JPH08190669A - Article ejecting method and article ejecting device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To stably hold selling articles, regardless of the shapes of the articles, and to store a large quantity of articles by increasing the piling height. CONSTITUTION: An article receiving plate 17 is provided, selling articles are stored by piling the articles on the upper surface of the article receiving plate 17 of its horizontal attitude in a standby state, and the article receiving plate 17 is switched to its horizontal attitude and its drooping attitute by interlocking the plate with the operation of a holding member blocking the falling of the articles which are the second or more from the bottom by the operation of an article support tool 15 controlling the attitude of the article receiving plate 17. After the article receiving plate 17 is switched to the drooping attitude, the article at the lowermost of the articles piled up on this article receiving plate 17 is ejected and the article receiving plate 17 is switched to the horizontal attitude, the falling controls of the articles by the holding member 24 are released and the state is recovered to a standby state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for dispensing products such as milk and soft drinks in vending machines 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 deliver the product III _1, and when the dispensing is completed, the first delivery plate II ₁ is projected again and then the second delivery plate II ₂ is retracted, and the products III ₂ , III ₃ , III ₄ ...
Is descending.

[0004]

In the standby state, the lowermost product III ₁ is pressed against the side wall IV on the opposite side by the _first unloading plate II ₁ as seen in the right storage stocker I shown in FIG. In this state, the load of all the products stacked on it is supported, so if the weight per product becomes heavier, contact the first unloading plate II ₁ with the product. A very large force acts on the contact point, causing damage to the product.

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.

[0006] The present invention is a product dispensing method which can stably hold the products at the lowermost end without being influenced by the shape of the products and can increase the stacking height to store a large amount of products. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0007]

The product dispensing method of the present invention is provided with a product receiving plate which can be changed between a horizontal position and a drooping position at the bottom of a vertically long product storage path, and the product is horizontally positioned in the standby state. Of the holding member for stacking and storing the product on the upper surface of the product receiving plate, and providing a product support tool for controlling the attitude of the product receiving plate to prevent the second or more products from the bottom to drop by the operation of the product support tool. In tandem with the operation, the product receiving plate is switched between the horizontal position and the hanging position, the product receiving plate is switched to the hanging position, and the bottommost product among the products stacked on the product receiving plate is dispensed to receive the product. It is characterized in that after the plate is switched to the horizontal posture, the drop regulation of the product by the holding member is released to return to the standby state.

[0008]

According to this structure, in the standby state, the products are stacked and stored on the upper surface of the product receiving plate which is horizontally controlled by the product support. 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.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The product dispensing method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

1 is a vending machine main body, 2 is a front door, and 3 is four stockers arranged on a receiving shelf 4 in the vending machine main body 1, two U-shaped frames 5 and A partition frame 7 having a rectangular cross section, which is arranged in the center of each U-shaped frame 5 to form two product storage paths 6, two in each U-shaped frame 5, and a U-shaped frame 5.
Has an L-shaped inner wall 8 fixed to both side walls, an upper end frame 9 fixed to the upper ends of both U-shaped frames 5, and a lower end frame 10 fixed to the lower ends of both 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 fitted onto the drive shaft 11 and pinned. 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 by 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.

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 fixed to the partition frame 7 with screws. 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 denotes a window formed on both side walls of the partition frame 7 at a portion surrounded by both horizontal plates 19 and both vertical plates 20, 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 is a product pressing plate whose upper end hole is rotatably fitted to each support pin 23 and whose lower end bent part is located in the window 22, and 25 is 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 that is provided so as to face the lower end bent portion of the product holding plate 24. A boss portion 26A provided at the base of the product holding cam fits outside the drive shaft 11 and an appropriate through hole 25. 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 whose upper and lower ends are 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 and hits 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 by controlling the product receiving plate 17 in the horizontal position until just before the product supporting plate 15 and the product receiving plate 17 are disengaged. 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 product 18 dispensed from the lower product dispenser 14 is 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 by more than 90 °, the product receiving plate 17 on the left side in FIG. 6 starts to be supported by the product supporting plate 15 again and returns to the horizontal position, 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.

Since the posture of the product receiving plate 17 in this case is horizontal, 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 drive motor 32 stops operating 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
Although the description has been made by taking the case of handling the product as an example, when handling the medium-sized product 18, the screw is removed and the operation hole closing plate 3 is removed.
0, then remove the support pin 23 and the connecting pin 28 to remove the first window closing plate 29 and the product holding plate 24,
Next, another window closing plate (not shown) having a height lower than that of the window closing plate 29 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. do it,
The upper portion of the window 22 is closed by another window closing plate, and then the upper end hole portion of the product pressing plate 24 and the lower end hole of another window closing plate and both vertical plates 2
If the support pin 23 is inserted into the second hole 21 from the top of 0, the product holding plate 24 is connected, and the lower end bent portion is opposed to the center of the side face of the second medium product 18 from the bottom. Good.

When handling a larger product 18, the support pin 23 is inserted into the upper end hole of the product pressing plate 24 and the uppermost holes 21 of the vertical plates 20 to support the product pressing plate 2.
The height of 4 should be raised further.

According to the configuration of the above embodiment, the lowermost product in the standby state is provided with the product support plate 15 via the product receiving plate 17.
Supports the bottom of the product. Therefore, the contact area between the product and the product receiving plate 17 can be easily increased, and the lowermost product can be stably and reliably supported without being influenced by the shape of the product.

Further, by receiving the total load of the stacked products on a wide surface, it is possible to avoid the damage of the products due to the concentrated load. In addition, since the rotating product support plate 15 does not come into contact with the product 18, the product support plate 15 has an excellent structure in which the product support plate 15 is not damaged, and the contact relationship between the product support plate 15 and the product support plate 17 Can be stably maintained, and only a small load acts on the drive motor 32 that drives the product support plate 15. Further, when the product receiving plate 17 in the drooping posture is returned to the horizontal position, there is no product on the product receiving plate 17, so that the drive motor 32 has only a slight load at this time.

[0034]

As described above, according to the product dispensing method of the present invention, the product at the bottom end can be stably supported without being influenced by the shape of the product, and the stacking height of the product is higher than that of the conventional product. And the number of products can be increased.

Further, after the holding member prevents the second or more products from the bottom from falling, the product support switches the product receiving plate from the horizontal posture to the hanging posture to dispense the bottommost product. It can certainly be done.

Furthermore, the device for driving the product support is
It has an excellent structure that exerts a small load both when the product receiving plate is switched from the horizontal position to the drooping position and when it is switched from the drooping position to the horizontal position, which contributes to downsizing of the product dispensing device. it can.

[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 Plate [Product Support Tool] 17 Product Receiving Plate 24 Product Holding Plate [Clamping Member] 25 Through Hole 26 Product Clamping Cam 27 Pin 32 Drive motor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A product receiving plate (17) capable of changing its posture between a horizontal position and a drooping position is provided at the lower part of a vertically long product storage path (6), and the product receiving plate (6) in a horizontal position in a standby state is provided. A product support tool (15) for stacking and accommodating on the upper surface of 17) and controlling the attitude of the product support plate (17) is provided, and the operation of the product support tool (15) causes the second or more product from the bottom to drop. The product receiving plate (17) is switched between a horizontal position and a drooping position in synchronism with the operation of the holding member (24) for blocking the product, and the product receiving plate (17) is switched to the drooping position.
Of the products stacked on the product receiving plate (17), the product at the lowermost end is dispensed, the product receiving plate (17) is switched to the horizontal posture, and then the drop regulation of the product by the holding member (24) is released. A method of paying out the product of the vending machine that returns to the standby state. 2. A product receiving plate which is provided with two vertically upper and lower product drop preventing members at the lower part of a vertically long product storage path (6) and which can change its position between a horizontal position and a drooping position. 17) and a product support device (15) for switching the posture of the product receiving plate (17) between a horizontal posture and a drooping posture.