CN107038805B

CN107038805B - Commodity storage device

Info

Publication number: CN107038805B
Application number: CN201610851528.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大坪智宪; 中西寿一
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-10-16
Filing date: 2016-09-26
Publication date: 2020-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-26
Also published as: JP2017076322A; CN107038805A; JP6528639B2

Abstract

The invention provides a commodity storage device which can well store and convey commodities which are in a soft triangular prism shape and are restrained between all screw pitches of a spiral body in a horizontal posture by taking a rectangular surface as a bottom surface. The commodity storage device (20) comprises a spiral body (50) which is configured in a manner that the spiral body is spirally wound along the extending direction of the upper area of a cargo way main body (30) extending along the front-back direction and rotates around a central shaft under the condition that driving force is transmitted from a driving source; and a base (61) which extends in the front-rear direction inside the screw body (50) with the front end portion thereof fixed to the trunk body (30) and on which a commodity is placed on the upper surface, and a stopper member (71) which has an upper wall portion (712) extending upward and which has one end portion connected to one side of the screw body (50) located above the base (61) and displaced downward by the rotation of the screw body (50) in a part of the left and right end portions of the base (61).

Description

Commodity storage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a commodity storage device, and more particularly, to a commodity storage device applied to an automatic vending machine that sells commodities.

Background

Conventionally, some vending machines that sell products send out products stored in product racks in a product storage magazine to a conveyance tray, and then convey the products to a predetermined product takeout area by the conveyance tray. The commodity taking out area is a space communicating with the outside of the commodity storage through the commodity taking out port, and if a user inserts a hand from the commodity taking out port, the purchased commodity can be taken out.

In such an automatic vending machine, the door body constituting the front surface is generally formed of a transparent panel such as glass, and the products stored in the product rack of the product storage can be visually recognized and selected from the outside, and further, the state in which the purchased products sent out from the product rack are conveyed to the product takeout area by the conveyance tray can be observed. The vending machine capable of identifying the inside of the commodity storage has the advantages of being capable of improving purchase intention of a user and the like.

The commodity shelf in such a vending machine is configured by arranging a plurality of commodity storage devices in parallel in the left and right direction. Each commodity storage device constituting a commodity shelf includes a trunk body, a spiral body, and a base.

The cargo passage body extends in the front-rear direction and is used to form a commodity storage passage in an upper region. The spiral body is configured to be spirally wound along the extending direction of the trunk. The spiral body rotates around the central axis while a driving force is transmitted from a driving source, i.e., an electric motor. The base is formed by processing a long strip-shaped metal plate. The base extends inside the spiral body along the extending direction of the trunk body in a state that the front end portion is fixed to the trunk body, and places the commodity on the upper surface.

In the commodity storage device having such a configuration, commodities which are normally restrained by being placed on the base between the respective pitches of the screw are fed forward while the screw is rotating, and the commodities which are restrained between the respective pitches are fed forward and the forefront commodity is fed out (see, for example, patent document 1).

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 3978932

Disclosure of Invention

However, in the above-described commodity storage device, when the commodity is generally in a flexible triangular prism shape such as a sandwich and is placed on the base in a horizontal posture with the rectangular surface as the bottom surface, a part of the commodity may be pinched between the screw and the base when the commodity is conveyed by the rotation of the screw. When the commodity is sandwiched between the spiral body and the base in this manner, the commodity cannot be conveyed forward, and there is a risk of damage to the commodity.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a commodity storage device capable of storing and conveying commodities in a flexible triangular prism shape and restraining commodities between pitches of a spiral body in a horizontal posture with a rectangular surface as a bottom surface.

In order to achieve the above object, a commodity storage device according to the present invention includes: a spiral body that is configured to be spirally wound along an extending direction of a trunk body in an upper region of the trunk body extending in a front-rear direction, and that rotates around a central axis when a driving force is transmitted from a driving source; and a base which extends in the front-rear direction inside the spiral body with a front end portion thereof fixed to the trunk and on which commodities are placed, wherein when the spiral body rotates, commodities which are placed on the base between respective pitches of the spiral body and are restrained are gradually conveyed forward to discharge the frontmost commodity, and the base further includes a stopper member having an upwardly extending upper wall portion which is continuous with an end portion on a side where a part of the spiral body located above the base is displaced downward by the rotation of the spiral body, out of left and right end portions of the base.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that: in the above-described commodity storage device, the stopper member has the upper wall portion and a bottom wall portion that extends in the left-right direction from a lower end portion of the upper wall portion and is placed on the upper surface of the base, and is detachably attached to the base.

According to the present invention, since the stopper member has the upper wall portion which is continuous with the end portion of the side of the screw located above the base, out of the left and right end portions of the base, which side is displaced downward by the rotation of the screw, and which extends upward, the stopper member can prevent the commodity from moving outward and from being sandwiched between the screw and the base even if the screw rotates, in a case where the commodity which has a soft triangular prism shape and a rectangular bottom surface is restrained between the pitches of the screw in a horizontal posture, for example, such as a sandwich shape. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve an effect that the commodity can be stored and conveyed in a flexible triangular prism shape and restrained in a horizontal posture with the rectangular surface as the bottom surface.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing an internal structure of an automatic vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one commodity storage device constituting a commodity shelf.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the cargo way body shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the screw unit shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main portion of the screw unit shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the base unit shown in fig. 2 is viewed from the right side downward.

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the base unit shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing an enlarged view of a main part of the commodity housing device shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the stopper member shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing main components of the tip portion of the slider shown in fig. 6.

Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the slide member and sold-out actuator shown in figure 10.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing main components of the tip portion of the slider shown in fig. 6.

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the action of the slide and sold-out actuator.

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the action of the slide and sold-out actuator.

Figure 15 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the action of the slide and sold-out actuator.

Figure 16 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the action of the slide and sold-out actuator.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the commodity storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing an internal structure of an automatic vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine exemplified here is provided with a main body cabinet 1.

The main body cabinet 1 is a rectangular vending machine body having an open front surface, and a commodity storage 2 having a heat insulating structure is disposed in the main body cabinet. In the commodity storage 2, a plurality of commodity racks 10 are provided in the vertical direction. These commodity racks 10 are erected between rack support side plates, not shown, provided on both sides of the commodity storage container 2, and store commodities.

Further, the commodity storage 2 is provided with an evaporator 3 as a cooling unit. The evaporator 3 and a compressor 5, a condenser 6, and the like provided in the machine room 4 constitute a refrigeration cycle in which a refrigerant is circulated, and cools the air by exchanging heat between the refrigerant passing through a refrigerant passage, not shown, of the evaporator and the air passing through the inside of the commodity storage container 2 around the evaporator. Here, the machine room 4 is a chamber defined in the main body cabinet 1 on a lower side of the commodity storage 2.

The air cooled around the evaporator 3 is driven by the in-cabinet blower fan 7, and is sucked into the air passage 9 from the suction port 8a of the back duct 8 provided on the back surface of the commodity storage cabinet 2, and is blown out from the discharge port 8b after passing through the air passage 9, whereby the commodities stored in the commodity racks 10 are cooled.

In the front area of the commodity shelf 10, conveying rails 11 are disposed in a pair on both sides thereof, and a conveying tray 12 is disposed between the conveying rails 11 so as to be movable in the vertical direction by a conveying mechanism not shown. That is, between the conveying rails 11, a conveying passage 13 for passing the conveying tray 12 is formed. The conveyance path 13 extends to the front of the machine room 4, and the conveyance path 13 and the machine room 4 are partitioned by a partition insulating material 4 a.

The main body cabinet 1 is provided with a door 14 and a closing member 15. The door 14 is a portion for opening and closing an upper portion of the front surface opening of the main body cabinet 1, more specifically, a front region of the commodity storage 2, and is disposed at one side edge portion of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be movable for opening and closing. The door 14 has a heat insulating structure, and includes a heat insulating glass plate (not shown) whose inside can be seen from the outside.

The closing member 15 is a member for closing a lower portion of the front opening of the main body cabinet 1, more specifically, a lower portion of the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 that cannot be closed by the door 14. Thereby, the closing member 15 closes the front of the conveyance path 13 formed in front of the machine chamber 4.

A commodity outlet 15a having a rectangular shape is formed in the closing member 15. The commodity outlet 15a is an opening through which the user takes out the commodity conveyed by the conveyance tray 12, and is opened and closed by a commodity outlet door 16.

The commodity shelf 10 is provided side by side with a plurality of commodity storage devices 20 arranged in a left-right array. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one commodity storage device 20 constituting the commodity shelf 10. The commodity-accommodating device 20 illustrated here includes a trunk main body 30, a spiral body unit 40, and a base unit 60.

The trunk 30 is formed of, for example, a resin material, and is an elongated member having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. As shown in fig. 3, the lane body 30 has a mounting portion 31 protruding downward at a front end portion thereof, and a storage portion 32 storing a drive mechanism described later at a rear end portion thereof, and forms a commodity storage passage for storing commodities in an upper area. The trunk body 30 is attached with an attachment portion 31 to a shelf bottom plate 10a (see fig. 1) constituting the commodity shelf 10.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the screw unit 40 shown in fig. 2. As shown in fig. 4, the screw unit 40 includes a driving mechanism 41 and a screw 50.

As shown in fig. 5, the drive mechanism 41 includes an output gear 43 and a transmission member 44 inside a housing 42 in which 2

drive cases

42a and 42b are combined in a pair in the front and rear.

The output gear 43 is not clearly shown in the drawings, but has a substantially annular shape, and an output tooth portion 43a formed in an inner peripheral portion thereof is housed in the housing 42 so as to be exposed from an inner surface of a through hole 421 formed in the housing 42. Here, the through hole 421 extends in the front-rear direction at a substantially central portion of the housing 42. The output gear 43 is housed in the housing 42 so that the central axis thereof coincides with the central axis of the through hole 421 of the housing 42.

The output gear 43 is connected to a motor (not shown) accommodated in the housing 42 via a connecting gear (not shown) through an outer peripheral output tooth portion (not shown) formed on an outer peripheral edge portion thereof, and is configured as a drive source that rotates around its central axis, for example, clockwise when viewed from the front, by transmitting a drive force from the motor. The rotation of the output gear 43 is detected by a conveyance detection switch, not shown, provided inside the housing 42.

The transmission member 44 is integrally formed of a transmission base 441, a first transmission shaft 442, and a second transmission shaft 443. The transmission base 441 has a substantially disc-like shape, and a through hole (not shown) is formed in the center thereof.

The first transmission shaft portion 442 is a cylindrical portion formed to protrude rearward from the rear surface of the transmission base portion 441. The first transmission shaft portion 442 has an outer diameter that can be inserted into the through hole 421 of the housing 42, and the inside thereof communicates with the through hole portion. Further, at the rear end portion of the first transmission shaft portion 442, engagement pieces 442a are formed at mutually opposing portions. A meshing projection 442b is formed at each end of the meshing piece 442a and meshes with a part of the output tooth portion 43a of the output gear 43. Thereby, the transmission member 44 can rotate around its central axis integrally with the output gear 43, i.e., clockwise as viewed from the front. Here, the central axis of the transmission member 44 coincides with the central axis of the through hole 421 of the housing 42 and the central axis of the output gear 43.

The second transmission shaft portion 443 is formed to protrude forward from the front surface of the transmission base portion 441, and the inside thereof communicates with the through hole portion. That is, the inside of the second transmission shaft portion 443 constitutes the hollow portion 444 together with the through hole portion of the transmission base portion 441 and the inside of the first transmission shaft portion 442. The central axis of the second transmission shaft 443 coincides with the central axis of the first transmission shaft 442 and coincides with the central axis of the transmission member 44.

The distal end edge portion of the second transmission shaft portion 443 is formed by cutting a part (a part on the lower side) of the distal end surface of the second transmission shaft portion 443 so that a first end surface portion 443a positioned at the rearmost, a second end surface portion 443b positioned at the frontmost, and a third end surface portion 443c gradually inclined forward from the first end surface portion 443a toward the second end surface portion 443b between the first end surface portion 443a and the second end surface portion 443b are continuously formed.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in the transmission member 44, the first end surface portion 443a of the second transmission shaft portion 443 is positioned downward in the standby state.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, the spiral body 50 is formed by, for example, spirally winding a metal rod-like body in the front-rear direction (extending direction of the trunk main body 30). The rear end portion 51 of the spiral 50 is supported by the annular connecting member 45 so that the central axis thereof coincides with the central axis of the transmission member 44 (the central axis of the output gear 43).

Here, the connecting member 45 holds the rear end portion 51a of the spiral body 50 toward the center portion thereof, and supports the spiral body 50 such that the rear end portion 51 of the spiral body 50 continuous with the rear end portion 51a is wound around the outer peripheral surface thereof. The connection member 45 is detachably attached to the transmission member 44 by elastically deforming a locking claw portion 445 formed in the transmission base portion 441 of the transmission member 44 to lock the transmission member 44. That is, the connection member 45 can be attached to and detached from the transmission member 44 by so-called snap-fit, and constitutes a transmission unit together with the transmission member 44.

The screw 50 is coupled to the transmission member 44 via the connection member 45 and is rotatable integrally with the transmission member 44. Then, the screw 50 gradually conveys the commodity confined between the respective pitches forward by rotating around the central axis (clockwise rotation when viewed from the front), and feeds out the commodity confined between the most forward pitches.

The conveyance detection switch detects the rotation of the output gear 43, but the output gear 43 rotates integrally with the transmission member 44, and further, the screw 50 rotates integrally with the transmission member 44, and as a result, the conveyance detection switch detects the rotation of the screw 50.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the base unit 60 shown in fig. 2 is viewed from the right side downward. As shown in fig. 6, the base unit 60 includes a base 61, a slide member 62, a sold-out actuator 63, and a sold-out detection switch 64.

The base 61 is an elongated member formed by bending a metal plate or the like, for example, and having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. As shown in fig. 7, the susceptor 61 is integrally formed by a susceptor base 611, a susceptor front end 612, and a susceptor rear end 613.

The base portion 611 is a flat plate-shaped portion extending in the front-rear direction, and both left and right side portions thereof are bent downward. The base portion 611 of the base has a length in the front-rear direction slightly shorter than that of the screw 50, and a rectangular long hole 611a having a length in the front-rear direction is formed at the tip end portion thereof.

The base front end portion 612 is a portion provided continuously with the front end portion of the base portion 611. The base front end portion 612 includes a front end inclined portion 612a, a front surface constituting portion 612b, and a front end locking portion 612 c.

The front end inclined portion 612a gradually inclines downward from the front end portion of the base portion 611 toward the front. The front surface component 612b extends downward from the extending end of the inclined front end portion 612a, then extends rearward, and further extends upward.

The front end locking portion 612c extends rearward from an extended end portion of the front surface constituting portion 612b, and a locking protrusion piece 614 protruding downward is formed in a substantially central region in the left-right direction of the extended end portion.

The pedestal rear end 613 is a portion provided continuously with the rear end of the pedestal base 611. The base rear end portion 613 includes a rear end coupling portion 613a, an upper support piece 613b, a right support piece 613c, and a left support piece 613d (see fig. 2).

The rear end connecting portion 613a extends upward from the central portion of the extending end of the portion inclined upward gradually from the rear end portion 51a of the base 611 toward the rear. A coupling hole 615 is formed in the rear end coupling portion 613 a.

The upper support piece 613b is formed to protrude rearward from an upper end edge portion of the rear end connecting portion 613 a. The right support piece 613c is formed to protrude rearward from the right end edge of the rear end coupling portion 613 a. The left support piece 613d is formed to protrude rearward from the left end edge of the rear end connecting portion 613 a.

The base 61 having such a structure extends in the front-rear direction (extending direction of the trunk main body 30) so as to penetrate through the interior of the screw 50, and the base front end portion 612 is locked and supported by the trunk main body 30 by the locking tab 614 of the base front end portion 612 entering the locking hole 33 formed at the front end portion of the trunk main body 30.

In the base 61, the upper support piece 613b, the right support piece 613c, and the left support piece 613d in the base rear end portion 613 face the outer peripheral surface of the second transmission shaft portion 443 of the transmission member 44, respectively, and the coupling pin 70 (see fig. 2) inserted through the coupling hole portion 615 of the rear end coupling portion 613a is screwed to a support member (not shown) inserted through the hollow portion 444 of the transmission member 44.

Thus, the base 61 can place the commodity, which is bound between the pitches of the screw 50, on the upper surface of the base portion 611.

As shown in fig. 8, when the screw 50 is in a standby state before rotation, the upper support piece 613b in the base rear end portion 613 of the base 61 is positioned on the front side of the rear end portion 51a of the screw 50 and overlaps the rear end portion 51a when viewed from the front.

A stopper member 71 is detachably provided on the base 61. As shown in fig. 9, the stopper member 71 is an elongated member having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and is formed by bending a steel plate or the like. The stopper 71 is integrally formed with a bottom wall 711 that can be placed on the upper surface of the base 611 and an upper wall 712 that extends upward from the right end edge of the bottom wall 711. An engagement portion 713 extending downward is formed at the distal end of the upper wall portion 712, and an engagement hole 713a is formed in the engagement portion 713. Further, an engagement piece 714 formed by cutting so as to protrude downward is formed at the rear end portion of the bottom wall portion 711.

The stopper member 71 is attached to the right side portion 611c of the base 611 by inserting the engagement hole 713a into the engagement long hole 611b formed in the rear end portion 51 of the base 611, and inserting the engagement pin 72 inserted into the engagement hole 713a into the engagement hole 611d formed in the front end portion of the right side portion 611c of the base 611 and screwing the same. At this time, the bottom wall 711 is placed on the upper surface of the base 611, and the upper wall 712 extends upward continuously from the right side 611c of the base 611. The upper wall portion 712 extends upward to such an extent that the upper end portion of the upper wall portion 712 does not interfere with the screw 50.

The above-described stopper member 71 is mounted on the right side portion 611c of the base portion 611, but this is because the screw 50 rotates clockwise as viewed from the front. That is, of the left and right ends of the base 61, one end of the screw 50 located above the base 61, which is displaced downward by the rotation of the screw 50, is attached to the right side 611 c. Therefore, when the screw 50 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the front, one end of the left and right ends of the base 61, which is a side where a part of the screw 50 located above the base 61 is displaced downward by the rotation of the screw 50, is the left end, and therefore, a stopper member is attached to the left end. When the stopper member is attached to the left side portion, the stopper member is bilaterally symmetrical to the stopper member 71.

The slider 62 is disposed on the lower surface side of the base 611 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the base 61 by a slider mounting member, not shown, attached to the base 61. Such a slider 62 is integrally formed by a slider base 621, a slider rear end 622, and a slider front end 623.

The slider base 621 is a long rod-shaped portion having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. The slider rear end portion 622 is a portion provided continuously with the rear end portion 51a of the slider base 621, and extends downward from the rear end portion of the slider base 621.

As shown in fig. 10, the slider front end portion 623 is a portion provided continuously with the front end portion of the slider base 621, and extends to protrude forward from the front end of the left extending portion 624 extending leftward from the front end portion of the slider base 621. The front end surface 623a of the slider front end portion 623 is an inclined surface that gradually inclines upward as it goes forward.

The slider 62 having such a configuration is always biased rearward by the slider spring 625 provided between the left extending portion 624, which is the rear end portion of the slider front end portion 623, and the forwardmost slider mounting member. Thus, in the slider 62, the slider rear end portion 622 is in contact with a lower portion of the front end surface (the first end surface portion 443a, the second end surface portion 443b, and the third end surface portion 443c) of the second transmission shaft portion 443 of the transmission member 44 (see fig. 6).

In the transmission member 44, the first end surface portion 443a of the second transmission shaft portion 443 is positioned downward in the standby state, and therefore the slider rear end portion 622 contacts the first end surface portion 443a in the standby state. Here, since the first end surface portion 443a is positioned rearwardmost than the second end surface portion 443b and the third end surface portion 443c, the slider 62 in which the slider rear end portion 622 contacts the first end surface portion 443a is in a state of moving to the rearmost side.

A sold-out actuator 63 is provided on the front side of the slider base 621 on the lower surface side of the base 611. As shown in fig. 11, the sold-out actuator 63 includes a shaft portion 631, an abutting portion 632, an inclined extension portion 633, and an operating portion 634.

The shaft portion 631 protrudes in the left-right direction, and is pivotally supported by the actuator mounting member 66 mounted on the base 611. Thereby, the sold-out actuator 63 can rock around the central axis of the shaft 631.

The contact portion 632 is a portion extending radially outward of the shaft portion 631, and faces the slider tip portion 623. The inclined extension 633 is an elongated portion formed to be inclined upward gradually from the contact portion 632 as going forward. The inclined extension 633 can pass through a long hole 611a formed in the base 611. The action portion 634 is a curved portion formed to protrude rightward below the shaft portion 631.

Such a sold-out actuator 63 is provided so as to be wound around the shaft-like portion 631, and the inclined extension portion 633 is always biased upward by an actuator spring 635 interposed between itself and the actuator mounting member 66.

As shown in fig. 12, the sold-out detection switch 64 is supported by an actuator mounting member 66 so as to be located on the right side of the sold-out actuator 63. A sold-out contact 641 is provided in the sold-out detection switch 64. The sold-out contact 641 is biased by a biasing unit not shown to determine its standby posture. The sold-out detection switch 64 detects "commodity" when a sold-out contact 641 is not pressed and is in a standby posture. On the other hand, the sold-out detection switch 64 detects "no product" when the sold-out contact 641 is pressed by the action part 634 of the sold-out actuator 63 and displaced against the urging force of the urging means. That is, the sold-out detection switch 64 is disposed at a position where the sold-out contact 641 can come into contact with the working portion 634 of the sold-out actuator 63.

The wire connected to the sold-out detection switch 64 extends through the hollow portion 444 of the transmission member 44 by the support member inserted through the hollow portion 444.

In the base unit 60, when the commodity is not held between at least the forward-most thread pitches of the spiral body 50 as shown in fig. 2, the sold-out actuator 63 assumes an advanced posture in which the inclined extension portion 633 is advanced and moved to the upper region of the base 61 through the elongated hole 611a by the actuator spring 635 as shown in fig. 13. When the sold-out actuator 63 is in the advanced posture, the operation portion 634 presses the sold-out contact 641, and the sold-out contact 641 is displaced against the urging force of the urging means.

On the other hand, when a commodity is held between the foremost pitches, as shown in fig. 14, the sold-out actuator 63 is pushed by the commodity W by the inclined extension portion 633 and moves backward from the advanced posture against the urging force of the actuator spring 635. As described above, the sold-out actuator 63 moves backward from the forward posture, and thereby the sold-out contact 641 becomes a free state, is not pressed but is biased only by the biasing means, and becomes a standby posture.

In the commodity storage device 20, the screw 50 is the most suitable screw among a plurality of types having different pitches depending on the size of the commodity to be stored. On the other hand, the sold-out actuator 63 and the sold-out detection switch 64 are common regardless of the type of screw 50 used.

Therefore, the installation position of the sold-out actuator 63 is a place where it can be pressed by an article between the foremost screw pitches of the screw pitches having the largest length among the applicable screw pitches 50.

Therefore, when the screw 50 having a relatively small pitch length is used in the sold-out actuator 63, the inclined extension portion 633 is pushed by an article restrained between the foremost pitch of the screw 50 and the second or third pitch from the foremost pitch, and moves backward from the forward posture. That is, the sold-out actuator 63 moves back from the forward attitude in the event that no product is constrained between the forward-most pitches of the screw 50 and product is constrained between the second forward-most pitch.

The commodity-housing device 20 having the above-described configuration can feed out a commodity (front-most commodity) constrained between the leading pitches as described below.

When the user selects a product of the product storage device 20 by the product selection means and places the electronic money recording medium in a predetermined communication area and performs subtraction processing to give a payment instruction, the product storage device 20 drives the motor to rotate the output gear 43 and the transmission member 44 clockwise about the central axis as viewed from the front. That is, the screw 50 also rotates clockwise.

In this way, when the transmission member 44 rotates clockwise as viewed from the front together with the output gear 43, the slider rear end portion 622 contacting the first end surface portion 443a of the second transmission shaft portion 443 in the standby state contacts the third end surface portion 443c of the second transmission shaft portion 443, and then contacts the second end surface portion 443 b. Thereby, the slider 62 moves forward against the urging force of the slider spring 625.

When the slider 62 moves forward, as shown in fig. 15, the slider tip portion 623 is positioned above the contact portion 632 of the sold-out actuator 63, and the sold-out actuator 63 is forcibly held in a state after being moved backward.

Then, the output gear 43 and the transmission member 44 are rotated by the driving of the motor, and the screw 50 is rotated, whereby the commodity restricted between the respective pitches of the screw 50 is conveyed forward, and the commodity restricted between the foremost pitches is fed forward.

Thereafter, when the slider rear end portion 622 in sliding contact with the second end surface portion 443b of the second transmission shaft portion 443 comes into contact with the third end surface portion 443c and the output gear 43 and the transmission member 44 rotate once, the motor stops driving, and the delivery of the forefront commodity is finished. At this time, as shown in fig. 16, slider 62 is urged by slider spring 625 to move backward, and slider front end 623 is separated from sold-out actuator 63.

Thus, the sold-out actuator 63 assumes a posture of retreating from the forward posture when the inclined extension portion 633 is pressed by the commodity W constrained between the pitches in the foremost zone as shown in fig. 14, and assumes a posture of advancing when the commodity is not constrained between the pitches in the foremost zone as shown in fig. 13.

The product fed out from the screw 50 is accommodated in the conveyance tray 12, and is conveyed to the vicinity of the product outlet 15a by the conveyance tray 12. The commodity can be taken out through the commodity outlet 15a after that.

As described above, in the commodity storage device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the stopper member 71 is attached to the right side portion 611c of the base portion 611, when the commodity is held between the pitches of the screw 50 in a horizontal posture with the rectangular surface as the bottom surface in a soft triangular prism shape such as a sandwich shape, even if the screw 50 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front, the upper wall portion 712 extending upward continuously from the right side portion 611c of the base portion 611 restricts the movement of the commodity in the right direction and prevents a part of the commodity from being caught between the screw 50 and the base 61. Therefore, the commodity which is in a soft triangular prism shape and is restrained in a horizontal posture with the rectangular surface as the bottom surface can be favorably stored and conveyed.

In particular, since the stopper member 71 is detachably provided to the base 61, when the commodity is not in a flexible triangular prism shape, the stopper member 71 can be detached to store the commodity, and good versatility can be achieved.

According to the commodity housing apparatus 20 described above, since the connection member 45 that supports the rear end portion 51 of the screw 50 is detachable from the transmission member 44 that constitutes the drive mechanism 41 and is attached to the drive source, the screw 50 can be replaced while retaining the transmission member 44 by detaching the connection member 45 from the transmission member 44, and the replacement work of the screw 50 can be simplified.

Further, since the upper support piece 613b of the base 61 is positioned on the front side of the rear end portion 51a of the screw 50 and overlaps the rear end portion 51a as viewed from the front when the screw 50 is in the standby state before rotation, even if the screw 50 is pulled forward, the upper support piece 613b abuts the rear end portion 51a of the screw 50, and the screw 50 can be prevented from being detached by being pulled forward. That is, when the screw 50 is replaced, the screw 50 can be detached by disengaging the connecting member 45 from the transmitting member 44 and pressing and elastically deforming the upper support piece 613b downward to release the state in which the upper support piece 613b and the rear end portion 51a of the screw 50 overlap each other when viewed from the front. Therefore, the replacement work of the screw 50 can be simplified, and the screw 50 can be prevented from being accidentally dropped.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, the presence or absence of a commodity is detected when the sold-out actuator 63 is in the forward movement posture or moves backward from the forward movement posture.

In the above-described embodiment, the connection member 45 is detachably attached to the transmission member 44 by, for example, engagement, but in the present invention, the connection between the connection member and the transmission member is not particularly limited as long as it is detachable.

Description of the symbols

1 Main body cabinet

2 Commodity storage warehouse

10 goods shelf

20 commodity storage device

30 goods way main body

40 spiral body unit

41 drive mechanism

42 outer casing

43 output gear

44 transfer member

45 connecting part

50 spiral body

60 base unit

61 base

62 sliding part

63 sold-out actuator

64 sold-out detecting switch

71 a stop member.

Claims

1. A merchandise storage device, comprising:

a spiral body that is wound in a spiral shape in an upper region of a trunk main body extending in a front-rear direction along an extending direction of the trunk main body and rotates around a central axis while a driving force is transmitted from a driving source; and

a base extending in the front-rear direction inside the spiral body with a front end portion thereof fixed to the trunk body and on which a commodity is placed on an upper surface,

when the spiral body rotates, the commodities which are loaded on the base and restrained between the pitches of the spiral body are gradually conveyed forward, and the frontmost commodities are discharged,

the commodity storage device further includes a stopper member having an upper wall portion extending upward, the upper wall portion being connected to one end portion of the base on the side where a part of the spiral body located above the base is displaced downward by the rotation of the spiral body, out of both left and right end portions of the base,

the upper wall portion extends upward inside the circle of the spiral body when viewed from the front-rear direction.

2. The merchandise storage device of claim 1, wherein:

the stopper member has the upper wall portion and a bottom wall portion extending in the left-right direction from a lower end portion of the upper wall portion and placed on the upper surface of the base, and is detachably attached to the base.