Patent Publication Number: US-11386739-B2

Title: Vending machine and goods delivery method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2018/106665, filed on Sep. 20, 2018, which claims priority to and benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201711470549.7, which was filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People&#39;s Republic of China on Dec. 29, 2017, the disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of automatic vending, such as a vending machine and a commodity conveying method. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In recent years, as a variety of commodities such as groceries, fruits, vegetables and beverages can be sold in vending machines, the vending machines are becoming increasingly popular. 
     A vending machine is provided in the related art; when a consumer purchases a commodity, the bucket of the vending machine receives the commodity from the storage column and conveys the commodity to the pickup port, and the consumer can take the commodity out of the pickup port. However, in case of strip-shaped commodity (such as bottled water), the commodity may topple in the bucket when entering the bucket, and the toppled commodity may extend to the outside of the bucket and collide with other structures in the vending machine, thus affecting the movement of the bucket. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides a vending machine to prevent the commodity from extending to the outside of the bucket when entering the bucket, so as to avoid the commodity to be conveyed colliding with other structures of the vending machine, and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket. 
     The present disclosure also provides a commodity conveying method to prevent the commodity from extending to the outside of the bucket when entering the bucket, so as to avoid the commodity to be conveyed colliding with other structures of the vending machine, and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket. 
     In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides a vending machine, including: 
     a cabinet, where a pickup port is arranged at the surface of the cabinet; 
     a storage column arranged in the cabinet, configured to store the commodities; 
     a bucket arranged in the cabinet, configured to convey the commodity between the storage column and the pickup port; the bucket includes an inlet and an outlet which are oppositely arranged; the inlet is configured to be butted with the storage column so that the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column can enter the bucket through the inlet; and the outlet is configured to be butted with the pickup port; 
     a bucket drive mechanism, in transmission connection with the bucket, configured to drive the bucket to move in the cabinet; 
     a first shutter mechanism arranged at the inlet, configured to block or open the inlet; 
     a second shutter mechanism arranged at the outlet, configured to block or open the outlet; and 
     a controller, where the first shutter mechanism and the second shutter mechanism are both electrically connected with the controller; the controller is configured to control the first shutter mechanism to open the inlet and the second shutter mechanism to block the outlet in the process of the commodity to be conveyed entering the bucket. 
     In an embodiment, the present disclosure also provides a commodity conveying method for a vending machine, where the vending machine includes a cabinet, a bucket, a bucket drive mechanism, a first shutter mechanism, a second shutter mechanism and a storage column; a pickup port is arranged at the surface of the cabinet; the bucket, the bucket drive mechanism and the storage column are arranged in the cabinet; the bucket is configured to convey the commodity between the storage column and the pickup port, including an inlet and an outlet oppositely arranged; the first shutter mechanism is arranged at the inlet, the second shutter mechanism is arranged at the outlet, and the bucket drive mechanism is configured to drive the bucket to move in the cabinet; 
     the method including: 
     controlling the bucket drive mechanism to drive the bucket to move towards the storage column; 
     controlling the first shutter mechanism to open the inlet and the second shutter mechanism to block the outlet when the inlet is butted with the storage column. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a structural view of a vending machine in a first state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural view of the vending machine in a second state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the butting of a storage column and a bucket of the vending machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a stock-in state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a conveying state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a dispensing state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8 a    is a flow chart of a commodity conveying method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8 b    is a flow chart of another commodity conveying method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart of an additional other commodity conveying method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     In the figure:  100 —vending machine;  101 —cabinet;  103 —pickup port;  105 —storage column;  107 —bucket;  109 —cabinet body;  111 —cabinet door;  113 —storage column outlet;  115 —inlet;  117 —outlet;  119 —storage device;  121 —bucket drive mechanism;  123 —first shutter mechanism;  125 —second shutter mechanism;  127 —first detecting member;  129 —third sensor;  131 —second detecting member;  133 —fourth sensor;  143 —first shutter;  145 —second shutter. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following descriptions of embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but merely represent some embodiments of the disclosure. Similar numbers and letters refer to similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, if an item is defined in one drawing, such item will not be defined or explained in the subsequent drawings. 
     In the descriptions of the present disclosure, the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth” are only used for distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. 
     Embodiment 1 
       FIG. 1  is a structural view of a vending machine in a first state according to the embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a structural view of the vending machine in a second state according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , in the embodiment, the vending machine  100  includes a cabinet  101 , and multiple storage columns  105 , a bucket  107 , a bucket drive mechanism  121 , a first shutter mechanism  123  ( FIG. 4 ), a second shutter mechanism  125  ( FIG. 4 ) and a controller, all of which are arranged in the cabinet  101 . 
     As also shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the cabinet  101  includes a cabinet body  109 , a cabinet door  111 , and a storage device  119 . The cabinet door  111  is rotatably connected with the cabinet body  109 . A pickup port  103  is arranged at the surface of the cabinet door  111 . The cabinet door  111  may be made of transparent materials to facilitate the display of the commodities in the cabinet body  109 . The storage device  119  is arranged in the cabinet  109 , and opposite to the cabinet door  111 . 
     The storage column  105  is arranged in the storage device  119 , and the length direction of the storage column  105  extends in a first horizontal direction indicated by an arrow cd. A storage column outlet  113  is arranged at the front end of the storage column  105 , and the storage column outlet  113  is adjacent to the cabinet door  111 . The vending machine  100  further includes a commodity delivery mechanism configured to convey the commodity in the storage column  105  and discharge the commodity from the storage column outlet  113 . In the embodiment, the commodity delivery mechanism is arranged in the storage column  105 . 
     As also shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the bucket  107  is arranged in the cabinet body  109 , and located between the cabinet door  111  and the storage device  119 . The front end of the bucket  107  is provided with an outlet  117 , and the rear end of the bucket  107  is provided with an inlet  115 . The bucket drive mechanism  121  is arranged in the cabinet body  109 , and located between the cabinet door  111  and the storage device  119 . The bucket drive mechanism  121  is in transmission connection with the bucket  107 , and configured to drive the bucket  107  to move in a vertical direction indicated by an arrow of and/or a second horizontal direction indicated by an arrow ab, so that the inlet  115  of the bucket  107  can be opposite to the storage column outlet  113  of any storage column  105 , or the outlet  117  of the bucket  107  can be opposite to the pickup port  103 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram for the butting of a storage column and a bucket of the vending machine according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , when the inlet  115  of the bucket  107  is opposite to the storage column outlet  113  of any storage column  105 , the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column  105  can be conveyed into the bucket  107  by the commodity delivery mechanism. When the outlet  117  of the bucket  107  is opposite to the pickup port  103 , the consumer can take the commodity out of the bucket  107 . 
       FIG. 4  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 4 , in the embodiment, the first shutter mechanism  123  is arranged at the inlet  115  and is configured to block or open the inlet  115 ; and the second shutter mechanism  125  is arranged at the outlet  117  and is configured to block or open the outlet  117 . The first shutter mechanism  123  includes a first shutter  143 , the second shutter mechanism  125  includes a second shutter  145 , and the first shutter mechanism  123  and the second shutter mechanism  125  further include a power assembly respectively; both ends of the first shutter  143  and those of the second shutter  145  are respectively in transmission connection with the corresponding power assembly. Each power assembly is configured to correspondingly drive the first shutter  143  or the second shutter  145  to move in the vertical direction; where the first shutter  143  can at least partially block the inlet  115  by moving from bottom to top, and can completely open the inlet  115  by moving from top to bottom; the second shutter  145  can at least partially block the outlet  117  by moving from bottom to top, and can completely open the outlet  117  by moving from top to bottom. The power assemblies can transmit power through the meshing transmission of gears or through other transmission modes; the transmission mode will not be limited in the disclosure. 
     In the embodiment, the first shutter mechanism  123  is configured to block or open the inlet  115 , and the second shutter mechanism  125  is configured to block or open the outlet  117 . Blocking may refer to complete blocking or partial blocking, and opening refers to complete opening only. 
     In the embodiment, the controller is electrically connected with the power assembly of the first shutter mechanism  123  and that of the second shutter mechanism  125 , and is configured to control the first shutter mechanism  123  to open the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to block the outlet  117  in the process that the commodity to be conveyed is entering the bucket  107 . For example, after receiving a commodity purchase instruction, the controller controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the storage column  105  in which the commodity is. When the inlet  115  is butted with the storage column outlet  113 , the corresponding power assembly drives the first shutter  143  to move downwards to open the inlet  115 , and the second shutter  145  to move upwards to block the outlet  117 . In an embodiment, controlling of the movement of the first shutter mechanism  123  and the second shutter mechanism  125  by the controller can be understood as a continuous action. For example, in the above process, the controller controls the first shutter  143  to remain in a state of opening the inlet  115  and the second shutter  145  to remain in a state of blocking the outlet  117 . In an embodiment, when the controller is going to control the first shutter mechanism  123  to open the inlet  115 , if the first shutter  143  is already in a state of opening the inlet  115 , the controller will not control the first shutter  143  to move. When the controller is going to control the second shutter mechanism  125  to block the outlet  117 , if the second shutter  145  is already in a state of blocking the outlet  117 , the controller will not control the second shutter  145  to move. Then, the controller controls the commodity delivery mechanism to convey the commodity to be conveyed into the bucket  107 . In the process that the commodity to be conveyed is entering the bucket  107 , as being blocked by the second shutter  145 , the commodity to be conveyed are not easy to topple or extend to the outside of the bucket  107 , so as to avoid the commodity to be conveyed colliding with other structures of the vending machine  100 , and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket  107 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , in an embodiment, the storage column  105  is provided with a first detecting member  127 , and the bucket  107  is provided with a third sensor  129 . The third sensor  129  is electrically connected with the controller, and is configured to be coupled with the first detecting member  127  and send a first detecting signal when being coupled with the first detecting member  127 . The controller is configured to receive the first detecting signal, and determine whether the bucket  107  arrives at a position opposite to a storage column  105  upon receiving the corresponding first detecting signal. At this moment, the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to open the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to block the outlet  117 .  FIG. 5  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a stock-in state according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 5 , when the inlet  115  is opposite to the storage column outlet  113 , the first detecting member  127  is coupled with the third sensor  129 , and the third sensor  129  sends a first detecting signal. The controller controls the power assemblies to drive the first shutter  143  to open the inlet  115  and the second shutter  145  to block the outlet  117  according to the first detecting signal, and then, the commodities are conveyed into the bucket  107 . Then, the controller controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the pickup port  103 . In an embodiment, the first detecting member  127  may also be arranged on the bucket  107 , and the third sensor  129  may also be arranged on the storage column  105 . 
     In an embodiment, a first sensor (not shown in the figure) may also be provided at the inlet  115  of the bucket  107 ; the first sensor is electrically connected with the controller, and configured to detect whether the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket  107 ; when the first sensor detects that the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket  107 , the first sensor outputs a corresponding detecting signal, and the controller controls the first shutter  143  to block the inlet  115  according to such signal. 
       FIG. 6  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a conveying state according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 6 , in an embodiment, after the commodity to be conveyed enters the bucket  107 , the bucket drive mechanism  121  drives the bucket  107  to move towards the pickup port  103 . In this case, before the bucket  107  moves towards the pickup port  103 , the controller controls the power assemblies to drive the first shutter  143  to block the inlet  115 , and the second shutter  145  to block the outlet  117 . During the movement of the bucket  107  to the pickup port  103 , the commodity to be conveyed are blocked by the first shutter  143  and the second shutter  145 ; thus, the commodity is not easy to topple due to the vibration in the process of conveying, and the commodity with a toppling tendency can be righted to prevent further toppling, so as to effectively avoid the collision of the commodity to be conveyed with other parts of the vending machine  100  such as the storage column  105  and the cabinet door  111 , and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket  107 . In an embodiment, since the second shutter  145  is already in a state of blocking the outlet  117  during the process that the commodity to be conveyed is entering the bucket  107 , the controller will not control the second shutter  145  to move after the commodity to be conveyed enters the bucket  107  and before the bucket  107  moves towards the pickup port  103 . 
     In an embodiment, the controller may also be configured to set the time for controlling the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to start moving. For example, the controller may wait for a preset time after controlling the power assemblies to drive the first shutter  143  to block the inlet  115  and the second shutter  145  to block the outlet  117 , and then control the bucket drive mechanism  121  to start driving the bucket  107  to move in the cabinet  101 . The preset time may be 10 s, 20 s or shorter, and the preset time will not be limited in the disclosure. After a wait of the preset time, the commodity to be conveyed that have just been conveyed into the bucket  107  are stabilized, so as to avoid the toppling of the commodity to be conveyed. 
       FIG. 7  is a structural view of a bucket of the vending machine in a dispensing state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the commodity to be conveyed enters the bucket  107 , the bucket drive mechanism  121  drives the bucket  107  to move towards the pickup port  103 ; when the bucket  107  arrives at the position opposite to the pickup port  103  and the outlet  117  of the bucket  107  is butted with the pickup port  103 , the controller can control the power assemblies to drive the first shutter  143  to block the inlet  115  and the second shutter  145  to open the outlet  117 . When the first shutter  143  blocks the inlet  115 , the consumer cannot obtain the commodity in the storage column  105  opposite to the inlet  115  through the inlet  115  of the bucket  107 , and the safety of the vending machine  100  is improved. When the second shutter  145  opens the outlet  117 , the consumer can take out the commodity to be conveyed in the bucket  107 . In an embodiment, since the first shutter  143  is in a state of blocking the inlet  115  in the process of the bucket  107  conveying the commodity to the pickup port  102  from the storage column  105 , the controller will not control the first shutter mechanism  115  to move when the outlet  117  of the bucket  107  is butted with the pickup port  103 . 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a second detecting member is arranged at the pickup port  103 , and the bucket  107  is provided with a fourth sensor  133 . The fourth sensor  133  is electrically connected with the controller and is configured to be coupled with the second detecting member  131  and send a second detecting signal when being coupled with the second detecting member  131 . The controller is configured to receive the second detecting signal, and control the first shutter mechanism  123  to block the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to open the outlet  117  upon receiving the second detecting signal. When the outlet  117  is opposite to the pickup port  103 , the second detecting member  131  is coupled with the fourth sensor  133 , and the fourth sensor  133  sends a second detecting signal; the controller controls the power assemblies to drive the first shutter  143  to block the inlet  115 , and the second shutter  145  to open the outlet  117  according to the second detecting signal, so that the consumer can take the commodity in the bucket  107  through the pickup port  103 . In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the second detecting member  131  may also be arranged on the bucket  107 , and the fourth sensor  133  may also be arranged at the pickup port  103 . 
     A second sensor (not shown in the figure) may also be provided in the bucket  107 . The second sensor is configured to detect the height of the commodity to be conveyed entering the bucket  107 , and electrically connected with the controller; the controller is configured to adjust the height of the first shutter  143  when the first shutter  143  blocks the inlet  115  and the height of the second shutter  145  when the second shutter  145  blocks the outlet  117  according to the height of the commodity to be conveyed entering the bucket  107  detected by the second sensor. Therefore the rising heights of the first shutter  143  and the second shutter  145  can respectively be automatically adjusted according to the height of the commodity to be conveyed so as to be applicable to the conveying of commodity of different height. 
     Embodiment 2 
     It should be noted that in this paper, the height of the first shutter mechanism  123  when the first shutter mechanism  123  blocks the inlet  115  refers to the height of the first shutter  143  when the first shutter  143  blocks the inlet  115 , the height of the second shutter mechanism  125  when the second shutter mechanism  125  blocks the outlet  117  refers to the height of the second shutter  145  when the second shutter  145  blocks the outlet  117 . 
     The embodiment provides a commodity conveying method for the vending machine  100 , where the vending machine  100  includes a cabinet  101 , a bucket  107 , a bucket drive mechanism  121 , a first shutter mechanism  123 , a second shutter mechanism  125  and a storage column  105 . The cabinet  101  is provided with a pickup port  103 , and the bucket  107  and the storage column  105  are arranged in the cabinet  101 ; the bucket  107  is configured to convey the commodity between the storage column  105  and the pickup port  103 , including an inlet  115  and an outlet  117  oppositely arranged; the first shutter mechanism  123  is arranged at the inlet  115 , the second shutter mechanism  125  is arranged at the outlet  117 , and the bucket drive mechanism  121  is configured to drive the bucket  107  to move in the cabinet  101 .  FIG. 8A  is a flow chart of a commodity conveying method according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 8A , the commodity conveying method including: 
     Step  1 : controlling the bucket drive mechanism to drive the bucket to move towards the storage column. 
     Where, when the vending machine  100  in Embodiment 1 is adopted, after the consumer selects a commodity, the controller controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the storage column  105  in which the commodity is, so that the inlet  115  of the bucket  107  can be opposite to the storage column outlet  113  of the storage column  105 . 
     In an embodiment, the cabinet  101  of the vending machine  100  includes multiple storage columns. When the consumer selects a commodity, the controller determines one of the storage columns as the target storage column according to the commodity selected by the consumer, and controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the target storage column. 
     Step  2 : controlling the first shutter mechanism to open the inlet and the second shutter mechanism to block the outlet when the inlet is butted with the storage column. 
     When the inlet  115  is butted with the storage column outlet  113  of the storage column  105 , the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to open the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to block the outlet  117  to make full preparation for conveying the commodity to be conveyed into the bucket  107 ; and thus, when the commodity to be conveyed is conveyed into the bucket  107  from the storage column  105 , the commodity to be conveyed are prevented from toppling due to being blocked by the second shutter mechanism  125  to prevent the commodity to be conveyed from extending to the outside of the bucket  107 . 
     In an embodiment,  FIG. 8B  is a flow chart of another commodity conveying method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; as shown in  FIG. 8B , the method according to the present disclosure further includes: 
     Step  3 : controlling the first shutter mechanism to block the inlet when the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column is conveyed into the bucket. 
     In an embodiment, when the inlet  115  is butted with the storage column outlet  113  of the storage column  105  and the first shutter mechanism  123  opens the inlet  115 , the controller controls the commodity delivery mechanism to convey the commodity to be conveyed into the bucket  107  through the storage column outlet  113  of the storage column  105 . When it is detected that the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column  105  is conveyed into the bucket  107  (namely, when it is detected that the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket  107 ), the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to block the inlet  115  to make preparation for the bucket  107  conveying the commodity to be conveyed. 
     Step  4 : controlling the bucket drive mechanism to drive the bucket to move to the pickup port, so that the outlet can be butted with the pickup port. 
     In an embodiment, after the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column  105  is conveyed into the bucket  107  and the first shutter mechanism  123  closes the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  closes the outlet  117 , the controller controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move to the pickup port  103  so that the outlet  117  can be butted with the pickup port  103 . 
     The first shutter mechanism  123  closes the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  closes the outlet  117  when the bucket  107  conveys the commodity to be conveyed; therefore, during the movement of the bucket  107  to the pickup port  103 , the commodity to be conveyed are blocked by the first shutter  143  and the second shutter  145 ; thus, the commodity is not easy to topple due to the vibrication in the process of conveying, and the commodity with a toppling tendency can be righted to prevent further toppling, so as to effectively avoid the collision of the commodity to be conveyed with other parts of the vending machine  100  such as the storage column  105  and the cabinet door  111 , and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket  107 . 
     Step  5 : controlling the second shutter mechanism to open the outlet when the outlet is butted with the pickup port. 
     When the outlet  117  is butted with the pickup port  103 , the controller controls the second shutter mechanism  125  to open the outlet  117 . Since the first shutter mechanism  123  blocks the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  opens the outlet  117 , at this moment, the consumer can smoothly take the commodity in the bucket  107  through the outlet  117 , but cannot obtain the commodity in the storage column  105  opposite to the inlet  115  through the inlet  115 , and the safety of the vending machine  100  is improved. 
     In an embodiment,  FIG. 9  is a flow chart of an additional other commodity conveying method according to the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the process for controlling the bucket  107  to move to the pickup port  103  including: 
     Step  1 : controlling the bucket drive mechanism to drive the bucket to move towards the storage column. 
     Step  2 : controlling the first shutter mechanism to open the inlet and the second shutter mechanism to block the outlet when the inlet is butted with the storage column. 
     Step  31 : controlling the commodity delivery mechanism to convey the commodity to be conveyed in the storage column to the bucket. 
     Step  32 : detecting whether the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket; if the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket, perform Step  33 ; if the commodity to be conveyed does not completely enter the bucket, continue to perform Step  32 . 
     The vending machine  100  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is taken as an example; the first sensor is used to detect whether the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket  107 . 
     Step  33 : controlling the first shutter mechanism to block the inlet. 
     In an embodiment, the process may further include detecting the height of the commodity to be conveyed after the commodity to be conveyed enters the bucket  107 , and adjusting the blocking height of the first shutter mechanism  123  after being raised according to the detected height, and the blocking height of the second shutter mechanism  125  after being raised according to the detected height. In an embodiment, the blocking height of the first shutter mechanism  123  after being raised refers to the height of the first shutter  143  when the first shutter  143  rises and blocks the inlet  115 , and the blocking height of the second shutter mechanism  125  after being raised refers to the height of the second shutter  145  when the second shutter  145  rises and blocks the outlet  117 . 
     By controlling the first shutter mechanism  123  to block the inlet  115  after the commodity to be conveyed completely enters the bucket, the first shutter mechanism  123  blocks the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  blocks the outlet  117  in the process of conveying the commodity to be conveyed from the storage column  105  to the pickup port  103  by the bucket  107 ; thus, the commodity to be conveyed are blocked and restricted by the first shutter mechanism  123  and the second shutter mechanism  125  in the process of conveying, so that such commodity is not easy to topple or extend to the outside of the bucket  107  due to the fluctuation in the process of conveying, and the commodity to be conveyed with a toppling tendency can be righted to prevent further toppling, so as to effectively avoid the collision of the commodity to be conveyed with other parts of the vending machine  100  such as the storage column  105  and the cabinet door  111 , and further ensure the normal movement of the bucket  107 . 
     Where, the controller may wait for a preset time after controlling the first shutter mechanism  123  to block the inlet  115 , and then control the bucket  107  to move to the pickup port  103 . After a wait of the preset time, the commodity to be conveyed that have just been conveyed into the bucket  107  are stabilized, so as to avoid the toppling of the commodity to be conveyed. 
     Step  4 : controlling the bucket drive mechanism to drive the bucket to move to the pickup port, so that the outlet can be butted with the pickup port. 
     Step  5 : controlling the second shutter mechanism to open the outlet when the outlet is butted with the pickup port. 
     In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in case the vending machine  100  described in Embodiment 1 is adopted, when the consumer determines to purchase the commodity, the controller controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the target bucket; when the inlet  115  is opposite to the storage column outlet  113  of the target bucket, the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to open the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to block the outlet  117 , so that the commodity to be conveyed can be smoothly conveyed into the bucket  107  and the commodity to be conveyed is prevented from extending out of the bucket  107 . After the commodity to be conveyed enters the bucket  107 , the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to close the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to close the outlet  117 , and then controls the bucket drive mechanism  121  to drive the bucket  107  to move towards the pickup port  103 , so as to ensure the stability of the commodity to be conveyed in the conveying process, avoid the toppling of the commodity to be conveyed, and further prevent the toppled commodity to be conveyed from colliding with other parts such as the cabinet door  111  and the storage column  105 . When the outlet  117  is butted with the pickup port  103 , the controller controls the first shutter mechanism  123  to block the inlet  115  and the second shutter mechanism  125  to open the outlet  117 , the consumer can smoothly take the commodity out of the bucket  107 , but cannot obtain the commodity in the storage column  105  opposite to the inlet  115  through the inlet  115  of the bucket  107 , and the safety of the vending machine  100  is improved.