JP2000030140A - Article ejector for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enlarge the installation space of a merchandise rack and to smoothly carry away merchandise without generating any noise or vibration by connecting one edge with the upper part of an article ejecting member, connecting the other end with the lower part side of the article ejecting member, and adding tension capable of preventing the slackness to a band-shaped member. SOLUTION: A Y module part 23 fixes an X module part 22 to first and second chains 35 and 36 wound around sprockets 31 and 32 at the upper edge and lower edge of a merchandise housing storage. Thus, the X module part 22 is moved up and down in accompany with the rotation of the first and second chains 35 and 36. A stretching spring 37 adds tension to the whole part of the first and second chains 35 and 36 by performing stretching action so as to pull up the front end of the second chain 36 upward. Therefore, the first and second chains 35 and 36 are held in a state of being wound around the sprockets 31 and 32 without being slacked.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise unloading device for a vending machine for unloading merchandise discharged from a merchandise rack to an outlet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of product carrying-out device, there is known a device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-259344. This product unloading device is configured by a bucket that moves to a payout port of a product rack that stores a product selected at the time of sale and receives the product from the product rack, and a lifting device that moves the bucket up and down. (Elevator for unloading goods). An elevating device, a driving sprocket and a driving motor (elevating driving device) for rotating the driving sprocket, which are provided at an upper part in the vending machine main body;
A driven sprocket provided at a lower portion in the main body of the vending machine,
A chain wound around these sprockets and having both ends connected to the upper and lower portions of the bucket, respectively.

In a vending machine equipped with such a product discharge device, when selling a product, first, the driving motor rotates the driving sprocket forward to raise the bucket to the position of the outlet of the product rack via the chain. Can be Next, after the product is delivered from the product rack to the bucket, the bucket is pulled down to the position of a product outlet provided at the lower portion of the vending machine main body by the reverse rotation of the drive sprocket. Then, the product is carried out of the bucket to the product outlet.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional product unloading device, the driving sprocket and the driving motor are provided at the upper part in the main body of the vending machine. On the other hand, in the main body of the vending machine, a cooling device or the like for cooling the product is usually provided at a lower portion thereof, and a space above the cooling device corresponds to a space for storing a product rack. Is provided in the upper part in the vending machine main body, the installation space of the merchandise rack is restricted correspondingly, and the number of merchandise racks that can be accommodated in the vending machine main body is limited. Of course, if a drive sprocket and a drive motor are provided in the lower part of the vending machine along with the cooling device, and a driven sprocket is provided in the upper part of the vending machine, the installation space for the product rack can be expanded by the amount of the drive motor. Is possible.

However, when the driving sprocket is arranged at the lower portion in the vending machine main body and the both ends of the chain are simply connected to the upper and lower portions of the bucket, the driving sprocket is easily loosened near the driving sprocket. Further, when the driving sprocket rotates forward in this state, the looseness of the chain is concentrated on the downstream side of the driving sprocket, that is, between the driving sprocket and the bucket, and the loose part is caught inside the driving sprocket or the driving sprocket And the driving sprocket cannot rotate smoothly, and the bucket cannot be moved smoothly. In addition, there is a problem that noise and vibration are generated when the part of the chain that is entrained moves away from the drive sprocket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can increase the installation space of a product rack, and can smoothly produce products without generating noise or vibration. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product unloading device of a vending machine which can be unloaded.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a vending machine product unloading apparatus for receiving a product delivered from a product rack and moving the product out to an outlet by moving the product up and down. A member, a driving roller disposed below the movable range of the product carrying-out member, and a driving unit for rotating the driving roller; a driven roller disposed above the movable range of the product carrying-out member; a driving roller and a driven member While being wound around the roller, one end is connected to the upper portion of the product carrying member, and the other end is connected to the lower side of the product carrying member. And a tension applying means for applying.

[0008] According to this configuration, since the driving means for rotating the driving roller is disposed below the movable range of the product carrying member, it can be disposed at the lower part in the main body of the vending machine. . By doing so, it is possible to omit the space for the driving means conventionally disposed in the upper part in the vending machine main body, and it is possible to increase the installation space for the product rack by that much. Further, since tension is applied to the belt-shaped member by the tension applying means, it is possible to prevent the belt-shaped member from being loosened all around. Thereby, when the driving roller rotates, the belt-shaped member does not get caught in the downstream side, and the driving roller can be smoothly rotated. Therefore, the product discharging device can be operated without generating noise or vibration, and the product can be smoothly discharged.

In this case, it is preferable that the tension applying means has a tension means for pulling the other end of the belt-like member toward the product carrying member between the lower portion of the product carrying member and the driving roller.

According to this structure, the other end of the band-shaped member is pulled toward the product discharging member by the pulling means between the lower portion of the product discharging member and the driving roller, and one end of the band-shaped member is moved to the upper portion of the product discharging member. Because it is directly linked to
When the product carrying member is raised, the moving stroke of the product carrying member can be accurately controlled without being affected by the elongation of the pulling means. Therefore, the stop position of the product carrying member can be accurately controlled.

Further, in this case, it is preferable that the tension means is constituted by a tension spring whose both ends are connected to the lower portion of the product carrying member and the other end of the belt-shaped member, respectively.

According to this configuration, the lowering portion of the product carrying member and the other end of the belt-shaped member are connected by the tension spring, so that the tensioning means can be easily configured.

Preferably, the tension applying means has a pressing roller for pressing the belt-like member substantially horizontally.

According to this construction, the belt is pressed substantially horizontally by the pressing roller between the lower portion of the product carrying member and the drive roller, thereby applying tension to the belt to prevent loosening. Can be.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a front view (FIG. 1 (a)) and a side sectional view (FIG. 1 (b)) of a vending machine to which the product unloading device of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine 1 includes a box-shaped vending machine main body 2 and a main door 3 that opens and closes a front surface thereof. The main door 3 incorporates a transparent panel 4 corresponding to the size of the front of a product storage 7 described later, and a glass heat-insulating door (glass heat-insulating door 6) is provided on the front of the product storage 7. Have been.
In other words, the vending machine 1 is a so-called see-through type in which the product S in the vending machine main body 2 can be seen from the front, and makes the purchaser feel interesting and can directly view the product. It can be purchased.

Although not shown, a coin insertion slot, an amount display portion for displaying the amount of inserted coins, a return lever for returning coins, and a return lever for taking out returned coins are provided on the front surface of the main door 3. A coin return slot and a selection button for selecting a product S are provided.
Further, below the main door 3, a product outlet 5 for the purchaser to take out the product S is provided.

In the vending machine main body 2, a product storage 7 defined by a glass heat insulating door 6 on the front and a peripheral wall containing a heat insulating material 7a is disposed. Product S
And a product unloading device 8 for unloading the product to the product outlet 5. The interior of the product storage 7 is slightly upper than the middle between the upper and lower parts, and is partitioned into two upper and lower sections by a partition wall 9 having heat insulation. The upper side is a heating chamber 11, and the lower side is a cooling chamber 12.

A heater (not shown) is provided in the heating chamber 11, and the inside of the product S is heated by the heater.
Is warming. On the other hand, a cooling device 13
And a circulation fan (not shown) that circulates air in the cooling chamber 12.
Are provided. In addition, a condenser 14, an exhaust fan 15, a compressor 16, and the like, which constitute a part of the cooling device, are provided below the product storage 7, that is, in a lower portion in the vending machine main body 2. And an evaporator,
The compressor 16 and the condenser 14 are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe (not shown). These and the circulating fan and the exhaust fan 15 make the cooling device 1
The cooling device 13 cools the inside of the cooling chamber 12 to cool the commodity S.

The heating chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12 include:
Commodity racks 17 are vertically arranged in three rows and four rows, respectively, and eight rows are arranged in each row in the horizontal direction. Each merchandise rack 17 extends in the front-rear direction of the vending machine main body 2 and is formed in a U-shaped cross section with an open upper side, and the same kind of merchandise S is placed vertically and stored in a line. Each of the product racks 17 is configured to be able to be pulled out to the front side of the vending machine main body 2 so that replenishment (loading) of the product can be easily performed. Further, a stopper 18 is provided on the front end side of each product rack 17 to prevent the product S located at the forefront from being carelessly dispensed from the product rack 17. The stopper 18
The product S includes a holding member 18a that abuts on the front surface of the product S, and a support member 18b that rotatably supports the left end thereof. The holding member 18a rotates in synchronization with the delivery of the product S at the time of sale, and Is released.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the product unloading device 8 receives the goods S paid out from the product column 17 and transfers the goods S to the product outlet 5.
1 (hereinafter, referred to as “X module unit”) having one (product carrying member), and a carrying out mechanism (hereinafter, “Y module unit”) that moves the X module unit 22 in the vertical direction.
23). The bucket 21 is moved by the product unloading device 8 to the product rack 17 in which the selected product is stored, and the discharged product S
To the product exit.

The X module 22 is provided with the bucket 2
1 and a bucket accommodating body 24 accommodating the bucket 21 and connected to the Y module 23. The bucket container 24 has upper and lower openings (upper opening 25a and lower opening 25b) and is formed in a horizontally long box shape. Further, rails (not shown) are provided in the upper and lower portions of the bucket container 24 so as to engage with the upper and lower portions of the bucket 21 and to guide the bucket 21 slidably in the left-right direction. Further, the bucket container 24
Inside, a moving mechanism for moving the bucket 21 in the left-right direction is provided. Specifically, driving and driven rollers provided at both left and right ends in the bucket container 24, a timing belt wound around these, a motor for rotating the driving rollers, and the like,
A moving mechanism is configured, and the bucket 21 is fixed to a part of the timing belt. Therefore, by driving the motor, the timing belt rotates, and accordingly, the bucket 21 moves in the bucket housing 24 in the left-right direction. The front surface of the bucket container 24 is formed of a transparent panel or the like so that the bucket 21 can be viewed from the front.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the bucket 21 is formed in a box shape having an opening 26 at the upper part, and the goods S paid out from the goods rack 17 are used for storing the upper opening 25a of the bucket container 24. And stored in the bucket 21 through the opening 26. An openable and closable carry-out door 27 is provided at the bottom of the bucket 21 so that the product once stored in the bucket 21 can be dropped downward. Specifically, the carry-out door 27
Is rotatable about its rear end, and when the bucket 21 storing the goods is stopped at the position closest to the goods take-out port 5, that is, at the goods discharge position, the bucket 21 is lowered forward and opened. I do. Further, above and below the bucket 21,
A roller (not shown) that engages with the rail in the bucket container 24 is provided so that the bucket 21 can move smoothly along the rail. Further, the movement of the bucket 21 and the opening / closing operation of the carry-out door 27 are performed by controlling the movement motor and the opening / closing motor (both not shown) in the bucket container 24 by a control signal from a control circuit built in the vending machine main body 2. In response to this. The wiring that electrically connects the control circuit and those motors is protected on the outside by a so-called cable chain 28, so that it can sufficiently withstand the long-term operation of the X module unit 22 due to vertical movement. . A small window 21a is formed on the front surface of the bucket 21,
The goods stored in the bucket 21 can be partially visually observed.

On the other hand, the Y module section 23 moves the bucket 21 up and down via the bucket accommodating body 24, and is provided at each of the left and right ends in the product storage 7. Note that these Y module units 23, 23
Are the same, and the following description will focus on the Y module unit on the right side (the right side in FIG. 2).

The Y module unit 23 is fixed to the chain wound around the sprockets at the upper end and the lower end in the product storage 7 by fixing the X module unit 22 to the chain.
The X module 22 (bucket 21) is moved up and down with the rotation of the chain. That is, the Y module portion 23 is disposed at the upper and lower ends of the product storage 7, and each of the driven sprockets 3 is rotatable.
1 (driven roller) and driving sprocket 32 (driving roller), a driving motor 33 for rotating the driving sprocket 32, and are wound around the driven sprocket 31 and driving sprocket 32, respectively. First chain 35 and second chain 36 (band-like member) connected to bucket container 24
And a tension spring 37 (tension applying means and tensioning means) for connecting the front end of the second chain to the arm 34.
And a weight 38 connected to the rear ends of the first chain 35 and the second chain 36, and having a function as a balancer with the X module unit 22. In addition,
The above-described components except the drive motor 33 are housed in a Y-module housing 39 having a U-shaped cross section.

The driven sprockets 31, 31 of the Y module portions 23, 23 and the driving sprockets 32, 3
Both are coaxially arranged. Each driven sprocket 31 rotates independently of each other by each first chain 35, while both driving sprockets 32, 32
The drive shaft 40 is fixed to both ends, and rotates in synchronization with each other. That is, both drive sprockets 3
The worm 41 at the tip of the motor shaft and the worm wheel 42 fixed to the drive shaft 40 are driven by a drive motor 33 provided at a lower portion in the product storage 7.
As a result, the drive shaft 40 rotates via the worm gear 43 to rotate synchronously. Therefore, a driving device (driving means) for rotating the driving sprockets 32, 32 includes the driving motor 33, the driving shaft 40, the worm gear 43, and the like.

First chain 35 and second chain 36
Have the same length as the distance between the driven sprocket 31 and the driving sprocket 32. As described above, the first chain 35 is wound around the driven sprocket 31, and the front end of the first chain 35 is above the arm 34 and the rear end of the driven sprocket 31 is the weight 3.
8 is directly connected to the upper part. On the other hand, the second chain 3
6 is wound around the driving sprocket 32, the front end of the driving sprocket 32 is connected to a substantially middle portion in the vertical direction of the arm 34 via a tension spring 37, and the rear end of the driving sprocket 32 is connected to the lower portion of the weight 38. It is connected to.

The tension spring 37 applies tension to the front end of the second chain 36 to pull it upward, thereby applying tension to the entire first chain 35 and second chain 36. . Therefore, the first chain 35 and the second chain 36 do not loosen,
Each of the driven sprockets 31 and the driving sprocket 32 is held while being wound therearound.

The arm 34 is formed of a plate-like member, is fixed to the rear end of the bucket container 24 on the front side, and is connected to the front ends of the first chain 35 and the second chain 36. I have. Also, as shown in FIG.
A guide member 44 having a pair of rotatable rollers 44a, 44a at upper and lower ends is provided outside the arm 34 (right outside in the right arm 34 and left outside in the left arm 34). The guide member 44 allows the arm 34 to move smoothly in the vertical direction along an arm guide rail (not shown) extending in the vertical direction within the Y module housing 39. Thereby, the arm 3
The bucket accommodating body 24 fixed to 4 and the bucket 21 accommodated in the bucket accommodating member 4 can also move smoothly in the vertical direction along the arm guide rail.

The weight 38 has substantially the same weight as the X module unit 22. Therefore, the X module unit 22, the weight 38, and the driven sprocket 31 having a function as a constant pulley can move the X module unit 22 up and down without requiring a large driving force. Rollers 38a, 38a similar to the guide member 44 are rotatably provided at the upper and lower ends of the weight 38, and a weight guide rail (a vertical guide extending in the Y module housing 39). (Not shown), the weight 38 can be smoothly moved in the vertical direction.

The Y module housing 39 is made of a heat insulating material and has a U-shaped cross section as described above. Then, the opening portion of the side surface is pressed against the side surface in the left-right direction in the product storage 7, so that the Y module portion 23
Of each component. As a result, the Y module section 23 is connected to the heating chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12 in the product storage 7.
Even if it is provided over the inside, heat leakage in each room can be reduced.

As described above, in the commodity unloading device 8 constituted by the X module section 22 and the Y module section 23, the bucket 21 is driven by a predetermined horizontal movement range L between the left and right ends in the bucket container 24, Sprocket 3
A range W (movable range) constituted by a predetermined vertical movement range H between the lower side of the drive sprocket 32 and the lower side of the drive sprocket 32.
, And can be moved freely (see FIG. 2).

Here, the operation of the commodity unloading device 8 when selling the commodity will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the sales standby state, the X module 22 (bucket 21) is located at the lowest position of the movable range W, and the bucket 21 is located at a substantially middle portion in the left-right direction in the bucket container 24. positioned. In this sales standby state, when the purchaser inserts a coin and presses a selection button of a desired product, X
The module unit 22 and the Y module unit 23 operate simultaneously, and the bucket 21 moves to a payout port in front of the product rack 17 storing desired products (see FIG. 3B). In this case, in the Y module section 23, the driving sprocket 32 rotates forward (the driving sprocket 32 in FIG. 3 rotates clockwise), and the first chain 35 pulls up the X module section 22 while the second chain 36 is driven by the driving sprocket. By 32, it is sent to the X module unit 22 side. Since the second chain 36 is pulled upward by the tension spring 37 at the front end thereof, tension is applied to the first chain 35 and the second chain 36, so that even if the drive sprocket 32 rotates. The second chain 36 is smoothly fed out without loosening.

In this case, when the purchaser presses the selection button of the product housed in the heating chamber 11, when the purchaser presses the button shown in FIG.
The passage partition wall 9 provided in front of the partition wall 9 shown in FIG.
a retracts to the rear, and the X module 22
A passage for passing from the heating chamber 11 to the heating chamber 11 is secured.

When the bucket 21 reaches the outlet of the product rack 17, the X module 22 and the Y module 23 are stopped, and the product S located in the front of the product rack 17 is paid out, and the bucket 21 is discharged. To be housed. Thereafter, the X module unit 22 and the Y module unit 23 are operated again, and the bucket 21 moves downward, and returns to the position in the sales standby state. Specifically, the driving sprocket 32 rotates in the reverse direction, the X module unit 22 moves downward, and the bucket 21 moves to a substantially intermediate position in the bucket container 24. When the passage partition wall 9a is retracted rearward, the passage partition wall 9a moves forward when the X module unit 22 moves from the heating chamber 11 to the cooling chamber 12, and the passage is closed.

When the bucket 21 returns to the position in the standby state for sale, the carry-out door 27 of the bucket 21 is opened, and the commodity S is dropped and carried out to the commodity outlet 5.

As described in detail above, according to the commodity discharging device 8 of the present embodiment, the driven sprocket 31 in the upper part of the commodity storage 7 and the driving sprocket 32 and the driving motor 33, the driving shaft 40 and Since the drive device including the worm gear 43 and the like is arranged, the product rack 1
7 installation space can be expanded compared to the past,
It is possible to store more commodities.

In addition, in a vending machine in which a heating room and a cooling room are arranged above and below a product storage box as in the present embodiment, the driving device is arranged in the cooling room, thereby making it possible to provide a conventional driving device. When placed in the upper part of the product storage, that is, in the heating chamber, that is, the power loss and shortening of the life of the drive motor due to the increase in the winding temperature of the coil in the drive motor, and the problem that the internal grease flows out, Therefore, the problem of increased manufacturing cost due to measures for solving those problems can be easily solved.

Further, since a constant tension is applied to the first chain 35 and the second chain 36 by the tension spring 37, even if the drive sprocket 32 rotates, the second chain 36 may be loosened. There is no.
Therefore, the second chain does not get caught inside the driving sprocket 32, and the driving sprocket 3
2 can be smoothly rotated. Therefore, the product discharge device 8 can be operated without generating noise or vibration, and the product can be smoothly discharged.

Further, since the tension spring 37 is provided between the arm 34 and the second chain 36, and the first chain 35 is directly connected to the arm 34, the drive sprocket 32 is rotated forward and the bucket 21 is rotated. In the case of raising, the bucket 21 can be accurately moved and stopped at the payout opening of the predetermined product rack 17 without being affected by the extension of the extension spring 37. Note that the driving sprocket 32 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the bucket 2
When lowering 1, the extension of the tension spring 37 causes
Although the stop position of the bucket 21 may have some influence, the stop position does not pose a problem since the stop position may be accurate enough to carry out the product to the product outlet 5.

In this embodiment, the first chain 35
And a tension spring is used to apply tension to the second chain 36, but the present invention is not limited to this, and tension is applied to the chains 35 and 36 to such an extent that loosening can be prevented. I just need. For example, the second chain 36 may be pressed substantially horizontally between the arm 34 and the drive sprocket 32 by a so-called idler (carrier roll) as a pressing roller. In this case, by configuring the idler to be movable horizontally, the magnitude of the tension can be easily adjusted.

A worm gear or the like may be provided on the arm 34, and one end of a wire may be wound around the worm wheel of the worm gear, and the other end may be connected to the front end of the second chain 36. Also in this case, the magnitude of the tension can be easily adjusted by rotating the worm.

In this embodiment, the Y module 2
Although the chain (the first chain 35 and the second chain 36) is used as the belt-shaped member in 3, the invention is not limited to this, and a timing belt or the like may be used instead of the chain. Further, in the product unloading device 8, the bucket accommodating body 24 and the moving mechanism of the bucket 21 may be omitted, and the bucket 21 may be of the same size as the bucket accommodating body 24. In this case, the first chain 35 is directly connected to the bucket 21 via the arm 34, and the second chain 36 is connected to the bucket 21 via the extension spring 37 and the arm 34.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to increase the installation space for the product rack, and to carry out products smoothly without generating noise or vibration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view and a side sectional view of a vending machine to which a product unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a product carrying device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view showing the product carrying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Vending machine main body 3 Main door 5 Merchandise outlet 7 Merchandise storage 8 Merchandise unloading device 11 Heating room 12 Cooling room 13 Cooling device 17 Merchandise rack 21 Bucket 22 X module part 23 Y module part 24 Bucket container 31 Driven sprocket 32 drive sprocket 33 drive motor 34 arm 35 first chain 36 second chain 37 tension spring 38 weight 40 drive shaft 43 worm gear

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A merchandise delivery member for receiving merchandise delivered from a merchandise rack by moving up and down, and carrying out the merchandise to an outlet, and disposed below the movable range of the merchandise unloading member. A driving roller and a driving means for rotating the driving roller; a driven roller disposed above a movable range of the product carrying member; a driven roller and the driven roller; A belt-shaped member connected to an upper portion of the carrying-out member and having the other end connected to a lower side of the product carrying-out member; and tension applying means for applying a tension to the band-shaped member to prevent the belt-shaped member from being loosened. A product unloading device for a vending machine. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension applying means includes a tension means for pulling the other end of the band-shaped member toward the product carrying member between a lower portion of the product carrying member and the driving roller. The vending machine product carrying device according to claim 1. 3. The tensioning means according to claim 2, wherein the tension means is constituted by tension springs whose both ends are respectively connected to a lower portion of the commodity carrying-out member and the other end of the band-shaped member. Product unloading device for vending machines. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension applying means has a pressing roller for pressing the belt-like member substantially horizontally.