CN110992583A - Commodity storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a commodity storage device, which can share commodities stored in a shell main body (1) for a showcase and an automatic vending machine while maintaining energy conservation. In a commodity storage device having a showcase door 2 and a vending machine door 4 provided on the front surface and the back plate of a housing main body 1, a commodity storage rack 7 is disposed on a commodity mounting shelf 6 erected in the housing main body 1, a commodity discharge mechanism is mounted on the commodity storage rack, the commodity discharge mechanism conveys commodities in the direction of the showcase door and discharges the commodities, an in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is detachably provided in front of the commodity mounting shelf 6, the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is mounted in a house in a vending machine mode, the commodities discharged from the commodity storage rack 7 are discharged to the outside of the house, and the commodities discharged to the outside of the house are discharged to a commodity discharge port of the vending machine door 4 through an out-house commodity discharge chute 9.

Description

Commodity storage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a commodity storage device which is installed in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and which can reduce installation space and energy by using 1 device to serve both a showcase function and a vending machine function.

Background

As such a commodity storage device, an invention disclosed in patent document 1 is known. The commodity storage device is configured to include: a case main body formed as a heat insulating case and opened at a front surface; a door openably and closably provided in the front opening of the housing main body and having a commodity outlet at a lower portion thereof; a commodity-placing shelf plate which is provided with a plurality of layers in the vertical direction inside the housing main body and is provided with a plurality of commodity-receiving shelves for receiving commodities arranged in a row in the front-back direction along the left-right direction; and a commodity conveying device which moves on the front surface of the commodity carrying shelf of each layer, receives the commodities output from the commodity containing rack and conveys the commodities to the commodity output port.

The door is configured as a rectangular frame body, a window into which a transparent member such as glass or the like that allows the inside of the housing main body to be seen through is fitted is formed in the upper region, a commodity outlet is formed in the lower region, and the commodity inside can be visually observed through the transparent member.

The commodity storage rack disposed on the commodity mounting shelf has a commodity conveying mechanism formed by an endless conveyor belt hung on driving rollers and driven rollers disposed in front and rear, and commodities are stored on the conveyor belt of the commodity conveying mechanism.

The upper surface of the annular conveyer belt is formed into a loaded surface for arranging the commodities in a row for storage. The commodity pressing member is provided on the placing surface so as to be positioned behind the rearmost commodity among commodities stored in a row.

The conveyor belt is configured to output commodities by transmitting a driving force from a commodity conveying device moving on the front surface of the commodity-placing shelf at each floor. In this case, the commodities stored in a row on the conveyor belt are conveyed forward by the commodity pressing member without falling down.

An operation unit is provided on a side surface of the housing main body, and a charging unit (a bill insertion slot, a coin insertion slot, a return lever, a coin return slot, and the like) and an operation unit (operation buttons such as 0 to 9 numeric keys and a set key for selecting a commodity, a display panel for displaying the number of the selected commodity, the received amount of money, the change amount, and the like) are mounted thereon, the charging unit being required for selling the commodity of the automatic vending machine.

The invention described in patent document 1 is configured such that: the vending machine mode is set such that the operation unit can be used while the door is locked in the vending machine mode used as the vending machine, and the showcase mode is set such that the operation unit cannot be used while the door is unlocked in the showcase mode used as the showcase.

The invention described in patent document 1 is excellent in that 1 device can be used as both a showcase function and a vending machine function, and thus the installation space and energy can be reduced.

The vending machine disclosed in patent document 1 is configured such that: the commodity outlet is provided in a door that opens and closes an opening in the front surface of the housing main body, and in the vending machine mode, commodities output from the commodity storage rack are conveyed to the commodity outlet for sale, and in the showcase mode, a purchaser opens the door to take out the commodities from the commodity storage rack. Therefore, when the vending machine described in patent literature 1 is installed in a store such as a supermarket, the vending machine is installed in a state in which a door is located in the store, and there is a problem that the operation of the vending machine (selling of goods) is limited to the business hours of the store. In order to solve the above problem, there is also known a showcase-integrated automatic vending machine including: the front and rear surfaces of the housing main body are opened, a partition wall is provided at an intermediate position in the front-rear direction of the housing main body, a door for a showcase is provided at one opening, and a door for an automatic vending machine is provided at the other opening (see, for example, patent document 2).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 4379324

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 8-124007

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the showcase-integrated automatic vending machine described in patent document 2, the housing main body is provided through a wall of a store so that a door for the showcase faces the inside of the store and a door of the automatic vending machine faces the outside of the store. With this known showcase-integrated type vending machine, it is possible to sell products as showcases in the business hours of the store and to sell products by the vending machine also in the business hours of the store.

However, the known showcase-integrated automatic vending machine has the following problems: the goods sold as a showcase and the goods sold as a vending machine must be prepared for the showcase and the vending machine, respectively, and the goods must be loaded into the showcase and the vending machine, respectively. In addition, it is necessary to manage the shelf life of the products for the showcase and the vending machine, respectively.

However, when the technique of the known showcase-integrated type vending machine is applied to the vending machine described in patent document 1, the products can be sold as showcases in the business hours of the stores and the products can be sold by the vending machine outside the business hours of the stores. Therefore, it is conceivable that the back surface of the housing main body in the vending machine described in patent document 1 is opened, and a showcase door having a transparent member such as glass through which the inside can be seen is provided in the opening, and the housing main body is provided in a form penetrating the wall of the shop so that the showcase door faces the inside of the shop and the door of the vending machine faces the outside of the shop. Thus, the commodities stored in the commodity storage rack of the commodity carrying shelf can be shared by the showcase and the vending machine. However, opening the rear surface of the case main body configured as the heat insulating case means removing the heat insulating material on the rear surface of the case main body, which inevitably significantly degrades the heat insulating performance of the case main body. When the heat insulation performance is lowered in this manner, the size of the freezer/condenser unit is inevitably increased to maintain the commodities on the shelves housed in the casing main body at a desired cooling temperature, and the power consumption is increased, which is contrary to the energy saving. Thus, there are the following problems: only by applying the technique of the known showcase-integrated vending machine to the vending machine described in patent document 1, it is not possible to obtain a showcase-used vending machine in which commodities accommodated in a housing main body can be commonly used for a showcase and a vending machine while energy saving is maintained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a commodity storage device capable of sharing stored commodities for a showcase and a vending machine while maintaining energy saving.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a commodity storage device including: a device main body having a case main body which is formed as a box-shaped heat insulating case, in which an opening for taking out formed in an arbitrary surface of the case main body is opened and closed by a door body, and in which a commodity take-out port is formed in a position different from the opening for taking out; and a commodity storage chamber formed in the casing main body so as to face the takeout opening and configured to store a commodity, wherein the commodity storage device includes a transport member configured to transport the selected commodity from the commodity storage chamber to the commodity takeout opening when the commodity is selected by operating an operation unit provided in the device main body.

In the above-described commodity storage device, the housing main body may have a commodity discharge port formed in a surface thereof different from a surface thereof on which the discharge opening is formed, and the commodity discharge port may be provided in another door body provided in the housing main body so as to be close to and distant from the surface thereof on which the commodity discharge port is formed, at a position facing the commodity discharge port.

In the above-described commodity storage device, a surface on which the commodity discharge port is formed is opposed to a surface on which the take-out opening is formed.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the commodity storage device includes: a heat-insulating partition member that divides the interior of the housing main body in the left-right direction into the commodity storage chamber and the commodity discharge chamber, and that has a commodity discharge port that is open in a manner that the commodity storage chamber and the commodity discharge chamber communicate with each other and that is normally closed by a discharge port door; a plurality of commodity-placing shelves which are vertically stacked in the commodity-receiving chamber so as to form a space for commodity discharge between the commodity-placing shelves and the door body, and on which commodity-receiving shelves on which commodity-discharging mechanisms for conveying and discharging commodities received in a row in the front-rear direction in the direction of the door body are disposed in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction are disposed; the conveying member includes: a commodity transport device in the warehouse, which is disposed in the commodity output space and transports the commodities output from the commodity storage rack toward the commodity delivery port; and an outside-warehouse commodity transport device that receives the commodity transported by the inside-warehouse commodity transport device and delivered through the commodity delivery port, and transports the commodity to the commodity delivery port.

In the commodity storage device, the in-box commodity transport device may be a box commodity discharge chute that is detachably mounted in the commodity discharge space and that gradually inclines downward toward the commodity delivery port.

In the commodity storage device, an in-box commodity discharge chute that is removed from the commodity discharge space is stored in the commodity discharge chamber side.

In the above-described commodity storage device, the engaging member that engages with the in-storage commodity discharge chute removed from the commodity discharge space is provided in the vicinity of the commodity delivery port on the commodity delivery chamber side, and the in-storage commodity discharge chute is engaged with the engaging member in a manner that prevents the delivery port door of the commodity delivery port from being opened.

In addition, the present invention is the commodity storage device, including: a conveying belt annularly stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller arranged in front and back; a motor that drives the conveyor belt; and a sold-out detection device that detects sold-out of the commodity stored on the conveyor belt.

In the above-described commodity storage device, the other door may include a display device including a liquid crystal display.

In the above-described commodity storage device, the in-store commodity conveying device according to the present invention includes: a commodity in-warehouse output tray which is gradually inclined downward toward the commodity delivery port; and a lifting mechanism for moving the in-warehouse commodity output tray in the vertical direction in the commodity output space.

In the commodity storage device, the elevating mechanism may be configured to normally dispose the commodity carrying tray in the storage above the uppermost commodity mounting shelf.

In the commodity storage device, the commodity discharge tray in the storage may include: a 1 st inclined guide portion which is gradually inclined downward as approaching the commodity storage rack; and a 2 nd inclined guide portion which is continuous with an end portion of the 1 st inclined guide portion closest to the commodity storage rack and is gradually inclined upward as approaching the commodity storage rack.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the present invention, since the conveyance member is provided to convey the selected commodity from the commodity storage chamber to the commodity ejection port when the commodity is selected by operating the operation unit provided in the apparatus main body, when the ejection opening is opened by the door body, the commodity in the commodity storage chamber can be allowed to be ejected through the ejection opening, and when the operation unit is operated, the commodity in the commodity storage chamber can be allowed to be conveyed to the commodity ejection port and to be ejected by the conveyance member. Therefore, the following disadvantages can be solved: as in the related art, the back surface of the casing main body configured as a heat insulating casing is opened (the heat insulator on the back surface of the casing main body is removed) to significantly reduce the heat insulating performance of the casing main body, and a refrigerator condensing unit for maintaining the stored commodity at a desired cooling temperature is increased in size and causes an increase in power consumption. Therefore, the stored commodities can be shared for the showcase and the vending machine while maintaining energy saving.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a showcase-also-used vending machine as a commodity storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a customer side of a showcase.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the showcase-also-used vending machine of fig. 1 as viewed from the customer side of the vending machine.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view showing a showcase door and a maintenance door exploded from the showcase-compatible vending machine of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view showing the vending machine door exploded from the showcase-compatible vending machine of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show outlet frame units attached to commodity outlets provided in a back plate of a housing main body, fig. 5 (a) is a perspective view of the outlet frame unit, and fig. 5 (b) is an exploded view of the outlet frame unit.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the heat insulating partition member.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the commodity storage rack.

Fig. 8 is a partially omitted perspective view of the commodity output mechanism shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a partially omitted exploded perspective view showing a state in which the drive unit is mounted in the mounting groove of the base member.

Fig. 10 is a front view of the drive unit in a state where the outer cover is removed.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing a swing member and a link member constituting a sold-out detection device.

Fig. 12 (a) and 12 (b) show the in-house commodity discharge chute, fig. 12 (a) is a perspective view showing the in-house commodity discharge chute together with the mounting fittings, and fig. 12 (b) is a perspective view of the in-house commodity discharge chute as viewed from below.

Fig. 13 is an exploded view of the in-warehouse commodity output chute of fig. 12 (a) and 12 (b).

Fig. 14 is a partially omitted perspective view of the state in which the in-house commodity discharge chute is mounted on the housing main body.

Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing the delivery chute outside the warehouse.

Fig. 16 is a partially omitted right side view of the housing main body with the right side plate removed.

Fig. 17 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a case where the showcase-compatible vending machine is used in the showcase mode, with a right side plate of the housing main body removed.

Fig. 18 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a case where the showcase-serving vending machine is used in the vending machine mode, with a right side plate of the housing main body removed.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a modification of the commodity-housing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view showing the in-warehouse article conveyance device shown in fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view showing a main part of the in-warehouse article conveyance device shown in fig. 20.

Fig. 22 is a front view showing a main part of the in-warehouse article conveyance device shown in fig. 20.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view showing the in-store commodity output tray shown in fig. 21 and 22.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing a normal arrangement state of the in-house commodity output trays.

Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the in-warehouse article output tray.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A housing main body; 2. a door for a showcase; 3. maintaining the door; 4. a door for the vending machine; 5. a heat insulating partition member; 6. a commodity-carrying shelf; 7. a commodity storage rack; 8. an in-warehouse commodity output chute (in-warehouse commodity conveying device); 9. an ex-warehouse commodity output chute (ex-warehouse commodity conveying device); 10. a showcase-compatible vending machine; 12. a back plate; 16. a commodity outlet; 17. an output port frame; 18. an output port door; 19. an output port frame unit; 70. a drive unit; 71. a commodity output mechanism; 72. a conveyor belt; 78. a sold-out detection device.

Detailed Description

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

Fig. 1 to 4 show a commodity storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10 is provided in a store such as a convenience store, and the housing main body is provided through a wall of the store so that a visiting surface of a showcase in the showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10 faces the inside of the store and a visiting surface of the automatic vending machine faces the outside of the store. In the following description, "front surface" and "left and right" refer to a case where the showcase-serving automatic vending machine 10 is viewed from the shop (in other words, a case where the showcase is viewed from the customer side).

As shown in fig. 1 to 4, the showcase-also-used vending machine 10 includes a device main body 10 a. The apparatus main body 10a includes: a case body 1 formed as a box-shaped heat insulating case, and having an opening on one surface in the front-rear direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a front surface); a showcase door 2 (door body) and a maintenance door 3 openably and closably provided so as to close an opening in a front surface of the case main body 1; a vending machine door (another door body) 4 openably and closably provided on the other surface (hereinafter, also referred to as a back plate) of the casing body 1 and having a commodity outlet 40 formed therein; a heat insulating partition member 5 which partitions the inside of the housing main body 1 into a commodity storage chamber 1A and a commodity discharge chamber 1B in the left-right direction and in which a commodity discharge port 51 having a discharge port door 53 (see fig. 6) opened so as to communicate the commodity storage chamber 1A with the commodity discharge chamber 1B is formed; a commodity-carrying shelf 6 which is formed by a plurality of layers (5 layers in this example) in the vertical direction in an upper region of the commodity-receiving chamber 1A in the housing main body 1 so as to form a commodity-carrying space 2a between the commodity-receiving chamber 1A and the showcase door 2, and which has commodity-carrying shelves 7 (see fig. 7 described later) arranged in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction, the commodity-carrying shelves 7 being provided in the upper 2 layer and the commodity-carrying shelves 7 not being provided in the lower 3 layer in this example, the commodity-carrying shelves 71 conveying commodities stored in a row in the front-rear direction in the showcase door direction and carrying out 1 commodity, and which has a sold-out detection device 78 (see fig. 7 described later) for detecting commodities; an in-house commodity discharge chute (in-house commodity conveying device) 8 which is disposed in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 and conveys commodities discharged from the commodity-accommodating shelves 7 to the commodity outlet 51 of the heat-insulating partition member 5; and an outside-store commodity discharge chute (outside-store commodity transport device) 9 that receives the commodity that is transported by the inside-store commodity discharge chute 8 and discharged through the commodity discharge port 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5, and transports the commodity to the commodity discharge port 40 of the vending machine door 4. That is, the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 and the out-house commodity discharge chute 9 constitute a conveyance member 1C that conveys the commodity discharged from the commodity storage rack 7 from the commodity storage chamber 1A to the commodity discharge port 40.

The case body 1 is formed in a box shape with an open front surface by appropriately combining an upper plate 11, a back plate 12 (see fig. 4), left and right side plates 13, and a bottom base 14, which are formed of a plurality of steel plates, and is configured as a heat insulating case by disposing heat insulators formed of urethane foam on an upper wall, a back wall, left and right side walls, and a bottom wall 15 (see fig. 3) inside the box shape made of steel plates.

The interior surrounded by the heat insulating material of the casing main body 1 is constituted by a commodity storage chamber 1A and a commodity discharge chamber 1B which are partitioned into left and right sides by a heat insulating partition member 5, and the lower portion of the casing main body 1 is constituted as an equipment chamber 20. The left opening of the heat insulating partition member 5 is a removal opening 2 b.

A cooling/heating unit (not shown) that cools or heats the commodities stored in the commodity storage chamber 1A and stores the commodities in a cold or hot state is disposed at a lower portion (an upper surface of the bottom wall 15) of the commodity storage chamber 1A.

The cooling/heating unit includes an evaporator, a heater, and an in-house fan. A refrigerating machine condensing unit (not shown) forming a refrigerating cycle with the evaporator of the cooling/heating unit is disposed on the base 14 of the equipment chamber 20 behind the equipment chamber lid 201 at the lower part of the casing main body 1.

The refrigerator condensing unit includes a compressor, a condenser, an outdoor fan, an expansion valve, and the like, and the condenser disposed in the equipment room 20 and the evaporator disposed in the commodity-accommodating room 1A are connected by a refrigerant pipe via the expansion valve.

In the commodity discharge room 1B, in addition to the above-described out-of-store commodity discharge chute 9, components of the vending machine such as a main control device, a power supply box, and a leakage breaker are disposed.

As shown in fig. 4, a commodity outlet 16 to which an outlet frame unit 19 is attached is formed by opening a back plate 12 of the housing main body 1. The commodity discharge port 16 is formed in a size that allows passage of commodities discharged from the commodity storage shelves 7 of the commodity mounting shelf plate 6 and conveyed via the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 and the out-house commodity discharge chute 9.

As shown in fig. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the outlet frame unit 19 includes an outlet frame 17 having a frame shape (japanese: includes a shape) that fits into the opening of the commodity outlet 16, and an outlet door 18 pivotally supported by the outlet frame 17. The outlet port door 18 has a bulging portion 182 bulging one side of the center portion of a rectangular flat plate, a flat plate surface portion 181 is formed around the bulging portion 182, and shafts 18a, 18a protruding outward are formed on both left and right sides of the upper end of the flat plate surface portion 181.

By providing the bulging portion 182, when the outlet door 18 is hung down with the left and right shafts 18a, 18a supported, the center of gravity of the outlet door 18 is shifted to the opposite side of the bulging portion 182 from the vertical line passing through the shafts 18a, 18 a. The outlet door 18 is rotatably supported by shaft-supporting portions (not shown) provided at upper portions of left and right inner walls of the outlet frame 17, with which the left and right shafts 18a, 18a are engaged.

Inclined surfaces 171 are formed on the left and right inner walls of the outlet frame 17, with which the flat surface portion 181 abuts when the shafts 18a, 18a of the outlet door 18 are engaged with the bearing contact portion provided in the outlet frame 17. Therefore, when the outlet door 18 is attached to the outlet frame 17 and hung, the commodity outlet 16 is closed by the self weight of the outlet door 18 in conjunction with the shift of the center of gravity position by the bulging portion 182, thereby preventing the inflow of outside air.

The front opening of the casing main body 1 is closed by a showcase door 2 and a maintenance door 3 supported openably and closably at the left edge of the casing main body 1 and configured to be split. That is, the opening 2b for taking out is opened and closed by the showcase door 2.

A transparent glass plate 22 is fitted into the outer frame 21 of the showcase door 2, and the inside of the commodity storage chamber 1A can be visually confirmed from the outside through the transparent glass plate 22. A piston cylinder type spring 23 and a stopper member 24 are provided at upper and lower end portions of an outer frame 21 on a hinge side of the showcase door 2.

The piston cylinder spring 23 is a known member (e.g., japanese patent application laid-open No. 5-118179) for automatically closing the opened showcase door 2, and the stopper member 24 is a known member (e.g., japanese patent application laid-open No. 5-118179) for limiting the opening angle (e.g., 90 degrees) of the showcase door 2 and preventing the showcase door 2 from being opened to a predetermined angle or more. The maintenance door 3 is in the form of a thin box made of metal, and has a key lock device (not shown) facing the key hole 31 on the front surface.

The door 4 for the vending machine is a thin box-shaped member covering the back surface of the housing body 1, and has hinge shafts (not shown) at both upper and lower ends of the right end side, and the hinge shafts are openably and closably attached to the back surface of the housing body 1 via hinge attachment fittings 4a and 4 b.

A display window 41 is formed in an upper region of the vending machine door 4, which occupies substantially half of the door, and a display device (operation unit) 42 including a liquid crystal display is provided in the display window 41. A charging unit 43 and a key hole 44 of a key lock device (not shown) are provided near the display window 41 of the door 4 for the vending machine, and the charging unit 43 includes a bill insertion port 43a, a coin insertion port 43b, a return lever 43c, and a coin return port 43 d. Further, a commodity outlet 40 formed by a circular opening is formed at a position near the right end below the display window 41 in the door 4 for the vending machine.

The display device 42 is a touch panel screen, and has a function as a display means for displaying a commodity to be sold and a commodity price, and a function as an input means (touch panel) for supplying a signal indicating that the commodity is selected to a main control device of the automatic vending machine when a purchaser presses a portion on which the commodity is displayed. Note that the charging unit 43 may be a member that pays electronic money using a recording medium (an IC card, a mobile phone, or the like) on which electronic money is mounted, and is not limited to the charging unit 43.

A commodity receiving box 401 (see fig. 17) is provided on the front surface side (the back surface side when viewed from the vending machine door 4) of the commodity outlet 40. The commodity receiving box 401 has a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, and is formed in a box-shaped structure with its front and rear surfaces opened. The commodity receiving box 401 has a rear surface facing the commodity outlet 40 opened in the vending machine door 4 and a front surface facing the commodity outlet 16 formed in the back plate 12 of the housing main body 1, and receives a commodity sent out through the commodity outlet 16. The commodity outlet 40 is closed by an internally-openable outlet door 400 (see also fig. 16) pivotally supported at an upper end thereof.

Fig. 6 shows heat insulating partition member 5 that partitions the inside of housing main body 1 into commodity storage chamber 1A and commodity discharge chamber 1B in the left-right direction. The heat insulating partition member 5 is mainly composed of a rectangular heat insulating material made of urethane foam. A commodity outlet 51 is formed at an intermediate position in the vertical direction in front of the heat insulating partition member 5 so as to communicate the commodity storage chamber 1A with the commodity discharge chamber 1B. The commodity carrying-out port 51 is formed in a size that allows passage of commodities that are output from the commodity-accommodating shelves 7 of the commodity-mounting shelf plate 6 and conveyed via the in-house commodity output chute 8. Further, a delivery port frame unit 54 is attached to the commodity delivery port 51. The outlet frame unit 54 includes a frame-shaped outlet frame 52 and an outlet door 53 pivotally supported by the outlet frame 52, and is configured similarly to the outlet frame unit 19 described above, and therefore redundant description is omitted. The delivery door 53 of the delivery frame unit 54 closes the commodity delivery port 51 by the self weight of the delivery door 53 itself to prevent the cold air or the warm air in the commodity storage chamber 1A from flowing out to the commodity discharge chamber 1B side.

Further, a pair of upper and lower engaging pieces 55 and 56 are provided on the heat insulating partition member 5. The locking members 55 and 56 are used to hold and store the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 in the commodity discharge chamber 1B when not in use, and have engaging pieces 55a and 56a bent in directions opposite to each other. Further, a metal plate 500 is attached to the heat insulating partition member 5, and the metal plate 500 is screwed and fastened with the fasteners 55, 56.

The commodity-placing shelves 6 vertically arranged in multiple stages in the commodity-accommodating chamber 1A are formed as rectangular flat shelves having left and right side walls. A plurality of rollers, not shown, are provided along the front-rear direction outside the left and right side walls of the commodity-placing shelf 6. The rollers are held by guide rails R (see fig. 17) fixed to support columns (not shown) disposed in the commodity storage chamber 1A of the housing body 1 in the front, rear, left, and right directions. Therefore, the commodity-placing shelf 6 is slidable in the front-rear direction between a position of being stored in the commodity storage chamber 1A and a position of being pulled out forward from the commodity storage chamber 1A.

Fig. 7 to 11 show commodity storage racks 7 in which a plurality of rows of commodity storage shelves 6 are arranged in the left-right direction on the upper 2-tier commodity storage shelves 6 among the 5-tier commodity storage shelves 6 in the vertical direction. The upper 3-layer commodity-placing shelf 6 forms a commodity discharge space 2a with the showcase door 2, and the upper 3-layer commodity-placing shelf 6 is pushed in to a rear side position so that the commodity discharge chute 8 can be disposed in the commodity discharge space 2 a.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the commodity storage rack 7 is provided with a commodity discharge mechanism 71, and the commodity discharge mechanism 71 receives a rotational driving force from the driving unit 70, conveys commodities stored in a row in the front-rear direction in the direction of the showcase door, and discharges the commodities, and further includes a sold-out detection device 78 for detecting a sold-out of the commodities.

The commodity discharging mechanism 71 includes a belt conveyor mechanism having an endless conveyor belt 72 that is movable by receiving a rotational driving force from the driving unit 70 to convey the commodity G placed on the conveying surface 72a of the commodity discharging mechanism 71 in the conveying direction a. The conveying belt 72 is looped between a driving roller 73 provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction a and a driven roller 74 provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction a, and is moved by the rotational driving force of the driving roller 73. In other words, the uppermost stream position of the transport belt 72 in the transport direction a is supported by the drive roller 73, and the lowermost stream position thereof in the transport direction a is supported by the driven roller 74.

The drive roller 73 is pivotally supported between left and right side walls 710a, 710a provided upright on the base end side of the conveyor base 710 attached to the base member 700, and the driven roller 74 is pivotally supported between the left and right side walls on the top end side of the conveyor base 710. Further, a detecting member 780 constituting a sold-out detecting device 78 is provided on the conveying surface 72a of the commodity carrying mechanism 71. The detection member 780 is detachably attached to the conveyor belt 72 by engaging an engagement claw (not shown) provided on the contact surface with the conveyor belt 72 with an engagement hole (not shown) formed by a hole provided in the conveyor belt 72. The detecting member 780 is provided behind the product G positioned at the rearmost (rearmost) among the arranged products G (see, for example, the detecting member 780 indicated by the two-dot chain line in fig. 7), moves together with the conveyance of the product G by the movement of the conveyor belt 72, and finally moves to the foremost side of the product storage rack 7 as indicated by the solid line in fig. 7. The detection member 780 has a pressing portion 780a protruding in the left-right direction.

As shown in fig. 8, the product carry-out mechanism 71 includes, at its rear end portion: a coupling gear 75 having a coupling portion 751 coupled to a rotary body 704 (see fig. 9 described later) of the drive unit 70; a driven gear 76 that is driven to rotate by meshing with the coupling gear 75; a driving roller 73 located on a side of the driven gear 76; and a tension roller 77 disposed forward and downward of the drive roller 73 and applying tension to the conveyor belt 72. The coupling gear 75 is a large-diameter "bevel gear" that meshes with the driven gear 76, and has a cylindrical coupling portion 751 that protrudes inward from the "bevel gear". A protrusion 751a extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the periphery of the cylindrical coupling portion 751. The driven gear 76 has a "bevel gear" that meshes with the "bevel gear" of the coupling gear 75, and is fitted to one end side of the driving roller 73 that is pivotally supported between the left and right side walls 710a, 710a of the conveyor base 710, thereby being integrally coupled to the driving roller 73 on the same axis.

As shown in fig. 9, the drive unit 70 includes a housing 701 configured in a rectangular box shape by an outer cover 701a and an inner cover 701 b. As shown in fig. 10 (a front view of the drive unit 70 with the cover 701a removed), the housing 701 houses a motor 702, a gear mechanism 703, a rotating body 704, and a detection switch 705. A swing member 782 constituting a sold-out detection device 78 is provided on the front surface of the outer cover 701a of the housing 701. The swinging member 782 is a plate-like member having a substantially triangular shape in front view, and a shaft pin 706 protruding from the cover 701a of the housing 701 shown in fig. 9 is inserted through a shaft hole 782a formed in the vicinity of an upper vertex of the triangle, and can swing around the shaft pin 706 as a rotation center. The drive unit 70 is attached to an attachment groove 700a of a base member 700 to which a commodity carrying mechanism 71 mounted on a conveyor base 710 shown in fig. 8 is attached.

A worm gear (helical gear) 702a is fixed to a rotation shaft of the motor 702 housed in the housing 701 of the drive unit 70. The gear mechanism 703 is a transmission mechanism (speed reduction mechanism) for transmitting the rotation of the motor 702 to the rotating body 704, and includes: a worm wheel (helical gear) 703a that meshes with the worm gear 702 a; and a transmission gear 703b that is driven to rotate by the worm gear 703a and drives the rotating body 704 to rotate. The detection switch 705 is a microswitch that presses a button 705b by pressing and swinging a detection lever 705 a. The rotating body 704 includes: a large-diameter gear portion 7041 that meshes with a small-diameter gear (hidden from view by the transmission gear 703b in fig. 10) integrated with the transmission gear 703 b; and a mounting portion 7042 formed in a cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the gear portion 7041 and extending in the front-rear direction. The connection portion 751 of the connection gear 75 provided at the rear end portion of the commodity discharging mechanism 71 is detachable from the attachment portion 7042. In this case, a plurality of groove portions 7042a are formed along the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 7042, and the groove portions 7042a can engage with the convex portions 751a formed on the connecting portion 751 of the connecting gear 75. Therefore, when the coupling portion 751 of the coupling gear 75 is attached to the attachment portion 7042 of the rotary body 704 in a state where the convex portion 751a of the coupling portion 751 formed in the coupling gear 75 is engaged with the groove portion 7042a, the rotation of the motor 702 is transmitted to the coupling gear 75, and the conveyor belt 72 moves.

A sold-out detection device 78, then, comprises: a detecting member 780 provided on the conveyor belt 72; a long rod-shaped link member 781 extending in the conveyance direction a on the side surface of the base member 700 and slid in the conveyance direction a by the detection member 780; and a swinging member 782 and a detection switch 705 provided to the driving unit 70.

The detecting member 780 is provided behind the rearmost commodity G among the commodities G arranged in the commodity storage rack 7, and moves in the conveying direction a together with the commodity G. When the rearmost commodity G is delivered from the commodity-accommodating shelf 7, the pressing portion 780a formed to extend in the left-right direction at the lower portion thereof presses the rear surface side of the front end surface 781a of the link member 781 forward at the foremost position of the commodity-accommodating shelf 7, and slides the link member 781.

As shown in fig. 11, the link member 781 has: a top end surface 781a, a 1 st protruding piece 781b provided rearward of the top end surface 781a and protruding in a horizontal direction toward the inside of the base member 700; a 2 nd protruding piece 781c provided substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction and protruding in the horizontal direction toward the inside of the base member 700; a 3 rd protruding piece 781d provided on the rear end side and protruding in the horizontal direction toward the inside of the base member 700; and a pressing piece 781e formed in a substantially L shape in side view by being bent upward from a rear end and then protruding rearward. The 1 st protruding piece 781b, the 2 nd protruding piece 781c, and the 3 rd protruding piece 781d are movably engaged with an unillustrated elongated hole formed in a side surface opening of the base member 700 and extending in the conveying direction a, and guide the sliding operation of the link member 781. At this time, a coil spring (not shown) is interposed between the 2 nd projecting piece 781c and the base member 700, and the link member 781 is biased rearward (in the direction opposite to the conveying direction a) relative to the base member 700. A free end (rear end) of the pressing piece 781e is formed with an inclined surface 781f that can be brought into sliding contact with a side surface of the swinging member 782. The inclined surface 781f is formed by cutting the wall thickness of the pressing piece 781e in such a manner as to gradually decrease toward the rear.

As shown in fig. 11, the swinging member 782 is swingable in the left-right direction (solid arrow L, broken arrow R), and is biased by a coil spring 783 (see fig. 9) toward broken arrow R. The push lever 782b protrudes inward from a side surface of the swinging member 782. The pressing lever 782b faces the detection lever 705a of the detection switch 705 through an opening provided in the cover 701a of the housing 701 of the drive unit 70.

Next, a sold-out detection operation performed by the sold-out detection device 78 will be described.

First, in a normal case where the commodity storage rack 7 has a remaining commodity G and the detecting member 780 provided on the conveyor belt 72 is separated from the distal end surface 781a of the link member 781, the link member 781 slides rearward. In this state, the thick portion of the inclined surface 781f formed by the pressing piece 781e located at the rear end of the link member 781 abuts against the side surface of the swinging member 782, and the swinging member 782 is held in a state of being swung in the direction of the broken-line arrow R. In a state where the swinging member 782 is swung in the direction of the broken-line arrow R, the pressing lever 782b of the swinging member 782 is at a position separated from the detection lever 705a of the detection switch 705, and the detection switch 705 is off.

In the middle of delivering the rearmost commodity G of the commodity-accommodating rack 7 from this state, the pressing portion 780a of the detection member 780 abuts against the distal end surface 781a of the link member 781, and the link member 781 is slid forward. By the forward sliding of the link member 781, the sliding contact portion of the inclined surface 781f, which is in sliding contact with the side surface of the swinging member 782, moves from the thick portion to the thin portion, and the pressing force that presses the swinging member 782 in the direction of the broken-line arrow R disappears. Accordingly, the swinging member 782 swings in the direction of the solid arrow L by the biasing force of the coil spring 783. Thereby, the pressing lever 782b of the swinging member 782 presses the detection lever 705a of the detection switch 705, and the button 705b is pressed by the detection lever 705a, so that the detection switch 705 is turned on. The main control circuit of the vending machine monitors the signal of the detection switch 705, and when the detection switch 705 is determined to be open, the main control circuit determines that the commodity storage rack 7, which has detected that the sold-out commodity G is sold out, displays the sold-out commodity number on the display device 42, and notifies the purchaser of the sold-out commodity number.

When the operator opens the showcase door 2 to replenish the products G in the product storage rack 7 whose sale is detected out, the detection member 780 is moved back again and disposed behind the last product G, and the link members 781 and the swing members 782 are returned to the normal state.

The in-warehouse commodity output chute 8 is shown in fig. 12 (a), fig. 12 (b), and fig. 13. As shown in fig. 12 (a), 12 (b) and 13, the in-warehouse commodity output chute 8 includes: a chute body 80; a front guide member 84 and a rear guide member 85 arranged along both front and rear edges of the chute main body 80; and locking fittings 86, 87 disposed at lower portions of both ends of the chute body 80. Reference numerals 801 and 802 in fig. 12 (a) denote mounting parts for arranging the in-box commodity discharge chute 8 in the commodity storage chamber 1A of the housing main body 1 in the commodity discharge space 2 a. As shown in fig. 14, the attachment fitting 801 is fixed to the inside of the left side plate 13 of the housing body 1, and the attachment fitting 802 is fixed to the inside of the commodity storage chamber 1A of the heat insulating partition member 5 and at a position below the commodity outlet 51.

The chute body 80 is provided with: a frame 81 formed by a front frame 81a and a rear frame 81b on the long side and left and right frames 81c and 81c on the short side; a plurality of shafts 82 arranged to extend across the long sides of the frame 81; and a plurality of rollers 83 supported by the shaft 82. The chute body 80 has a shape of a so-called "abacus".

The front guide member 84 includes a right guide member 841 and a left guide member 842 divided into two parts on the left and right. The right and left guide members 841 and 842 include: mounting portions 841a and 842a along the front frame 81a of the frame 81; flat portions 841b, 842b connected to the mounting portions 841a, 842a and covering the upper surface of the front frame 81 a; and guide portions 841c, 842c that are connected to the flat portions 841b, 842b and are inclined obliquely upward. The width of the mounting portions 841a and 842a is set to be wider than the width of the front frame 81a, and when the mounting portions 841a and 842a are arranged along the front frame 81a, the through holes S11 to S14 of screws are formed at positions below the portions that do not overlap the front frame 81 a.

The rear guide member 85 includes a bottom portion 851 and a guide portion 852. The bottom portion 851 includes a bottom plate 851a, left and right side walls 851b, a rear wall 851c, and a front wall 851d, and is formed in a shallow box shape that can house the chute body 80 by the bottom plate 851a, the left and right side walls 851b, and the rear wall 851 c. The front wall 851d of the bottom portion 851 is bent downward to form a space for accommodating the chute main body 80 from the front. In the front wall 851d, the screw grooves S21 through S24 are formed at positions facing through holes S11 through S14 of screws inserted into the mounting portions 841a and 842a of the right guide member 841 and the left guide member 842 constituting the front guide member 84. The rear guide member 85 has a flat portion 853 connected to the rear wall 851c, and a guide portion 852 is formed connected to the flat portion 853. The guide portion 852 includes an inclined portion 852a inclined obliquely upward and a vertical portion 852b connected to the inclined portion 852 a. The left end side of the hanging part 852b is cut into an appropriate shape so as not to interfere with the commodities output from the commodity-accommodating shelf 7 when the in-box commodity-outputting chute 8 is disposed in the commodity-outputting space 2a of the commodity-accommodating chamber 1A of the housing main body 1.

In mounting the chute main body 80 to the bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85, the chute main body 80 is inserted into the bottom portion 851 from the front of a space (opening) opened by bending the front wall 851d of the bottom portion 851 downward, and the chute main body 80 is pushed in until the rear frame 81b abuts against the rear wall 851c of the bottom portion 851, whereby the chute main body 80 is accommodated in the bottom portion 851. In a state where the chute main body 80 is accommodated in the bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85, the rear frame 81b of the frame 81 enters a groove formed by the bottom portion 851, the rear wall 851c, and the flat portion 853 of the rear guide member 85, and the front frame 81a of the frame 81 and the front wall 851d of the bottom portion 851 are flush with each other in the vertical direction. Further, the mounting portions 841a and 842a of the right guide member 841 and the left guide member 842 constituting the front guide member 84 are disposed along the front frame 81a, and then the screws S1 to S4 are screwed into the screw grooves S21 to S24 formed in the rear guide member 85 through the through-holes S11 to S14 of the screws formed in the mounting portions 841a and 842a through-hole S14, so that the chute body 80, the front guide member 84, and the rear guide member 85 are integrated to constitute the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8. In this case, the flat portions 841b, 842b of the right and left guide members 841, 842 cover the upper portions of the front and rear frames 81a, 81b of the frame 81, preventing the commodity from contacting the front and rear frames 81a, 81 b.

The flat portions 841b, 842b of the right and left guide members 841, 842 and the rear wall 851c of the rear guide member 85 are members with which the engaging pieces 55a, 56a (see fig. 18) of the pair of upper and lower engaging pieces 55, 56 provided on the heat insulating partition member 5 are engaged. In other words, when the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is not used, the bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85 is oriented parallel to the surface of the heat insulating partition member 5, and then the flat portions 841B and 842B of the right and left guide members 841 and 842 and the rear wall 851c of the rear guide member 85 are inserted between the engaging pieces 55 and 56 in a manner facing the engaging pieces 55a and 56a of the engaging pieces 55 and 56 from the front of the heat insulating partition member 5, the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is stored in the commodity discharge chamber 1B in a state held by the engaging pieces 55 and 56.

The locking fittings 86, 87 are fixed to the bottoms of the left and right ends of the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 by screws or welding. Specifically, the locking fittings 86 and 87 are fixed to a bottom plate 851a constituting a bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85 by screws or welding. The locking metal fittings 86 and 87 are engaged with a mounting metal fitting 801 fixed to the inner side of the left side wall of the housing body 1 and a mounting metal fitting 802 fixed to the inner wall of the heat insulating partition member 5 on the commodity storage chamber 1A side, and the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is erected in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing body 1.

As shown in fig. 13, the locking metal fittings 87 are configured to include: a base 87a fixed to a bottom plate 851a constituting a bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85 by screws or welding; a pair of front and rear tongue pieces 87b, 87b formed by bending downward from the base 87 a; an abutting piece 87c located between the tongues 87b, 87 b; and projections 87d, 87d projecting outward from the base 87 a. The tongue pieces 87b, 87b and the projections 87d, 87d are inserted into locking holes 802a, 802a (see fig. 12 (a) and 12 (b)) provided in a substantially box-shaped mounting metal 802, and are engaged with the mounting metal 802. The tongues 87b, 87b prevent the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 from moving in the left-right direction and falling off the mounting metal fitting 802, and the protrusions 87d, 87d prevent the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 from moving in the up-down direction and falling off the mounting metal fitting 802. The abutting piece 87c abuts against the mounting metal fitting 802 to determine the position of the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8. On the other hand, the locking metal fittings 86 are configured to have: a base 86a fixed to a bottom plate 851a constituting a bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85 by screws or welding; and a pair of front and rear tongue pieces 86b, 86b formed in the same manner as the pair of front and rear tongue pieces 87b, 87b of the locking metal fittings 87. The pair of front and rear tongue pieces 86b, 86b of the locking metal fittings 86 are inserted into locking holes 801a, 801a (see fig. 12 (a) and 12 (b)) provided in the mounting metal fittings 801 formed in a substantially box shape, and engage with the mounting metal fittings 801, thereby preventing the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 from moving in the left-right direction and falling off from the mounting metal fittings 801.

As shown in fig. 14, in the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 having this configuration, the mounting metal fittings 801 fixed to the inner side of the left side wall of the housing body 1 and the mounting metal fittings 802 fixed to the inner wall of the commodity storage chamber 1A side of the heat insulating partition member 5 are bridged to the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing body 1 via the locking metal fittings 86 and 87. In this case, the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 is inclined downward to the right, and the right end of the in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 faces the commodity outlet 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5. In this way, the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 erected in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 conveys the commodities discharged from the commodity-accommodating shelves 7 of the commodity-mounting shelf plate 6 to the commodity discharge port 51 of the heat-insulating partition member 5.

The out-of-warehouse commodity output chute 9 is shown in fig. 15, 16. Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing the external delivery chute, and fig. 16 is a partially omitted right side view of a configuration in which a right side plate of the housing main body is removed.

As shown in fig. 15, the ex-warehouse commodity discharge chute 9 has: a conveyance unit 91 serving as a sliding or rolling surface for the commodity; and left and right side wall portions 94, 95 vertically erected from left and right of the conveying portion 91. The upper portion of the left side wall portion 94 has an inclined portion 94a inclined toward the heat insulating partition member 5. Engaging pieces 92 and 93 bent downward are formed at both front and rear ends of the conveying portion 91, screw through holes 92a and 92a are formed in the engaging piece 92, and tongue pieces 93a and 93a are formed in the engaging piece 93.

The mounting fittings 901 and 902 engage with the engaging pieces 92 and 93 to mount the delivery chute 9 for the outside commodity on the commodity delivery chamber 1B of the casing main body 1. As shown in fig. 14, both left and right ends of the attachment fitting 901 are fixed to the heat insulating partition member 5 and the right side plate 13 of the case body 1 by screws, and screw holes 901b and 901b are formed in the vertical portion 901 a. As shown in fig. 16, the attachment fitting 902 is attached to the back plate 12 of the housing body 1, and slit-shaped grooves 902b and 902b are formed in the horizontal portion 902 a. The attachment fittings 902 are attached below the commodity outlet 16 provided in the back plate 12 and to which the outlet frame unit 19 is attached, as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The out-of-store commodity discharge chute 9 is erected in the commodity discharge chamber 1B of the housing main body 1 as described below. In other words, after the tongue pieces 93a, 93a of the engaging piece 93 provided at the rear end of the conveying portion 91 are inserted into the slit-shaped grooves 902b, 902b of the attachment fitting 902 attached to the back plate 12 of the housing body 1 and engaged, the engaging piece 92 provided at the front end of the conveying portion 91 is overlapped with the vertical portion 901a in a front-rear direction in a manner covering the vertical portion 901a of the attachment fitting 901 fixed to the heat insulating partition member 5 and the right side plate 13 of the housing body 1, and then both are screwed by the screws S5, S6.

In this way, the commodity output chute 9 erected in the commodity output chamber 1B of the housing main body 1 feeds out the commodity output through the commodity outlet 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5 to the commodity outlet 16 provided in the back plate 12. The commodity sent out to the commodity outlet 16 pushes open the outlet door 18 of the outlet frame unit 19, and is sent out to a commodity receiving box 401 (see fig. 17) having a box-shaped structure provided on the front surface side (the rear surface side when viewed from the vending machine door 4) of the commodity outlet 40 of the vending machine door 4.

When the showcase-used automatic vending machine 10 having the above-described configuration is used in the showcase mode, as shown in fig. 17, the maintenance door 3 is opened, and the in-box commodity discharge chute 8 is stored in the commodity discharge chamber 1B of the housing main body 1 in advance. In this case, the bottom portion 851 of the rear guide member 85 is oriented parallel to the surface of the heat insulating partition member 5, and then the flat portions 841B and 842B of the right and left guide members 841 and 842 and the rear wall 851c of the rear guide member 85 are inserted between the locking members 55 and 56 so as to face the engaging pieces 55a and 56a of the locking members 55 and 56 from the front of the heat insulating partition member 5, so that the in-house commodity output chute 8 is stored in the commodity output chamber 1B in a state of being held by the locking members 55 and 56. The in-warehouse commodity discharge chute 8 covers the delivery outlet door 53 of the delivery outlet frame unit 54 attached to the commodity delivery outlet 51 in a manner to close the commodity delivery outlet 51 formed in the heat insulating partition member 5 in a state of being held by the locking members 55 and 56. Thus, when the showcase-used automatic vending machine 10 is used in the showcase mode, the outlet door 53 can be prevented from being unexpectedly opened and leakage of cold air or warm air can be prevented. In this way, when the showcase-used automatic vending machine 10 is used in the showcase mode, the purchaser opens the showcase door 2 and takes out the commodities from the commodity-accommodating shelf 7 or the commodity-placing shelf 6.

When the showcase-also-used vending machine 10 is used in the vending machine mode, the in-box commodity discharge chute 8 stored in the commodity discharge chamber 1B as shown in fig. 17 is opened and taken out of the maintenance door 3, the showcase door 2 is opened, and then, as shown in fig. 18, the showcase door is erected in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1. Since the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is erected in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 as described above with reference to fig. 14, a description thereof will be omitted, and the mounting metal fitting 801 fixed to the inner side of the left side wall of the housing main body 1 and the mounting metal fitting 802 (see also fig. 14) fixed to the inner wall of the commodity storage chamber 1A side of the heat insulating partition member 5 are erected in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 via the locking metal fittings 86 and 87 (see fig. 13). In addition, the operator supplies the commodity storage shelves 7 purchased with commodities in the showcase mode in advance when opening the showcase door 2 and setting the commodity discharge chute 8 in the showcase in the commodity discharge space 2a of the casing main body 1.

In this way, in the vending machine mode in which the in-house commodity output chute 8 is erected in the commodity output space 2a of the housing main body 1, the commodity to be sold and the commodity price are displayed on the display device 42 of the vending machine door 4. In the showcase mode, the display device 42 of the door 4 for the vending machine is used as a sales promotion panel for merchandise advertisement, and displays various content information.

In the vending machine mode, when the purchaser inserts bills and coins into the bill insertion port 43a and the coin insertion port 43b, the authenticity and the denomination are recognized by a bill recognition device and a coin recognition device, not shown, and if the authenticity result is "true", a denomination signal is transmitted from the bill recognition device and the coin recognition device to the main control device of the vending machine to calculate the total amount, and if the authenticity result is "false", the inserted bills are returned to the bill insertion port 43a, and the inserted coins are returned to the coin return port 43 d. The main control device of the vending machine compares the total amount of inserted paper money and coins with the commodity price and displays the commodity whose total amount matches or exceeds the commodity price on the display device 42, and when the purchaser touches the commodity displayed on the display device 42 in order to indicate the idea of purchase, the main control device supplies a drive signal to the motor 702 of the drive unit 70 mounted on the commodity storage rack 7 in which the commodity is stored, and conveys the commodities stored in a row in the front-rear direction in the direction of the showcase door 2 by the commodity output mechanism 71 to output 1 commodity (the front-most commodity).

The commodity which is discharged from the commodity discharge mechanism 71 mounted on the commodity storage rack 7 and falls down to the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is discharged to the commodity discharge port 16 provided in the back plate 12 of the housing main body 1 by pushing open the discharge port door 53 of the discharge port frame unit 54 attached to the commodity discharge port 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5 to drop down to the out-house commodity discharge chute 9, and then is discharged to the commodity receiving box 401 having a box structure provided on the front surface side (the rear surface side when viewed from the vending machine door 4) of the commodity discharge port 40 of the vending machine door 4 by pushing open the discharge port door 18 of the discharge port frame unit 19 attached to the commodity discharge port 16. The commodity sent out to the commodity receiving box 401 is taken out by the purchaser pushing open an internally open outlet door 400 that closes the commodity outlet 40.

When the total amount of coins and bills inserted by a purchaser exceeds the commodity price of a selected commodity and change is required, a main controller of an automatic vending machine pays out the required change from a coin discriminating device and a bill discriminating device to complete a vending operation.

As described above, the showcase-used automatic vending machine 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a housing main body 1 formed as a box-shaped heat insulating housing, having one surface (front surface) in the front-rear direction open and a commodity outlet 16 formed in the other surface (back plate 12) opposite to the one surface (front surface); a showcase door 2 openably and closably provided at an opening of one side surface (front surface) of the case main body 1; a door 4 for the vending machine openably and closably provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing body 1, and provided with a commodity outlet 40 at a position facing the commodity outlet 16 provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing body 1; a heat insulating partition member 5 which partitions the inside of the housing main body 1 into a commodity storage chamber 1A and a commodity discharge chamber 1B in the left-right direction, and in which a commodity outlet 51 which is opened so as to communicate the commodity storage chamber 1A with the commodity discharge chamber 1B and is closed by an outlet door 53 at ordinary times is formed; a commodity-carrying shelf 6 which is vertically stacked in a plurality of stages in such a manner that a commodity discharge space 2a is formed between the commodity-carrying chamber 1A of the casing main body 1 and the showcase door 2, and in which commodity-carrying shelves 7 on which commodity-carrying mechanisms 71 are mounted are arranged in a plurality of stages in the left-right direction, the commodity-carrying mechanisms 71 being configured to carry and carry out delivery of commodities G, which are stored in a row in the front-rear direction, in the direction of the showcase door 2, and further being provided with a sold-out detection device 78 for detecting sold-out of the commodities G; an in-house commodity conveying device (in-house commodity discharge chute 8) which is detachably disposed in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 and conveys the commodities G discharged from the commodity-accommodating shelves 7 to the commodity outlet 51 of the heat-insulating partition member 5; and an off-warehouse commodity carrying device (off-warehouse commodity output chute 9) that receives the commodity G carried by the in-warehouse commodity carrying device (in-warehouse commodity output chute 8) and output through the commodity delivery port 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5 and carries the commodity G to the commodity output port 16 provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the housing main body 1, whereby the commodity output port 16 is formed only on the other surface (back plate 12) of the housing main body 1, whereby the following disadvantages can be solved and energy saving can be achieved: as in the conventional device, the back surface of the casing main body constituting the heat insulating casing is opened (the heat insulator on the back surface of the casing main body is removed) to significantly reduce the heat insulating performance of the casing main body, and a refrigerator condenser unit for maintaining the commodities on the shelves housed in the casing main body at a desired cooling temperature is increased in size and causes an increase in power consumption. Further, the commodities G stored in the housing main body 1 can be shared between the showcase and the vending machine.

Next, a modified example of the commodity storage device of the present invention will be described. Fig. 19 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a modification of the commodity-housing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the commodity storage device (showcase-also-usable vending machine 10) according to the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

The product storage device exemplified here is a showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10 ' installed in a store such as a convenience store, for example, and the housing main body is provided through a wall of the store so that the front surface of the showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10 ' faces the inside of the store and the rear surface of the showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10 ' faces the outside of the store.

The showcase vending machine 10 'includes a device main body 10 a'. The apparatus main body 10 a' includes a housing main body 1, a showcase door (door body) 2, a maintenance door 3, and a vending machine door (another door body) 4, and the housing main body 1 includes a heat-insulating partition member 5, a commodity-placing shelf 6, and a conveying member 1D.

The conveyance member 1D includes: an in-warehouse commodity conveying device 100 which is disposed in the commodity discharge space 2a and conveys commodities discharged from the commodity storage rack 7 toward the commodity delivery port 51; and an ex-warehouse commodity output chute (ex-warehouse commodity conveying device) 9.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view showing the in-warehouse article conveyance device 100 shown in fig. 19. As shown in fig. 20, the in-store article conveyance device 100 includes an in-store article discharge tray 110 and an elevator mechanism 120.

As shown in fig. 21 and 22, the in-store commodity discharge tray 110 includes a tray main body 111, a front guide member 112, and a rear guide member 113. As also shown in fig. 23 in an enlarged manner, the tray main body 111 includes: a front-side inclined guide portion (1 st inclined guide portion) 1111 that is inclined downward gradually as it approaches the commodity-accommodating shelf 7, that is, as it goes rearward; and a rear-side inclined guide portion (2 nd inclined guide portion) 1112 which is continuous with a rear end portion 1111a which is an end portion of the front-side inclined guide portion 1111 closest to the commodity-accommodating rack 7, and which is inclined upward gradually as it goes rearward, and the tray main body 111 is inclined downward gradually toward the commodity delivering port 51 (rightward) as a whole.

The front-side inclined guide portion 1111 and the rear-side inclined guide portion 1112 constituting the tray main body 111 are formed by disposing a plurality of rollers 1114 on a plurality of shafts 1113 arranged along the front-rear direction, the plurality of rollers 1114 are supported by being penetrated by the shafts 1113, and the front-side inclined guide portion 1111 and the rear-side inclined guide portion 1112 constitute a so-called "abacus".

The front guide member 112 is formed by processing a metal plate or the like, for example, and extends upward from a front end portion of the tray main body 111 (a front end portion of the front-side inclined guide portion 1111). The rear guide member 113 is formed by processing a metal plate or the like, for example, and extends upward from a rear end portion of the tray main body 111 (a rear end portion of the rear inclined guide portion 1112).

The elevating mechanism 120 is for moving the in-house commodity discharge tray 110 in the vertical direction in the commodity discharge space 2a, and is configured by providing a left elevating body 121L and a right elevating body 121R on the in-house commodity discharge tray 110, and providing a pair of left and right elevating guide rails 122 on the housing main body 1.

The left vertically movable body 121L is configured to extend downward from a left end portion of the tray main body 111, and a plurality of guide rollers 123a are rotatably attached to the left vertically movable body 121L. The right vertically movable body 121R is configured to extend downward from a right end portion of the tray main body 111, and a plurality of guide rollers 123b are rotatably attached to the right vertically movable body 121R.

The left vertically movable rail 122L of the vertically movable rails 122 is a longitudinal member that guides a guide roller 123a of the left vertically movable body 121L on a straight line along the longitudinal direction via a guide path 124a, and constitutes a left end edge portion of the space 2a for commodity discharge. The right vertically movable rail 122R is a vertically long member that guides the guide roller 123b of the right vertically movable body 121R on a straight line along the longitudinal direction, and constitutes a right end edge portion of the commodity discharging space 2 a. The right elevating rail 122R is attached to the heat insulating partition member 5 and has a delivery opening 125 communicating with the commodity delivery port 51.

In the lifting mechanism 120, a sprocket 126 is attached to the left lifting rail 122L. The sprocket 126 is linked to an elevating driver 128 such as an electric motor via a rod 127, and the elevating driver 128 rotates forward and backward, so that the sprocket 126 is attached to the upper region of the left elevating guide rail 122L with the rotation center axis thereof horizontal in the left-right direction. A timing chain 129 is wound around the sprocket 126. One end of the synchronization chain 129 is connected to the left lifter 121L, and the other end of the synchronization chain 129 is connected to the upper end of the counterweight 130.

On the other hand, the right vertically movable rail 122R is not provided with the structure corresponding to the sprocket 126 and the timing chain 129, and the above-described balance weight 130 and the right vertically movable body 121R are connected only by the cable 131. The cable 131 is formed by disposing a metal inner cable 131b inside a sheath 131a, and is held at an upper edge portion of an opening (an opening 2b for taking out) on the front surface of the housing main body 1 via the sheath 131 a. Both end portions of the cable 131 extend downward, and an end portion of the inner cable 131b extending from each end portion of the sheath 131a is connected to the right vertically movable body 121R and an upper end portion of the counterweight 130. The length of the inner cable 131b is set to a length that allows the right vertically movable body 121R and the balance weight 130 to be connected without slack in the middle.

As shown in fig. 24, such an elevating mechanism 120 normally arranges the in-warehouse article discharge tray 110 above the uppermost article placement shelf 6 in the article discharge space 2 a. Therefore, the in-warehouse article output tray 110 is normally disposed behind the shielding plate 2c shown in fig. 19.

When the showcase-compatible automatic vending machine 10' having this configuration is used in the showcase mode, the in-store commodity output tray 110 is disposed behind the shielding plate 2c and is invisible to the purchaser. The purchaser can open the showcase door 2 to take out commodities from the commodity storage shelf 7 or the commodity placement shelf 6.

In the case where the showcase-also-used vending machine 10' is used in the vending machine mode, the display device 42 of the vending machine door 4 displays the sold product and the price of the product. In the showcase mode, the display device 42 of the door 4 for the vending machine is used as a sales promotion panel for merchandise advertisement, and displays various content information.

In the vending machine mode, when the purchaser inserts bills and coins into the bill insertion port 43a and the coin insertion port 43b, the authenticity and the denomination are recognized by a bill recognition device and a coin recognition device, not shown, and if the authenticity result is "true", a denomination signal is transmitted from the bill recognition device and the coin recognition device to the main control device of the vending machine to calculate the total amount, and if the authenticity result is "false", the inserted bills are returned to the bill insertion port 43a, and the inserted coins are returned to the coin return port 43 d.

The main control device of the vending machine compares the total amount of inserted banknotes and coins with the commodity price and displays the commodity whose total amount matches or exceeds the commodity price on the display device 42, and when the purchaser touches the commodity displayed on the display device 42 in order to indicate the idea of purchase, the lifting driver 128 is driven to rotate the sprocket 126, and as shown in fig. 25, the in-house commodity output tray 110 moves downward and is disposed in front of the commodity-mounting shelf 6 in which the commodity-housing rack 7 having the commodity G is housed. The main control device supplies a drive signal to the motor 702 of the drive unit 70 mounted on the commodity-accommodating shelf 7, and conveys the commodities G accommodated in a row in the front-rear direction toward the showcase door 2 by the commodity-conveying mechanism 71 to convey 1 commodity (the front-most commodity).

The commodity G which is discharged from the commodity discharge mechanism 71 mounted on the commodity storage rack 7 and falls onto the in-house commodity discharge tray 110 moves rightward due to the shape of the tray main body 111. When the in-warehouse article output tray 110 receives the article G, the main control device drives the up-and-down driver 128 to rotate the sprocket 126, and moves the in-warehouse article output tray 110 in the vertical direction, so that the right end portion of the tray main body 111 is disposed at a height level facing the delivery opening 125 (article delivery opening 51). As a result, the commodity G is pushed open by the outlet door 53 of the outlet frame unit 54 attached to the commodity outlet 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5, falls down to the out-of-store commodity discharge chute 9, and is discharged to the commodity discharge port 16 provided in the back plate 12 of the housing main body 1, and thereafter, the outlet door 18 of the outlet frame unit 19 attached to the commodity discharge port 16 is pushed open, and is discharged to the commodity receiving box 401 having a box structure provided on the front surface side of the commodity discharge port 40 of the vending machine door 4. The commodity G sent out to the commodity receiving box 401 is taken out by the purchaser pushing open an internally open outlet door 400 that closes the commodity outlet 40.

When the total amount of coins and bills inserted by a purchaser exceeds the commodity price of a selected commodity and change is required, a main controller of an automatic vending machine pays out the required change from a coin discriminating device and a bill discriminating device to complete a vending operation.

The showcase-used automatic vending machine 10' described above includes: a housing main body 1 formed as a box-shaped heat insulating housing, having one surface (front surface) in the front-rear direction open and a commodity outlet 16 formed in the other surface (back plate 12) opposite to the one surface (front surface); a showcase door 2 openably and closably provided at an opening of one side surface (front surface) of the case main body 1; a door 4 for the vending machine openably and closably provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing body 1, and provided with a commodity outlet 40 at a position facing the commodity outlet 16 provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing body 1; a heat insulating partition member 5 which partitions the inside of the housing main body 1 into a commodity storage chamber 1A and a commodity discharge chamber 1B in the left-right direction, and in which a commodity outlet 51 which is opened so as to communicate the commodity storage chamber 1A with the commodity discharge chamber 1B and is closed by an outlet door 53 at ordinary times is formed; a commodity-carrying shelf 6 which is vertically stacked in a plurality of stages in such a manner that a commodity discharge space 2a is formed between the commodity-carrying chamber 1A of the casing main body 1 and the showcase door 2, and in which commodity-carrying shelves 7 on which commodity-carrying mechanisms 71 are mounted are arranged in a plurality of stages in the left-right direction, the commodity-carrying mechanisms 71 being configured to carry and carry out delivery of commodities G, which are stored in a row in the front-rear direction, in the direction of the showcase door 2, and further being provided with a sold-out detection device 78 for detecting sold-out of the commodities G; an in-house commodity discharge tray 110 which is disposed in the commodity discharge space 2a of the housing main body 1 so as to be movable in the vertical direction and which conveys the commodities G discharged from the commodity-accommodating shelves 7 toward the commodity outlet 51 of the heat-insulating partition member 5; and an outside-warehouse commodity carrying device (outside-warehouse commodity carrying chute 9) that receives the commodity G carried by the inside-warehouse commodity carrying tray 110 and carried out through the commodity carrying-out port 51 of the heat insulating partition member 5, and carries the commodity G to the commodity carrying-out port 16 provided on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing main body 1, whereby the commodity carrying-out port 16 is formed only on the other surface (back plate 12) of the casing main body 1, whereby the following disadvantages can be solved and energy saving can be achieved: as in the conventional device, the back surface of the casing main body constituting the heat insulating casing is opened (the heat insulator on the back surface of the casing main body is removed) to significantly reduce the heat insulating performance of the casing main body, and a refrigerator condenser unit for maintaining the commodities on the shelves housed in the casing main body at a desired cooling temperature is increased in size and causes an increase in power consumption. Further, the commodities G stored in the housing main body 1 can be shared between the showcase and the vending machine.

Further, according to the showcase-used automatic vending machine 10', the following effects are obtained. That is, since the in-house article discharge tray 110 is normally disposed above the uppermost article mounting shelf 6 in the article discharge space 2a, it is not necessary to detach the in-house article discharge tray 110 in the showcase mode, and the selling time can be shortened by moving the in-house article discharge tray 110 to the height levels of the article storage shelves 7 in which the selected article is stored and the article delivery opening 51 in the vending machine mode.

In particular, by allowing the in-house commodity discharge tray 110 to move in the vertical direction, commodities whose contents are easily damaged by falling impact can be handled as sales commodities, and applicable commodities can be expanded.

Further, the tray main body 111 of the in-warehouse article output tray 110 includes: a front inclined guide portion 1111 that is gradually inclined downward as it approaches the commodity storage rack 7; and a rear inclined guide portion 1112 that is continuous with a rear end portion 1111a of the front inclined guide portion 1111 that is closest to the commodity storage rack 7 and is inclined upward gradually as it approaches the commodity storage rack 7, and therefore, the tray main body 111 is V-shaped when viewed from the side, and can satisfactorily convey a commodity having an unfixed shape, such as a commodity put in a container such as a bag.

While the embodiments and the representative modified examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications are possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the in-house commodity discharge chute 8 is provided has been described, but in the present invention, a commodity carrying device described below may be provided instead of the in-house commodity discharge chute 8. In other words, the following article conveyance device can be provided: a bucket member (japanese: バケット) that moves up and down by a Y-axis conveying mechanism is provided in a commodity discharge space of the housing main body 1, an endless conveyor belt that conveys commodities in the X-axis direction (horizontal direction) is disposed on the bottom surface of the bucket member, and the conveyor belt is driven by a drive motor that drives the endless conveyor belt. The known technology can be applied to such a commodity carrying device as a commodity carrying device for a vending machine with a see-through interior, and the in-house commodity carrying device according to the present invention is not limited to the in-house commodity carrying out chute 8 shown in the embodiment. Further, the delivery chute may be an endless conveyor belt. In addition, the commodity carrying mechanism may be a known type such as a screw type instead of a conveyor type using a conveyor belt, and the present invention is not limited to the showcase-also-used vending machine described in the embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment and modification, the vending machine door 4 is provided with the commodity outlet 40, but in the present invention, the commodity outlet may be provided in a portion other than the outlet opening (2b) in the device main body. That is, the commodity outlet may be provided in a side surface of the casing main body, or may be provided in a door that opens and closes an opening formed in the side surface of the casing main body.

Claims (12)

1. A commodity storage device is provided with: a device main body having a case main body which is formed as a box-shaped heat insulating case, in which an opening for taking out formed in an arbitrary surface of the case main body is opened and closed by a door body, and in which a commodity take-out port is formed in a position different from the opening for taking out; and a commodity storage chamber formed in the housing main body so as to face the removal opening and configured to store a commodity,

the commodity-receiving device is characterized in that,

the commodity storage device includes a conveyance member that conveys a selected commodity from the commodity storage chamber to the commodity outlet when the commodity is selected by operating an operation unit provided in the device body.

2. The merchandise receiving device of claim 1,

the housing main body has a commodity outlet formed on a surface different from a surface on which the take-out opening is formed,

the article discharge port is provided at a position facing the article discharge port on the other door body of the casing main body so as to be close to and away from the surface on which the article discharge port is formed.

3. The merchandise receiving device of claim 2,

the surface on which the commodity discharge port is formed is opposed to the surface on which the take-out opening is formed.

4. The merchandise receiving device of claim 2 or 3,

the commodity storage device includes:

a heat-insulating partition member that divides the interior of the housing main body in the left-right direction into the commodity storage chamber and the commodity discharge chamber, and that has a commodity discharge port that is open in a manner that the commodity storage chamber and the commodity discharge chamber communicate with each other and that is normally closed by a discharge port door;

a plurality of commodity-placing shelves which are vertically stacked in the commodity-receiving chamber so as to form a space for commodity discharge between the commodity-placing shelves and the door body, and on which commodity-receiving shelves on which commodity-discharging mechanisms for conveying and discharging commodities received in a row in the front-rear direction in the direction of the door body are disposed in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction are disposed;

the conveying member includes:

a commodity transport device in the warehouse, which is disposed in the commodity output space and transports the commodities output from the commodity storage rack toward the commodity delivery port; and

and an outside-warehouse commodity transport device that receives the commodity transported by the inside-warehouse commodity transport device and delivered through the commodity delivery port, and transports the commodity to the commodity delivery port.

5. The merchandise receiving device of claim 4,

the in-house commodity conveying device is an in-house commodity output chute which is detachably erected in the commodity output space and gradually inclines downwards towards the commodity delivery port.

6. The merchandise receiving device of claim 5,

an in-house commodity discharge chute removed from the commodity discharge space is housed in the commodity discharge chamber side.

7. The merchandise receiving device of claim 5,

a locking member for locking the in-storage commodity discharge chute removed from the commodity discharge space is provided in the vicinity of the commodity outlet on the commodity discharge chamber side,

the in-warehouse commodity output chute is locked to the locking piece in a manner of inhibiting an outlet door of the commodity outlet from being opened.

8. The merchandise receiving device of claim 4,

the commodity output mechanism includes:

a conveying belt annularly stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller arranged in front and back;

a motor that drives the conveyor belt; and

a sold-out detection device that detects sold-out of the commodities stored on the conveyor belt.

9. The merchandise receiving device of claim 2,

the other door body has a display device including a liquid crystal display.

10. The merchandise receiving device of claim 4,

the in-warehouse article conveying device includes:

a commodity in-warehouse output tray which is gradually inclined downward toward the commodity delivery port; and

and a lifting mechanism for moving the in-warehouse commodity output tray in the vertical direction in the commodity output space.

11. The article receiving device of claim 10,

the elevating mechanism normally disposes the in-warehouse article discharge tray above the uppermost article placement shelf.

12. The merchandise receiving device of claim 10 or 11,

the in-library merchandise output tray includes:

a 1 st inclined guide portion which is gradually inclined downward as approaching the commodity storage rack; and

and a 2 nd inclined guide portion which is continuous with an end portion of the 1 st inclined guide portion closest to the commodity storage rack and is gradually inclined upward as approaching the commodity storage rack.

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