CN111383387A - Goods storage rack of vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a commodity storage rack of an automatic vending machine, which has a simple structure, reduces cost and is easy to maintain. The commodity supporting unit comprises a pair of left and right clamping members (31) which are arranged in a manner of being capable of clamping commodities and are spaced apart from each other, and front and rear connecting members (32 and 33) which connect the clamping members, wherein the clamping parts protruding from the commodity supporting unit to the left and right are clamped with the clamping parts of the longitudinal frame members at the rear side, and the connecting member (32) at the front side of the commodity supporting unit is clamped with the beam member.

Description

Goods storage rack of vending machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a commodity storage rack of an automatic vending machine capable of selling a commodity having a hook portion at a drinking spout portion, the commodity storage rack supporting the commodity in a suspended manner and being inclined so that a rear side thereof is lower than a front side (commodity introduction side) thereof, thereby accommodating the commodity so as to slide by a weight of the commodity, and having a commodity carry-out mechanism at a rear end portion thereof.

Background

There is a demand for an automatic vending machine capable of selling not only canned goods or plastic bottled goods in which a container filled with a beverage is rigid, but also goods (hereinafter, also referred to as bag goods) in which jelly-like food is filled in a flexible bag-like container, a nozzle serving as an injection port portion formed of a rigid synthetic resin is fixed to the flexible bag-like container to form a drinking port, and a cap is attached to the nozzle, and an automatic vending machine capable of selling the bag goods is known (for example, patent document 1).

In the vending machine disclosed in patent document 1, commodity storage shelves arranged in a vertically stacked manner are provided in a cabinet of a main body cabinet, a plurality of partition walls are provided on a commodity mounting surface of each commodity storage shelf at predetermined intervals in a left-right direction, commodities are arranged and stored in a front-back (depth) direction with the partition walls being adjacent to each other as commodity storage passages, a pushing member for pushing the commodities forward is provided in each commodity storage passage, and the pushing member is driven to push the commodities by operating a commodity selection button.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2005-228058

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the vending machine disclosed in patent document 1, the commodity storage shelves are horizontally arranged, and commodities are placed and accommodated on the commodity storage passages of the commodity storage shelves. Therefore, when the bag commodity having a soft container shape is stored, the storage posture of the bag commodity is disturbed, and when the bag commodity is pressed by the pushing member from the rear, the bag commodity is crushed and cannot be sold. Therefore, in the commodity storage rack disclosed in patent document 1, attention is paid to a commodity supporting member arranged with a gap so as to be capable of sandwiching the nozzle of a bag commodity by supporting the commodity in a standing state by using a flange provided in the nozzle of the bag commodity as a hooking portion, the bag commodity is loaded and stored so that the flange is hooked on the commodity supporting member, a plurality of commodity partition pins for pressing the nozzle (or the cap) of the bag commodity from behind are arranged on a conveying chain arranged between front and rear sprockets so as to be close to the commodity supporting member, and the conveying chain is driven to push out the bag commodity by the commodity partition pins at the time of sales. The vending machine disclosed in patent document 1 is advantageous in that it can vend bag goods in a flexible container form, but has a problem that the structure of the goods storage rack becomes complicated and the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a commodity storage rack for an automatic vending machine, which solves the above-described problems, has a simple structure that can store a commodity having a hook portion at a drinking spout portion, and is easy to maintain while reducing costs.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a commodity storage rack for an automatic vending machine that sells a commodity having a hook portion at a drinking port portion, a frame body of the commodity storage rack is constructed by upper, lower, left, and right frame members, and a commodity supporting unit is provided, the commodity storage rack being constructed by detachably mounting the commodity supporting unit on the frame members constructing the commodity storage rack, the commodity supporting unit being vertically stacked between the left and right frame members, supporting the hook portion of the commodity, and being inclined so that a rear side thereof is lower than a front side thereof, i.e., a commodity introduction side thereof, so as to accommodate the commodity by sliding the commodity due to its own weight and hanging the commodity, and the commodity supporting unit having a commodity discharge mechanism at a rear end portion thereof, the commodity supporting unit includes a pair of left and right holding members disposed vertically and extending longitudinally, a pair of front and rear vertical frame members fixed to the holding frame members, and a plurality of beam members vertically extending between the front vertical frame members, and the commodity supporting unit includes a pair of left and right holding members disposed at a distance from each other so as to hold a commodity and front and rear connecting members for connecting the holding members, and engaging portions projecting laterally from the commodity supporting unit are engaged with engaging portions of the rear vertical frame members, and the connecting member on the front side of the commodity supporting unit is engaged with the beam members.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the commodity storage rack of the vending machine includes: a commodity carrying out passage which is formed to extend in the vertical direction by being closed by a back plate and a side plate attached to the rear side of the support frame member, and in which a commodity carried out from the commodity support unit falls; and a delivery member which is attached to the lower side of both the back plate and the side plate so as to be higher toward the rear side and to be inclined downward as it goes toward the front side, and which delivers the commodity falling down in the commodity delivery path along the inclination

In the present invention, the commodity storage rack of the vending machine may be configured such that the commodity output mechanism includes: a solenoid which is a driving source; a1 st stopper which is provided so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of a commodity accommodating passage formed between the holding members, and which moves forward and backward in the commodity accommodating passage to lock a rearmost commodity disposed at the rearmost when the solenoid is in a non-excited state, and moves backward in the commodity accommodating passage to release the locked state with the rearmost commodity when the solenoid is in an excited state, thereby allowing the rearmost commodity to be output; and a2 nd stopper which is provided so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the commodity accommodating passage, wherein when the solenoid is in a non-excited state, the 2 nd stopper moves to retreat from the commodity accommodating passage, and when the solenoid is in an excited state, the 2 nd stopper moves to enter the commodity accommodating passage to lock a second commodity adjacent to the rearmost commodity from the rear.

In the commodity storage rack of the vending machine, the engaging portion projecting leftward and rightward from the commodity supporting unit is a stepped screw, and the engaging portion of the rear vertical frame member is a notch for receiving the stepped screw.

In the commodity storage rack of the vending machine, the holding member is formed of a thin coated steel plate having a lubricating coating film applied to one surface thereof, and the end portions of the holding member facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween are doubly supported so that the other surfaces of the coated steel plate are in contact with each other, thereby forming the holding member in a slip shape.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a commodity storage rack for an automatic vending machine that sells a commodity having a hook portion at a drinking hole portion, a frame body of the commodity storage rack is constructed by upper, lower, left, and right frame members, and a commodity supporting unit is provided, the commodity storage rack is configured by the commodity supporting unit being detachably mounted on the frame members constructing the commodity storage rack, the commodity supporting unit is vertically stacked between the left and right frame members, supports the hook portion of the commodity, is inclined so that a rear side thereof is lower than a front side thereof, i.e., a commodity introduction side thereof, and accommodates the commodity by sliding the commodity by its own weight and suspending the commodity, and the commodity supporting unit has a commodity discharging mechanism at a rear end portion thereof, wherein the frame members include a pair of left and right support frame members vertically arranged and extending in the front-rear direction, and a commodity discharging mechanism is provided at the rear end portion thereof, The commodity supporting unit includes a pair of left and right clamping members disposed at a distance so as to clamp the commodity and a front and rear connecting member connecting the clamping members, engaging portions projecting from the commodity supporting unit in the left and right direction are engaged with engaging portions of the rear vertical frame member, and the connecting member on the front side of the commodity supporting unit is engaged with the beam member. Further, the commodity supporting unit can be easily attached to or detached from a frame member constituting a commodity storage rack disposed in a commodity storage compartment of the vending machine, and the commodity supporting unit can be detachably attached to and detached from the frame member, thereby facilitating maintenance.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer door open state of an overall structure of a vending machine to which a commodity storage rack according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of a main portion of the automatic vending machine shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a commodity storage rack according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are perspective views for explaining the attachment and detachment of a commodity supporting unit, respectively, and fig. 3 (c) is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the commodity storage rack in an enlarged manner.

Fig. 4 shows the commodity supporting unit shown in fig. 3, wherein fig. 4 (a) is a perspective view showing a state seen from the front, and fig. 4 (b) is a perspective view showing a state seen from the rear.

Fig. 5 shows a state in which the cover of the commodity carrying mechanism shown in fig. 4 is removed, fig. 5 (a) is an exploded perspective view, and fig. 5 (b) is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram showing a wiring of a meander wiring.

Fig. 7 shows a bag product having a flexible container form, and fig. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are front views of bag products of different types, respectively.

Fig. 8 shows a state in which a commodity is loaded in the commodity supporting unit, fig. 8 (a) is a schematic view of the state in which the commodity is loaded in the commodity supporting unit, and fig. 8 (b) is a front view showing the state in which the commodity is loaded in the commodity supporting unit.

Fig. 9 is a side view showing a state where the commodity is accommodated in the commodity supporting unit.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a bag product loaded in the product support unit slides.

Fig. 11 is a plan view for explaining an output operation of the commodity output mechanism.

Fig. 12 shows an adapter member that is compatible with a snake-shaped commodity storage rack, and fig. 12 (a) and 12 (b) are partially exploded perspective views for explaining assembly of different adapter members.

Fig. 13 is a side view showing a state in which the commodity is accommodated in the commodity supporting unit.

Fig. 14 is a side sectional view of a main portion of the vending machine shown in fig. 1, fig. 14 (a) is a side sectional view of a main portion of a commodity storage chamber which is a center of a hot/cold dual-purpose chamber, and fig. 14 (b) is a side sectional view of a main portion of a rightmost commodity storage chamber which is a hot/cold dual-purpose chamber.

Fig. 15 shows a modification of the commodity supporting unit shown in fig. 4, in which fig. 15 (a) is a perspective view showing a state seen from the front, and fig. 15 (b) is a perspective view showing a state seen from the rear.

Fig. 16 shows a state in which the cover of the commodity carrying mechanism shown in fig. 15 is removed, fig. 16 (a) is an exploded perspective view, and fig. 16 (b) is a perspective view showing a main part enlarged.

Fig. 17 shows another modification of the product support unit shown in fig. 4, in which fig. 17 (a) is a partially exploded perspective view of the product discharge mechanism, and fig. 17 (b) is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the product discharge mechanism.

Fig. 18 shows still another modification of the commodity carrying out mechanism in the commodity supporting unit shown in fig. 4, where fig. 18 (a) is a plan view during a sales standby time, and fig. 18 (b) is a plan view during a sales operation.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A main body cabinet; 2. a chute; 3. a compressor; 4. a condenser; 6. an evaporator; 9. a pipeline for circulation; 10. an outer door; 12. 13, 14, commodity storage chambers; 15. an inner door; 20. a commodity storage rack; 21. an upper support frame member; 22. a lower support frame member; 23. a longitudinal frame member; 24. a beam member; 30. a commodity supporting unit; 31. a clamping member; 32. 33, a connecting member; 34. a commodity output mechanism; 36. a thickness regulating member (double support portion); 37. a width limiting member; 40. a solenoid (driving source); 41. a plunger; 42. a stopper member; 44. a return spring; 45. a1 st stopper; 46. a2 nd stopper; 47. a commodity detection switch (sell-out switch); 50. a main body side hook fitting; 51. an adapter member; 52. a shelf-securing fitting; 57. a frame side hook fitting; 54. a rack side hook; 100. 200, bag goods.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the commodity storage rack of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the overall configuration of the vending machine will be described with reference to fig. 1 and 2. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a main body cabinet whose front surface is opened. The main body cabinet 1 is configured as a heat insulating casing by disposing heat insulating panels made of urethane foam on the inner side of an outer box made of steel plate, that is, an upper wall, left and right side walls, a back wall, and a bottom wall 1 a.

A plurality of commodity storage compartments, in this embodiment, 3 commodity storage compartments 12, 13, and 14 are defined in the left-right direction by heat-insulating partitions 11 in the commodity storage compartment surrounded by the heat-insulating panels of the main body cabinet 1.

Two rows of conventionally well-known snake-shaped commodity storage racks 121 are stored in the left commodity storage chamber 12, two rows of conventionally well-known snake-shaped commodity storage racks 141 are stored in the right commodity storage chamber 14, and the commodity storage racks 121 and 141 are formed by arranging segment rows in which curved segments are connected in the vertical direction in front and rear opposition to form a curved commodity passage. A commodity storage rack 20 of a tilt type, which will be described later, according to the present invention is stored in the commodity storage chamber 13 at the center.

A chute 2 is disposed at a lower portion of the commodity storage shelves 121, 141, and 20, and the chute 2 is inclined in a front-lower and rear-higher direction and has numerous holes. A cooling unit or a cooling/heating unit that cools or heats the commodity storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 and stores the commodities accommodated in the commodity-accommodating shelves 121, 141, and 20 in a cold or hot state is disposed at a lower portion of the chute 2.

A lower portion of the bottom wall 1a of the main body cabinet 1 is formed as an equipment room in which a compressor 3 (see fig. 2), a condenser 4, an expansion mechanism (hidden from view in the drawing), and an outdoor fan 5 for blowing air to the condenser 4, which constitute a refrigeration cycle with the cooling unit of the cooling/heating unit, are disposed.

In the case where the commodity storage chamber provided with only the cooling means is used as a cold-dedicated chamber and the commodity storage chamber provided with the cooling/heating means is used as a hot/cold-combined chamber, in the example shown in the drawing, the commodity storage chamber 12 is used as a cold-dedicated chamber and the commodity storage chambers 13 and 14 are used as hot/cold-combined chambers, in the lower portion of the commodity storage chamber 12 that is a cold-dedicated chamber, the evaporator 6 and the internal fan 7 for circulating the refrigerant compressed and condensed by the compressor 3 and the condenser 4 of the equipment chamber are provided as cooling means, and in the lower portion of the commodity storage chambers 13 and 14 that are hot/cold-combined chambers, not only the evaporator 6 and the internal fan 7 but also the heater 8 for heating the commodity are provided as heating means.

A circulation duct 9 is provided on the back surface of each of the commodity storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 so as to communicate with the cooling unit or the cooling/heating unit, and an upper end 9a of the circulation duct 9 is opened at a substantially middle position of the commodity storage box. In fig. 1, reference numerals 122 and 142 denote fixing members for fixing the commodity-accommodating shelves 121 and 141.

A display chamber for displaying the product samples placed on the display stand is formed as is well known in the art on the front surface of an outer door 10 (see fig. 1) openably and closably attached to the front surface of the main body cabinet 1, a product selection button unit having product selection buttons provided corresponding to the product samples is disposed on a transparent plate covering the front surface of the display chamber, and a coin insertion opening, a banknote insertion opening, a change withdrawal opening, a withdrawal lever, a handle lock device with a pin cylinder lock, and the like are incorporated in the front surface of the outer door 10 in addition to the product ejection opening 10 a.

In this example, the inner door 15 that closes the front surface of the commodity storage box in the main body cabinet 1 is divided vertically, and a commodity discharge port that is always closed by the discharge door 15a is provided in a position facing the chute 2 of each of the commodity storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 in a lower portion of the inner door 15.

The output gate 15a of the commodity outlet is formed as: the upper end is supported by a shaft to always close the commodity outlet so as to prevent cold air or warm air from flowing out, and can be pushed away by the commodities sent out through the chute 2.

Next, the structure of the inclined commodity-accommodating shelf 20 will be described with reference to fig. 3. As shown in the drawing, a pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 are fixed to the pair of left and right upper support frame members 21, 21 and the pair of left and right lower support frame members 22, 22 by screws at the front and near the center, respectively.

The upper support frame members 21, the lower support frame members 22, and the pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 provided in the front and near the center (hereinafter also referred to as the rear side) constitute frame members constituting the commodity storage rack 20.

A plurality of beam members 24 are fixed in the vertical direction between the front vertical frame members 23, and a beam member 24A is also fixed to the upper ends of the rear vertical frame members 23, 23. The rear sides of the upper support frame members 21, 21 and the rear sides of the lower support frame members 22, 22 (the depth side is understood from fig. 2, and the rear side is hereinafter also referred to as the depth) are closed by a back plate 25 and a side plate 26. The closed space extending in the vertical direction forms a commodity discharge passage through which commodities fall.

In addition, a ventilation hole 25a is formed on the upper side of the back plate 25. Below the back plate 25 and the side plate 26, a delivery member 27 in a japanese character コ shape that opens upward is attached so as to be higher toward the rear side and to be inclined downward as it goes toward the front side. That is, as shown in fig. 2, the sending-out member 27 is a member in which a vertical commodity carrying-out passage is connected to the commodity outlet 10a of the outer door 10 via the chute 2 and the commodity outlet of the inner door 15.

A cushion pad 28 is bonded to the tip end of the feeding member 27, and the cushion pad 28 is configured as a shielding member for closing a gap between the feeding member 27 and the chute 2. Each member of the commodity storage rack 20 is formed of a thick steel plate, and the upper support frame members 21 and 21 are attached to the main body side hook fittings 50 and 55 (see fig. 12) laid on the top of the commodity storage of the main body cabinet 1 (see fig. 1) of the commodity storage rack 20 directly or via an attachment member (adapter member). This mounting will be described with reference to fig. 12 described later.

An inclined commodity supporting unit 30 is attached to the front and rear vertical frame members 23, 23 to which the upper support frame members 21, 21 and the lower support frame members 22, 22 are fixed.

As will be described later on the mounting of the product support unit 30, 8 notches 231 are formed in the pair of left and right vertical frame members 23 on the rear side in the vertical direction for the mounting of the product support unit 30. The notch 231 constitutes an engagement portion of the vertical frame member 23.

Fig. 4 shows a structure of the commodity supporting unit 30. As shown in the drawing, the commodity supporting unit 30 includes a pair of left and right clamping members 31, front and rear coupling members 32, 33 for coupling the clamping members 31, a commodity carrying mechanism 34 provided on the rear coupling member 33, and attachment fittings 35, 35 attached to the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 so as to protrude outward.

A wire connecting coupler CP10 of the bent wire 60 (see fig. 3) is attached to the rear surface of one of the mounting fittings 35 (the left mounting fitting 35 in fig. 4a, and hereinafter referred to as the left mounting fitting 35), and a wire connecting coupler CP11 (see fig. 6) that is paired with the wire connecting coupler CP10 is fixed to the vertical frame member 23 by means of a mounting fitting (not shown) at a position near the notch 231 of the left vertical frame member 23 of the pair of left and right vertical frame members 23 on the rear side.

The pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 are formed of a long member formed in an L shape from a thin coated steel sheet (hereinafter, also simply referred to as thin steel sheet) having a lubricating coating applied to one surface thereof, and the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 are disposed to face each other with a predetermined gap t therebetween.

The leg end portions of the pair of left and right pinching members 31, 31 forming the gap t are bent to form a double support portion (denoted by reference numeral 36) so that one surface (coating surface) becomes the outer side, and the upper and lower surfaces of the leg end portions forming the gap t become the coating surfaces (i.e., surfaces having good lubricity).

The double support portions 36 at the leg end portions of the pair of left and right pinching members 31, 31 constitute portions which are formed in a slip shape (japanese: slip り wood shape) and which come into contact with the hook portion (flange 105) of the commodity (bag commodity 100). The bag product is suspended and supported by the pair of left and right holding members 31, and the filling of the bag product will be described later.

The coupling members 32 and 33 are configured as frames so as to surround the pair of left and right pinching members 31 and 311 with a gap t therebetween. The pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 are firmly fixed to the connecting members 32, 33 by screws, respectively, whereby a constant gap t is maintained between the leg ends of the pair of left and right clamping members 31, respectively.

A mounting piece 321 having a T-shape in front view is integrally formed on the front connecting member 32. The attachment piece 321 is engaged with the beam member 24 of the commodity-housing shelf 20 shown in fig. 3, and the upper end of the attachment piece 321 is bent into a hook shape and a screw hole 322 is formed near the center of the leg piece.

The attachment fittings 35 are formed of a thick steel plate in a hat-shaped cross section, and flange portions of the attachment fittings 35 are screwed to the holding members 31, 31. A stepped screw 351 is screwed to the head of the attachment metal fitting 35, and the stepped screw 351 engages with the notch 231 formed in the vertical frame members 23, 23 near the center of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 shown in fig. 3.

The commodity carrying mechanism 34 is configured by mounting a carrying mechanism in a box formed by a base 341 and a cover 342, and the carrying mechanism is shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view seen from obliquely above in a state where the cover 342 of the commodity carrying mechanism 34 is removed. In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a solenoid as a driving source, and a stopper member 42 is connected to a plunger 41 of the solenoid 40.

The stepped screws 421 and 421 of the stopper member 42 are clearance-fitted into the elongated holes 43 and 43 parallel to the moving direction of the plunger 41, and the return spring 44 is slidably attached to the stopper member 42 in the moving direction of the plunger 41.

Further, a1 st stopper 45 and a2 nd stopper 46 extending downward are formed at a rear end portion of the stopper member 42. The 2 nd stopper 46 extends downward through an opening (not shown) provided in the cover 342 and the coupling member 33 coupling the left and right sandwiching members 31, 31. As shown in fig. 4, the 2 nd stopper 46 is locked with a locking member 461, and the locking member 461 includes a pressing piece 462 bent at a distal end thereof to be inclined toward the rear side.

The 1 st stopper 45 is located at the rear end of the pair of holding members 31, and the 2 nd stopper 46 is disposed at a position separated from the 1 st stopper 45 by a predetermined distance on the front side.

In the sales standby state (non-excited state of the solenoid 40), the 1 st stopper 45 is located at a position facing the gap t formed by the pair of gripping members 31, and the 2 nd stopper 46 is retracted to a position deviated from the gap t in the left-right direction, and when the solenoid 40 is excited for sales, the 1 st stopper 45 is retracted from the gap t, and the 2 nd stopper 46 moves to face the gap t.

Reference numeral 47 denotes a product detection switch (a product out switch) constituted by a microswitch, and an operation lever 471 (see fig. 4) of the microswitch is arranged to face a gap t formed by the pair of gripping members 31, 31.

Reference numeral 401 denotes a signal line connected to the solenoid 40, reference numeral 472 denotes a signal line connected to the product detection switch 47, and the signal lines 401 and 472 are connected to a wire connection coupler CP10 (see fig. 4 (a), and are attached to the rear surface of the left attachment fitting 35 which is hidden from view by the product output mechanism 34 in fig. 5).

Next, an operation of attaching the product support unit 30 configured as described above to the product storage shelf 20 will be described with reference to fig. 3.

In fig. 3, the case where the product support units 30 are installed in 4 tiers is exemplified, and in fig. 3a, a state where the product support units 30 from the bottom to the 3 rd tier are installed and the uppermost tier product support unit 30 is not installed (or a state where the uppermost tier product support unit 30 is removed) is shown, and a description will be given by taking a case where the product support units 30 are installed in the empty area at the uppermost tier position as a representative example.

First, the commodity supporting unit 30 is inserted between the vertical frame members 23, 23 constituting the front of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20. In this case, the commodity supporting unit 30 is inserted in a state in which the left and right attachment fittings 35, 35 are horizontally arranged on the vertical line. This is because, when the article support unit 30 is inserted between the vertical frame members 23, 23 in a state in which the left and right attachment fittings 35, 35 are positioned on the horizontal line, the attachment fittings 35, 35 abut against the left and right vertical frame members 23, and this is avoided.

Then, at the stage when the attachment fittings 35, 35 of the commodity supporting unit 30 pass between the front vertical frame members 23, the commodity supporting unit 30 is moved rearward while returning the commodity supporting unit 30 to the original posture.

Next, the stepped screws 351, 351 screwed to the attachment fittings 35, 35 of the commodity supporting unit 30 are moved backward relative to the notches 231 formed in the vertical frame members 23, 23 constituting the rear part of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20, and are engaged with each other.

In this case, the wire connecting coupler CP10 (see fig. 4 a) attached to the left attachment fitting 35 of the commodity supporting unit 30 is coupled to the wire connecting coupler CP11 fixed in position near the notch 231 of the left vertical frame member 23 positioned on the rear side.

In this state, the T-shaped attachment piece 321 formed by the connecting member 32 on the front side of the commodity supporting unit 30 is engaged with the beam member 24 and screwed.

The commodity supporting unit 30 mounted on the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 is thus inclined such that the front side (commodity-loading side) is high and the rear side (commodity-carrying mechanism 34 side) is low, and the curved wiring 60 and the commodity-carrying mechanism 34 of the commodity supporting unit 30 are connected by the wiring-connecting coupler CP 10. On the other hand, in the maintenance work of the commodity supporting unit 30, the commodity supporting unit 30 can be detached from the commodity-housing shelf 20 by a procedure reverse to the above-described procedure, and the connection of the wire connecting coupler CP10 is automatically released by pulling out the commodity supporting unit 30 in the forward direction.

The bent wiring 60 is routed along the outer surface of the left vertical frame member 23 of the pair of left and right vertical frame members 23 constituting the rear side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 in fig. 3, and is connected to the commodity output mechanism 34 of each commodity-supporting unit 30 on each floor via the wiring-connecting couplings CP10 and CP 11.

Here, the bent wiring 60 will be described with reference to fig. 6, in which the bent wiring is denoted again by reference numeral 60, the wiring connection coupler of the commodity output mechanism 34 of the uppermost commodity supporting unit 30 is denoted by reference numeral CP11, the wiring connection coupler of the commodity output mechanism 34 of the 3 rd-tier commodity supporting unit 30 from below is denoted by reference numeral CP21, the wiring connection coupler of the commodity output mechanism 34 of the 2 nd-tier commodity supporting unit 30 from below is denoted by reference numeral CP31, and the wiring connection coupler of the commodity output mechanism 34 of the commodity supporting unit 30 of the lower tier is denoted by reference numeral CP 41.

The CP0 is a wire connecting coupler commonly connected to the wire connecting couplers CP11 to CP 41. A connector of a signal line connected to an electrical box, not shown, is coupled to the common wire connection connector CP 0. In the drawings, P0 to P9 represent terminals of a common wire connection coupler CP0, terminals P1 and P2 of the wire connection couplers CP11 to CP41 are signal terminals (power supply terminals) connected to the solenoid 40, terminals P3 and P4 are signal terminals (power supply terminals) connected to the commodity detection switch 47, signal terminals P2 connected to the solenoids 40 of each layer are connected in common as a ground, and similarly, a signal terminal P4 connected to the commodity detection switch 47 is also connected in common.

On the other hand, the terminals P0 to P3 of the wire connection coupler CP0 are signal terminals connected to the solenoids 40 of each layer, the terminals P4 to P7 are signal terminals connected to the commodity detection switches 47 of each layer, and the terminals P8 and P9 are common signal terminals connected to the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of each layer.

By using the common wire connection coupler CP0 for the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of the respective layers in this manner, the number of the bent wires 60 can be reduced.

That is, in the case where the signal lines are arranged separately from the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of the respective layers, in this example, the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of the respective layers require two wires each, and therefore 16 signal lines are required for the 4-layer meter, while in the case where the common wire connection coupler CP0 is used, the signal lines can be made 10 by sharing the ground lines of the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of the respective layers, and therefore 6 signal lines can be reduced. Further, by using the common wire connection coupler CP0, the solenoids 40 and the commodity detection switches 47 of the respective layers can be collectively connected to the electrical component box.

Here, a space enclosed by the back plate 25 and the left and right side plates 26, 26 attached to the upper support frame members 21, 21 and the lower support frame members 22, 22 constituting the commodity storage rack 20 forms a commodity discharge passage through which commodities fall, and constitutes a circulation passage of air inside the warehouse.

Therefore, the air blowing a (indicated by a blank dashed line) from the cooling unit constituted by the evaporator 6 and the in-house fan 7 or the heating unit constituted by the evaporator 6, the in-house fan 7 and the heater 8 for heating commodities shown in fig. 2 is guided to the opening (arrow C) of the upper end 9a of the circulation duct 9 disposed on the back surface in the interior through the vent hole 25a (see fig. 3) formed in the back plate 25 as indicated by arrow B after being erected in the respective commodity supporting units 30 of the vertical frame members 23, 23 in the upper and lower multiple stages, and is returned to the cooling unit or the heating unit, thereby uniformly cooling or heating the commodities (bag commodities) suspended and supported on the commodity supporting units 30 in the upper and lower multiple stages.

In this case, even if a gap is formed between the front end portion of the delivery member 27 and the chute 2 due to an assembly error or the like, the gap is closed by the cushion pad (shielding member) 28, and the air blow a is not guided to the opening of the upper end 9a of the circulation duct 9 through the gap, that is, a short-circuit path (japanese short path) is not formed, so that cooling or heating performance can be maintained satisfactorily.

As shown by the broken line in fig. 2, a cushion pad (shielding member) 28A may be provided behind the commodity storage rack 20. The cushion pad 28A is bonded to the back surface of the back plate 25, has a width corresponding to the left-right width in the interior, and even when there is a gap between the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 and the left-right wall in the interior, it is possible to prevent the formation of a short-circuit path through which the air flow a is guided to the opening of the upper end 9a of the circulation duct 9, and to circulate the cold air or the warm air through the paths of the arrow a, the arrow B, and the arrow C shown by the dashed lines without leakage.

Further, as described above, since the commodity supporting units 30 attached to the commodity supporting shelves 20 are arranged in a state of being inclined such that the front side (commodity replenishing side) is high and the rear side (commodity carrying mechanism 34 side) is low, a vacant space is formed in a position biased rearward of the upper side (upper portion of the commodity supporting shelf 20) of the commodity supporting unit 30 at the uppermost layer, and the remaining commodity supporting units 30A are stored and stored in the vacant space. That is, since a vacant space is formed at a position shifted to the upper rear side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20, the vacant space can be used as a storage place for storing the remaining commodity-supporting units 30A.

Here, the remaining commodity supporting units 30A are shown in a state in which 4 tiers of commodity supporting units 30 are erected in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b), but if the lower 3 tiers of commodity supporting units 30 are removed in a procedure reverse to the above-described procedure when the uppermost commodity supporting unit 30 is left, and then the commodity supporting units 30 are respectively attached to the positions of the notches 231 in the vacant state in the drawing, 5 tiers of commodity supporting units 30 are erected on the commodity storage rack 20.

When the commodity supporting units 30 are detachably attached to the vertical frame members 23 constituting the commodity storage shelves 20 and the number of the commodity supporting units 30 is changed from 5 to 4, an unused commodity supporting unit 30 is generated, and the unused commodity supporting unit 30 becomes the remaining commodity supporting unit 30A.

In order to store and store the remaining commodity supporting units 30A, as shown in fig. 3 (c), beam members 24A are provided at positions close to the upper ends of the vertical frame members 23, 23 constituting the rear side of the commodity storage rack 20, and notched grooves 261 are formed in the left and right side panels 26, 26 (in the figure, the left notched groove 261 is hidden from view by the commodity supporting unit 30A).

The commodity supporting unit 30A is stored by engaging the stepped screws 351, 351 screwed to the mounting fittings 35, 35 (see fig. 4) with the notch grooves 261 of the left and right side plates 26, and by engaging and screwing the T-shaped mounting piece 321 formed by the coupling member 32 (see fig. 4) on the front side of the commodity supporting unit 30A with the beam member 24A.

When the commodity support unit 30 is changed from 4 floors to 5 floors, the beam members 24A attached to the remaining commodity support units 30A stored and stored in the commodity storage rack 20 may be used as the remaining 1 beam member 24 by changing the attachment positions of the beam members 24 attached to the front vertical frame members 23 and 23. Therefore, the beam member 24A is fixed to the rear vertical frame members 23, 23 by screws and is detachably attached to the beam member 24 fixed to the front vertical frame members 23, 23 by screws, but it may be configured such that a notch similar to the notch 231 formed in the rear vertical frame members 23, 23 is formed for erecting the commodity supporting unit 30, and a screw having a step is screwed to the beam member 24A to engage both.

The number of layers of the commodity supporting units 30 arranged in the commodity storage rack 20 in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction is set to several layers (4 layers or 5 layers in this example) depending on the length (height) of the bag commodity to be sold. A replenishing (filling) method of suspending bag commodities in the commodity supporting unit 30 will be described later, and an example of a state in which bag commodities are suspended in the 4-layer commodity supporting unit 30 is shown in fig. 2.

In this case, both a long bag product (illustrated in the lower two-tier product support unit in fig. 2) having a length (height dimension) that is not in contact with the product carry-out mechanism 34 (see fig. 4) of the vertically adjacent lower product support unit 30 after being suspended and accommodated and a short bag product (illustrated in the upper two-tier product support unit in the figure) having a relatively short length can be accommodated in the product support unit 30 in a suspended manner.

Here, when only a long bag product is to be sold, the number of layers of the product support unit 30 is 4 depending on the length of the long bag product. On the other hand, when a short-sized bag product is used as a sales target product, if the number of the product support units 30 is 4, a wasted space is generated between the vertically adjacent lower product support unit 30 and the lower end of the bag product.

Therefore, in the present invention, the commodity supporting units 30 are attached to and detached from the vertical frame members 23 constituting the commodity storage shelves 20, the number of the commodity supporting units 30 is changed from 4 to 5, and short-sized bagged commodities are suspended and accommodated in the 5-layer commodity supporting units 30. This can greatly increase the number of short-sized pocket commodities that can be accommodated in the commodity-accommodating shelf 20.

Of course, the opposite case may be adopted, that is, the case where the 5-layer article support units 30 suitable for the short-sized pocket articles are changed to 4 layers and the articles to be sold are long-sized pocket articles, and even after the installation of the vending machine, the long-sized pocket articles can be replaced with pocket articles having different sizes at the installation site of the vending machine.

Fig. 7 shows a bag product loaded in the product support unit 30. As shown in fig. 7 (a), the bag product 100 is configured by fixing a nozzle 104, which is a spout portion formed of a hard synthetic resin, to a flexible bag-shaped container 102, and attaching a cap 106 to the nozzle 104.

The nozzle 104 is formed with a flange 105, and in the example of fig. 7 (a), the bag product 100 having 1 flange 105 is shown, and in the example of fig. 7 (b), the bag product 200 having two flanges 105 is shown.

In the flexible bag-like container 102, jelly-like food or drink is poured from the nozzle 104, and the flexible bag-like container 102 is soft and difficult to stand. Further, reference numeral 107 denotes an engagement flange provided to the nozzle 104.

As described above, since the bag product having a soft container form is difficult to stand, the present invention is configured to support the bag product in a suspended manner on the product support unit 30, and then, the filling (replenishment) of the bag product in the product support unit 30 will be described with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 8 shows a case where the bag product 100 is filled, and the bag product 100 is filled as indicated by a blank arrow from the front of the product support unit 30. That is, the nozzle 104 is inserted into the gap t formed between the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 of the product support unit 30, and the flange 105 formed on the nozzle 104 is hooked on the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31. Here, the gap t formed between the pair of left and right pinching members 31, 31 is set to a predetermined size which is larger than the width of the nozzle 104 of the bag product 100 and shorter than the length of the flange 105. In the bag product 100 in which the flange 105 is hung by being hooked on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 of the product support unit 30, the flange 105 can slide on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, and the bag product 100 moves backward by its own weight. That is, the pair of holding members 31, 31 form a commodity accommodating passage therebetween.

The bag product 100 moved to the rear of the product support unit 30 is locked by the 1 st stopper 45 (see fig. 4 and 5) of the product carry-out mechanism 34, and suspended and supported in a state of being stopped at this position.

The filled bag product 100 comes into contact with the product locked by the 1 st stopper 45 and stops. Fig. 9 shows a state in which the bag product 100 is replenished and accommodated in the product support unit 30 in this manner, and the bag product 100 is suspended and supported by the product support unit 30 in a posture along a substantially vertical line by gravity.

Here, the nozzle 104 is inserted into the gap t between the pair of left and right pinching members 31, 31 of the product supporting unit 30 and the flange 105 is hooked, and the bag product 100 is accommodated, but in the bag product 100, as shown in fig. 7, a lower portion of the cover 106 is present as a hooking portion in addition to the flange 105. Therefore, when the bag product 100 is loaded into the product support unit 30, the bag product may be erroneously loaded and (the lower end of) the cover 106 may be hooked on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 of the product support unit 30. If such erroneous loading occurs, the lower end of the cover 106 may be fitted into the gap t between the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 to cause a commodity jam, or in the worst case, may be detached.

As a solution to this problem, it is conceivable that the thickness of the steel plate constituting the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 is increased to prevent the lower end of the cover 106 from being caught by making the thickness dimension tb between the cover 106 and the flange 105 smaller than the thickness dimension ta between the flange 105 and the joining flange 107 (ta > tb).

However, when a thick steel plate is used for the pair of left and right clamping members 31, the weight increases and the cost increases.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent erroneous loading even when a thin steel plate is used, the leg end portions of the clamping members 31 and 31 disposed to face each other with the gap t therebetween are bent to be doubly supported, and are used as the thickness regulating members 36. By forming the thin steel plate as a double support in this manner, it is difficult to hook the lower portion of the lid 106, but since the lower portion of the flange 105 is allowed to be hooked, it is possible to prevent erroneous mounting such as mounting by mistake of the hooked portion.

In the bag product 200 shown in fig. 7 (b) in which the two flanges 105 are provided, although the upper flange 105 is provided as a hook portion and the upper flange 105 is hooked when it is necessary to hook the lower flange 105 and load the bag product, the dimension td between the two flanges 105 is smaller than the dimension tc between the lower flange 105 and the joining flange 107 (tc > td), and therefore, the leg ends of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 are bent to be double-supported, and thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous loading.

Further, since the bag product 100 is configured such that the flange 105 is placed on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31 of the product support unit 30 and the bag product 100 is slid by its own weight, it is desirable that the frictional resistance between the flange 105 and the leg end portions of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 of the product support unit 30 is small.

In response to this requirement, the commodity-accommodating rack 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the leg end portions of the pair of left and right clamping members 31 and 31 disposed to face each other with the gap t therebetween are bent to be supported in a double manner, is also advantageous.

That is, since a steel sheet that is usually used is a coated steel sheet having a lubricating coating film coated on one surface thereof for ease of cutting, by forming the coated steel sheet so that one surface (the surface coated with the lubricating coating film) thereof is on the outside as a double support (the portion denoted by reference numeral 36 in fig. 4 and the like), the upper and lower surfaces of the leg end portion of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 that forms the gap t become good surfaces (surfaces with low frictional resistance) for lubricity.

Therefore, the frictional resistance between the flange 105 of the bag product 100 and the leg end portions of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 can be made small.

Further, the sliding by the weight of the bag product 100 is improved by increasing the inclination angle of the product support unit 30, and on the other hand, when the inclination angle of the product support unit 30 is increased, the bag product 100 itself keeps the posture along the substantially vertical line by the gravity, and therefore, as shown in fig. 10, the flange 105 and the joining flange 107 of the bag product 100 simultaneously abut on both the upper and lower surfaces of the leg end portions of the pair of left and right holding members 31, 31. In this case, when the leg end portions of the pair of left and right holding members 31, 31 are not doubly supported, the frictional resistance between one of the flange 105 and the joining flange 107 of the bag product 100 and the leg end portions of the holding members 31, 31 becomes large, but in the case of the holding members 31, 31 according to the embodiment of the present invention formed to be doubly supported so that one surface (the surface coated with the lubricating coating film) of the coated steel sheet becomes the outer side, even if the flange 105 and the joining flange 107 of the bag product 100 simultaneously come into contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the leg end portions of the holding members 31, the frictional resistance between both can be reduced.

Therefore, the inclination angle of the product support unit 30 can be increased to improve the sliding due to the weight of the bag product 100, and the bag product can be smoothly accommodated in the product support unit 30.

In addition, in order to form a double support, the coated steel constituting the sandwiching members 31, 31 is desirably thin, and this contributes to weight reduction when a thin coated steel sheet is used.

In the case of the bag product shown in fig. 7, the width dimensions L1 and L2 (e.g., L1 < L2) of the flange 105 differ depending on the food or drink contained therein or the amount of food or drink filled in the flexible bag-like container 102. In particular, in the case of a bag product having the same food and drink contents but different contents, which is filled in the flexible bag-shaped container 102, the outer shape is similar, and therefore, the bag product may be erroneously filled.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 8, a pair of width regulating members 37 fitted close to each other are provided at the leg end portions of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31. The width dimension L0 between the pair of width regulating members 37 is set to L1 < L0 < L2 (in the case of L1 < L2, among others) with respect to the width dimensions L1, L2 (see fig. 7) of the flange 105 of the bag commodity.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wrong filling of different kinds of bag products by allowing the bag product having the flange 105 with the size of L0 or less to be inserted and filled between the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31, 31 and by preventing the filling of the bag product having the flange 105 with the size of L0 or more by the width regulating member 37.

In fig. 8, although the case where a dedicated member is embedded as the width regulating member 37 has been described, a screw that fixes the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 and the connecting member 32 that connects the clamping members 31, 31 together may be used as the width regulating member 37, and in this case, the number of components can be reduced.

Next, the cooling and heating operations of the commodity storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 in the vending machine to which the commodity storage rack 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to fig. 2.

First, when the commodity storage compartments 13 and 14 (hot/cold dual purpose compartments) are used as cold compartments, the heater 8 is turned off, and a cold air cycle is performed in which the refrigerant compressed and condensed by the compressor 3 and the condenser 4 is sent to the evaporator 6, the cold air having exchanged heat by the evaporator 6 is blown out into the interior from the lower side of the chute 2 by the interior fan 7 to cool commodities in the commodity storage shelves 20 and 141, and the cold air is returned to the evaporator 6 through the circulation duct 9.

On the other hand, when the commodity storage chambers 13 and 14 are used as hot chambers, the supply of the refrigerant to the evaporator 6 is stopped, the heater 8 is turned on, and a heating cycle is performed in the same manner as described above to heat the commodities. The commodity storage chambers 13 and 14 are switched to the hot/cold chambers at the time of season change or the like.

The commodity-accommodating chamber 12, which is a cold-dedicated chamber, is constantly subjected to a cold air circulation in which the cold air having exchanged heat in the evaporator 6 is blown out into the interior from below the chute 2 by the interior fan 7 to cool the commodities in the commodity-accommodating shelves 121, and is returned to the evaporator 6 via the circulation duct 9.

Further, the commodity storage chamber 13 in which the commodity storage rack 20 is stored is used as a hot/cold dual-purpose chamber, but the hot/cold dual-purpose chamber is provided when the bag commodity is sold as a hot commodity.

Next, the operation of the vending machine to which the commodity storage rack 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied at the time of sales will be described.

Fig. 11 shows the movement of the 1 st stopper 45 and the 2 nd stopper 46 when the commodity discharging mechanism 34 is operated, and the sales operation will be described with reference to fig. 5 showing the overall configuration of the commodity discharging mechanism 34.

In the standby state for sales, the solenoid 40 is in a non-excited state, the 1 st stopper 45 protrudes to the position of the gap t between the pair of left and right gripping members 31, 31 to lock the commodity in the first order of sales (hereinafter, also referred to as a "sales commodity"), and the 2 nd stopper 46 positioned between the sales commodity and the commodity in the second order of sales (hereinafter, also referred to as a "next sales commodity") is retracted from the position of the gap t between the pair of left and right gripping members 31, 31.

In this state, the operation lever 471 of the commodity detection switch (a sold-out switch) 47, which is a microswitch, abuts on the commodity to be sold and outputs a commodity detection signal.

At this time, when the product selection button provided in the outer door 10 (see fig. 1) is operated, an excitation signal having a predetermined time width is supplied from the unillustrated control unit to the corresponding product output mechanism 34 (solenoid 40).

When the solenoid 40 is excited, the stopper member 42 is moved in the left-right direction (right direction in fig. 5) by the plunger 41 shown in fig. 5. Thereby, the 1 st stopper 45 and the 2 nd stopper 46 move leftward in fig. 11, the 1 st stopper 45 is retracted from the gap t, and the 2 nd stopper 46 protrudes toward the gap t.

By retracting the 1 st stopper 45 from the gap t, the locking of the 1 st stopper 45 to the commodity for sale is released. At the same time, while the 2 nd stopper 46 moves so as to protrude toward the gap t, the pressing piece 462 of the locking member 461 provided to the 2 nd stopper 46 presses the commodity to discharge the commodity from the commodity supporting unit 30, and thereafter, the 2 nd stopper 46 protrudes toward the gap t.

When the commodity for sale is delivered, the commodities after the next commodity for sale lose support, slide toward the rear end portion of the commodity support unit 30 in order, and are locked to the 2 nd stopper 46 protruding toward the gap t, thereby being temporarily held.

When the excitation signal supplied to the solenoid 40 is interrupted, the plunger 41 is returned to the original position (the state of fig. 5) by the return spring 44, the 1 st stopper 45 protrudes to the position of the gap t, and the 2 nd stopper 46 is retracted from the gap t.

When the 2 nd stopper 46 is retracted from the gap t, the product after the next product for sale held by the 2 nd stopper 46 slides toward the output end of the product support unit 30 and is caught by the 1 st stopper 45 protruding toward the gap t, and the product becomes a sales standby state.

Further, the commodity, which is output by the commodity output mechanism 34 and falls from the rear end portion of the commodity supporting unit 30, is fed to the chute 2 via the feeding member 27 of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 shown in fig. 2.

Next, fig. 1 shows an automatic vending machine in which the commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention is provided in parallel with the snake-shaped commodity storage racks 121 and 141. In the vending machine, various kinds of commodities (commodities with a relatively hard container, such as canned beverages, and commodities with a relatively soft container, such as bagged commodities) can be sold by the vending machine, and if the configuration of the vending machine is changed greatly from that of the existing vending machine when the vending machine is installed so as to be able to sell various kinds of commodities, the existing vending machine has to be changed to a new one.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the commodity-housing shelf 20 capable of housing the bag commodity is made to have compatibility with the snake-type commodity-housing shelf, and the commodity-housing shelf 20 of the present invention can be mounted on the already-installed vending machine (on which the snake-type commodity-housing shelf is mounted). Hereinafter, the commodity storage rack 20 having compatibility with a known serpentine commodity storage rack will be described.

Fig. 12 shows a commodity storage rack 20 which is provided so as to be compatible with a known serpentine commodity storage rack. As a method of arranging a known snake-type commodity storage rack in a commodity storage box of an automatic vending machine, there are two types, and first, these two types are explained.

First, as shown in fig. 12 (a), the 1 st aspect is a hook-on aspect in which a main body side hook fitting 50 extending in the front-rear direction is laid on the top surface of the vending machine, and the article storage shelves 121 and 141 are hooked on the main body side hook fitting 50, and as shown in fig. 12 (b), the 2 nd aspect is a fixing aspect in which a main body side hook fitting 55 extending in the left-right direction is laid on the top surface of the vending machine, and the article storage shelves 121 and 141 are fixed to the main body side hook fitting 55. As described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2005-122596, for example, the hooking method is: in the hook type in which a rack-side hook that engages with the hook 501 of the main body-side hook fitting 50 is provided at the upper end of a pair of left and right rack side plates that constitute the commodity-receiving racks 121, 141, and the rack-side hook is engaged with the hook 501 of the main body-side hook fitting 50, the commodity-receiving racks 121, 141 are slid using the main body-side hook fitting 50 as a guide, and the commodity-receiving racks 121, 141 are received in the storage or the commodity-receiving racks 121, 141 are pulled out from the storage.

On the other hand, as described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 9-288768, for example, the fixing method is: a shelf-side hook fitting is provided on a pair of left and right shelf side plates constituting the commodity storage shelves 121, 141, and the shelf-side hook fitting is engaged with the hook 551 of the main body-side hook fitting 55 to screw-fix both.

The known serpentine commodity storage shelves 121 and 141 as described above are disposed in the commodity storage by using the main body side hook fittings 50 and 55 shown in fig. 12. Therefore, the inventors have found that when the commodity storage shelf 20 of the present invention can be attached to the main body side hook fittings 50 and 55, the commodity storage shelf 20 has compatibility with the snake-shaped commodity storage shelves 121 and 141, and have developed an adapter member for attaching the commodity storage shelf 20 to the main body side hook fittings 50 and 55.

Next, fig. 12 shows an adapter member for attaching the commodity-receiving rack 20 to the main body side hook fittings 50, 55. Since the commodity-housing shelf 20 shown in fig. 12 is assembled as described in fig. 3, a redundant description thereof will be omitted.

Fig. 12 (a) shows an adapter member 51 used in the above-described hooking manner, and the adapter member 51 includes a pair of right and left frame fixing fittings 52 and a frame-side hooking fitting 53. The pair of left and right frame fixing fittings 52 are formed of thick steel plates having a zigzag cross section, one end of each of the pair of left and right frame fixing fittings 52 is fixed to the pair of left and right upper support frame members 21, 21 constituting the commodity storage frame 20 by screws, and the other end of each of the pair of left and right frame fixing fittings 52 is fixed to the frame side hook fitting 53.

The frame side hook fitting 53 is formed in a box shape with an open lower surface by a thick steel plate, and the frame side hook fitting 53 is formed with frame side hooks 54 at both left and right ends thereof to be engaged with the hooks 501 of the main body side hook fitting 50.

The commodity storage rack 20 is configured such that two sets of adapter members 51 are fixed to the upper support frame members 21, 21 in advance. When the commodity storage shelf 20 is placed in the commodity storage compartment, first, the shelf-side hook 54 of the shelf-side hook fitting 53 of the rear adapter member 51 is opposed to the hook 501 of the main-side hook fitting 50, the shelf-side hook 54 is pushed into the hook 501 to engage the two and the shelf-side hook 54 is slid, and similarly, the shelf-side hook 54 of the shelf-side hook fitting 53 of the adapter member 51 is engaged with the hook 501 of the main-side hook fitting 50 at the front side to slide the shelf-side hook 54, whereby the assembly is performed.

Fig. 12 (b) shows an adapter member 56 used in the above-described fixing system, and the adapter member 56 is constituted by a bracket-side hook fitting 57. The rack-side hook fitting 57 is formed of a flat plate of a platen steel plate, a fixing arm 58 is formed at a lower end of the rack-side hook fitting 57, a rack-side hook 59 to be engaged with a hook 551 of the main body-side hook fitting 55 is formed at an upper end of the rack-side hook fitting 57, and the fixing arm 58 is screwed into a lower surface of the pair of left and right upper support frame members 21, 21 constituting the commodity-accommodating rack 20.

The commodity storage rack 20 is configured such that two sets of adapter members 56 are fixed to the upper support frame members 21, 21 in advance. When the commodity storage rack 20 is placed in the commodity storage compartment, the rack-side hook 59 of each adapter member 56 is engaged with the hook 551 of the main body-side hook fitting 55 while facing each other.

Subsequently, the adaptor member 56 and the main body side hook fitting 55 are screwed and assembled. By providing the adapter members 51, 56 as shown in fig. 12, the commodity storage rack 20 for storing the bag commodities can be made compatible with the known snake-shaped commodity storage racks 121, 141, and can be replaced with the snake-shaped commodity storage rack of the existing vending machine.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention and the snake-like commodity storage rack are structurally compatible with each other as described above, so that the commodity storage rack can be replaced with the snake-like commodity storage rack of the existing vending machine, and the commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention and the snake-like commodity storage rack are electrically compatible with each other.

In the commodity carrying out mechanism of the snake-shaped commodity storage rack, the lower stopper for locking the commodity for sale and the upper stopper for locking the next commodity for sale are driven by the solenoid so as to alternately protrude toward the commodity passage, and in view of this, in the commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention, the solenoid 40 is similarly used as the driving source of the commodity carrying out mechanism 34, and the 1 st stopper 45 for locking the commodity for sale and the 2 nd stopper 46 for locking the next commodity for sale are driven by the solenoid 40 so as to alternately protrude and retreat with respect to the gap t between the pair of left and right holding members 31, 31.

Further, the article storage rack 20 is configured to include an article detection switch 47 (see fig. 4 and 5) for detecting the articles loaded in the article storage rack 20, and a sold-out detection signal of the article is output from the article detection switch 47.

By using the commodity output mechanism 34 and the commodity detection switch 47, the commodity output mechanism 34 can be caused to perform a commodity output operation by a power supply and a control signal supplied to the commodity output mechanism of the serpentine commodity storage rack, and the commodity detection switch 47 sends a sold-out signal to the control unit of the automatic vending machine.

That is, the snake-shaped commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention can be used to replace the snake-shaped commodity storage rack and perform wiring connection without any change in the control program of the installed vending machine on which the snake-shaped commodity storage rack is mounted, and thus the vending machine can be operated immediately.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide the commodity storage rack 20 of the vending machine that sells the commodities (bag commodities 100, 200) having the hook portions (flanges 105) at the drinking hole portions, wherein the commodity storage rack 20 is provided with the commodity supporting unit 30 in which the frame body of the commodity storage rack 20 is constructed by the upper, lower, left and right frame members (the upper supporting frame members 21, the lower supporting frame members 22, the pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 provided in the front, and the pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 provided in the vicinity of the center), and the commodity supporting unit 30 is provided in which a plurality of layers are vertically arranged between the left and right frame members (the pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 provided in the front, and the pair of vertical frame members 23, 23 provided in the vicinity of the center) to support the hook portions (flanges 105) of the commodities (bag commodities 100, 200), and the rear side is inclined so as to be lower than the front side (commodity-input side) so as to accommodate the commodities by sliding the commodities by their own weights and suspending the commodities, and the commodity supporting unit 30 has a commodity carrying mechanism 34 at the rear end portion, and the commodity supporting unit 30 is detachably mounted on a frame member constituting the commodity-accommodating frame 20, whereby the commodity-accommodating frame 20 accommodating the bagged commodities having a flexible container form can be made to have a simple structure, and cost reduction can be achieved. Further, maintenance can be easily performed by freely attaching and detaching the commodity supporting unit 30.

As described above, according to the commodity storage rack 20 of the automatic vending machine of the embodiment of the present invention, there is provided the commodity storage rack 20 of the automatic vending machine that sells the commodities (bag commodities 100, 200) having the hook portions (flanges 105) at the drinking hole portions and having the soft container shape, in which the commodity storage rack 20 is provided with the commodity supporting unit 30 in which the frame body of the commodity storage rack 20 is constructed by the upper, lower, left, and right frame members (the upper supporting frame members 21, the lower supporting frame members 22, the vertical frame members 23, 23) and a plurality of layers are vertically arranged between the left and right frame members (the vertical frame members 23, 23), the hook portions (flanges 105) of the commodities are hooked on the pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 arranged with the predetermined gap t therebetween to support the hook portions of the commodities, and the commodity supporting unit 30 is inclined so that the rear side is lower than the front side (commodity-insertion side), the commodity supporting unit 30 has a commodity carrying mechanism 34 at a rear end portion thereof, the holding members 31, 31 are formed in a slip shape at portions contacting with the hook portions (flanges 105) of the commodities (bag commodities 100, 200), specifically, the holding members 31, 31 are formed by thin coated steel plates having a lubricating coating film applied to one surface thereof, and end portions of the holding members 31, 31 facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween are doubly supported so that the other surfaces of the coated steel plates are in contact with each other, whereby the commodity housing rack 20 for housing commodities having hook portions (flanges 105) at a drinking opening portion thereof and having a soft container form can be made to have a simple structure, and the holding member 31 for suspending and supporting commodities can be formed by a thin steel plate, 31, the weight of the vending machine can be reduced, and even when the commodity comes into contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the gripping members 31, the frictional resistance between the commodity and the gripping members is small, so that the commodity can be smoothly slid, and therefore, the inclination angle of the gripping members 31, 31 can be increased to improve the sliding due to the weight of the commodity.

As described above, according to the above-mentioned vending machine, there is provided an automatic vending machine in which a plurality of main body side hook fittings 50, 55 are laid on the top surface of the vending machine in advance, and a plurality of snake-shaped article storage shelves 121, 141 attached to the main body side hook fittings 50, 55 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and in which a tilt-type article storage shelf 20 formed as follows is provided: a frame body of a commodity storage rack 20 is constructed by vertical and horizontal frame members (upper support frame members 21, lower support frame members 22, vertical frame members 23, 23), a commodity support unit 30 is provided, the commodity storage rack 20 is constructed by the frame members constructing the commodity storage rack 20 that the commodity support unit 30 is detachably erected on, the commodity support unit 30 is erected in multiple layers in the vertical direction between the vertical frame members 23, supports a flange 105 of a commodity (bag commodity 100, 200) having a flange 105 at a drinking port portion and being flexible in a container shape, and is inclined so as to descend downward as going to go deeper, thereby accommodating the commodity by sliding the commodity by its own weight and suspending the commodity, and the commodity support unit 30 is provided with a commodity output mechanism 34 at a rear end portion, the automatic vending machine is provided with the adapter members 51, 56 connecting the inclined commodity storage rack 20 and the main body side hook fittings 50, 55, and the inclined commodity storage rack 20 containing the commodities with soft container forms is mounted to the main body side hook fittings 50, 55 through the adapter members 51, 56 instead of at least one commodity storage rack of a plurality of snake-shaped commodity storage racks 121, 141 arranged side by side in the left-right direction, so that the snake-shaped commodity storage racks 121, 141 and the inclined commodity storage rack 20 are arranged side by side, thereby the inclined commodity storage rack 20 containing the commodities with soft container forms can have interchangeability with the known snake-shaped commodity storage rack, and the inclined commodity storage rack containing the commodities with soft container forms can be mounted instead of the known snake-shaped commodity storage rack without greatly changing the structure of the automatic vending machine with the snake-shaped commodity storage rack A storage rack 20.

In addition, in the vending machine equipped with the snake-shaped commodity storage rack, the snake-shaped commodity storage rack is replaced by the inclined commodity storage rack 20 containing the soft commodity in the container form, so that the soft commodity in the container form can be sold.

As described above, the bag product 100 delivered by the product delivery mechanism 34 drops from the rear end of the product support unit 30 into the product delivery path surrounded by the back plate 25 and the side plate 26 shown in fig. 3 and extending in the vertical direction, and is then delivered to the chute 2 via the delivery member 27 of the product storage rack 20 shown in fig. 2.

Here, the falling posture of the bag product 100 delivered by the product delivery mechanism 34 will be described with reference to fig. 13, and when the bag product 100 is delivered from the product delivery mechanism 34 of the uppermost product support unit 30 in the drawing, the bag product 100 falls downward while maintaining the standing posture as indicated by the blank arrow.

Since the lengths in the front-rear direction of the product support units 30 arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction are the same, the product carry-out mechanism 34 of the product support unit 30 in the lower stage exists in the middle of the falling path of the bag product 100.

Therefore, the article abuts on the article carry-out mechanism 34 of the article support unit 30 of the lower stage on the way of the article being dropped. In this case, when the cover 342 with the inclined surface 342A covering the commodity carrying mechanism 34 of the present invention is not provided, the falling bag commodity 100 abuts on the commodity carrying mechanism 34 to prevent the falling, and therefore, the falling posture of the bag commodity 100 is disturbed to become a lateral posture. When the bag product is in the horizontal posture in this way, the bag product 100 may get caught between the back plate 25 (see fig. 3) constituting the product discharge path and the product discharge mechanism 34 or between the back plate 25 and the sales product suspended and accommodated in the product support unit 30, and a product jam may occur.

In this regard, in the present invention, since the cover 342 having the inclined surface 342A is provided, the bag product 100 dropped contacts the inclined surface 342A of the cover 342, and is discharged to the product discharge path along the inclination of the inclined surface 342A of the cover 342 so as to be separated from the product support unit 30. The commodity discharged so as to be separated from the commodity supporting unit 30 in this way falls down in the commodity discharge passage while maintaining a substantially upright posture, and is guided to the sending-out member 27, whereby the bag commodity 100 discharged from the commodity discharging mechanism 34 of the commodity supporting unit 30 on the upper side can be stably discharged while maintaining a substantially upright posture.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a commodity storage rack 20 of an automatic vending machine that sells bag commodities 100 and 200 having a flange 105 (hook portion) at a drinking opening portion and having a soft container form, the commodity storage rack 20 being a tilt type commodity storage rack 20 formed as follows: a frame body of a commodity storage rack 20 is constructed by upper support frame members 21, lower support frame members 22, and vertical frame members 23, 23 (vertical and horizontal frame members), a commodity support unit 30 is provided, the commodity support unit 30 is provided with a plurality of layers in the vertical direction between the vertical frame members 23, 23 (left and right frame members), a flange 105 of the commodity is hooked on a pair of left and right clamping members 31, 31 arranged with a predetermined gap t therebetween to support the flange 105 of the commodity, the commodity support unit 30 is inclined so that the rear side is lower than the front side (commodity supplement side) to accommodate the commodity in a manner that the commodity slides by the weight of the commodity and hangs the commodity, the commodity support unit 30 is provided with a commodity output mechanism 34 at the rear end, in an automatic vending machine including the inclined commodity storage rack 20, since the guide member (the cover 342 with the inclined surface 342A of the commodity carrying mechanism 34) for maintaining the bag commodities 100 and 200 carried out from the commodity carrying mechanism 34 of the commodity supporting unit 30 in the substantially upright posture and dropping the bag commodities is provided, the bag commodities 100 and 200 carried out from the commodity carrying mechanism 34 on the upper side can be dropped while maintaining the substantially upright posture without being disturbed in posture by being in contact with the commodity carrying mechanism 34 on the lower side or with the sales commodities suspended and accommodated in the commodity supporting unit 30, and the bag commodities 100 and 200 can be prevented from being disturbed in posture during dropping and jamming of the commodities, and the commodities can be stably and reliably carried out.

In the above-described embodiment, the cover 342 of the commodity carrying mechanism 34 is used as the guide member and the cover 342 is also used as the guide member, but a member having the inclined surface 342A may be added as the guide member, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

Next, the bending wiring of the automatic vending machine will be described with reference to fig. 14 (b). Fig. 14 (b) shows a partial right side surface of the snake-shaped commodity storage rack 141, which is indicated by a phantom line (two-dot chain line) because the snake-shaped commodity storage rack is well known, and a cooling/heating unit is omitted for easy understanding of the bent wiring.

The snake-shaped commodity storage rack 141 in this embodiment has 6-deck commodity rails by connecting racks each divided into two commodity rails in the front and rear direction, and each commodity output mechanism 143, 143 is disposed below the two commodity rails (commodity accommodation paths) in the front and rear direction of each rack in a back-to-back manner. The commodity discharge mechanisms 143 and 143 are configured to alternately protrude the lower stopper and the upper stopper toward the commodity accommodating passage by driving the lower stopper (not shown) for locking the lowest commodity (the commodity to be sold) and the upper stopper for locking the 2 nd commodity (the next commodity to be sold) from below by a solenoid (a driving source), and to discharge the commodities one by one, and are provided with a commodity detection switch (a sold-out switch) composed of a micro switch for detecting the commodities accommodated in the commodity accommodating passage (the commodity passage).

On the other hand, in the equipment room of the main body cabinet 1, an electrical box (not shown) in which slave control units such as a money processing unit, a cooling control unit, and a sales control unit are disposed is connected to a main control unit that controls the entire vending machine, and the electrical box and the commodity output mechanisms 143 and 143 are connected by a bent wire VW.

The curved wiring VW is composed of a power supply line and a control line, and can be separated into a main-side curved wiring VW1 and a mechanism-side curved wiring VW2 by a wiring connection coupler CP. The main body side bent wiring VW1 is distributed for every two front and rear cargo ways (two commodity output mechanisms 143, 143), is routed from the equipment room in which the electronic component box is installed to positions near the commodity output mechanisms 143, 143 along the side walls (heat insulation partition plate 11) in the box, is covered with wiring covers 11a1, 11a2, 11A3 provided on the side walls (heat insulation partition plate 11) in the box at intermediate positions (that is, positions crossing the chute 2), and is connected to the mechanism side bent wiring VW2 via a wiring connection coupler CP. The electric component box transmits a sales signal (drive signal) to the solenoids of the commodity output mechanisms 143, and the commodity output mechanisms 143, 143 transmit a sold-out signal of the commodity to the electric component box. The main body side bent wiring VW1 of the bent wiring VW is shared by the commodity carrying out mechanisms 143, 143 of the serpentine commodity-housing rack and the commodity carrying out mechanism of the tilt commodity-housing rack 20.

Next, a structure of a modification of the product support unit 30 will be described with reference to fig. 15. As shown in the drawing, the product support unit 30 includes a pair of left and right clamp members 31a, front and rear coupling members 32a, 33a that couple the clamp members 31a, and a product output mechanism 34a provided on the rear coupling member 33 a.

The pair of left and right clamping members 31a, 31a are formed of a long member formed in an L shape by a thin coated steel plate (hereinafter, also simply referred to as thin steel plate) having a lubricating coating on one surface, and the pair of left and right clamping members 31a, 31a are disposed to face each other with a predetermined gap t therebetween. The leg end portions of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 31a, 31a forming the gap t are bent to form a double support portion (denoted by reference numeral 35a) so that one surface (coating surface) becomes the outer side, and the upper and lower surfaces of the leg end portions forming the gap t become the coating surfaces (i.e., surfaces having good lubricity).

Further, notches 35Aa as marks of the storage limit for storing the commodity in the commodity supporting unit 30a are formed at positions of the double supporting portions 35a, 35a which are biased toward the front ends. The bag product is suspended and supported by the pair of left and right holding members 31a, and the filling (replenishment) of the bag product will be described later. The upper region of the double support portions 35a and 35a including the gap t is referred to as a commodity accommodating passage.

The coupling members 32a and 33a are configured to surround a frame body such as the pair of left and right clamping members 31a and 31a, and are firmly fixed to the pair of left and right clamping members 31a and 31a by screws, respectively, whereby the gap t between the leg end portions (the double support portions 35a and 35a) of the pair of left and right clamping members 31a and 31a is kept constant. Further, a mounting piece 321a having a T-shape in front view is integrally formed on the front connecting member 32 a. The attachment pieces 321a are engaged with the beam members 24 of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20, and the upper ends of the attachment pieces 321a are bent into hook-like shapes and have screw holes 322a formed near the centers of the leg pieces.

Further, reference numeral 323a is a cover integrally provided to the coupling member 32a so as to cover the front surface of the portion other than the leg end portion of the pair of left and right L-shaped clamping members 31a, and covers the end portion of the screw protruding into the coupling member 32a when the clamping members 31a, 31a are fixed to the coupling member 32a, thereby preventing the hand from touching the end portion of the screw.

On the other hand, the rear connecting member 33a is not wound around the outer peripheral surfaces of the bottom walls of the pair of left and right clamping members 31a, but is fixed to the respective side walls so as to surround the outer peripheries of the side walls of the pair of left and right L-shaped clamping members 31a, 31a from the outer peripheries of the upper surfaces of the pair of left and right L-shaped clamping members 31a, as described below.

That is, the connecting member 33a is formed in an inverted U-shaped cross section, front engaging claws 331a and 331a (see fig. 15 a) and rear engaging claws 332a and 332a (see fig. 15 b) are provided on the side surface portions of the inverted U-shaped leg pieces, respectively, the front engaging claws 331a and 331a are fitted into and engaged with openings 311a and 311a bored in the side walls of the left and right clamping members 31a and 31a, respectively, and the rear engaging claws 332a and 332a are engaged with the rear edges of the side walls of the left and right clamping members 31a and 31a, respectively.

Then, the inverted U-shaped leg pieces of the coupling member 33a are fixed to the side walls of the left and right clamping members 31a, 31a by screws, so that the two members are firmly coupled to each other. Further, a mounting tool 333a projecting in the left-right direction is integrally formed on the coupling member 33a by bending, a screw 334a with a step is screwed to the head of the mounting tool 333a, and the mounting tool is attached to the vertical frame members 23, 23 on the rear side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 via the screw 334a with a step.

Further, reference numeral 343a in fig. 15 shows a guard member attached to the cover 342a of the commodity output mechanism 34a, and the guard member 343a covers the upper region of the wire connecting coupler CP1 to protect the wire connecting coupler CP1 from water droplets and the like due to dew condensation.

The commodity carrying mechanism 34a disposed behind the commodity supporting unit 30a is formed by mounting the carrying mechanism inside a casing formed by a base 341a and a cover 342a, and the commodity carrying mechanism 34a is shown in fig. 16.

Fig. 16 (a) is a perspective view seen from obliquely above with the cover 342a of the commodity discharging mechanism 34a removed, fig. 16 (b) is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion with main components of the commodity discharging mechanism 34a exploded, and first, the components of the commodity discharging mechanism 34a will be described, and then, the respective components will be described in detail.

In the figure, reference numeral 40a denotes a solenoid as a driving source, and a stopper member 42a is coupled to a plunger 41 of the solenoid 40 a. The stepped screws 421a, 421a of the stopper member 42a are clearance-fitted into the elongated holes 43a, 43a parallel to the moving direction of the plunger 41a, and the return spring 44a is attached to the stopper member 42a so as to be slidable in the moving direction of the plunger 41 a.

Further, a1 st stopper 45a and a2 nd stopper 46a extending downward are formed at a rear end portion of the stopper member 42 a. The 2 nd stopper 46a extends downward through an opening (not shown) provided in the base 341a and the coupling member 33a coupling the left and right sandwiching members 31a and 31 a. As shown in fig. 15 (b), the 2 nd stopper 46a is locked with a locking member 461a, and the locking member 461a includes a pressing piece 462a bent at a distal end and inclined toward the rear side.

The 1 st stopper 45a is located at the rear end of the pair of clamping members 31a, and the 2 nd stopper 46a is disposed at a position separated from the 1 st stopper 45a by a predetermined distance on the front side. In the sales standby state (the non-excited state of the solenoid 40 a), the 1 st stopper 45a is located at a position facing a gap t (commodity accommodating passage) formed by the pair of right and left gripping members 31a, and the 2 nd stopper 46 is retracted to a position deviated from the gap t in the right-left direction, and at the time of sales when the solenoid 40a is excited, the 1 st stopper 45a is retracted from the gap t, and the 2 nd stopper 46a moves to face the gap t.

A wire 471a, which is composed of a power supply line for supplying power to the commodity detection switch 47a and a signal line for transmitting a detection signal from the commodity detection switch 47a, is connected to a wire connection coupler CP1 fixed to the cover 342a of the commodity output mechanism 34a, together with the signal line 401a connected to the solenoid 40 a.

The operation of attaching the article supporting unit 30a to the article storage shelf 20 will be described. First, the commodity supporting unit 30a is inserted from between the vertical frame members 23, 23 constituting the front side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20. In this case, the commodity supporting unit 30a is inserted in a laterally-lowered state such that the left and right mounting fixtures 333a, 333a are aligned on the vertical line. This is because, when the commodity supporting unit 30a is inserted between the vertical frame members 23, 23 in a posture in which the left and right attachment devices 333a, 333a are positioned on the horizontal line, the attachment devices 333a, 333a abut against the left and right vertical frame members 23, 23 to prevent insertion, and this is avoided.

Then, at the stage when the attachment devices 333a, 333a of the commodity supporting unit 30a pass between the front vertical frame members 23, the commodity supporting unit 30a is moved backward while returning the commodity supporting unit 30a to the original posture, and the T-shaped attachment piece 321a formed by the connecting member 32a (see fig. 15) in front of the commodity supporting unit 30a is temporarily fixed by engaging with the beam member 24. Next, the stepped screws 334a screwed to the heads of the attachment devices 333a, 333a of the commodity supporting unit 30a are inserted into and fixed to locking grooves (not shown) formed in the vertical frame members 23, 23 constituting the rear side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 20. In this state, a T-shaped attachment piece 321a formed by the connecting member 32a on the front side of the commodity supporting unit 30a is screwed to the beam member 24. The commodity supporting unit 30a attached to the commodity-accommodating shelf 20 in this manner is inclined so that the front side (commodity-replenishing side) is high and the rear side (commodity-carrying mechanism 34a side) is low.

The other end of the mechanism-side bent wire VW2 of the bent wires VW (see fig. 14) is connected to the wire connection coupler CP1 (see fig. 15 and 16) of the commodity output mechanism 34a of each of the commodity supporting units 30a erected in 4 tiers in this manner. Here, since the commodity supporting unit 30a has 4 upper and lower stages, that is, 4 lanes, the commodity carry-out mechanism 34a of the upper-stage commodity supporting unit 30a (two lanes) and the commodity carry-out mechanism 34a of the lower-stage commodity supporting unit 30a (two lanes) are respectively assigned to the two lanes in accordance with the commodity carry-out mechanism of the snake-type commodity storage rack (which is configured by assembling the commodity carry-out mechanisms of the front and rear two lanes back to back), and the mechanism-side bent wiring VW2 is connected to the main-side bent wirings VW1 by being routed along the rear-side vertical frame members 23, 23. The mechanism-side bent wire VW2 is connected to the main-side bent wire VW1 via a wire connection coupler CP, and the connection operation will be described later, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the inclined commodity-housing shelves 20 of the present invention and the snake-type commodity-housing shelves are structurally compatible with each other as described above, so that they can be replaced with snake-type commodity-housing shelves of an existing vending machine, and the inclined commodity-housing shelves 20 of the present invention and the snake-type commodity-housing shelves are electrically (control program) compatible with each other. In the commodity carrying mechanism 143 (see fig. 14 b) of the serpentine commodity storage rack, the lower stopper for locking the commodity for sale and the upper stopper for locking the commodity for next sale are driven by the solenoid (driving source) so that the lower stopper and the upper stopper alternately protrude toward the commodity passage to sell the commodities one by one, and in the inclined commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention, similarly, the solenoid 40a is used as the driving source of the commodity carrying mechanism 34a, and the 1 st stopper 45a for locking the commodity for sale and the 2 nd stopper 46a for locking the commodity for next sale are driven by the solenoid 40a so as to alternately protrude and retreat with respect to the gap t between the pair of left and right grip members 31. Further, the commodity detection switch 47a for detecting the commodities loaded in the inclined commodity storage rack 20 is provided, and a sold-out detection signal of the commodities is output from the commodity detection switch 47 a. By using the commodity output mechanism 34a and the commodity detection switch 47a, the commodity output mechanism 34a can be caused to perform a commodity output operation by a signal supplied to the commodity output mechanism 143 of the serpentine commodity storage rack, and the commodity detection switch 47a sends a sold-out signal to the control unit of the automatic vending machine. That is, the snake-shaped commodity storage rack 20 of the present invention can be used to replace a snake-shaped commodity storage rack and perform wiring connection as follows without changing any control program of an installed vending machine after the snake-shaped commodity storage rack is mounted, thereby immediately operating the vending machine.

That is, as shown in fig. 14 (a), the main-body-side bent wire VW1 connected to the electrical component box among the bent wires VW is laid in advance as shown in the drawing. Here, as described with reference to the bent wiring VW of the serpentine commodity-housing rack 141 with reference to fig. 14 (b), the main-side bent wiring VW1 connected to the electrical component box among the bent wiring VW is routed to the vicinity of the commodity output mechanisms 143, 143 of the electrical component box and the serpentine commodity-housing rack 141 provided in the equipment room of the main body cabinet 1 and laid in advance, and therefore, when the mechanism-side bent wiring VW2 connected to the commodity output mechanism 34a of the tilted commodity-housing rack 20 is connected to the main-side bent wiring VW1 via the wire-connecting coupler CP, the operation of connecting the bent wiring VW is completed. That is, by making the control mode of the commodity carrying mechanism 34a of the inclined commodity-receiving rack 20 the same as the control mode of the commodity carrying mechanism 142 of the serpentine commodity-receiving rack 141 (or 121), the main-body-side curved wire VW1 connected to the electric cassette among the curved wires VW can be used in common for the commodity carrying mechanism 143 of the serpentine commodity-receiving rack 141 (or 121) and the commodity carrying mechanism 34a of the inclined commodity-receiving rack 20. Accordingly, even when the snake-shaped commodity storage rack 141 of the existing vending machine is replaced with the inclined commodity storage rack 20, the connection operation of the bent wiring VW can be easily performed. Conversely, when the inclined commodity-housing rack 20 is returned to the snake-shaped commodity-housing rack or when the inclined commodity-housing rack 20 in the vending machine on which the inclined commodity-housing rack 20 is mounted and shipped is replaced with the snake-shaped commodity-housing rack, the connection operation of the bent wiring can be easily performed.

A description will be given of the commodity output mechanism 34b as another modification of the commodity output mechanism 34. Fig. 17 (a) is a perspective view of the internal structure of the product discharge mechanism 34b as viewed from obliquely above, fig. 17 (b) is an enlarged plan view of a main portion of the product discharge mechanism 34b, and fig. 17 (b) also shows a product (bag product described later) suspended and supported by the pair of holding members 31b, 31 b.

In the figure, reference numeral 40b denotes a solenoid as a driving source, and a stopper member 42b is coupled to a plunger 41b of the solenoid 40b via a pin 44 b.

The stopper member 42b is disposed so as to be slidable in the moving direction (the direction of the blank arrow) of the plunger 41b, and a return spring 43b is attached thereto. Further, the stopper member 42b is formed with a1 st locking portion 45b and a2 nd locking portion 46b extending in the lateral direction so as to close the commodity accommodating passage (see fig. 17 (b)). As shown in fig. 17 (b), the 1 st locking portion 45b includes: a stopper portion 451b that extends in the lateral direction so as to close a commodity accommodation passage formed by the pair of left and right clamping members 31b, 31b and that locks a commodity (a commodity to be sold) in the first order of sale; and a holding portion 452b formed by bending forward from the stopper portion 451b, and the 2 nd locking portion 46b extends in a direction perpendicular to the commodity-accommodating passage direction.

Here, as shown in fig. 17 b, in the pair of left and right clamping members 31b, the length of one clamping member 31b (the right clamping member 31b in the figure) is formed to be at least shorter than the length of one commodity, and the rear end portion of one clamping member 31b is arranged to be shifted forward by one commodity from the rear end portion of the other clamping member 31b, whereby the discharge space DSb is formed in a portion where one clamping member 31b is absent from the other clamping member 31 b. With respect to the pair of left and right clamping members 31b, the stopper portion 451b of the 1 st locking portion 45b is located on a substantially vertical line at the rear end portion of the other clamping member 31b (the left clamping member 31b in the figure), the holding portion 452b is located in the discharge space DSb, and the 2 nd locking portion 46b is disposed at a position separated from the stopper portion 451b of the 1 st locking portion 45b by a predetermined distance on the front side.

In the sales standby state (the non-excited state of the solenoid 40 b), the holding portion 452b of the 1 st locking portion 45b is located at a position facing the commodity accommodating passage, and the 2 nd locking portion 46b is retracted to a position deviated from the commodity accommodating passage in the left-right direction, and at the time of sales when the solenoid 40b is excited, the holding portion 452b of the 1 st locking portion 45b is retracted from the commodity accommodating passage, and the 2 nd locking portion 46b moves to face the commodity accommodating passage.

Reference numeral 47b denotes a product detection switch (a sold-out switch) formed of a micro switch, and an operation lever 471b (see fig. 17 b) of the micro switch is disposed so as to face the product accommodating passage.

Fig. 18 shows still another modification of the product output mechanism 34, in which fig. 18 (a) is a plan view during a sales standby time, and fig. 18 (b) is a plan view during a sales operation. Note that portions having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In this modification, only a main part of the commodity carrying mechanism 34c is shown, and in the drawing, the lower side of the drawing sheet is the carrying end of the commodity accommodating passage.

In the figure, reference numeral 40c denotes a solenoid, which is fixed to a base portion, not shown. One end of an operating link 60c is connected to the plunger 41c of the solenoid 40 c. The operating link 60c is formed by cutting and bending a flat plate, and includes a pin receiving plate formed by cutting so as to extend from a lower portion of a hanging plate bent so as to extend downward (toward the rear side with respect to the paper surface in the drawing) from a connecting plate connected to the plunger 41c toward the output end of the commodity storage passage, and a pin 61c fitted to a tip end side of the pin receiving plate so as to extend upward (toward the front side with respect to the paper surface in the drawing).

The downwardly extending hanging plate of the operating link 60c is disposed so as to penetrate the base portion and be slidable in the front-rear direction (in the figure, the vertical direction with respect to the drawing sheet, which is the moving direction of the plunger 41 c).

Reference numeral 70c shows a rudder unit (japanese: ホイール) formed in japanese "く" shape, which constitutes the stopper member, and is disposed on the side of the cover 106 of the bag commodity 100 (commodity for sale) in the first commodity-for-sale position suspended and accommodated by the commodity supporting unit 30 a.

One end side (output end side of the commodity accommodating passage) of the rudder unit 70c is formed as a1 st locking unit 71c for locking the commodity for sale, and the other end of the rudder unit 70c is formed as a2 nd locking unit 72c for locking the commodity for sale next.

Further, a fitting groove 73c into which the pin 61c is fitted is formed in the rudder unit 70c, and an engaging projection 73Ac that engages with the pin 61c is formed in the fitting groove 73 c.

A shaft 74c is formed substantially at an intermediate position between the 1 st locking portion 71c and the 2 nd locking portion 72c of the rudder unit 70c, and the shaft 74c is rotatably supported by the base portion.

The rudder unit 70c is rotatable about the shaft 74c as a support shaft, and in a sales standby state (a non-excited state of the solenoid 40c), the 1 st locking unit 71c enters a gap t formed by the pair of gripping members 31c, that is, a commodity accommodating passage, and the 2 nd locking unit 72c is retracted from the commodity accommodating passage, and in a sales operation in which the solenoid 40c is excited, the 1 st locking unit 71c is retracted from the commodity accommodating passage, and the 2 nd locking unit 72c moves so as to enter the commodity accommodating passage, and thereafter, when the solenoid 40c is in the non-excited state, the rudder unit 70c returns to an original state.

In this manner, the rudder unit 70c reciprocates so that the 1 st locking unit 71c and the 2 nd locking unit 72c alternately protrude and retract from the commodity-accommodating passage, and outputs the commodity.

In the sales standby state shown in fig. 18 (a), the solenoid 40c is in a non-excited state, and the 1 st locking portion 71c of the rudder unit 70c enters the commodity accommodating passage (the vicinity of the gap t between the pair of left and right gripping members 31c, 31 c) to lock the sales commodity. On the other hand, the 2 nd locking portion 72c of the rudder portion 70c is retracted from the commodity accommodating passage.

In the standby state for sale, the pin 61c of the operating link 60c engages with the engaging projection 73Ac formed in the engaging groove 73c of the rudder unit 70c to prevent (lock) the rotation of the rudder unit 70c, and the 1 st locking unit 71c of the rudder unit 70c entering the commodity accommodating passage locks the commodity for sale.

At this time, when the article selection button provided in the outer door is operated, an excitation signal (sales signal) of a predetermined time width is supplied from the control unit (not shown) to the corresponding article output mechanism 34c (solenoid 40 c). When the solenoid 40c is excited, the operating link 60c is slid upward in the figure by the plunger 41c, and the pin 61c of the operating link 60c is disengaged from the engaging projection 73Ac formed in the engaging groove 73c of the rudder unit 70c, thereby unlocking the rudder unit 70 c. When the lock of the rudder unit 70c is released, the sales product starts to slide toward the output end of the product accommodating passage by its own weight.

The commodity slip causes the rudder unit 70c to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft 74c, and the 1 st locking unit 71c retracts from the commodity accommodating passage and the 2 nd locking unit 72c enters the commodity accommodating passage to lock the next commodity for sale. This state is shown in fig. 18 (b).

In this case, the pin 61c of the operating link 60c abuts against an inclined surface (an inclined surface perpendicular to the component force of the clockwise rotation of the rudder unit 70c due to the commodity load) formed at the end of the fitting groove 73c of the rudder unit 70c, and thereby the next commodity for sale is latched to the second latching unit 72c and temporarily held. The sales product released from the engagement with the 1 st engagement portion 71c of the rudder portion 70c slides by its own weight and is discharged from the product support unit 30a, and is fed to the chute 2 by the feed member 27 of the product housing rack 20 shown in fig. 2.

When the excitation signal supplied to the solenoid 40c is turned off, the plunger 41c is returned to the original position (the state of fig. 18 (a)) by a return spring (not shown), and at this time, the rudder unit 70c is turned counterclockwise while the pin 61c of the operating link 60c is fitted into the fitting groove 73c of the rudder unit 70 c.

Therefore, the 1 st locking portion 71c of the rudder unit 70c enters the commodity accommodating passage, and the 2 nd locking portion 72c retreats from the commodity accommodating passage. As a result, the commodity after the next commodity for sale held by the 2 nd locking portion 72c slides toward the output end of the commodity supporting unit 30a, and thereafter, the next commodity for sale is locked to the 1 st locking portion 71c as a commodity for sale, and is placed in a sales standby state.

With this modification, even when there is no gap between the commodities suspended and accommodated in the commodity supporting unit 30a as illustrated in fig. 18, the commodities can be reliably and stably output one by the rudder unit 70 c.

Claims (5)

1. A commodity storage rack for an automatic vending machine that sells commodities having a hook portion at a drinking opening portion, a frame body of the commodity storage rack is constructed by vertical, left and right frame members, and a commodity supporting unit is provided, the commodity storage rack is constructed by detachably erecting the commodity supporting unit on the frame members constructing the commodity storage rack, the commodity supporting unit is erected in multiple layers in the vertical direction between the left and right frame members, supports the hook portion of the commodity, and is inclined so that the rear side is lower than the front side, i.e., the commodity introduction side, so as to accommodate the commodity by sliding the commodity due to the weight of the commodity and suspending the commodity, and the commodity supporting unit is provided with a commodity output mechanism at the rear end portion,

the commodity supporting unit includes a pair of left and right holding members disposed vertically and extending longitudinally, a pair of front and rear vertical frame members fixed to the holding frame members, and a plurality of beam members vertically extending between the front vertical frame members, and the commodity supporting unit includes a pair of left and right holding members disposed at a distance from each other so as to hold a commodity and front and rear connecting members for connecting the holding members, and engaging portions projecting laterally from the commodity supporting unit are engaged with engaging portions of the rear vertical frame members, and the connecting member on the front side of the commodity supporting unit is engaged with the beam members.

2. The article receiving shelf of a vending machine according to claim 1,

this commodity storage rack of automatic vending machine includes:

a commodity carrying out passage which is formed to extend in the vertical direction by being closed by a back plate and a side plate attached to the rear side of the support frame member, and in which a commodity carried out from the commodity support unit falls; and

and a delivery member which is attached to a lower portion of both the back plate and the side plate so as to be higher toward the rear side and to be inclined downward as it goes toward the front side, and which delivers the commodity falling down in the commodity delivery path along an inclination.

3. The article storage shelf of an automatic vending machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the commodity output mechanism includes:

a solenoid which is a driving source;

a1 st stopper which is provided so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of a commodity accommodating passage formed between the holding members, and which moves forward and backward in the commodity accommodating passage to lock a rearmost commodity disposed at the rearmost when the solenoid is in a non-excited state, and moves backward in the commodity accommodating passage to release the locked state with the rearmost commodity when the solenoid is in an excited state, thereby allowing the rearmost commodity to be output; and

and a2 nd stopper which is provided so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the commodity accommodating passage, and which moves backward from the commodity accommodating passage when the solenoid is in a non-excited state, and which moves forward and backward from the commodity accommodating passage when the solenoid is in an excited state, and which locks a second commodity adjacent to the rearmost commodity from the rear when the 2 nd stopper moves into the commodity accommodating passage when the solenoid is in the excited state.

4. The article storage shelf of an automatic vending machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the engaging portion protruding from the commodity supporting unit to the left and right is a stepped screw, and the engaging portion of the rear vertical frame member is a notch for receiving the stepped screw.

5. The article storage shelf of an automatic vending machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the clamping member is formed of a thin coated steel plate having a lubricating coating applied to one surface thereof, and the clamping member is formed in a slip shape by doubly supporting the end portions of the clamping member facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween so that the other surfaces of the coated steel plate are in contact with each other.

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