Automated video cassette recording and dispensing machine

Abstract

 An automated vending machine for the production of videotaped messages or presentations is disclosed. A mobile booth is provided which houses seating for the customer, a video camera, a video cassette recorder, an automated unit for handling and delivering the subject video cassette, a video monitor and video disk player for attracting and instructing the customer, apparatus for handling payment by the customer by cash or credit card, and a central processing unit for controlling the various operations of the machine. A customer is able to record a video-­taped message or presentation within the booth and either retain the recorded cassette or have delivery arranged to the recipient of the message.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to an automated vending machine for the recording and delivery of messages or presentations on video cassettes.

[0002] Automated vending machines for the rapid production of black-and-white or colour photographs, referred to as "fotomats", have been in popular use for many years. Such machines allow the customer to record his or her image on a photograph, without the necessity of a human photographer, by entering a small booth, inserting the required amount of money, posing for the camera and waiting a short period of time to receive the developed photographs. The booths are placed in locations having heavy traffic such as shopping malls and amusement parks. Such photographs have been popular for recording a special event but do not allow for an audio component nor for a moving image.

[0003] Video cassette records (VCR's) which are capable of playing or recording moving video images and an audio track onto VHS or BETA format video cassettes have, in a short period of time, become a standard part of the domestic entertainment centre of the average consumer in many countries. While initially VCR's were used primarily to display prerecorded video cassettes, relatively inexpensive video cameras or "camcorders" have also become a popular consumer item and the use of such cameras to record important events such as births or weddings onto video cassette to be mailed to another family member for viewing on his or her VCR has also become common. To date, however, there has not been available an automated vending machine comparable to the "fotomat for producing video cassette recordings. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an automated machine to allow a customer, upon tendering of a cash payment or credit card, to record a video message onto a video cassette and to deliver the cassette to the customer without the need for a human operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides an automated vending machine for the production of videotaped messages or presentations which comprises a mobile booth to accommodate a subject customer, a video camera, a video cassette recorder, an automated unit for handling and delivering the subject video cassette, a video monitor and video disk player for instructing the customer, apparatus for handling payment by the customer by cash or credit card, and a central processing unit for controlling the various operations of the machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with the right side door ajar;

Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the invention as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the invention as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the invention as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a left side elevation of the invention shown in Fig. 1 with the door closed;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical cross-section of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines VII-VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view from below of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the inter-relationship of the various elements of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the automatic cassette handler of the invention;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal cross-section of the bin shown in Fig. 10 taken along lines XI-XI of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal cross-section of the bin as in Fig. 11 showing the arrangement of video cassettes;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the bin from above, with details of the pushers in dotted outline;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the elevator platform shown in Fig. 10 with the elevator motor also shown;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the elevator drive mechanism;

Fig. 15A is an end view of the elevator drive mechanism shown in Fig. 15;

Fig. 16 is a front view of the extractor mechanism of the loader;

Fig. 17 is a side view of the extraction mechanism of the loader;

Fig 18 is a front view of the loader showing the conveyor mechanism;

Fig. 19 is a side view of the conveyor mechanism;

Fig. 20 is a front view of the base tipper mechanism; and

Fig. 21 is a side view of the base tipper mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0006] With reference to the drawings, the apparatus of the invention is shown as a self-contained booth or kiosk 10 which can be readily transported to the desired vending location. The kiosk consists primarily of two independent pods, an equipment pod 12 and the recording pod 14 which houses the customer seating. The division of the kiosk into the two pods facilitates the servicing of the electrical equipment. The two pods can be locked together to discourage theft or vandalism of the unit.

[0007] As shown in Figs. 5 and 8, the recording pod 14 is mounted on frame 16 and rests on four circular feet 24 attached to the frame. The equipment pod 12 rests on four wheels 22 which allow easy movement of the equipment pod for servicing.

[0008] As shown in Figs. 1-7, the recording pod has a skylight 33, two door openings 30 which are opened or closed using semi-circular sliding doors 32 (described in more detail below) which have windows 35. The recording pod has a seat 36 for two customers 37 facing toward the equipment pod. An external video monitor 38, shown in Fig. 1, and external speaker 40 are provided to attract the customer with a prerecorded video and audio message originating on a video disc player within the unit, explaining the nature and operation of the machine.

[0009] With reference to Fig. 6, the customer 37 is shown seated on seat 36 in position for recording. A video camera 44 is located in the equipment pod at approximately eye level and is separated from the customer by a half-silvered mirror 46 so that the customer is able to see the image of himself or herself which is being recorded. The camera 44 is connected to a VCR 60 which is supplied with a video cassette for recording for the customer by cassette handling apparatus 62 to be described in further detail below. An internal speaker 42 is also provided for the audio track of the instruction video.

[0010] The control panel is located at 48 and includes a tele-prompter video monitor 50, a credit card reader 52, (see Fig. 9), a bill reader 54, a coin collecting slot 56, a change dispenser 58 and the video cassette outlet chute 11.

[0011] The sliding doors 32, as shown in Fig. 3, have a semi-circular forward upper edge portion 18 which has rotatably mounted along the upper inner edge thereof a series of rollers which roll in a track in the upper forward semi-circular edge of the recording pod. In this way, a sliding door is provided which does not reduce the compactness of the unit.

CASSETTE HANDLING SYSTEM

[0012] The cassette handling system 62 is described with reference to Fig. 10 through 21. Overall control of the cassette handler is carried out by a programmable logic controller 69 such as the Allen Bradley Programmable Logic Controller which uses a ladder diagram programming format to sense switch positions at various locations in the handler and provide power to several electric motors which drive the different mechanisms described as follows. The controller itself is controlled by the overall system logic, as well as a local manual control panel which is used during maintenance and cassette refilling. Most switches are dry contact micro-switch devices. Optical emitters and sensors are required to sense the top cassette layer in the bin as described below. Conventional retro-reflective sensors are used to detect cassette orientation at the top chute.

[0013] The handling system has a bin 64 containing a supply of video cassettes 13 with capacity for 12 cassettes per layer, supported on a flat elevator platform 66 and one within chute 68. Access to the bin for filling is through hinged door 65 which also carries the upper part of chute 68. The top plate 69 of the bin carries pusher mechanisms 71 and 73 which move the cassettes in the topmost row to the top of chute 68, and elevator motor 75 which raises elevator platform 66 on four steel cables by a pulley system (shown in Fig. 15). Elevator platform 66 rides up and down inside the bin carrying the cassettes which are separated by two vertical dividers 67 running from front to back in the bin. Thus, as shown in Fig. 11, the bin consists of three vertical sections.

[0014] During operation, cassettes from the topmost layer are pushed onto the top of a stack held in chute 68 leading down to the loader 70. As each layer is exhausted, the elevator platform 66 is raised to allow movement of the next layer into the chute. Pusher 71, shown in Fig. 13, is the side pusher and it pushes the cassettes in the top row in the direction of arrow A. It consists simply of a right angle section blade 72 driven via a timing belt drive 74 by a 110 volt AC gearmotor 76 (all motors described in the handler are of this type, other than the elevator motor). Belt tension is maintained by a spring-loaded idler wheel mount which allows the belt to slip should a jam occur. The controller 69 senses time out condition in the event of a jam and stops the motor 74 after the time required to reach the next limit switch. A jam detect switch may also be located against the sprung loaded arm if necessary. The linear slide which carries blade 72 is a single block of a plastic material with lubricant filler, such as NYLATRON, which slides within the outer C-channel 61 of the bin and a slot in the top plate 69. Side pusher 71 pushes four cassettes at a time, moving consecutively to positions determined by three limit switches located on the top plate and corresponding to the position of the vertical dividers and the "home" side farthest from the chute.

[0015] Chute pusher 73 operates using the same mechanisms as side pusher 71, and has blade 85, motor 77 and belt 79. It pushes one cassette at a time onto the top of the stack in chute 68 where a microswitch senses the presence or absence of a cassette and activates the motor as necessary via the controller.

[0016] The elevator (shown in Figs. 14 and 15) consists of a flat horizontal platform 66 running up and down in the bin constrained by four wheels 67 located in the bin sides. Platform 66 is supported by steel cables 78 running up to a lead screw system on the top plate. The elevator platform consists of three separate plates resting on two transverse stringers that carry the wheels and cable terminations on their outer ends. The plates are staggered slightly vertically to ensure jam-free movement by the side pusher, with the vertical dividers passing between the plates.

[0017] The elevator drive mechanism consists of a pulley block 81 riding on a lead screw 83 driven by a 110 volt AC reversible motor 75. The lead screw used in the preferred embodiment was a 1" diameter, .2" pitch ACME thread unit which provides fail safe locking against backwards rotation under load. Pulley block 81 acts on upper and lower cables 78a and 78b which in turn are pulled around a system of pulley 90 to raise or lower the ends of the cables 78. Cable length adjusters are provided on three of the four cable ends to allow levelling of the platform. Torque reaction on the pulley block is counteracted by a single bearing riding in a channel on the rear side of the bin. Vertical travel control of the elevator is achieved using several sensors.

[0018] Optical sensors determine that the top layer is completely empty before raising the elevator. Three light emitting diodes (not shown) are used to emit light across the top layer and sense its reflection when the path is empty. Lack of a cassette in the back left-hand position signals the elevator to be raised unless any of the other positions is occupied, in which case a jam condition is indicated.

[0019] At the bottom of the cassette stack in the chute 68, the loader 70 extracts the lowest cassette, checks the orientation, and if appropriate presents the cassette to the VCR 60. Subsequently, the recorded cassette is retrieved from the VCR and passed out to the customer via outlet chute. Improperly oriented cassettes are rejected out the bottom of the outlet chute to an internal waste bin. The loader mechanism 70 has a main base plate 80 which carries all the other components and hinges downwardly along its front edge to permit the cassette to slide into the outlet chute. As the base is rotated downwardly, the cassettes in the chute are lowered by gravity to allow withdrawal of the next available cassette.

[0020] Mounted off the base plate 80 are the base tipper mechanism 82, the extractor mechanism 84 and the conveyor 86 which moves each cassette to and from the VCR. The extractor consists of a linear slide assembly 104 that pushes the lowest cassette out of the chute and simultaneously positions a roller 108 and two wheels 109 under the next cassette in the chute to support the weight of those cassettes remaining in the chute. The wheels are positioned by spring loaded pin devices that locate them under the left and right edges of the cassette as the slide moves the cassette out, with the roller providing intermediate support towards the end of the travel. The linear slide is the same design of sliding block and timing belt drive as described above for the bin pusher assemblies, with motor 106 driving a belt in channel 107. Jam protection is also provided by a spring-loaded idler. Cassette orientation is sensed by micro-switch detection of the slot present in the bottom surface of all cassettes. Incorrectly oriented cassettes are directed to the outlet chute and thence diverted to the waste bin by a solenoid-actutated flap.

[0021] The conveyor 82 is a belt drive consisting of motor 93, gear 94 and belt 95 which propels the cassette to and from the VCR. In order to slide the cassette sideways under the conveyor belt 95, the belt must be tilted upwards and this is done by pivoting the entire conveyor unit on a horizontal axis 96 using the torque reaction from the motor gear drive to either raise the conveyor end or lower it onto the cassette. The cassette is guided at the sides to ensure proper mating with the VCR entrance slot. After recording, the cassette is returned to the base plate for delivery to the outlet chute 11 by the base tipper mechanism.

[0022] The base tipper mechanism 82 locks the base plate in the horizontal position, releases the lock to allow the base plate to fall through 45 degrees with the motion cushioned by a hydraulic or pneumatic dashpot (not shown) and subsequently raises the plate back up to the horizontal position after retraction of the extraction wheels and roller. A one-way clutch bearing 97 allows only counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft carrying the link-wheel and link which supports the base plate. This shaft is driven by a timing belt drive 99 from a motor 98 and in the "up" position holds the base plate horizontal because backwards rotation of the shaft is prevented. When it is desired to release the plate, the link-wheel 100 is rotated approximately 7,5 degrees counter-clockwise and then the link 101 and base plate are free to fall on the overrunning clutch. A second clutch 97 allows overrunning of the shaft 102 in the driven timing pulley to prevent damage to the motor gearbox. The downards fall of the plate is controlled by either an ENIDINE hydraulic damper or an AIRPOT air damper. The plate 80 is returned to the horizontal position by further rotation of the link wheel 100 after the extractor mechanism 84 has returned to its "home" position.

[0023] In operation, the attract sequence stored on the video disc player is played continuously on the external monitor and speaker until a customer enters the kiosk and initiates the recording sequence by pressing the appropriate start button. This causes the external monitor to indicate that the booth is occupied and initiates a prerecorded instructional message on the interior monitor. The customer is presented with the option of payment by cash or credit card and selects the desired length of the recording and whether delivery is to be included in the service. The central processing unit calculates the appropriate charge and the customer either inserts a credit card in the credit card reader or inserts the appropriate amount of money into a coin accepter or bill reader.

[0024] The recording sequence is then initiated and the customer follows screen prompts in order to commence the recording, pause, or end the recording. During the recording the time remaining on the recording is displayed on the monitor. When the recording is complete, the video cassette is ejected down outlet chute 11 by the cassette handler to the customer and a receipt is issued to be used in the event that the customer has paid for delivery of the cassette. In that event the customer will address the cassette to the recipient and deposit it in slot 17 in the rear of the recording pod for storage in location 45 (shown in Fig. 6).

[0025] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is to be construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for automated recording and delivering of a video cassette to a customer, comprising:

a) a housing having seating for said customer;

b) a video camera mounted in said housing;

c) a video cassette recorder;

d) an automated device for handling and delivering said video cassette,

e) apparatus for handling payment by the customer; and

f) a central processing unit for controlling the operations of the apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cassette handling apparatus comprises:

a) means for storing a plurality of video cassettes and adapted to form a stack of cassettes for delivery to said recorder;

b) means for ejecting a cassette from said stack of cassettes; and

c) conveying means for conveying said ejected cassette to said recorder.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising means for directing a cassette from said plurality of cassettes in said storage means to said stack.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said ejection means further comprises merans for supporting said stack during the ejection of said cassette.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said means for directing comprises means for sliding said cassette in two perpendicular dirdctions.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said conveyor means comprises a conveyor belt.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said election means further comprises a slide means for pushing said cassette.

8. A kiosk for access by customers comprising a housing, an opening to allow entrance and exit of said customers and a sliding door for opening and closing said opening, wherein said housing and said door have a forward semi-circular shape and said door is adapted along the front semi-circular portion thereof to slide in close proximity to said housing, whereby the forward motion of said door causes the exposing of said opening.

9. The kiosk of claim 8 wherein said door is adapted for sliding by being provided with a series of rollers along the upper edge thereof for rolling in a track provided in said housing.

Drawing