CN107924595B

CN107924595B - Goods outlet structure of vending machine

Info

Publication number: CN107924595B
Application number: CN201580082159.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吉野正洋; 村山达男
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-17
Filing date: 2015-09-17
Publication date: 2020-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-17
Also published as: JP6458872B2; JPWO2017046924A1; WO2017046924A1; CN107924595A

Abstract

The commodity take-out structure (31) of the vending machine comprises: a commodity take-out port (31) formed in the front face of the automatic vending machine body and having a commodity storage part (11) for storing commodities and a commodity take-out part (19) communicated with the commodity storage part; and a commodity take-out door (40) whose upper end is pivotally supported by the vending machine main body so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction, the article take-out port (31) is closed when swinging forward, the article take-out port (31) is opened when swinging backward, the article take-out door (40) is provided with a theft-proof component (50), the anti-theft component (50) is connected to the vending machine body through an anti-theft shaft part (51b) extending along the left and right direction, and is movably supported by the vending machine main body, thereby being capable of moving to approach/separate from the back of the commodity taking-out door (40) corresponding to the swing of the commodity taking-out door (40), and is in a standby posture in contact with the back surface of the commodity taking-out door (40) when the commodity taking-out door (40) closes the commodity taking-out port (31), and when the commodity taking-out door (40) swings to the open position, the commodity taking-out door (40) and the commodity storage part (11) are separated.

Description

Goods outlet structure of vending machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a commodity outlet structure of an automatic vending machine for selling commodities.

Background

Conventionally, in vending machines that sell commodities, there is a configuration in which commodities stored in commodity racks in commodity storage units are sequentially delivered to a conveyance tray, and then conveyed by the conveyance tray and discharged to a predetermined commodity discharge unit. The commodity taking out part is a part communicated with the outside through the commodity taking out port, and the purchased commodity can be taken out as long as a user extends in from the commodity taking out port.

In such an automatic vending machine, the door body constituting the front face is generally made of a transparent surface material such as glass, and the articles stored in the article storage section can be viewed from the outside and selected, and further, the state in which the purchased articles sequentially delivered from the article storage section are conveyed to the article take-out section by the conveyance tray can be observed. According to the vending machine with the product storage part visible inside, the purchase intention of the user can be improved.

Therefore, in such an automatic vending machine, the commodity outlet can be opened and closed by a commodity outlet door whose upper end portion is pivotally supported and whose lower end portion swings in the front-rear direction to open and close the commodity outlet (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 3414904

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in recent years, there has been a growing diversification of products sold by vending machines, and products such as lunch boxes, which have been difficult to sell before, are sold with their contents scattered if the posture of the product is changed.

Therefore, the following vending machines have been proposed: instead of conveying the commodity with the conveyance tray and discharging the commodity to the commodity discharge portion, the commodity is conveyed to the commodity discharge portion in a state of being placed on the conveyance tray, and the commodity discharge door swings to open the commodity discharge port, thereby discharging the commodity placed on the conveyance tray through the commodity discharge port.

However, in the automatic vending machine that conveys the articles to the article takeout portion in a state where the articles are placed on the conveyance tray as described above, since the article takeout portion communicates with the article storage portion, there is a problem that an unfortunate person can reach a wrist or the like from the article takeout opening to take out the articles stored in the article racks of the article storage portion, and thus, it is required to ensure theft prevention.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a product dispensing port structure of an automatic vending machine that allows a product to be conveyed to a product dispensing portion and that can achieve good theft prevention.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a commodity outlet structure for a vending machine, including: a commodity take-out port formed in the front of the vending machine body having a commodity storage part for storing commodities and a commodity take-out part communicated with the commodity storage part; and a commodity taking-out door, an upper end portion of which is pivotally supported by the vending machine main body so as to be swingable in a front-rear direction, and which closes the commodity taking-out port when swinging forward and opens the commodity taking-out port when swinging rearward, and which is capable of taking out a commodity conveyed from the commodity storage portion to the commodity taking-out portion when swinging rearward to an open position and opening the commodity taking-out port, the commodity taking-out port structure of the vending machine being characterized in that: the anti-theft device is connected to the commodity taking-out door through a shaft part extending in the left-right direction and movably supported by the vending machine main body, so that the anti-theft device can move close to or away from the back surface of the commodity taking-out door corresponding to the swinging of the commodity taking-out door, and is in a standby posture of contacting with the back surface of the commodity taking-out door when the commodity taking-out door closes the commodity taking-out opening, and separates the commodity storage part and the commodity taking-out part together with the commodity taking-out door when the commodity taking-out door swings to the opening position.

In the above-described structure of the commodity discharge port of the vending machine, the antitheft member may include: a burglar-proof plate portion having a lower end connected to a lower end of the commodity-removing door via the shaft portion; and a pair of left and right arm portions, each of which is supported so that a roller having one end connected to the security plate portion and the other end attached thereto is guided by a guide rail formed below the commodity outlet of the vending machine main body, wherein the security plate portion is in contact with a back surface of the commodity outlet door when the commodity outlet door is closed, and the security plate portion partitions the commodity storage portion and the commodity outlet portion together with the commodity outlet door when the commodity outlet door is swung to the open position.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that: in the above-described structure of the commodity takeout port of the vending machine, the guide rail guides the roller to a lower limit position when the commodity takeout door closes the commodity takeout port, and guides the roller to an upper limit position when the commodity takeout door reaches the open position, and the guide rail includes: a first guide portion that gradually inclines forward as it goes upward from the lower limit position; a second guide portion extending upward from an extending end portion of the first guide portion; and a third guide portion that extends gradually obliquely rearward from an extending end portion of the second guide portion upward to the upper limit position.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that: the above-described commodity outlet structure for an automatic vending machine may further include a detection mechanism that detects that the antitheft member is in the standby position by being pressed by a projection provided on the antitheft member when the antitheft member is in the standby position.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that: in the above-described structure of the article dispensing opening of the vending machine, the article dispensing door has a heat insulating structure.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the antitheft member is in a standby posture in which it is in contact with the back surface of the article takeout door when the article takeout door closes the article takeout opening, and therefore, the article is allowed to be conveyed from the article storage portion to the article takeout portion. Further, since the antitheft member partitions the article storage section and the article takeout section together with the article takeout door when the article takeout door swings to the open position, even when a wrist or the like is inserted from the article takeout opening, it is possible to suppress a finger from reaching the article storage section. Therefore, an effect that allows the article to be conveyed to the article takeout portion and that can achieve good theft prevention can be obtained.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view schematically showing an internal structure of a vending machine to which a commodity discharge port structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing main components of a product outlet structure of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded manner.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the article takeout door and the antitheft member when the article takeout port is closed.

Fig. 4 is a right side view showing the article takeout door and the antitheft member when the article takeout port is closed.

Fig. 5 is a right side view showing the support member shown in fig. 2 to 4.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the structure of the commodity outlet in an exploded manner.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the structure of the commodity outlet.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a right side view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a right side view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 13 is a right side view showing the operation of the article takeout door and the antitheft member shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a right side view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a right side view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a right side view showing operations of main components of a modification of the commodity outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the commodity outlet structure of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view schematically showing an internal structure of a vending machine to which a commodity discharge port structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine illustrated here includes a main body cabinet 10 and a front door (front door) 30.

The main body cabinet 10 constitutes a main body of the automatic vending machine together with the front door 30, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open front. A commodity storage portion 11 having a heat insulating structure is provided inside the main body cabinet 10. The commodity storage unit 11 is provided with a plurality of commodity shelves 12 in the vertical direction. These commodity racks 12 are respectively erected between commodity rack support side plates, not shown, erected on both left and right sides of the commodity storage section 11. Each commodity shelf 12 is configured by arranging a plurality of commodity storage lanes in parallel on the left and right sides, and stores commodities in the front-rear direction in each commodity storage lane.

Further, an evaporator 13 as a cooling unit is provided in the commodity housing portion 11. The evaporator 13 constitutes a refrigeration cycle in which a refrigerant is circulated, together with a compressor 15, a condenser 16, and the like provided in the machine room 14, and cools air passing through its own refrigerant passage, not shown, by exchanging heat with the air passing through its own surroundings. Here, the machine room 14 is a room defined below the commodity-accommodating section 11 in the main body cabinet 10.

The air cooled around the evaporator 13 is sucked into the air passage 18c from the air inlet 18a of the rear duct 18 provided on the rear surface of the commodity-housing portion 11 by the driving of the interior fan 17, and is blown out from the air outlet 18b after passing through the air passage 18c, thereby cooling the commodities housed in the commodity shelf 12.

In a front area of the commodity shelf 12 of the main body cabinet 10, a pair of left and right conveyance rails 20 are provided on both sides thereof, and a conveyance tray 21 is movable in the vertical direction between these conveyance rails 20 by a conveyance mechanism not shown. That is, a conveyance path 22 for passing the conveyance tray 21 is formed between the conveyance rails 20.

The conveyance path 22 extends to the article takeout section 19 in a front region of the machine chamber 14. The commodity takeout portion 19 communicates with the commodity storage portion 11 through the conveyance path 22, and is partitioned from the machine chamber 14 by the partition heat insulator 14 a.

The front door 30 opens and closes a front opening of the main body cabinet 10, and is provided at one side edge of the main body cabinet 10 so as to be swingable. The front door 30 has a heat insulating structure, and has a heat insulating glass plate (not shown) in which the product storage portion 11 is visible from the outside at a front side (front side) portion of the product storage portion 11, and a rectangular product outlet 31 formed at a lower portion of the glass plate.

The commodity outlet 31 is an opening through which a user takes out a commodity that is conveyed from the commodity storage portion 11 to the commodity outlet 19 via the conveyance tray 21. In the following description, a structure of a product outlet of an automatic vending machine will be described.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing main components of a product outlet structure of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded manner. The article takeout port structure of the vending machine exemplified here includes an article takeout door 40 and a theft prevention member 50.

The commodity-taking out door 40 is formed in a rectangular shape, and a door shaft portion 42 extending in the left-right direction is inserted into a plurality of shaft holding portions 41 formed at an upper end portion to hold the commodity-taking out door 40, and the door shaft portion 42 is erected on the front door 30 and is swingable about a central axis of the door shaft portion 42. That is, the upper end portion of the commodity discharge door 40 is pivotally supported by the front door 30 (the vending machine main body), and the commodity discharge port 31 can be opened and closed by swinging in the front-rear direction.

When the commodity taking-out door 40 swings backward and reaches the open position, which is the swing limit position, the commodity conveyed to the commodity taking-out portion 19 can be taken out through the commodity taking-out port 31. When the commodity taking-out door 40 swings forward and reaches the closed position, which is the swing limit position thereof, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the commodity taking-out port 31 is closed. The commodity outlet door 40 normally closes the commodity outlet port 31 by a moment due to its own weight.

The above-described commodity taking-out door 40 has an insulating structure. The commodity taking-out door 40 has a bulging portion 43 that protrudes outward (forward) of the commodity taking-out port 31 when in the closed position.

The antitheft member 50 includes an antitheft plate portion 51 and an arm portion 52. The burglar-proof plate section 51 is formed in a rectangular shape, and is larger in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction than the commodity-taking out door 40. The lower end of the burglar plate portion 51 is connected to the lower end of the article removal door 40 via a burglar shaft portion 51a extending in the left-right direction, and can swing around the center axis of the burglar shaft portion 51a so that the front surface of the burglar plate portion 51 approaches and separates from the rear surface of the article removal door 40.

The arm portions 52 are a pair of left and right elongated members connected to the right and left end portions of the burglar-proof plate portion 51 and extending downward from the lower end portion of the burglar-proof plate portion 51. More specifically, the right arm portion 52 has an upper end connected to the right end of the burglar-proof plate portion 51 and a lower end extending downward from the lower end of the burglar-proof plate portion 51. The right arm 52 has a roller 52a rotatably mounted on the right surface of the lower end portion. The upper end of the left arm portion 52 is connected to the left end of the burglar-proof plate portion 51, and the lower end extends downward from the lower end of the burglar-proof plate portion 51. The left arm 52 has a roller 52a attached to the left surface of the lower end portion.

Such arm portions 52 are supported by the support members 32 provided in a pair on the left and right of the front door 30.

The right support member 32 is provided inside the front door 30, and vertically on the right side of the commodity outlet 31. The right support member 32 is provided to extend downward from the commodity outlet 31. On the right side of the support member 32, as shown in fig. 5, a guide rail 321 is formed so as to protrude rightward. The guide rail 321 has a width slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the roller 52a, and includes a first guide portion 321a, a second guide portion 321b, and a third guide portion 321 c.

The first guide portion 321a is a lowermost portion, and gradually inclines forward as it goes upward. The second guide portion 321b is formed continuously with the first guide portion 321a, and extends upward from an upper end portion, which is an extending end portion of the first guide portion 321 a. The third guide portion 321c is formed continuously with the second guide portion 321b, and extends obliquely rearward from an upper end portion, which is an extending end portion of the second guide portion 321b, upward.

In the right support member 32, a long hole 322 extending in the extending direction of the guide rail 321 is formed in a portion facing the guide rail 321. The long hole 322 has a width smaller than the maximum diameter of the roller 52a, and allows a rotation shaft (not shown) of the roller 52a to pass through.

After the rotation shaft of the roller 52a penetrates the long hole 322 from the right side, the roller 52a is rotatably attached to the right surface of the lower end portion of the right arm, so that the roller 52a can move on the guide rail 321, which is not explicitly shown. That is, the right arm portion 52 is supported by the right support member 32 so that the roller 52a is guided by the guide rail 321.

The left support member 32 is provided inside the front door 30 and on the left side of the commodity outlet 31 in the vertical direction. The left support member 32 is provided to extend downward from the commodity outlet 31. Although not clearly shown in the drawing, a guide rail 321 is formed on the left surface of the support member 32 so as to protrude leftward, as in the case of the support member 32 on the right side. The guide rail 321 has a width slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the roller 52a, and includes a first guide portion 321a, a second guide portion 321b, and a third guide portion 321 c.

In the left support member 32, a long hole 322 extending in the extending direction of the guide rail 321 is formed in a portion facing the guide rail 321. The long hole 322 has a width smaller than the maximum diameter of the roller 52a, and allows a rotation shaft (not shown) of the roller 52a to pass through.

After the rotation shaft of the roller 52a penetrates the long hole 322 from the left side, the roller 52a is rotatably attached to the left surface of the lower end portion of the left arm, so that the roller 52a can move on the guide rail 321, which is not explicitly shown. That is, the left arm portion 52 is supported by the left support member 32 so that the roller 52a is guided by the guide rail 321.

In the above-described commodity takeout port structure, a closure detection sensor (detection means) 60 and a lock mechanism 70 are provided in addition to the commodity takeout door 40 and the antitheft member 50.

As also shown in fig. 6, the closure detection sensor 60 is provided in the left member 33 located on the left side of the commodity outlet 31 and on the right side of the left support member 32. A rectangular opening 331 is formed in the rear surface of the left side member 33, and the contact 61 of the closure detection sensor 60 is provided on the front side of the rectangular opening 331 so as to face the rectangular opening 331. When the article discharge port 31 is closed by the article discharge door 40 shown in fig. 3 and 4, the closing detection sensor 60 is in an effective (ON) state by the protrusion 51b formed ON the security plate portion 51 penetrating the through hole 44 formed in the left end portion of the article discharge door 40 and the rectangular opening 331 and pressing the contact 61 as shown in fig. 7, and transmits an effective signal to a control portion (not shown).

The lock mechanism 70 is provided on the right member 34 located on the right side of the commodity outlet 31 and located on the left side of the right support member 32, and includes a solenoid 71 and a hook 72.

The solenoid 71 is in an energized state when receiving a drive command from the control unit, and sucks a plunger (not shown) downward against a biasing force of a plunger spring (not shown). Here, the plunger is provided so as to be movable in the up-down direction, and is normally moved upward by the biasing force of the plunger spring.

The hook portion 72 engages with an upper end portion of the plunger, and although not clearly shown in the drawings, it assumes an engagement posture in a state where the plunger is moved upward, and assumes a non-engagement posture in a state where the plunger is attracted by the solenoid 71 and moved downward. The hook portion 72 is capable of engaging with an engagement portion, not shown, provided in the security plate portion 51 when the article takeout door 40 is in an engagement posture when the article takeout opening 31 is closed, and restricting rearward swinging of the article takeout door 40.

The operation of the commodity outlet structure having the above-described structure will be described. In the sales standby state, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the commodity outlet port 31 is closed by the moment of the weight of the commodity outlet door 40. When the article takeout door 40 closes the article takeout opening 31 in this manner, the antitheft member 50 is in a standby posture in which the roller 52a of the arm portion 52 is guided to the lowest limit position which is the lowermost portion of the guide rail 321, and the front surface of the antitheft plate portion 51 is in contact with the rear surface of the article takeout door 40. Further, the solenoid 71 of the lock mechanism 70 is in a non-energized state, and the hook portion 72 engages with the engagement portion to restrict the rearward swing of the commodity-dispensing door 40.

In this sales standby state, the user inputs necessary money and selects a commodity, and the conveyance tray 21 receives the commodity from the commodity storage lane in which the commodity is stored, and moves downward on the conveyance path 22 by the conveyance mechanism. Thereafter, the conveyance tray 21 is moved from the article storage unit 11 to the article takeout unit 19, and then stopped.

When the control unit that detects that the conveyance tray 21 has moved to the article pickup unit 19 by the detection mechanism turns on the solenoid 71, the hook portion 72 is in the non-engagement posture and the engagement with the engagement portion is released. The control unit then turns the solenoid 71 to a non-energized state. Thereby, the plunger is biased by the plunger spring and is moved upward.

When the user pushes the article removing door 40 from the front, the article removing door 40 in the closed position swings to the rear as shown in fig. 8 and 9. As the article takeout door 40 swings rearward, the roller 52a of the antitheft member 50 passes through the first guide portion 321a of the guide rail 321. Here, since the first guide portion 321a extends to be inclined forward gradually as it goes upward from the lower limit position, even when the commodity-removing door 40 swings slightly rearward from the closed position, the front surface of the burglar-proof plate portion 51 can be separated from the rear surface of the commodity-removing door 40, and the burglar-proof member 50 can be inclined rearward.

The commodity-taking out door 40 thus swung rearward is pushed by the user to swing further rearward as shown in fig. 10 and 11, and the roller 52a passes through the second guide portion 321b of the guide rail 321. The roller 52a is inclined further rearward around the central axis of the antitheft shaft 51a by the antitheft member 50 of the second guide portion 321b as the article takeout door 40 swings rearward.

When the commodity taking-out door 40 is pushed by the user and further swung rearward, the roller 52a passes through the third guide portion 321c of the guide rail 321. Here, since the third guide portion 321c gradually extends obliquely rearward as it goes upward, the antitheft member 50 is entirely displaced rearward in a rearward-inclined posture.

As shown in fig. 12 and 13, the roller 52a reaches the upper limit position, which is the uppermost part of the guide rail 321, and the commodity-taking out door 40 is thereby placed in the open position. In other words, the roller 52a is guided to the upper limit position of the guide rail 321 as the commodity takeout door 40 reaches the open position.

As the article takeout door 40 reaches the open position and the roller 52a is guided to the upper limit position, the upper end portion of the burglar plate portion 51 of the burglar member 50 abuts on the upper end portion of the partition heat insulator 14a, and the article storage portion 11 and the article takeout portion 19 are partitioned together with the article takeout door 40.

When the commodity takeout door 40 reaches the open position, the user can take out the commodity, which is conveyed by the conveyance tray 21 and placed on the conveyance tray 21, through the commodity takeout opening 31.

Thereafter, when the commodity placed on the conveyance tray 21 is taken out through the commodity take-out port 31, the commodity take-out door 40 is released from the state pressed by the user and is set in a free state. Thus, the commodity-taking out door 40 swings forward by the moment due to its own weight.

As the article taking-out door 40 swings forward, the antitheft member 50 moves downward in the guide rail 321 so that the roller 52a is guided by the third guide portion 321c, the second guide portion 321b, and the first guide portion 321a in this order, and thereby is displaced so that the front surface of the antitheft plate portion 51 approaches the rear surface of the article taking-out door 40.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, when the article takeout door 40 swings to the closed position and the article takeout opening 31 is closed, the antitheft member 50 assumes a standby posture in which the roller 52a is guided to the lower limit position of the guide rail 321 and the front surface of the antitheft plate portion 51 is in contact with the rear surface of the article takeout door 40.

In this way, the antitheft member 50 is in the standby position, the engagement portion of the antitheft plate portion 51 is engaged with the hook portion 72, and the protrusion 51b of the antitheft plate portion 51 penetrates the through hole 44 of the commodity-unloading door 40 and the rectangular opening 331 of the left member 33, and presses the contact 61 of the closing detection sensor 60. Thereby, the closure detection sensor 60 is in an active state, and transmits an active signal to the control unit. As a result, the control unit moves the conveyance tray 21 upward and disposes it at a predetermined standby position.

In the above-described article ejection port structure of the vending machine, the antitheft member 50 is in a standby posture in contact with the back surface of the article ejection door 40 when the article ejection port 31 is closed by the article ejection door 40, and therefore, the conveyance of the article from the article storage unit 11 to the article ejection unit 19 by the conveyance tray 21 is permitted. Further, since the antitheft member 50 partitions the article storage 11 and the article takeout portion 19 together with the article takeout door 40 when the article takeout door 40 swings to the open position, even when a wrist or the like is inserted from the article takeout opening 31, it is possible to suppress a finger from reaching the article storage 11. Therefore, according to the above-described article takeout opening structure, good theft prevention can be achieved while allowing the article to be conveyed to the article takeout portion 19.

According to the above-described article takeout opening structure, the first guide portion 321a constituting the guide rail 321 extends so as to gradually incline forward as it goes upward from the lower limit position, and therefore, even when the article takeout door 40 swings slightly rearward from the closed position, the front surface of the security plate portion 51 is separated from the rear surface of the article takeout door 40, and the security member 50 can be brought into a posture of inclining rearward, and therefore, even when the article takeout door 40 swings rearward to such an extent that it does not reach the open position, the security can be ensured.

According to the above-described commodity outlet structure, the third guide portion 321c constituting the guide rail 321 extends gradually obliquely rearward as it goes upward, so that the antitheft member 50 can be displaced rearward as a whole in a rearward-inclined posture, and thus the upper end portion of the antitheft member 50 (the upper end portion of the antitheft plate portion 51) can be brought into contact with the partition heat insulator 14a, and antitheft performance can be ensured.

In particular, since the third guide portion 321c extends in this manner, when the commodity-taking out door 40 in the open position swings forward, the antitheft member 50 is entirely displaced forward in a posture inclined rearward. Thus, the upper end portion of the antitheft member 50 can be separated from the front surface of the partition heat insulator 14a without sliding contact, and the antitheft member 50 can be prevented from generating frictional resistance with the partition member due to forward swinging with respect to the commodity-carrying-out door 40.

According to the above-described product outlet structure, the closure detection sensor 60 detects that the antitheft member 50 is in the standby posture by the contact 61 being pressed by the projection 51b, and therefore, the conveyance tray 21 can be moved after the antitheft member 50 is detected to be in the standby posture, and interference between the antitheft member 50 and the conveyance tray 21 can be avoided.

Next, a modification of the structure of the commodity outlet of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to fig. 14 to 19. In fig. 14 to 19, the same reference numerals are given to parts having the same structure as the commodity outlet structure of the above embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

Fig. 14 and 15 show modifications of the structure of the commodity outlet of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and fig. 14 is a perspective view and fig. 15 is a right side view. The article takeout port structure of the vending machine exemplified here includes an article takeout door 40 and a theft prevention member 80.

The theft prevention member 80 includes a rail portion 81, a first theft prevention plate portion 82, and a second theft prevention plate portion 83. The rail portion 81 includes a pair of left and right vertical members 811 and an upper member 812 that couples upper end portions of the vertical members 811 to each other.

The lower end portions of the vertical members 811 of the guide rail 81 are pivotally supported by the lower support member 35 below the commodity outlet 31 in the front door 30. Thereby, the rail portion 81 can swing in the front-rear direction so as to approach to and separate from the commodity-unloading door 40. The vertical members 811 are provided with guide rails 84 for guiding the rollers 45 provided at the left and right ends of the lower end portion of the antitheft member 80.

One end of the constant force spring 85 is connected to the upper member 812 of the guide rail 81. The constant force spring 85 is provided in a state of being wound around the upper support member 36 above the commodity outlet 31 in the front door 30. The constant force spring 85 biases the rail portion 81 forward. Thereby, the rail portion 81 is biased forward by the constant force spring 85.

The first anti-theft plate portion 82 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and a shaft-like portion, not shown, of an upper end portion is pivotally supported at an upper portion of the rear surface of the commodity-unloading door 40. Thus, the first flap portion 82 can swing about the axial center of the shaft portion so that the front surface approaches and separates from the rear surface of the commodity-unloading door 40.

The second burglar-proof plate portion 83 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape larger than the first burglar-proof plate portion 82. The second flap portion 83 is held by inserting a first shaft portion 86 extending in the left-right direction into a holding portion 831 formed at an upper end portion, and the first shaft portion 86 is bridged to a vertical member 811 of the rail portion 81, whereby the second flap portion 83 is swingable about a central axis of the first shaft portion 86. The lower end of the second burglar-proof plate portion 83 is connected to the lower end of the first burglar-proof plate portion 82 via a second shaft portion 87 extending in the left-right direction.

The operation of the commodity outlet structure having the above structure will be described. In the sales standby state, as shown in fig. 16 and 17, the article discharge door 40 closes the article discharge port 31. In this case, the theft preventing member 80 is in a standby posture in which it is swung forward by the constant force spring 85, and the front surface of the first theft preventing plate portion 82 is in contact with the rear surface of the commodity-unloading door 40, and the front surface of the second theft preventing plate portion 83 is in contact with the rear surface of the first theft preventing plate portion 82. The solenoid 71 of the lock mechanism 70 is in a non-energized state, and the hook 72 engages with an engagement portion 46 (see fig. 18) provided at the right end of the commodity-carrying out door 40, thereby restricting rearward swinging of the commodity-carrying out door 40.

In this sales standby state, the user inputs necessary money and selects a commodity, and the conveyance tray 21 receives the commodity from the commodity storage lane in which the commodity is stored, and moves downward on the conveyance path 22 by the conveyance mechanism. Thereafter, the conveyance tray 21 moves from the article storage unit 11 to the article takeout unit 19 and stops.

When the control unit that detects that the conveyance tray 21 has moved to the article pickup unit 19 by the detection mechanism turns on the solenoid 71, the hook portion 72 is in the non-engagement posture and the engagement with the engagement portion 46 is released. The control unit then turns the solenoid 71 to a non-energized state. Thereby, the plunger is biased by the plunger spring and is moved upward.

When the user pushes the article removing door 40 from the front, the article removing door 40 in the closed position swings to the rear as shown in fig. 14 and 15. As the commodity-taking out door 40 swings rearward, the guide rail portion 81 of the antitheft member 80 guides the roller 45 on the guide rail 84 and swings rearward against the urging force of the constant force spring 85.

When the commodity-removing door 40 is pushed by the user and further swung rearward, the roller 45 reaches the upper limit position of the uppermost portion of the guide rail 84 as shown in fig. 18 and 19, and the commodity-removing door 40 is at the open position. In other words, the roller 45 is guided to the upper limit position of the guide rail 84 as the commodity takeout door 40 reaches the open position. As a result, the upper end of the guide rail 81 of the antitheft member 80 abuts on the upper end of the partition insulator 14a when the article takeout door 40 reaches the open position and the roller 45 is guided to the upper limit position. At this time, the space between the rail portion 81 of the theft preventing member 80 and the article takeout door 40 is covered by the first theft preventing plate portion 82 and the second theft preventing plate portion 83, and the article storage portion 11 and the article takeout portion 19 are partitioned together with the article takeout door 40.

When the article takeout door 40 reaches the open position, the user can take out the article carried on the conveyance tray 21 while being conveyed by the conveyance tray 21 through the article takeout opening 31.

Thereafter, when the commodity placed on the conveyance tray 21 is taken out through the commodity take-out port 31, the commodity take-out door 40 is released from the state pressed by the user and is set in a free state. Thus, the antitheft member 80 is biased by the constant force spring 85 and the guide rail portion 81 swings forward. The commodity-taking out door 40 is also guided by the guide rails 84 to the rollers 45 and swings forward in accordance with the swinging of the guide rail portions 81. As shown in fig. 16 and 17, the commodity outlet door 40 swings to the closed position, and closes the commodity outlet port 31.

In the above-described article ejection port structure of the vending machine, the antitheft member 80 is in a standby posture in contact with the back surface of the article ejection door 40 when the article ejection port 31 is closed by the article ejection door 40, and therefore, the conveyance of the article from the article storage unit 11 to the article ejection unit 19 by the conveyance tray 21 is permitted. Further, since the antitheft member 80 partitions the article storage 11 and the article takeout portion 19 together with the article takeout door 40 when the article takeout door 40 swings to the open position, even when a wrist or the like is inserted from the article takeout opening 31, it is possible to suppress a finger from reaching the article storage 11. Therefore, according to the above-described article takeout opening structure, good theft prevention can be achieved while allowing the article to be conveyed to the article takeout portion 19.

Further, according to the above-described commodity outlet structure, since the guide rail portion 81 constituting the theft prevention member 80 is biased forward by the constant force spring 85, the commodity outlet door 40 can be biased forward, and thus the commodity outlet 31 can be reliably closed by the commodity outlet door 40.

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

In the above-described embodiment, the commodity discharge port structure is provided in the front door 30 constituting the main body of the vending machine, but in the present invention, the commodity discharge port structure is not necessarily provided in the front door, and may be provided in the front of the main body of the vending machine. That is, when the vending machine main body includes a main body cabinet having a product discharge port on the front side and an opening on the rear side, and a rear door for opening and closing the rear opening of the main body cabinet, the product discharge port structure is provided on the front side of the main body cabinet.

Description of reference numerals

10 main body cabinet

11 commodity storage part

12 goods shelf

19 commodity take-out part

21 conveying tray

30 front door

31 commodity outlet

32 support part

Guide rail 321

321a first guide part

321b second guide part

321c third guide part

322 long hole

33 left side part

331 rectangular opening

34 right side part

40 commodity take-out door

50 theft-proof parts

51 theftproof board portion

51a theft-proof shaft part

51b projection

52 arm part

52a roller

60 closure detection sensor (detection mechanism)

61 contact

70 locking mechanism

71 solenoid

72 hook portion.

Claims

1. An article takeout opening structure of a vending machine, comprising:

a commodity take-out port formed in the front of the vending machine body having a commodity storage part for storing commodities and a commodity take-out part communicated with the commodity storage part; and

a commodity taking-out door, an upper end portion of which is pivotally supported by the vending machine main body so as to be swingable in a front-rear direction, and which closes the commodity taking-out port when swung forward and opens the commodity taking-out port when swung rearward,

when the commodity taking-out door swings backward to an open position to open the commodity taking-out port, the commodity conveyed from the commodity storage part to the commodity taking-out part can be taken out,

the commodity take-out structure of the vending machine is characterized in that:

the anti-theft device includes an anti-theft member connected to the article takeout door via a shaft portion extending in a left-right direction and movably supported by the vending machine main body, so that the anti-theft member can be displaced so as to approach or separate from a back surface of the article takeout door in accordance with a swing of the article takeout door, and is set in a standby posture in contact with the back surface of the article takeout door when the article takeout door closes the article takeout opening, and separates the article storage portion and the article takeout portion together with the article takeout door when the article takeout door swings to the open position,

The antitheft part includes:

a burglar-proof plate portion having a lower end connected to a lower end of the commodity-removing door via the shaft portion; and

a pair of left and right arm portions, one end of which is connected to the security plate portion and the other end of which is mounted on a roller that is guided by a guide rail formed below the product outlet of the vending machine main body,

the security plate portion contacts a back surface of the article takeout door when the article takeout door closes the article takeout opening, and separates the article storage portion and the article takeout portion together with the article takeout door when the article takeout door swings to the open position.

2. A commodity takeout port structure of a vending machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the guide rail guides the roller to a lower limit position when the article takeout door closes the article takeout opening and guides the roller to an upper limit position when the article takeout door reaches the open position, the guide rail including:

a first guide portion that gradually inclines forward as it goes upward from the lower limit position;

a second guide portion extending upward from an extending end portion of the first guide portion; and

and a third guide portion extending obliquely rearward from an extending end of the second guide portion to the upper limit position.

3. A commodity outlet structure for a vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the antitheft device is provided with a detection mechanism which detects that the antitheft component is in the standby posture by being pressed by a protrusion arranged on the antitheft component when the antitheft component is in the standby posture.

4. A commodity outlet structure for a vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the merchandise retrieval door has a thermal isolation structure.

5. A commodity takeout port structure of a vending machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the merchandise retrieval door has a thermal isolation structure.