed inside the freezer and the door needs to be opened to place and / or remove products, in the embodiment of the present application, the robot arm installed outside the freezer prevents the robot arm from being affected by the flow of hot and cold air as much as possible, and prevents water vapor or frost from condensing on the robot arm. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions of the present application, the following briefly introduces drawings that need to be used in the embodiments, and obviously, those skilled in the art can further derive other drawings based on these drawings without any creative efforts. [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a freezer of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a robot arm according to an embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of an internal viewing angle of an entrance according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a tray according to an embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a food box according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of an external viewing angle of a doorway according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a food box entering a tray according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall structure of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart of a control method according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] In some cases, when the vending machine opens the door of the freezer, it will cause a large amount of cold air to escape from inside the freezer. After the door is opened, due to the large air exchange passage, the humid outside air will flow into the freezer in large quantities due to the flow of hot and cold air, causing water vapor or frost to condense on the picking robot and other equipment inside the freezer, leading to equipment failure.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a freezer of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a vending machine, and as shown in Fig. 1, the vending machine includes a freezer 100, and a door 110 and an opening / closing door 120 that movably opens or closes the door 110 are installed on one side wall of the freezer 100. By installing the door 110 on one side of the freezer 100, the area of ​​the door 110 is much smaller than the area of ​​the door (one side wall of the freezer) of the freezer 100. With such an installation of the door 110, the passageway that generates the temperature exchange between the freezer 100 and the outside after the opening / closing door 120 is opened is made as small as possible, thereby ensuring the outflow of cold air inside the freezer 100.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, a circulation shelf 130 is installed in a freezer 100, and a number of trays are installed on the circulation shelf 130. The circulation shelf 130 drives the trays 140 to circulate within the freezer, and can move any one of the trays to the position of the entrance / exit 110. In an embodiment of the present application, since the opening area of ​​the entrance / exit 110 is small, a circulation shelf 130 capable of driving the movement of the trays 140 is installed in order to realize the insertion and removal of products inside the freezer 110, and the movement of the circulation shelf 130 ensures that each tray 140 is moved to the position of the entrance / exit 110, thereby realizing the insertion of products into the trays 140 or the removal of products from the trays 140.

[0024] In addition, the area of ​​the entrance / exit 110 is much smaller than the area of ​​one side wall. The smaller the area of ​​the entrance / exit 110, the smaller the amount of gas that can be exchanged through the entrance / exit 110, which is advantageous in limiting the exchange between the air inside the freezer 100 and the outside air. However, the smaller the entrance / exit 110, the fewer the number of trays 140 that can be accommodated at the same time at the position of the entrance / exit 110, which is disadvantageous in placing products on the trays 140 or removing products from the trays 140. In actual applications, the size of the entrance / exit 110 can be determined according to the area of ​​one side wall of the freezer 100 and the size of the products to be sold. In the embodiment of the present application, the area of ​​the entrance / exit 110 is set to 5% to 60% of the area of ​​one side wall of the freezer 100.

[0025] In addition, the side wall of the freezer on which the entrance / exit 110 is installed does not necessarily need to be a fixed body, and it may be an openable door itself. By installing an entrance / exit 110 with a smaller area on the door, during the process of use, the entrance / exit 110 can be opened to complete placing and / or picking up of goods, and when necessary, the door can be opened to perform other operations that cannot be realized by the entrance / exit 110. Here, if the door is installed with the entrance / exit 110 and an opening / closing door 120 that closes the entrance / exit 110, the area of ​​the entrance / exit 110 is necessarily smaller than the area of ​​the door.

[0026] In the embodiment of the present application, the freezer 100 is used to preserve or keep products fresh by freezing them, and the temperature inside the freezer 100 during use may be minus 18° C. or lower.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a robot arm according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] In some instances, the shelves within the freezer are fixedly installed and a picking robot needs to be installed inside the freezer to place and pick up items, which requires opening one side wall when picking items.

[0029] In some other examples, the shelves are installed as circulating shelves 130, and the trays 140 for placing the food boxes 300 can be moved to the entrance 110, thereby avoiding the installation of a picking robot inside the freezer. In order to put in or take out the goods from the entrance 110, in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 2, a robot arm 200 is further installed on the side close to the entrance 110 on the outside of the freezer 100, and the robot arm 200 can move to the entrance 110 and place the food box 300 on the tray 140 from the entrance 110, or pick up the food box 300 from the tray 140.

[0030] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present application has an entrance 110 with a small opening area installed on one side wall of the freezer 100, thereby reducing the efficiency of temperature exchange between the inside and outside of the freezer 100 when the door 120 is opened, and reducing the inflow of a large amount of humid outside air into the freezer. Furthermore, the circulation shelf 130 is installed to move empty or occupied trays 140 to the entrance 110, where the robot arm 200 installed outside the freezer 100 can place or pick up products. Compared with an embodiment in which a picking robot is installed inside the freezer and the door needs to be opened to place and / or remove products, in the embodiment of the present application, the robot arm 200 installed outside the freezer 100 prevents the robot arm 200 from being affected by the flow of hot and cold air as much as possible, and prevents water vapor or frost from condensing on the robot arm 200.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of an internal viewing angle of a doorway according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a tray according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] In order to accurately place and take out products on multiple trays, in the embodiment of the present application, a first sensor 150, a second sensor 160 and a code scanner 170 for scanning the identity code of the food box 300 are further installed in the freezer 100 as shown in Fig. 3, and a first target 131 to be detected by the first sensor 150 is further installed on the circulation shelf 130, and second targets 141 to be detected by the second sensor 160 are installed on the multiple trays as shown in Fig. 4. In the actual application process, the number of first targets 131 is one, and the first target 131 may be directly installed on the circulation shelf 130 or may be installed on one of the multiple trays.

[0034] It should be noted that the entrance / exit 110 shown in FIG. 3 is viewed from the inside to the outside of the freezer 100. In the actual application process, when the first sensor 150 detects the first target 131, the controller of the vending machine can take the corresponding tray 140 as the starting position, and sequentially detect the second target 141 placed on the tray 140 by the installed second sensor 160, thereby numbering the trays 140 and distinguishing between trays at different positions.

[0035] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160 adopt metal sensors, the first target 131 and the second target 141 are iron pieces, the metal sensor belongs to a high-frequency oscillation type, an oscillation circuit is installed inside, and the energy loss caused by the induced current flowing in the target in the oscillation circuit affects the change of the oscillation frequency. When the target approaches the sensor, regardless of the type of metal of the target, the oscillation frequency becomes high, and the sensor detects this change and outputs a detection signal.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a food box according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] The tray 140 is used to place the food box 300. As shown in FIG. 5, a rectangular area 310 on one side of the food box 300 is an identity code of the food box 300. The identity code may be a two-dimensional code fixedly installed on the food box 300, or a temporary identity code pasted on the food box 300. Here, the food box 300 may be the outer box of the product itself. For example, if the product being sold is a lunch box, the food box 300 may be the box of the lunch box itself, or the food box 300 may be a specially installed box for placing the product.

[0038] In the actual application process, the vending machine can further be installed with a controller to realize automatic control, such as automatic inventory, automatic distribution and automatic vending of the vending machine.

[0039] Among them, the automatic inventory includes the inventory of the first use of the equipment and the inventory during use. When the equipment is used for the first time, there is no product on the circulation shelf 130, and at this time, the controller controls the circulation shelf 130 to drive the circulation movement of the tray 140, and the first sensor 150 detects the first target 131, and after the first sensor 150 detects the first target 131, the tray 140 at the position of the first target 131 is marked as the starting tray and numbered as 000, for example, and the second sensor 160 detects the second target 141, thereby sequentially numbering the other trays.

[0040] When inventory is taken during use, there may be no products on all the trays 140, or products may be placed on some or all of the trays 140, and the products on the trays 140 need to be checked, or a new inventory needs to be taken after restarting the device while the device is in use. In this case, it is the same as the inventory taken for the first time use. First, after receiving an inventory command, the first sensor 150 detects the first target 131 to determine the position of the starting tray 140, and the second sensor 160 detects the second target 141, thereby sequentially numbering the other trays, and then the circulating shelf 130 is controlled to drive the circulating movement of the trays 140, and the code scanner 170 scans the identity code of the tray 140. If the identity code is detected, the corresponding tray status is occupied, and the corresponding food box 300 is paired with the numbered tray 140. If the identity code is not detected, the numbered tray 140 at the corresponding position is marked as empty, thereby completing the inventory for all the products on the circulating shelf 130.

[0041] In addition, in practical application, pairing a corresponding food box 300 with a numbered tray 140 means writing the information of the food box 300 into the information of the corresponding tray 140 to clarify the information of the products placed in the tray 140.

[0042] In the automatic delivery (also called automatic food placement) process, first a delivery command is received, then in response to the delivery command, the robot arm 200 is controlled to move the food box 300 to the entrance / exit, in response to the delivery command, the opening / closing door 120 is opened, in response to the delivery command, the position number of an empty tray 140 is determined, and for ease of explanation, the tray 140 indicated by the delivery command is designated as the first tray, and in response to the position number of the empty tray 140 (i.e., the first tray), the circulating shelf 130 is controlled to move, and the corresponding tray 140 is moved to the entrance / exit 110.

[0043] In addition, in the actual application process, the three operations of controlling the robot arm 200 to move the food box 300 to the entrance / exit 110 (i.e., the first operation), opening the opening / closing door 120 (i.e., the second operation), and controlling the circulating shelf 130 to move the corresponding tray 140 to the entrance / exit 110 (i.e., the third operation) may be performed synchronously or sequentially. In the embodiment of the present application, a solution that operates synchronously is adopted, and finally the robot arm 200 is controlled to place the food box 300 into the corresponding tray 140, and the food box 300 is paired with the corresponding tray 140.

[0044] In addition, in some application scenarios, during the automatic delivery process, the placement of goods can be achieved without using the robot arm 200. For example, when the volume of the freezer 100 is small and the number of trays 140 placed inside is small, the manual delivery method can be directly adopted, that is, the work performed by the robot arm 200 is performed manually.

[0045] In the automatic vending (also called automatic food picking) process, first, information on the food box to be picked and the position information of the second tray are obtained. Specifically, first, a vending command is received, the vending command including information on the food box to be picked, then, in response to the vending command, the position number of the corresponding tray 140 (i.e., the second tray) is determined, and for the sake of convenience, the tray 140 indicated by the vending command is taken as the second tray, in response to the vending command, the robot arm 200 is controlled to move to the entrance / exit 110, in response to the position number of the corresponding tray 140, the circulating shelf 130 is controlled to move the corresponding tray to the entrance / exit 110, and in response to the vending command, the opening / closing door 120 is opened.

[0046] The three operations of controlling the robot arm 200 to move to the entrance / exit 110 (i.e., the fourth operation), controlling the circulating shelf 130 to move the corresponding tray 140 to the entrance / exit 110 (i.e., the fifth operation), and opening the opening / closing door 120 (i.e., the sixth operation) may be performed synchronously or sequentially, and in the embodiment of the present application, a solution for performing the operations synchronously is adopted, and finally, the robot arm 200 is controlled to remove the food box 300 in the corresponding tray 140.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of an external viewing angle of a doorway according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of the process in which a food box enters a tray according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0049] In order to facilitate putting products into or taking products out of the freezer 100, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 6, a food feed area for replenishing products and a food feed area for picking up products are provided at the entrance 110, and a toggle 111 for detecting the insertion of a food box 300 is provided in the food feed area. Here, it can be seen that there are eight trays 140 at the position of the entrance 110 in FIG. 6, and the six positions where the toggle 111 is provided near the bottom are food feed areas. The toggle 111 belongs to the food feeding area and is used to place products on the tray 140. The toggle 111 can be pressed and rotated in one direction. As shown in FIG. 7, when the food box 300 is moved from the outside to the inside of the freezer 100, the front end and the bottom of the food box 300 press and rotate the toggle 111. After the food box 300 is placed, the toggle 111 is not pressed and the toggle 111 rebounds to the upright state. Also, due to the toggle 111, the food box 300 in the tray 140 cannot be taken out of the food feeding area.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6 , the area above the food feed-in area where the toggle 111 is not installed is the food feed-out area, and when the food box 300 needs to be removed, the robot arm 200 picks up the food box 300 from its position in the food feed-out area and removes the food box 300 from the freezer 100 by gripping it.

[0051] In addition, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 4, at least two food placement areas may be installed on one tray 140, and each food placement area is used to place one food box 300. In addition, in the multiple food placement areas of the same tray 140, food boxes 300 with the same food box information or food boxes 300 with different food box information may be placed. Different position information may be set for the multiple food placement areas on the same tray 140 to ensure that the food box information of the food box 300 can be accurately paired with the corresponding placement position information (position information of the food placement area) during actual use.

[0052] Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the tray 140 is further provided with an indicator lamp 142, which is used to indicate whether the corresponding tray 140 is in an occupied state or an unoccupied state. The indicator lamp 142 is provided at the position of the food feeding area, and when the tray 140 reaches the entrance / exit 110, the indicator lamp 142 is controlled to be turned on or off according to the detection result of the code scanner 170, or the indicator lamp 142 is controlled to be turned on in at least two different colors. For example, when the indicator lamp 142 is turned on in red, it means that the tray 140 is in an unoccupied state, and when the indicator lamp 142 is turned on in blue, it means that the tray 140 is in an occupied state. Regarding the unoccupied state of the tray 140, when the food box 300 is placed on the tray 140, when the food box 300 presses the toggle 111 once, the indicator lamp 142 is adjusted to be blue, indicating that the placement of the food box 300 is completed.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments of the present application, the circulating shelf 130 includes at least two rotating shafts 132 and a rotating body 133 that meshes with the rotating shafts 132, where the tray 140 is installed on the rotating body 133, and when the tray 140 moves along with the rotating body 133, the product placement surface of the tray 140 is kept stable; specifically, the stability of the tray 140 can be achieved by a multi-link mechanism, a slide rail, or a guide rail.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 1 , the circulating shelf 130 further includes a drive unit 134, and the power output end of the drive unit 134 is connected to one of the rotating shafts 132. In actual application, the output end of the drive unit 134 may be directly connected to one of the rotating shafts 132, for example, by using a shaft coupling, or indirectly connected to one of the rotating shafts 132, for example, by using a reducer, a belt, or a transmission chain.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments of the present application, the robot arm 200 includes a first axis of movement 210 and a second axis of movement 220 that are perpendicular to each other, such that the picking end 230 of the robot arm 200 can face the tray 140, and the picking end 230 can rotate in a horizontal plane to move away from or approach the tray 140, and the robot arm 200 can move on the first axis of movement 210 and the second axis of movement 220 to face any area of ​​the entrance / exit 110, thereby ensuring that an item can be placed in or picked up from the freezer 100.

[0056] In order to facilitate identification of the contents of the drawings, the robot arm 200 in FIG. 2 is a simplified structural schematic diagram. As for the support structure of the robot arm 200 and the connection structure between the first moving axis 210 and the second moving axis 220, a person skilled in the art can realize them by installing multiple types of structures based on the embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

[0057] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] In actual application, as shown in FIG. 8, the vending equipment further includes a processing area 400, in which a food delivery opening is installed for the robot arm 200 to transport the food box 300. In order to reduce the movement stroke of the robot arm 200, the position of the food delivery opening can be installed directly opposite the entrance / exit 110 or at a lower position directly opposite the entrance / exit 110.

[0059] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] A second aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a control method, which is applied to the vending machine according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application and includes the following steps 910 to 940.

[0061] In step 910, all the trays are traversed and the position of each tray is determined.

[0062] In addition, when the vending equipment is used for the first time, restarted, or during a periodic inventory, the position of each tray needs to be determined. After the position of each tray has been determined, during normal use, when the control system controls the rotation of the circulating shelf, it records the movement process of the circulating shelf in real time and calculates the position of each tray in real time.

[0063] In this embodiment, a first target is placed on one of the trays, a second target is placed on each tray, and a first sensor for detecting the first target and a second sensor for detecting the second target are placed in the freezer, and the first target and the first sensor are used to determine the position of the starting tray, and the second target and the second sensor are used to determine the position of each subsequent other tray.

[0064] In step 920, obtain the status of each tray, which includes occupied and empty, and if the tray status is occupied, obtain the information of the food boxes in the occupied tray.

[0065] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the number of food boxes placed on one tray is not limited, and when one food box is placed on one tray, the state of the tray includes an occupied state and an empty state; when multiple food boxes are placed on one tray, the occupied state in this embodiment is a fully occupied state, and the empty state includes a fully empty state and a fully not empty state, which may be referred to as an unsaturated state, and for this situation, the number of food boxes that can be placed when in an unsaturated state is further given.

[0066] For example, in FIG. 6, the two food boxes placed in parallel may be considered to be placed on the same tray, that is, one tray may include multiple placement areas, and products can be placed in each placement area; or in FIG. 6, the two food boxes placed in parallel may be considered to be located on two trays with the same movement rules, and in actual use, the corresponding relationship between the trays and the food boxes can be adaptively adjusted according to design needs.

[0067] In step 930, when food needs to be placed, the circulating shelf drives to move a first tray, moves the first tray to an entrance / exit, places a food box to be placed on the first tray, obtains information of the food box to be placed, and pairs the information of the food box to be placed with the position information of the first tray, where the first tray is any one of the empty trays.

[0068] In addition, in practical application, pairing the information of the food box to be placed with the position information of the first tray means writing the information of the food box to be placed into the information of the corresponding tray to clarify the information of the products placed in the tray.

[0069] In the actual application process, the information of the food box to be placed may be obtained before the food box is placed, or during or after the food box is placed. It needs to be verified according to the actual situation of the food box. If the size specifications of the food boxes involved are completely consistent and there are no special placing requirements, that is, during the placing process, they can be randomly placed on any empty tray, then the information of the food box to be placed can be obtained during or after the food box is placed, and the information of the food box to be placed can be paired with the position information of the first tray.

[0070] If the size specifications of the food boxes do not match, or if the food boxes are placed according to certain rules, for example, food boxes with the same food box information need to be placed as adjacent as possible, it is necessary to obtain information about the food box to be placed before placing the food box in order to determine which position of the tray to move to the entrance / exit based on the information of the food box to be placed.

[0071] In step 940, when food needs to be picked up, the information of the food box to be picked up and the position information of the second tray are obtained, the circulating shelf drives to move the second tray and moves the food box to be picked up to the entrance / exit, and the robot arm picks up the food box to be picked up, where the second tray is the tray on which the food box to be picked up is placed.

[0072] In the actual application process, the information of food boxes in multiple trays may all be consistent with the information of the food box to be taken, in which case the position information of the second tray can be determined according to the principle of near field, where the principle of near field means determining the position information of the second tray according to the proximity of the moving stroke of the tray closest to the entrance / exit; it should be noted that the circulating shelf according to the embodiment of the present application may have multiple moving directions and is not limited to a single moving direction.

[0073] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, an embodiment of the present application provides a vending equipment and a control method, the vending equipment including a freezer 100, an entrance / exit 110 and an opening / closing door 120 for closing the entrance / exit 110 are installed on one side wall of the freezer 100, a circulating shelf 130 is installed in the freezer 100, and a number of trays are installed on the circulating shelf 130, the circulating shelf 130 drives the trays 140 to move circulatingly within the freezer 100, and can move any one of the trays to the position of the entrance / exit 110, and a robot arm 200 is further installed on the outside of the freezer 100 near the entrance / exit 110 to place a food box 300 on the tray 140 from the entrance / exit 110, or pick up the food box 300 from the tray 140.

[0074] In the actual application process, by installing an entrance / exit 110 with a small opening area on one side wall of the freezer 100, the efficiency of temperature exchange between the inside and outside of the freezer 100 is reduced when the opening / closing door 120 is opened, and the inflow of a large amount of humid outside air into the freezer is reduced. In addition, by installing a circulation shelf 130, empty or occupied trays 140 are moved to the entrance / exit 110, and goods are placed or picked up by a robot arm 200 installed outside the freezer 100. Compared to an embodiment in which a picking robot is installed inside the freezer and the door needs to be opened to place and / or remove goods, in the embodiment of the present application, the robot arm 200 installed outside the freezer 100 prevents the robot arm 200 from being affected by the flow of hot and cold air as much as possible, and prevents water vapor or frost from condensing on the robot arm 200.

[0075] The above specific embodiments have further described the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application in detail. It should be understood that the above are only specific embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the scope of protection of the present application, and any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the technical solutions of the present application should all be included within the scope of protection of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 100 Freezer 110 Entrance / Exit 111 Toggle 120 Opening and closing door 130 Circulation shelf 131 First Target 132 Rotational Axis 133 Rotating Body 134 Drive unit 140 Tray 141 Second Target 142 Indicator lamp 150 First Sensor 160 Second Sensor 170 Code Scanner 200 Robot Arm 210 First axis of movement 220 Second moving axis 230 Clamping End 300 Food Boxes 310 Rectangular area 400 processing area

Claims

1. The freezer (100) includes an entrance (110) and an opening / closing door (120) for closing the entrance (110) installed on one side wall of the freezer (100), A circulation shelf (130) is installed in the freezer (100), a plurality of trays (140) are installed on the circulation shelf (130), and the circulation shelf (130) drives the trays (140) to circulate within the freezer (100) and can move any one of the trays (140) to a position of the entrance / exit (110); A robot arm (200) is further installed on the outside of the freezer (100) near the entrance (110) to place a food box (300) on the tray (140) from the entrance (110) or pick up the food box (300) from the tray (140); A first sensor (150), a second sensor (160) and a code scanner (170) are further installed in the freezer (100) for scanning an identity code of the food box (300); The vending machine is characterized in that a first target (131) that is detected by a first sensor (150) is further installed on the circulating shelf (130), and a second target (141) that is detected by a second sensor (160) is installed on each of a plurality of trays (140).

2. A food inlet area for replenishing products and a food outlet area for picking up products are provided at the entrance (110); 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a toggle (111) for detecting the insertion of a food box (300) in the food feed area.

3. The vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the circulating shelf (130) includes at least two rotating shafts (132) and a rotating body (133) that meshes with the rotating shafts (132), and the trays (140) are installed on the rotating body (133).

4. The vending machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the circulating shelf (130) further includes a drive unit (134), the power output end of which is connected to any one of the rotating shafts (132).

5. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising an indicator lamp (142) installed on the tray (140), the indicator lamp (142) being used to indicate whether the corresponding tray (140) is in an occupied or unoccupied state.

6. The robot arm (200) includes a first movement axis (210) and a second movement axis (220) perpendicular to each other so that a picking end (230) of the robot arm (200) can face the tray (140); 2. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the picking end (230) can rotate in a horizontal plane to move away from or towards the tray (140).

7. 2. The vending machine of claim 1, further comprising a processing area (400), the processing area (400) being provided with a food delivery port through which the robot arm (200) conveys the food box (300).

8. 2. The vending machine of claim 1, further comprising a controller that connects and controls the robot arm (200), the circulating shelf (130), the first sensor (150), the second sensor (160), and the code scanner (170).

9. The present invention is applied to the vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, detecting targets (131, 141) on all trays (140) and determining the position of each tray (140); acquiring a state of each tray (140), the state of the tray (140) including an occupied state and an empty state, and if the state of the tray (140) is an occupied state, acquiring information of food boxes in the tray (140) in an occupied state; When food needs to be placed, the circulation shelf (130) drives a first tray to move, moves the first tray to an entrance (110), places a food box to be placed on the first tray, obtains information on the food box to be placed, and pairs the information on the food box to be placed with the location information of the first tray, where the first tray is one of the empty trays (140); when food needs to be picked up, information on the food box to be picked up and position information of a second tray are acquired, the circulating shelf (130) drives the second tray to move and moves the food box to be picked up to the entrance / exit (110), and the robot arm (200) picks up the food box to be picked up, the second tray being the tray (140) on which the food box to be picked up is placed.

10. a first sensor (150) and a second sensor (160) are further installed in the freezer (100) of the vending machine, and the vending machine further includes a controller that connects and controls the robot arm (200), the circulating shelf (130), the first sensor (150), and the second sensor (160); A first target (131) to be detected by a first sensor (150) is further installed on the circulation shelf (130), and second targets (141) to be detected by a second sensor (160) are installed on a plurality of trays (140); The step of detecting targets (131, 141) on all trays (140) and determining the position of each tray (140) comprises: The controller controls the circulating shelf (130) to drive the circulating movement of the trays (140); detecting a first target (131) by the first sensor (150), and marking the tray (140) at the position of the first target (131) as a start tray after the first sensor (150) detects the first target (131); 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of: detecting second targets (141) with the second sensor (160); and sequentially numbering the trays (140) corresponding to the second targets (141) as the second sensor (160) sequentially detects the second targets (141), thereby determining the positions of the different-numbered trays (140) relative to the starting tray.

11. a code scanner (170) for scanning an identity code of the food box (300) is further installed in the freezer (100), and the controller is further connected to the code scanner (170); The step of acquiring the status of each tray (140) includes: The controller controls the circulating shelf (130) to drive the circulating movement of the trays (140); scanning the identity code of each of the trays (140) sequentially with the code scanner (170); 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: if the code scanner (170) detects an identity code, a corresponding tray status is occupied and pairing the corresponding food box (300) with the numbered tray (140); and if the code scanner (170) does not detect an identity code, marking the numbered tray (140) in the corresponding position as empty.

12. When food needs to be placed, the control method further comprises: The controller receives a delivery command; The controller controls the robot arm (200) to move the food box (00) to an entrance / exit (110) in response to a delivery command; The controller responds to a delivery command by opening an opening / closing door (120); a step of determining a location number of an empty tray (140) in response to a delivery command, the step of designating the tray (140) indicated by the delivery command as a first tray; 11. The control method according to claim 10, characterized in that the step of driving the circulating shelf (130) to move a first tray and moving the first tray to the entrance / exit (110) includes a step in which the controller responds to a position number of an empty tray (140) and controls the circulating shelf (130) to drive the movement of the first tray and moves the first tray to the entrance / exit (110).

13. The step of controlling the robot arm (200) to move the food box (300) to the entrance / exit (110) is a first operation, the step of opening the opening / closing door (120) is a second operation, and the step of controlling the circulating shelf (130) to drive the movement of a first tray and moving the first tray to the entrance / exit (110) is a third operation, 13. The control method according to claim 12, wherein the first action, the second action, and the third action are performed synchronously.

14. When food needs to be taken, obtaining information of the food box to be taken and the position information of the second tray includes: the controller receiving a vending command, the vending command including information of a food box to be picked; the controller responds to the sales command by determining a position number of a corresponding tray (140), and designates the tray (140) indicated by the sales command as a second tray; When food needs to be taken, the control method further comprises: The controller controls the robot arm (200) to move to the entrance / exit (110) in response to a sales command; the controller responds to a sales command and opens an opening and closing door (120); The step of driving the circulation shelf (130) to move the second tray and move the food box to be picked to the entrance / exit (110) includes:

11. The control method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of: controlling the circulating shelf (130) to move the second tray to an entrance / exit (110) in response to a position number of a corresponding tray (140).

15. the step of controlling the robot arm (200) to move to the entrance / exit (110) is a fourth operation, the step of controlling the circulation shelf (130) to move the second tray to the entrance / exit (110) is a fifth operation, and the step of opening the opening / closing door (120) is a sixth operation; 15. The control method according to claim 14, wherein the fourth action, the fifth action, and the sixth action are performed synchronously.

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