초록 ▼

Improvements to increase the speed at which a vending machine can dispense articles are disclosed. In various embodiments, the machine defines plural first arrays of receptacles for receiving articles with the first arrays stacked so that adjacent receptacles in the first arrays form second arrays.

Improvements to increase the speed at which a vending machine can dispense articles are disclosed. In various embodiments, the machine defines plural first arrays of receptacles for receiving articles with the first arrays stacked so that adjacent receptacles in the first arrays form second arrays. A separate user door closes each first array of receptacles, a slot door assembly provides a plurality of receptacle doors operative to open a particular receptacle when the user door is unlocked, and a slot access mechanism provides access to a particular receptacle. The machine waits a specified time period after dispensing to detect whether a subsequent user request is received. If a subsequent user request is received, the machine moves the slot access mechanism directly to a receptacle where the articles are available. Additional improvements include procedures for avoiding problems caused by misaligned doors and procedures for providing optimal article stocking.

대표청구항 ▼

1. Apparatus for dispensing articles, comprising: a processoran array of receptacles, wherein each receptacle is operative for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed;a user door normally preventing access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;the receptacle door assembly comprising a plura

1. Apparatus for dispensing articles, comprising: a processoran array of receptacles, wherein each receptacle is operative for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed;a user door normally preventing access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;the receptacle door assembly comprising a plurality of moveable receptacle doors operative to provide access to a select one of the receptacles when the user door is open;a lock mechanism responsive to operation of the receptacle door assembly to enable access through the user door to the receptacle door assembly only after the receptacle doors are positioned to select a particular receptacle; anda slot access mechanism comprising a drive mechanism, the slot access mechanism being associated with the receptacle door assembly and selectively operative in response to a user request to position the receptacle doors so that any selected receptacle in the array of receptacles remains unblocked by the receptacle doors, wherein the slot access mechanism is operative to position the receptacle doors so that a receptacle where one or more articles associated with the user request are available to dispense is unblocked by the receptacle doors and wherein the drive mechanism is operative to:wait a specified time period after the user request is complete without returning the slot access mechanism to a home location in order for the processor to detect whether a subsequent user request occurs within the specified time period, wherein the home location is a location in which the slot access mechanism can perform a full-reset of the receptacle doors and the processor is operative to: in response to detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period, direct the drive mechanism to direct the slot access mechanism to position the receptacle doors so that the receptacle where one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense is unblocked by the receptacle doors; andin response to not detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period, return the slot access mechanism to the home location to perform a full-reset. 2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the apparatus performs the full-reset by directing the slot access mechanism to return to the home location in order to reset the receptacle doors. 3. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the receptacle associated with the subsequent user request is the nearest receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense to the receptacle from the previous user request. 4. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein in response to detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period, the processor is operative to direct the drive mechanism to have the slot access mechanism skip at least one adjacent receptacle to the receptacle from the previous user request and position the receptacle doors so that a receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense is unblocked by the receptacle doors. 5. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein: the plurality of moveable receptacle doors are supported for displacement along a path parallel to the array and number one less than the number of receptacles in the array, wherein the receptacle doors are displaceable on the path to allow access to any selected receptacle while blocking access to the remaining receptacles;the slot access mechanism further comprises: a carriage selectively moveable adjacent the receptacle doors to a plurality of locations corresponding to the receptacles; andan arm assembly moveable with the carriage in a retracted position retracted from the receptacle doors, wherein: the receptacle door at a predetermined receptacle location corresponding to the home location is biased to a certain location so that the location of that receptacle door is known when the arm assembly is retracted; andthe arm assembly is operative to selectively extend at any such location to engage the receptacle doors blocking the receptacle and separate the engaged receptacle doors, thereby unblocking access to the corresponding receptacle in response to the user request. 6. Apparatus as in claim 5, wherein in response to detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period: the carriage is operative to skip at least one adjacent receptacle to the receptacle from the previous user request and move to a location corresponding to a receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense so that the arm assembly can selectively extend to engage the receptacle doors blocking the receptacle and separate the engaged receptacle doors, thereby unblocking access to the receptacle; andif the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are only available in an adjacent receptacle to the receptacle from the previous user request, the carriage is operative to move to a receptacle other than the adjacent receptacle or the home location so that the arm assembly can selectively extend to engage the receptacle doors blocking the other receptacle so as to reset the receptacle doors corresponding to the adjacent receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available and then move to the location corresponding to the adjacent receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to be dispensed so that the arm assembly can selectively extend to engage the receptacle doors blocking the receptacle and separate the engaged receptacle doors, thereby unblocking access to the receptacle. 7. Method for dispensing articles, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an array of receptacles, wherein each receptacle is operative for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed;(b) providing a user door normally preventing access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;(c) providing the receptacle door assembly comprising a plurality of moveable receptacle doors operative to provide access to a select one of the receptacles when the user door is open;(d) providing a processor to detect user requests;(e) positioning the plurality of moveable receptacle doors in response to a user request so that a receptacle in the array of receptacle where one or more articles associated with the user request are available to dispense remains unblocked by the receptacle doors;(f) unlocking the user door to provide access to the receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the user request are available to dispense; and(g) waiting a specified time period after the user request is complete without returning the plurality of moveable receptacle doors to a home configuration in order to detect whether a subsequent user request occurs within the specified time period, wherein: (1) in response to detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period, positioning the plurality of moveable receptacle doors so that a receptacle where one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense is unblocked by the receptacle doors; and(2) in response to not detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period, returning the plurality of moveable receptacle doors to a home configuration. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the receptacle associated with the subsequent user request is the nearest receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense to the receptacle from the previous user request. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein in response to detecting the subsequent user request within the specified time period: (1) skipping at least one adjacent receptacle to the receptacle from the previous user request; and(2) positioning the plurality of moveable receptacle doors so that a receptacle where the one or more articles associated with the subsequent user request are available to dispense is unblocked by the receptacle doors. 10. Apparatus for dispending articles, comprising: an array of receptacles, each receptacle is operative for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed;a user door normally preventing access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;the receptacle door assembly comprising a plurality of moveable receptacle doors operative to provide access to a select one of the receptacles when the user door is open;a lock mechanism responsive to operation of the receptacle door assembly to enable access through the user door to the receptacle door assembly only after the receptacle doors are positioned to select a particular receptacle;a slot access mechanism associated with the receptacle door assembly and selectively operative to position the receptacle doors so that any selected receptacle in the array of receptacles remains unblocked by the receptacle doors; anda detection mechanism associated with the slot access mechanism and operative to detect a position of each receptacle door when at the selected receptacle and not at a home location and whether the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle are aligned properly for operation of the receptacle doors so that the selected receptacle in the array of receptacles is unblocked by the receptacle doors. 11. Apparatus as in claim 10, wherein in response to detecting the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle are not properly aligned, the detection mechanism is further operative to instruct the slot access mechanism to reset the receptacle doors. 12. Apparatus as in claim 10, wherein the receptacle doors further comprise a metal ferro-magnetic tag and the detection mechanism comprises a magnetic sensor operative to measure the position of the tag in order to detect whether the receptacle doors are properly aligned. 13. A method for dispensing articles, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an array of receptacles, each receptacle is operative for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed;(b) providing a user door normally preventing access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;(c) providing the receptacle door assembly comprising a plurality of movable receptacle doors operative to provide access to a select one of the receptacles when the user door is open;(d) detecting a position of each receptacle door when at the selected receptacle and not at a home location and whether the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle are aligned properly for operation of the receptacle doors so that the selected receptacle is unblocked by the receptacle doors;(e) in response to detecting the position of each receptacle door at the selected receptacle is aligned properly, positioning the receptacle doors so that the selected receptacle in the array of receptacles remains unblocked by the receptacle doors; and(f) unlocking the user door to provide access to the selected receptacle. 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of: In response to detecting the position of at least one of the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle is not aligned properly, performing a full-reset. 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of: In response to detecting the position of at least one of the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle is not aligned properly, positioning the receptacle doors at a second receptacle door in order to reset the receptacle doors at the selected receptacle. 16. A method for dispensing a plurality of articles requested by a user from a dispensing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a matrix of receptacles for receiving one or more articles to be dispensed, wherein the matrix comprises: a plurality of first arrays wherein each first array comprises a plurality of receptacles and the plurality of first arrays are mutually parallel to each other along a dimension perpendicular to each first array so that receptacles of each first array are juxtaposed with receptacles of an adjacent first array; anda plurality of second arrays wherein each second array comprises a selected juxtaposed receptacle in each first array;(b) providing a plurality of user doors each operative to prevent access to a receptacle door assembly to a user;(c) providing the receptacle door assembly that comprises a plurality of moveable receptacle doors operative to provide access to a particular second array of the plurality of second arrays;(d) searching each second array of the plurality of second arrays to determine whether one or more second arrays have receptacles where at least two of the plurality of articles requested by the user are available to be dispensed;(e) positioning the receptacle doors of the receptacle door assembly so that one of the second arrays identified in Step (d) is unblocked by the receptacle doors; and(f) unlocking the user doors to provide access only to the receptacles associated with the second array unblocked in Step (e) and where the at least two articles requested by the user are available to be dispensed so that the at least two articles can be dispensed. 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of: (g) determining groups of one or more articles likely to be requested by a user in a single visit; and(h) loading the one or more articles of each group into a single second array for the group. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein Step (g) comprises the sub-step of maintaining a log of articles dispensed in single visits in order to determine the groups of one or more articles likely to be requested by a user in a single visit. 19. The method of claim 17, wherein Step (g) comprises the sub-step of conducting a survey of users in order to determine the groups of one or more articles likely to be requested by a user in a single visit. 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of: (g) positioning the receptacle doors of the receptacle door assembly so that a next second array identified in Step (d) is unblocked by the receptacle doors; and(h) unlocking the user doors to provide access only to the receptacles associated with the next second array and where the one or more articles of the plurality of articles requested by the user are available to be dispensed so that the one or more articles can be dispensed. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the Steps (g) through (h) are repeated until all the articles of the plurality of articles requested by the user are dispensed.