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Solenoids > Application Examples: Solenoids Used in Security Merchandising Machines
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| Solenoids Used in Security Merchandising Machines |
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In the retail supermarket business, shoplifting is a major problem and concern of every operator. At the top of the list of expensive and easy-to-steal items is cigarettes - as high as 20.6% of all shoplifted items. Running a close second is health and beauty aids at 17.8% with film and batteries close behind as reported by Commercial Service Systems, Inc.
Nearly 60% of merchandise stolen is small enough to fit in a purse or pocket. Eliminate shoplifting and the average supermarket doubles its earnings. One way to accomplish this is to locate the products out of reach of the public and the store employees. The machine is an automated vending device measuring in at 18 feet long by 6 feet wide by 4 feet high, which is suspended from the ceiling above three checkout lanes of the market. It can hold a variety of different products such as 600 cartons and 3,200 packs of cigarettes.
The key to the operation of this machine and to the actual dispensing of the product is more than 100 Saia-Burgess tubular solenoids and almost 50 Low Profile solenoids. These are used to "pick" the merchandise selected by the remote terminal located at the checkout lane.
The tubular solenoids are located on opposite sides of the machine in two banks of 54 solenoids each. They are mounted vertically with the plunger pointing up on about 3" centers. These are used to dispense the individual cigarette packs.
The low profile solenoids are located in the center of the machine in two rows of 24 and are used to dispense the cartons.
The cash register operator selects the desired brand by scanning a bar code on the back of a ticket the consumer picks up from a display of all the brands. The appropriate solenoid or solenoids are energized in the bank.
When the solenoid is energized, the plunger moves vertically up and the push rod extends out of the top. The bank of 54 solenoids is then moved horizontally forward toward the stack and the push rod contacts the bottom pack in the stack. As the bank continues to move forward, the bottom pack is pushed out of the back of the stack where it then falls onto a conveyor belt which automatically delivers it to the proper checkout lane via a chute.
With power off, the solenoid plunger returns to the de-energized position by gravity and the bank then returns to the normal position. In the de-energized position, the solenoid push rods are too short to hit the stack of packs and, as the bank moves forward, the solenoids simply pass beneath the stacks.
Selected for this particular application was a 3/4 " diameter by 1 1/2" push type STA® tubular solenoid with terminals. The electronics for each group of eight solenoids is located on a PC board which is in turn mounted directly to the terminals of the solenoid. In this way, the individual solenoid wiring is eliminated. This was important due to the large number of units used. The whole system is run by an on-board personal computer. The whole cycle takes from 3 to 7 seconds from initial selection to product delivery at the checkout.
In addition to cigarettes, the machine will be used to dispense a large variety of other small packaged items such as rolls of film, batteries, and cosmetics. Another common use will be to automatically dispense manufacturers' samples. When a consumer purchases a competitor's brand of product, as that product is scanned at the checkout lane, manufacturers can have the store automatically dispense a free trial sample of their product to that checkout lane.
The tubular solenoid offers several advantages to other types in this application such as long stroke, small diameter, ease of mounting and wiring and an overall cost effective answer when so many are used in one machine.
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