JP2566743B2 - Vending machine product dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product dispensing device for vending machines such as milk and soft drinks packed in containers such as paper packs, bottles and cans.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional product dispenser for a vending machine, there is a chain elevator type dispenser which sequentially rotates a pair of chains to dispense products on shelves mounted between the chains.

Further, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 53-148696, the first and second movable storage stockers I can be freely moved in and out as shown in FIG.
Commodities II that are stacked by installing the unloading plates II ₁ and II ₂
Of the I ₁ , III ₂ ..., the first unloading plate II ₁ is pushed into the storage stocker I and the lowermost product III ₁ is pressed against the side wall IV on the opposite side, and the lowermost product III ₁ and above it. It supports the loads of all commodities III ₂ , III _3, ... When paying out the product III _1, as shown in the storage stocker I on the left side of the drawing, the second carry-out plate II ₂ projects and the second product III ₂ from the bottom is pressed against the side wall IV on the opposite side to obtain the product III ₂ . All products II stacked on it
The first unloading plate while supporting the load of I ₃ , III ₄ ...
II ₁ is retracted to dispense the product III _1, and when the dispensing is completed, the first unloading plate II ₁ is projected again and then the second unloading plate II ₂ is retracted, and the products III ₂ , III ₃ , and III ₄
... is descending.

[0004]

In the standby state, as shown in FIG. 8, the product III _{1 at} the bottom end of the storage stocker I on the right side is shown.
, The first unloading plate II ₁ is pressed against the side wall IV on the opposite side to support the load of all the products stacked thereon, so that the weight of each product is heavy. In that case, a very large force acts on the contact portion between the _first unloading plate II ₁ and the product, and the product is damaged.

Therefore, when handling heavy goods,
Conventionally, there is a problem that it is necessary to operate the vehicle in a state where the height of stacked products is reduced and the number of stored products is small.
In addition, in this product dispensing device, the first unloading plate II ₁ is moved into and out of the storage stocker I so that the front end and the side wall of the _first unloading plate II ₁ are removed.
It is designed with the basic idea of controlling the payout of the bottom edge product III ₁ by narrowing or widening the passageway to and from the IV.Therefore, the bottom edge product III ₁ may depend on the shape of the product. Since it will be held in an inclined state, the posture of the product stacked on this product III ₁ is also unstable, and from this point as well, the stacking height of the product is lowered and the number of products accommodated is reduced. There is a problem that you have to drive in a small amount.

According to the present invention, a reliable payout can be carried out without being influenced by the height or shape of the product, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a product dispensing device that can store a large amount of products.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product pressing device, wherein an opening is provided at one side wall of a lower portion of a vertically long product storage path, and the product pressing plate is retracted from the opening to the product storage path. Is arranged so that the position can be adjusted in the vertical direction, and a window closing plate that closes an opening formed above the product holding plate is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a commodity dispensing device according to the first aspect.
In the above, the lower edge of the window closing plate is configured to be changed according to the vertical position adjustment of the product pressing plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a commodity receiving device which can be changed between a horizontal posture and a hanging posture at a lower portion of a vertically long commodity storage path, and a large number of commodities are placed on the upper surface of the commodity receiving plate. In addition to stacking and storing, a product support tool for controlling the attitude of the product support plates is provided, and the product support tool operates to interlock with the operation of the sandwiching member that prevents the second or more products from the bottom to drop. The plate is switched between a horizontal position and a hanging position, and the holding member is retracted from the side wall of the product storage path, and an opening larger than the holding member is formed in the up-down direction to attach the holding member. It is characterized in that the position can be changed in the vertical direction, and a window closing plate for closing a gap between the holding member at the mounting position and the upper end of the opening is provided.

[0010]

According to the constitutions of claims 1 and 2, from the bottom, 2
The window closing plate closes the gap generated when the mounting position of the sandwiching member is changed in the vertical direction according to the height of the product so that the falling of the second product can be regulated by the sandwiching member.

According to the structure of claim 3, in the standby state,
The products are stacked and stored on the upper surface of the product receiving plate whose horizontal posture is controlled by the product support tool. When the bottommost product is dispensed, the sandwiching member prevents the second or more products from the bottom to fall, and then the product support switches the product receiving plate to the hanging posture to dispense the bottommost product. Then, after the product supporter switches the product receiving plate to the horizontal posture, the restriction of dropping the product by the holding member is released, and the product is dropped and supported on the product receiving plate in the horizontal posture. If the height of the product is changed, change the mounting position of the clamping member,
The gap above the holding member is closed by the window closing plate.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the product dispensing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine main body, 2 denotes a front door, and 3 denotes a vending machine disposed on a receiving shelf 4 in the vending machine main body 1.
One stocker, two U-shaped frames 5 and two U-shaped frames 5 arranged in the center of each U-shaped frame 5, two in each U-shaped frame 5,
A partition frame 7 having a rectangular cross section forming a total of four product storage paths 6, an inner wall 8 having an L-shaped cross section fixed to both side walls of the U-shaped frame 5, and fixed to the upper ends of both U-shaped frames 5. An upper end frame 9,
A lower frame 10 fixed to the lower ends of the two U-shaped frames 5.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a drive shaft which is inserted into each partition frame 7 and whose upper and lower ends are rotatably supported by bearings 12 of the upper end frame 9 and the lower end frame 10, and 13 and 14 are the lower end portion and the center of the partition frame 7. It is a commodity dispensing device provided in the section and is composed of the following items.

Reference numeral 15 is a semi-circular product support plate, and a boss portion 15A provided at the center of the arc is externally fitted to the drive shaft 11 and is pinned thereto. Further, in the standby state, the product support plate 15 protrudes into both product storage paths 6 through the holes of the partition frame 7 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7B.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a pair of support shafts, both ends of which are supported on the partition frame 7 directly above the product support plate 15, and 17 has a through hole at the base end rotatably fitted to each support shaft 16 and a tip end. The part is a product receiving plate placed on the product supporting plate 15, and on each receiving plate 17, products 18 in which a container made of paper and synthetic resin is filled with contents are stacked.

Reference numeral 19 is a pair of horizontal plates which are arranged in parallel in the partition frame 7 directly above the product receiving plate 17 and whose both ends are screwed to the partition frame 7. Reference numeral 20 denotes a pair of vertical plates each having both ends fixed to the horizontal plates 19 between the horizontal plates 19, and a total of four vertical plates, and a plurality of vertical plates (four in this embodiment) are arranged at appropriate intervals along the vertical line. A hole 21 is formed.

Reference numeral 22 designates a window formed in a portion surrounded by both horizontal plates 19 and both vertical plates 20 on both side walls of the partition frame 7, and 23.
Is a pair of support pins inserted into appropriate holes 21 of both vertical plates 21 whose both ends face each other.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a product pressing plate whose upper end hole is rotatably fitted to each support pin 23 and whose lower end bent portion is located in the window 22. Reference numeral 25 denotes a portion of the drive shaft 11 facing the product pressing plate. A plurality of (three in this embodiment) through holes formed at the same intervals as the holes 21 of the vertical plate 20.

Reference numeral 26 is a fan-shaped product holding cam provided to face the lower end bent portion of the product holding plate 24. The boss portion 26A provided at the base of the product holding cam is fitted onto the drive shaft 11 and an appropriate through hole 25 is formed. It is fixed to the drive shaft 11 by a pin 27 that is inserted into the drive shaft 11.

Reference numeral 28 denotes both vertical plates 20 whose both ends face each other.
A pair of connecting pins inserted into the holes 21 at the upper end of the connecting pin 28, and 29 are holes formed at the upper and lower sides of both side edge bent portions.
And a pair of first window closing plates fitted onto the respective support pins 23.

Reference numeral 30 is an operation hole closing plate for closing an operation hole 31 formed between both horizontal plates 19 on the front wall of the partition frame 7. Three
Reference numeral 2 is a drive motor arranged in the upper end frame 9 and includes a drive shaft 11
Is intermittently rotated in the direction of arrow A every 180 °.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a vertical shaft having upper and lower ends supported by the upper end frame 9 and the lower end frame 10 in front of both side walls of the U-shaped frame 5.
Reference numeral 4 is a product support plate whose base end hole is rotatably fitted on the vertical shaft 33, and its front end bent portion is a spring (not shown).
Is brought into contact with the product 18 in the product storage path 6.

The payout procedure of the product 18 will be described based on the above configuration. First, in the standby state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the products 18 are directly stacked on the respective product receiving plates 17 whose postures are horizontally controlled by the product supporting plate 15 serving as the product support. There is.

All the product pressing plates 24 as the holding members are retracted from the product storage path 6, and the product pressing plates 24 are not in contact with the stacked products 18. In this standby state, when the user inserts a coin into the insertion slot and presses a predetermined product selection button, the drive motor 32 selected by the command signal is operated, and the drive shaft 11 is moved to the arrow A direction.
Can be rotated in the direction.

Then, the product holding cam 26 at the position (a) in FIG. 4 is also rotated in the same direction to hit the product holding plate 24 on the left side in FIG. 3, and when the cam 26 comes to the position (b), the product holding plate is pressed. The bent portion at the lower end of the plate 24 is projected outward with the support pin 23 as a fulcrum, and is the second product 18 from the bottom.
The second product 18 from the bottom is pressed against the side surface of the product and is held between the lower end bent portion of the product pressing plate 24 and the inner wall 8 and is prevented from falling.

Further, a product support plate 15 as a product support tool.
6 also rotates integrally with the drive shaft 11 and rotates 90 ° as shown in FIGS.
6 escapes from under the product receiving plate 17 on the left side, and the product receiving plate 17 on the left side in FIG. 6 pivots downward with the support shaft 16 as a fulcrum into a hanging posture, and only the product 18 at the lowermost end is dispensed.

The product receiving plate 17 is switched from the horizontal position to the hanging position until the product supporting plate 15 and the product receiving plate 17 are disengaged from each other until the product receiving plate 17 is controlled in the horizontal position. Cage, product support plate 15 and product support plate 1
When the engagement with 7 is released, the load of the lowermost product to be paid out on the product receiving plate 17 is also applied, and the product receiving plate 17 switches its posture from the horizontal position to the drooping position at a stroke, Is certainly paid out.

The products 18 dispensed from the lower product dispenser 14 are guided to the chute 35 and dispensed to the product outlet 36. Further, the products 18 dispensed from the upper product dispensing device 13 are dropped onto the stacked products 18 supported by the lower product dispensing device 14.

When the drive shaft 11 further rotates beyond 90 °, the product receiving plate 17 in the hanging posture on the left side in FIG. 6 begins to be supported again by the product supporting plate 15 and returns to the horizontal posture, and the product receiving plate is returned. After 17 is returned to the horizontal position, the cam 26 is separated from the product holding plate 24 on the left side in FIG. 6, and the lower end bent portion of the product holding plate 24 on the left side in FIG. The merchandise 18 and the merchandise 18 stacked thereon fall on the merchandise receiving plate 17.

In this case, since the product receiving plate 17 is in the horizontal position, the product can be stably received even when the number of stored products is large and the product stacking height is high.

When the drive shaft 11 rotates 180 °, that is, when the cam 26 reaches the position (c) as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the operation of the drive motor 32 stops and the product dispensing device 1
3 and 14 are in a standby state. Next, when the coin is again inserted into the insertion slot and the product selection button is pressed, the drive shaft 32 is rotated by 180 ° in the direction of arrow A by the drive motor 32 as in the above case.
It is rotated and the goods 18 on the right side of FIG. 7 are paid out.

In the above embodiment, a relatively small product 18
The example in which the lower edge of the window closing plate 29 can be changed in accordance with the vertical position adjustment of the product holding plate 24 has been described above as an example. , The screw is removed to remove the operation hole closing plate 30, and then the support pin 23 and the connecting pin 28 are removed to
The window blocking plate 29 and the product holding plate 24 are removed, and then another window blocking plate having a height lower than that of the window blocking plate 29 (not shown)
Is inserted into the window 22 and the connecting pin 28 is inserted into the upper end hole and the holes 21 at the upper ends of both vertical plates 20 to close the upper part of the window 22 by another window closing plate, and then the product holding plate 24. 2 from the upper end hole and the lower end hole of another window closing plate and both vertical plates 20
Inserting the support pin 23 into the second hole 21 and the product pressing plate 2
4 may be connected, and the lower end bent portion may face the center of the side surface of the second medium product 18 from the bottom. When handling a larger product 18, the upper end hole of the product holding plate 24. And support pins 23 in the top holes 21 of both vertical plates 20.
It is sufficient to further increase the height of the product pressing plate 24 by inserting the.

As described above, the mounting position of the product holding plate 24 is changeable so that the second product from the bottom can be prevented from falling by the product holding plate 24 even if the height of the handled product changes. At the same time, since the mounting position of the product pressing plate 24 can be changed, the window 22
The gap between the upper end of the and the product holding plate 24 at the mounting position,
The first window blocking plate 29 or another window blocking plate having a height lower than that of the window blocking plate 29 can be attached and closed.

This can contribute to the reliable delivery of goods for the following reasons. When a gap is generated between the upper end of the window 22 and the product holding plate 24 by changing the mounting position of the product holding plate 24, specifically, there is a gap not closed by the window closing plate at the upper end of the product holding plate 24. Product holding plate 2
When 4 is retracted into the window 22, when the second or more commodities from the bottom, whose fall is restricted by the commodity pressing plate 24, are dropped toward the top of the commodity receiving plate 17, the commodities that are in the process of falling are It has been confirmed that a corner portion may be caught in the gap and block the product storage path 6, causing a failure.

As described above, when the corner of the product being dropped is caught in the gap to close the product storage path 6, the product is expected to drop onto the product receiving plate 17 thereafter. Therefore, even if the product holding plate 24 and the product receiving plate 17 are normally operated, the dispensing failure occurs.

However, since the lower edge of the window closing plate 29 can be changed in accordance with the vertical position adjustment of the product pressing plate 24 as in the present embodiment, the product being dropped is caught in the product storage path 6 and is blocked. It is possible to realize a reliable payout operation.

Further, according to the configuration of the above embodiment, in the standby state, the bottom end of the merchandise at the lowermost end is supported by the merchandise support plate 15 via the merchandise receiving plate 17. Therefore,
The contact area between the product and the product receiving plate 17 can be easily increased, and by receiving the total load of the stacked products on a wide surface, damage to the product due to concentration of the load can be avoided. Further, since the rotating product support plate 15 does not contact the product 18, the product support plate 15 has an excellent structure in which the product support plate 15 does not damage the product.

[0038]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the sandwiching member extends and retracts on the side wall of the product storage path and an opening larger than the sandwiching member is formed in the up-down direction so that the sandwiching member Since the mounting position can be changed in the vertical direction and the gap generated above the holding member is closed by an appropriate window closing plate, the mounting position of the holding member can be changed in the vertical direction according to the height of the product. Despite the changeable configuration, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of obstacles in which falling products get caught in the product storage path and are blocked, and it is possible to realize a reliable dispensing operation regardless of the size and shape of the product. Is.

According to the structure of claim 3, in the standby state,
Since the products are stacked and stored on the upper surface of the product receiving plate that is horizontally controlled by the product support tool, the product at the bottom end can be stably supported without being influenced by the shape of the product, and the product can be supported more than before. The product stacking height can be increased to increase the number of products stored.

Further, when the bottommost product is dispensed, the product supporter switches the product receiving plate from the horizontal position to the drooping position after the holding member prevents the second or more products from the bottom from falling. Therefore, the payment can be surely made.

Further, when the drop regulation of the product by the sandwiching member is released, the posture of the product receiving plate is switched to the horizontal posture by the product supporting tool, and the product is restrained by the sandwiching member until the second from the bottom. The products and all the products directly stacked on top of them are stably supported by the product support plate that has returned to the horizontal posture, so the product stacking height is higher than before and the number of products stored is increased. I can do a lot.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an automatic vending machine equipped with a product dispensing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a dispensing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an IV-IV arrow view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view taken in the direction of arrows VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view and a schematic transverse sectional view showing a payout procedure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional view and a schematic horizontal sectional view showing a payout procedure of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional product dispensing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine Main Body 3 Stocker 6 Product Storage Path 11 Drive Shaft 13, 14 Product Dispensing Device 15 Product Support [Product Support] 17 Product Support Plate 22 Window [Opening] 24 Product Holding Plate [Clamping Member] 25 Through Hole 26 Commodity holding cam 27 pins 29 first window closing plate 32 drive motor

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product holding plate (24) which is provided with an opening (22) on one side wall of a lower portion of a vertically long product storage path (6), and which goes in and out of the product storage path (6) through the opening (22). ) Is arranged so that the position can be adjusted in the vertical direction, and a window closing plate (29) for closing a gap formed above the product pressing plate (24) is provided. 2. The product dispensing device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the lower edge of the window closing plate (29) is configured to be changed in accordance with the vertical position adjustment of the product holding plate (24). 3. A product receiving plate (17) capable of changing its posture between a horizontal position and a drooping position is provided below a vertically long product storage path (6), and a large number of products are placed on the upper surface of the product receiving plate (17). Stacked and stored in the product receiving plate (17)
Is provided with a product support tool (15) for controlling the attitude of the product, and the product support tool (15) is operated to interlock with the operation of the holding member (24) that prevents the second or more product from falling from below. The plate (17) is switched between a horizontal posture and a hanging posture, and the holding member (24) is retracted from the side wall of the product storage path (6) and is vertically larger than the holding member (24). An opening (22) is bored so that the mounting position of the sandwiching member (24) can be changed in the vertical direction, and between the sandwiching member (24) at the mounting position and the upper end of the opening (22). The product dispensing device for a vending machine provided with a window closing plate (29) for closing the gap of the.