Basic Micro Switch Used In Vending Machines

Basic Micro Switch Used In Vending Machines

Basic Micro Switch Used In Vending Machines

How can a basic micro switch realize the buttons of vending machines? as we know, a basic Micro Switch is an electric switch. Using very little physical force can actuate it through a tipping-point mechanism, sometimes called an over-center mechanism. Switching happens reliably at specific and repeatable positions of the actuator, which is not necessarily true of other mechanisms. They are ubiquitous due to their low cost and durability, greater than 1 million cycles, and up to 10 million cycles for heavy-duty models. This durability is a natural consequence of the design. So the G5 series primary micro switch is so suitable for vending machines! 

 

What Is The Vending Machine?

 A vending machine is essentially an automated shop. People load products into the machine; people are available to purchase. Vending machine products are various, such as freshly made beverages, cans, snacks, and fresh food. Each item has a selection number or corresponding button. Customers pay, choose the corresponding item number or button, then wait for their chosen product to be dispensed. There are widely various vending machines in circulation now. They range from freshly brewed hot drinks, cold cans and snacks, fresh filtered water, candy, fresh food, hot food, and even non-edible items. To draw customers in, machines can combine eye-catching graphics with new products, intriguing videos, and stereo sound. In modern, cashless payments are more and more popular. Customers can generally pay via card, cash, or mobile payments. 

 

Vending Machine Structural Design

 The basic design of a vending machine begins with the cabinet; the steel outer shell holds all internal components and determines the machine’s full size and shape. Inside the cabinet is a steel inner lining; people call it the tank. The tank and the cabinet are a whole; there is just enough room in-between for a layer of polyurethane foam insulation. The tank and foam insulation help keep internal temperatures stable and protect products against temperature extremes outside the cabinet. Although all products and dispensing mechanisms are contained in the cabinet, people should install them within the tank to the strictest standard. People usually coat the cabinet’s outer surfaces with an acrylic powder finish. Powder coatings enable the machine to withstand extreme temperatures, salt or sand, customer abuse, and other conditions requiring high surface durability. People install feeder stack columns or feeder trays inside the machine to store and dispense products. And equip each tray with a large rotating wire spiral that holds the products. Feeder trays slide in and out for easy maintenance and restocking of merchandise. The feeder stacks and trays also contain the motor controls, which push the products forward until they are released from the stack and fall to the access area. When a customer selects a product, the rotor turns and advances a single item, dropping cans at a time.

In the same way, spirals on snack food trays rotate and push products forward until they fall off the tray. Some vending machines, especially cold drink vendors, have two doors. The internal door seals the inside of the machine and provides additional insulation. The outer door contains electronic controls, which allow customers to purchase and receive goods. The outer door also includes signage and illustrations, generally silk-screened onto a panel of Lexan, aiming to fit into the door’s front panel. Generally, people install the lights behind the Lexan panels. The outer door includes heavy-duty hasps, locks, and hinges, to deter theft and vandalism.

 

Electronic Components Application

Electronic components, such as coin-bill validators, test coins, and scan dollar bills, Inserting electronic components can ensure whether the cash is genuine and in the proper amount or not. A panel of micro switch buttons lets customers make their selections. These basic micro switch buttons are connected to the motor controls of the feeder stacks and trays, activating the rotors that release products to the bins. Change-makers hold quantities of coins and release the correct change after a selection has been made. More recent machines may also include:

  • Card validators for accepting debit and credit cards.
  • LCD panels with pricing details and machine status information.
  • Speech chips that give transaction details to customers by voice.

 Design changes frequently occur in the mechanisms for handling and dispensing the vast number of different types of bottles, cans, boxes, bags, and other packages available on the market. When people first introduced 20 oz (592 ml) plastic soda bottles to the vending machine, the bottles tended to jam in the machine. Designers must re-work and find how those bottles were stored in the machine to deliver to the customer efficiently. Product packaging changes quickly, so designers must always look for practical and more efficient ways to sell goods. 

 

G5 Series (Basic Micro Switches Application In The Vending Machine)

The defining feature of the G5 series (basic micro switches) microswitches used in the vending machines is that a relatively small movement at the actuator button produces a relatively large movement at the electrical contacts, occurring at high speed. Most successful designs also exhibit hysteresis, meaning that a slight reversal of the actuator is insufficient to reverse the contacts; there must be a significant movement in the opposite direction. These characteristics help achieve a clean and reliable interruption to the switched circuit. Internally a micro switch contains two springs. Both are conducive and carry the current through the switch. A long flat spring is hinged at one end of the switch and has electrical contacts on the other. A small curved spring, preloaded to extend itself, is connected between the flat spring near the contacts. A fulcrum is near the midpoint of the flat spring. An actuator nub presses on the flat spring near its hinge point. Because the flat spring is anchored and strong in tension, the curved spring cannot move to the right. The curved spring presses, or pulls, the flat spring upward away from the anchor point. Due to the geometry, the upward force is proportional to the displacement, decreasing as the flat spring moves downward. This is our G5 series primary micro switch Internal structure. G5 series (basic micro switches) micro switch also has the following characteristics:

  • Widely used in the application, electronic equipment, power tools, automatic equipment, etc
  • Long life and high reliability; equipped with various operating levers;
  • Tight configuration, small contact gap, snap action, etc.
  • Micro Switch Construction Operation

 

Unionwell is committed to producing various basic micro switches, waterproof micro switches, sealed micro switches, automotive micro switches, micro switches, and detection switches. As a professional micro switch factory in China, we have established long-term cooperative relationships with world-renowned automotive and home appliance customers. Welcome to visit our website for more details: www.unionwellswitch.com. Send an email to know more information: inquiry@unionwellswitch.com. 

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