Goods vending machine operable on both sides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vending machines integrated with checkout counters face challenges in making their goods dispensing area accessible from both sides, which complicates the mechanical design and limits customer convenience and sales efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The vending machine employs a vertical conveyor system for upward and downward transport of goods, along with extendable horizontal conveyor belts and dual control panels, allowing goods to be retrieved from either side and enabling simultaneous transactions from opposite control units, thus enhancing accessibility and sales potential.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the vending machine is integrated into a checkout counter with a purely mechanical goods dispensing function, then the structure is simple, but the goods dispensing area can only be accessed from one side, limiting customer convenience and sales efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the conveyor belt extendable and retractable. The conveyor belt can be extended to allow goods to be dispensed to customers on both sides of the checkout counter, and retracted when not in use. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by enabling dual-sided accessibility without permanently complicating the mechanical structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-sided dispensing configuration to a dual-sided configuration by utilizing the horizontal extension dimension. The conveyor belt can extend in the horizontal direction to reach customers on opposite sides of the checkout counter, effectively adding another dimension of accessibility without fundamentally redesigning the entire mechanical structure.
2Productivity
If the vending machine allows goods to be dispensed to both sides, then customer convenience and sales efficiency improve, but the mechanical design becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single conveyor belt system that can serve multiple functions: dispensing goods to customers on the left side, right side, or both sides simultaneously. The conveyor belt's extendable design allows it to adapt to different dispensing scenarios, enabling the vending machine to handle multiple customer requests efficiently without requiring separate dispensing mechanisms for each side.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic extendable and retractable conveyor belt allows the system to adapt its configuration based on demand. When customers are present on both sides, the conveyor extends to serve both; when only one side has customers, it can be adjusted accordingly. This dynamic capability increases productivity by enabling simultaneous service to multiple customers while avoiding the permanent complexity of a fully extended dual-sided structure.
3Productivity
If a single goods store is used, then the structure is simplified, but only one customer can be served at a time, limiting sales potential
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a dynamic conveyor belt system that can extend to different positions to serve multiple customers simultaneously from a single goods store. The conveyor belt can be extended to reach customers on both sides of the checkout counter, allowing the single goods store to serve multiple customers at the same time by directing goods to different destinations through the same transport mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the goods store into multiple storage compartments or zones. Each compartment can store different types of goods, and the conveyor belt can selectively transport goods from different compartments to different customers. This segmentation allows a single goods store to efficiently serve multiple customers with different product needs simultaneously.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a vending machine (1) which is provided for dispensing individual goods (3), the vending machine (1) having a vertical conveying device (8) with which the goods (3) can be conveyed in a vertical direction, the vending machine ( 1) has at least two horizontal conveying devices (6, 10) with which the goods (3) can be conveyed in a horizontal direction. The invention also relates to a system consisting of at least one cash desk (13) and a vending machine (1). The invention also relates to a method for operating a vending machine (1) which has a goods store (2), at least two operating units (4) and goods dispensing areas (11) assigned to the respective operating units (4): a) wherein a customer via an operating unit (4) requests a desired product (3) from the goods store (2), b) the desired product (3) is then transported in the vertical direction (9) c) and then the desired product (3) in the horizontal direction (12) is transported to the goods issue area (11) which is assigned to the customer.