KR20250121496A - a robotic arm vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot arm-type automatic vending machine, and the function of the storage rack for storing products sold in the vending machine is driven by the pressing force of a robot arm without power, so that the product is always positioned at the top, and is reinforced with two layers of inner and outer walls to prevent damage and malfunction due to cold air used to keep ice cream products frozen, and the purpose is to pick up products while the robot moves and moves, breaking away from a simple driving method of pushing and discharging products. The robot arm-type automatic vending machine according to the present invention comprises: a case (1); a rack (3) formed in the case and each having ice cream products stored or stored therein, the rack (3) storing products to be sold; a frozen showcase (2) mounted in the case and keeping the products on the rack in a frozen state; A robot is included that opens the lid of a rack selected by a buyer from among the racks through the control of a program based on the buyer's selection information, suction-grips goods stored in the rack, and picks them up through a discharge port formed in the case, wherein the rack stores the goods in a horizontal multi-tiered manner, and the program calculates information on the remaining quantity according to the discharge of goods for each rack while pre-saving the position of the suction gripper of the robot according to the position of the goods stored in the horizontal multi-tiered manner, and the robot picks up the goods by inserting the suction gripper to a depth appropriate for the position of the goods stored in the rack based on the calculation of the program.

Description

A robotic arm vending machine

The present invention relates to an ice cream and frozen refrigerated room temperature product vending machine (hereinafter abbreviated as “vending machine”), and more specifically, to a robotic arm vending machine in which a robotic arm picks up products (particularly, ice cream packaged in a nitrogen-filled plastic bag and two thin plastic sheets, and frozen refrigerated room temperature products packaged in a paper box) according to the purchase information of the purchaser and supplies them to the purchaser.

This section provides background information related to the subject matter of this application and is not necessarily prior art.

As vending machines have become more widespread, vending machines that sell a variety of products are being used.

The vending machine is designed so that when a consumer pays and selects a product, a pickup device is activated to pick up the product, move it to the outlet, and drop it.

In order to promote industrial development and increase the product value of vending machines, the technology of a robotic arm pickup device is being developed.

Patent No. 10-2177611, which is a patent document for a vending machine using a robotic arm, is a cotton candy vending machine having a robotic arm with a rotating hand and a hook formed on the side of a rotating melting unit and a rod supply unit, which is capable of rotating on six axes and takes out rods supplied from the rod supply unit. Patent No. 10-1165578 is a vending machine in which a user directly operates a humanoid robot. Utility Model No. 20-0237216 is an electric vending machine that sells products using a gripping tong, comprising: a housing that holds products and has a robot arm mounted thereon; a robot arm that extracts products and moves them to a product outlet; a printed circuit board (PCB) having one or more control levers and one or more control buttons for controlling the robot arm; a control unit for controlling the robot arm and auxiliary devices; a coin detector; an LED board for displaying the remaining time of a timer; a speaker; It is a product vending machine using a multi-joint robot arm including a power transformer, Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0168232 is a coffee extracting robot hand vending machine for each coffee bean, Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0113039 is an ice cream vending machine in which a robot moves a cup and puts ice cream in the cup, and Patent Registration No. 10-2023-0107885 is an ice cream vending machine in which ice cream in a rack is picked up with a 'ㄷ' shaped gripper and dispensed.

Although vending machines that include conventional robotic pickup devices have been developed and released, there are no patent documents related to vending machines for products packaged in plastic bags (ice cream packaged in nitrogen-filled plastic bags and thin transparent plastic, and frozen and refrigerated room temperature products packaged in paper boxes).

In addition, among conventional vending machines, there are some that include components such as a spring (spiral) and a moving plate for moving products to a pickup position, and such vending machines have a problem of causing malfunction of the above components due to condensation and frost that may be generated by cold air for maintaining frozen products (ice cream) in a frozen state.

No. 10-2177611 No. 10-1165578 No. 10-2022-0168232 No. 10-2022-0113039 No. 10-2023-0107885

No. 20-0237216

The present invention is intended to solve the problems described above, and to provide a robotic arm vending machine that prevents damage and malfunction caused by cold air used to keep products such as ice cream frozen, by using only the minimum basic structure for storing products sold in the vending machine, and to break away from the simple driving method of pushing and dispensing products, and to pick up products by moving the robotic arm.

The robot arm vending machine according to the present invention comprises a plurality of racks formed in a case, each rack storing a product, and a robot arm that picks up a product stored in a rack selected by a purchaser through a discharge port formed in the case under the control of a program based on the purchaser's selection information, wherein the rack stores the product in a horizontal multi-tiered manner, and the program calculates remaining amount information according to the discharge of the product for each rack by setting the position of the top-ranked product among the products stored in the horizontal multi-tiered manner and storing the position of the suction gripper of the robot in advance, and the robot is characterized in that the suction gripper is inserted into the position of the product stored in the rack based on the calculation of the program to pick up the top-ranked product.

The robot arm vending machine according to the present invention comprises a case and a rack formed in the case, each of which stores or receives ice cream products therein, wherein a suction gripper of the robot arm suctions the lid of the rack to move it to a designated position, then suction-grips the product to discharge it, closes the lid, and presses it down to always place the product stored in the rack at the highest position to wait for the next consumer's order, and a frozen showcase that keeps the product for sale in a frozen state, and a robot arm that, through the control of a program based on the purchaser's selection information, opens the lid of a rack selected by a purchaser from among the racks with the suction robot arm, suction-grips the product stored in the rack, and transports it to a discharge port formed in the case, wherein the rack stores the product in a horizontal multi-tiered manner, and calculates remaining amount information according to the discharge of the product for each rack, and the robot, based on the calculation of the program, transports the product stored in the rack to the discharge port with the suction gripper, then returns the lid of the rack to its original position and presses it down to raise the product inside the rack so that the product is always placed at the highest position.

According to the robot arm vending machine of the present invention, the purchaser can feel a new sensation that cannot be felt from existing mobile vending machines for products by watching the robot move outside the vending machine to pick up the product and the performance of the robot arm's joint movement, thereby enhancing the product quality of the vending machine.

Furthermore, the robotic arm presses down on the rack lid, ensuring that the product is always at the top position. This power ensures that the product stored on the rack remains in the same top position. In the case of ice cream vending machines, the cold air used to keep the ice cream frozen minimizes damage and malfunctions caused by frost and condensation, and prevents damage during vertical product dispensing, thereby reducing unnecessary maintenance and lowering operating costs.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a robot arm vending machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a rack applied to a robot arm vending machine according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a plan view showing the rack and robot of the robot arm vending machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a side view showing an example of products stored in a rack applied to a robot arm vending machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a robot applied to a robot arm vending machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a robot that opens and closes a lid applied to a robot arm vending machine according to the present invention, dispenses a product, and then presses the lid down to move the position of the product to the highest position.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations will be omitted if they are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms described below are defined in light of their functions within the present invention and may vary depending on the intent or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, their definitions should be based on the overall content of this specification.

Example 1 is a vending machine for ice cream using a sales rack, and Example 2 is a vending machine for general products.

<Example 1>

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the robotic vending machine according to the present invention includes a case (1), a frozen showcase (2) for freezing a product (ice cream), a frozen showcase (2) each including a plurality of sales racks (3), a robot (4) (product pickup robot), and a program.

1. Case (1).

The case (1) is a body having a space inside, and is equipped with a purchase selection section for selecting a product (e.g., formed on the front with a touch screen (5)), a payment system (6) for purchasing a product (card insertion port, pay, QR recognition system, etc.), a product discharge port (7), etc.

The outlet (7) is a body with an open top so that the product picked up by the robot (4) can fall from the top, and is equipped with a cover (preferably transparent) on the front that can be opened and closed by the buyer.

The purchase selection section has a list of multiple products, a section for selecting products and quantities, a section for selecting payment methods, a section for selecting previous steps, and a section for selecting cancellation.

Case (1) is configured with a transparent upper front portion, excluding the touch screen (5), so that external customers or pedestrians can see the performance of the internal robot arm (4).

2. Freezer showcase (2).

The refrigerated showcase (2) freezes products stored in the rack (3) and can be constructed using a separate case inside the case (1).

3. Rack (3).

Rack (3) is a rack for selling products, that is, a rack for storing products to supply products for customers to purchase.

The rack (3) stores products inside, and considering that the products are ice cream (thinner than the area) packaged in a pack (plastic, transparent thin plastic, or paper box, etc.), they are stored so as to lie horizontally, as shown in Fig. 4, and such storage is storage that can be easily suction-gripped by the suction gripper of the robot arm (4).

In addition, in order to store a larger quantity of products (8) in the rack (3), the rack (3) is configured so that products (8) are stored horizontally inside, and there is a device for pushing up the lid (12) of the rack by having a shock absorber (11) between the inner wall (9) and the outer wall (10) with two layers of outer walls, and a suction robot arm (4) for pushing down the lid (12) of the rack, a gear (13) that pushes down the chain (14), a chain (14) that rotates by the gear (13), and a support (15) that is fixed to the chain (14) that rotates to push up the product. Fig. 6 shows the process of discharging the product (8) and the process of placing the product (8) inside the rack (3) at the topmost position. (A) and (B) are examples in which the robot arm (4) opens the lid (12) of the rack (3), moves it to a designated location (16), and then returns it to its original position. (C) suction-grips the product (8) and discharges it into the discharge port (7). (D) and (E) suction-grip the lid (12) that has been moved to a designated location (16) and cover the lid (12) on the rack (3). (F) pushes the lid (12) down with the robot arm (4) to raise the product (8) to the highest position. (G) pushes the lid (12) that has been pressed down upward with the shock absorber (11) to position it in the original position of the lid (12). In the above process, the robot arm (4) presses the lid (12) down, and the gear (13) pushes the chain (14) down, causing the support (15) to rise upward, thereby moving the product (8) to the highest position from which it has already been discharged.

The rack (3) is sealed with a lid (12) to prevent the products stored inside from spoiling due to the influence of external temperature, and minimizes problems caused by condensation and frost with two layers of inner walls (9) and outer walls (10). The rack (3) is roughly square when viewed from a flat surface, and the lid (12) is a square plate with packing applied to the bottom edge, and the suction gripper of the robot arm (4) on the top suctions (or grips by hand by the manager) and moves the lid (12) to a designated location (16).

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, since the present invention is a technology for temporarily moving the lid (12) to another location after opening the rack (3), it is not limited to placing the lid (12) in a designated location (16), and it is also possible to apply a separate temporary storage tray, and the robot (4) moves the lid (12) to a designated location (16) regardless of which rack (3) among a plurality of racks (3) is opened, suctions and grips the product, discharges it, and then moves the lid (12) stored in the designated location (16) to the corresponding rack (3). After discharging the preceding product (8), the robot arm (4) closes the lid (12) of the corresponding rack (3) and presses it down to position the product (8) at the top.

The rack (3) is composed of only a basic configuration capable of storing a plurality of products (8), and is configured with an additional configuration such as an elevator that raises the products (8) upward, i.e., a structure that presses down the lid (12) to position the products at the top.

4. Robot (4).

The robot (4) is fixedly installed on a rail (17) formed on the ceiling inside the vending machine, and is configured as a multi-joint, and a suction gripper (18) at the end suctions and picks up products (8) inside the rack (3).

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the robot (4) includes a swing block (19) that is fixedly and rotatably mounted on a rail (17) and allows a suction gripper (18) to be rotatably moved to the lid (12) of a plurality of racks (3) in the case (1), a first arm (20) that is articulatedly connected to the swing block (19), a second arm (21) that is articulatedly connected to an end of the first arm (20), and a third arm (22) that is articulatedly connected to the second arm (21) and to which the suction gripper (18) is swingably connected, but is not necessarily limited to the above configuration, and the driving sources of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) and the suction gripper (18) can be implemented from a known robot, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The suction gripper (18) connects a silicone synthetic pleated suction plate to a pair of suction tubes to suck in the product using pressure from the air suction of a separately installed compressor and move and discharge the product.

All driving sources applied to the robot (4) are driven through program control.

5. Program.

The program receives a selection from the purchase selection section (touch screen (5)) and controls the robot (4) to pick up the product (8) selected by the purchaser from the rack (3) and discharge it into the discharge port (7). The following data is stored in advance in the memory.

- Initial position information of the robot (4)

- Information on products stored in each rack (3) (Information on the rack (3) where the product selected by the buyer is stored (e.g., each rack (3) is identified by assigning a unique number))

- Information for movement from the initial position of the robot (4) to each rack (3)

- Position information of the suction gripper (18) for inserting the suction gripper (18) into each rack (3) (driving information of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) according to the position of the suction gripper (18)

- Information on the quantity (remaining quantity) of products remaining on the rack (3)

- Depth information of the suction gripper (18) corresponding to the position of the product (8) remaining on the rack (3) (operation information of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) according to the position of the suction gripper (18))

- Driving information of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) to move each lid (12) to a designated location (16)

The method for purchasing products using the robot arm vending machine according to the present invention is as follows.

1. Select a product.

The buyer selects the product, quantity, and payment to be purchased by selecting the selection button on the purchase selection section (touch screen (5)).

2. Robot movement.

The program controls the robot (4) according to the buyer's choice to drop the product into the outlet (7), and the specific actions are as follows.

The program extracts a rack (3) containing the product selected by the buyer from among a number of racks (3), for example, extracts rack (3) number 3, moves the robot (4) to a location matching rack (3) number 3, and drives the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) to move the suction gripper (18) to the top of the lid (12).

Since the position of the lid (12) does not change regardless of the number of products remaining in the rack (3), the position at which the lid (12) is opened is always the same.

3. Open the lid.

Through the control of the program, the robot (4) suction grips the lid (12) with the suction gripper (18), moves the lid (12) to a designated location (16) through the joint movement of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22), and then lowers it.

4. Product grip.

The suction gripper (18) descends to a depth where it can suction grip the product (8) located at the top inside the rack (3).

Next, a pair of suction cups suction grip (hold) the product.

5. Transportation of goods.

The robot (4) pulls the suction gripper (18) out of the rack (3) while maintaining the suction grip state of the product (8), moves toward the discharge port (7), and moves the suction gripper (18) to the upper part of the discharge port (7) through the joint movement of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22), and then releases the air pressure to drop the product (8) into the discharge port (7).

6. Close the lid.

After completing the pickup of the product, the robot (4) moves to a position to pick up the lid (12) at a designated location (16), picks up the lid (12), moves the lid (12) to the top of the rack (3), lowers it, closes the rack (3), and then presses down the lid (12) to place the product (8) at the top position.

7. Robot return.

The robot (4) returns to the initial position and the suction gripper (18) waits with the initial setting (air pressure cut off) for the next grip.

8. Product replenishment.

The program counts the quantity stored in the rack (3) and the quantity sold, and can transmit this count information to the manager's terminal and also notify the customer through the touch screen.

Meanwhile, if the quantity remaining in the rack (3) is less than the minimum quantity (e.g., 4), i.e., before the product runs out, the program sends a replenishment message to the manager, and the manager opens the lid (12) of the rack (3), replenishes the separately prepared product, and after completing the replenishment work, closes the lid (12) to seal the rack (3).

As shown in Fig. 4, the lid (12) is composed of a gear (13) and a support (23) that supports the lid (12) and the gear (13), and after the lid (12) is suction-gapped and stored in a designated location (16), the product (8) is suction-gapped and rotated to the discharge port (7), and then the air pressure of the suction gripper is removed, and after the product (8) is discharged, the lid (12) stored in the designated location (16) is suction-gapped and the discharged product (8) is covered with the lid (12) on top of the rack (3), and then the suction gripper (18) of the robot arm (4) presses the lid (12) down, and the gear (13) connected to the lid (12) rotates the chain (14) so that the support (15) rises up so that the built-in product (8) of the rack (3) is always located at the same top position, and after the suction gripper (18) of the robot arm (4) presses the lid (12) down, The power of the shock absorber (11) positions the lid (12) to the position before the robot arm (4) presses it down.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 4, the double structure of the inner wall (9) and outer wall (10) of the rack (3) can be free from the problems of frequent breakdowns due to condensation and frost, which are chronic problems of ice cream and frozen vending machines, and it is easy to store more products (8) by displaying the products (8) horizontally. In addition, the devices such as the gears (13), chain (14), and shock absorber (11) are safely protected between the inner wall (9) and the outer wall (10).

<Example 2>

The present invention can be used for products other than ice cream, and therefore, the previously described freezer showcase (2) and lid (12) are not applied, and the product purchasing method of this embodiment does not have the task of safely moving the lid (12) to a designated location (16) by the robot arm (4) in the previously described embodiment, and the task of pressing down the lid (12) by the robot arm (4) to always keep the product (8) at the top position.

1. Select a product.

The buyer selects the product, quantity, and payment to be purchased by selecting the selection button on the purchase selection section (touch screen (5)).

2. Robot movement.

The robot arm (4) is fixed to the rail (17), the first to third arms (20, 21, 22) move articulately, and the suction gripper (18) is inserted into the inside of the rack (3) to suction-grip the product.

At this time, the suction gripper (18) descends to fit the position of the product in the rack (3) and suction-grip the product.

3. Movement of goods.

The robot arm (4) maintains the state of suction gripping the product (8) and pulls the suction gripper (18) out of the rack (3), moves toward the discharge port (7), and moves the suction gripper (18) above the discharge port (7) through the joint movement of the first to third arms (20, 21, 22), and then releases the air pressure of the suction gripper to drop the product (8) into the discharge port (7).

4. Robot return.

After dropping the product into the outlet (7), the robot arm (4) moves to the initial position and the suction gripper waits with the initial setting (air pressure cut off) for the next grip.

1: Case, 2: Refrigerated showcase,
3: Rack, 4: Robot arm,
5: Payment section (touch screen), 6: Payment system,
7: outlet, 8: product,
9: inner wall, 10: outer wall,
11: Shock absorber, 12: Lid,
13: cog, 14: chain,
15: Support, 16: Designated place,
17: Rail, 18: Suction gripper,
19: Swing block, 20: 1st arm,
21: Second cancer, 22: Third cancer,
23: Support, 24: Built-in speaker

Claims (3)

With an external case;
A rack formed in the case above and each inside which ice cream products are stored or stored, a rack in which products for sale are stored and products are stored in a rack that opens and closes through a lid;
A refrigerated showcase mounted on the above case and keeping the products on the above rack in a frozen state;
A robot that opens the lid of a rack selected by the buyer from among the racks through the control of a program based on the buyer's selection information, sucks and grips the goods stored in the rack, transports them to a discharge port formed in the case, discharges them, transports the lid to the rack, covers them, and presses them down.
The above rack stores the above products in multiple tiers,
The above program calculates the remaining amount information according to the discharge of the product for each rack and stores the depth of the suction gripper of the robot in advance as the top position of the product stored in multiple stages.
The robot is an ice cream robot-type automatic vending machine characterized in that, based on the output of the program, the suction gripper is inserted to the highest position depth corresponding to the position of the product stored in the rack to pick up the product, and when the product stored in the rack is sold, the lid is moved to a designated position, the product is picked up at the discharge port, and the lid is transported to the rack at the designated position to close the rack. Case and;
A rack formed in the case above and each inside which ice cream products are stored or stored, a rack in which products for sale are stored and products are stored in a rack that opens and closes through a lid;
A robot that opens the lid of a rack selected by the buyer from among the racks through the control of a program based on the buyer's selection information, sucks and grips the goods stored in the rack, transports them to a discharge port formed in the case, discharges them, transports the lid to the rack, covers them, and presses them down.
The above rack stores the above products in multiple tiers,
The above program calculates the remaining amount information according to the discharge of the product for each rack and stores the depth of the suction gripper of the robot in advance as the top position of the product stored in multiple stages.
The robot is a robotic vending machine characterized in that, based on the output of the program, the suction gripper is inserted to the highest position depth corresponding to the position of the product stored in the rack to pick up the product, and when the product stored in the rack is sold, the lid is moved to a designated position, the product is picked up at the outlet, and the lid is transported to the rack at the designated position to close the rack. In claim 2, the product is ice cream,
A freezer showcase mounted on the above case and used to keep the ice cream products stored on the above rack in a frozen state through cold air,
The above rack is characterized by solving the problem of condensation and sexual intercourse by composing the inner and outer walls through a double wall.
The above rack is pressed down by the robot, and the support at the bottom of the rack is fixed to the chain and rotates to move the product upward.
An ice cream robot arm-type vending machine characterized by comprising a lid that opens and closes the opening of the rack by the robot.