Direct-Access Vending Machine Rack Selecting Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automatic vending machines for selling canned-beverages or beverages in plastic bottles require complex control systems and numerous parts, leading to increased costs due to the need for expensive sensors and increased part counts, as well as the requirement for a bucket driving unit to move products.
Innovation Solution
An automatic vending machine design that simplifies the structure by allowing users to take out products directly, using a product storage device with a rack selecting mechanism, releasing mechanisms, and a restricting unit to permit only the selected product to be removed, eliminating the need for a bucket driving unit and reducing the number of parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a bucket driving unit is used to transport products from the product storage column, then the product can be automatically delivered to the user, but the device complexity and cost increase due to additional parts and sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the bucket driving unit from the system entirely. Instead of using a mechanical bucket to transport products, the invention allows products to be directly dispensed from the product storage column to the user through a simple opening, eliminating the complex transport mechanism while maintaining the essential vending function
Solution Approach 2:
The product storage column is designed to automatically present the selected product at the dispensing opening without requiring active transport. The product itself moves forward in the storage column and becomes accessible when its turn comes, making the system self-servicing without additional driving mechanisms
2Manufacturing precision
If a bucket driving unit with X-axis and Y-axis transport mechanisms is implemented, then precise product delivery is achieved, but the manufacturing cost increases due to expensive sensors and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the entire bucket driving unit including X-axis and Y-axis transport mechanisms. Product delivery precision is achieved not through active positioning systems but through the inherent structure of the product storage column where products are arranged in sequence and automatically present themselves at the dispensing point
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex, and durable mechanical transport systems with simple, inexpensive structural elements. The product storage column uses basic mechanical components that are cheap to manufacture and replace, achieving the same functional result without high-cost sensors and control systems
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple releasing mechanisms are provided for each product storage column, then product selection control is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the function of multiple releasing mechanisms into a single integrated releasing mechanism. This single mechanism controls the dispensing of products from the storage column, eliminating the need for multiple separate releasing components while maintaining the ability to control which product is dispensed based on user selection
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic vending machine for vending a product selected by a user includes: an automatic vending machine cabinet having an opening that is opened and closed by a door: a plurality of product racks that is provided in the automatic vending machine cabinet, each product rack including a plurality of product storage columns each storing products ordered in a line; and a product storage device that allows a user to take out one product at a time by holding a body of the product, when the door is opened to open the opening.