JP2000076532A - Product storing and ejecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a product storing and ejecting device capable of improving the display effect of products and workability at the time of loading and also easily confirming whether or not product racks are appropriately stored in a vending machine body. SOLUTION: This product storing and ejecting device 1 stores products S to be sold in a vending machine body 3 in a state where they are visibly recognized from the front, ejects a product S to the front when it is sold and is provided with a product rack 7, a gate 11 and a sliding rod 14. The rack 7 has a product passage 7d where many products S are stored and is stored in the vending machine body 3 in a freely drawable way. The gate 11 is provided in a freely movable way between a closing position where the ejection opening of the rack 7 is closed and an opening position where the ejection opening is opened. The sliding rod 14 respectively drives the gate 11 to the opening position when the rack 7 is stored in the body 3 in a prescribed storage state and to the closing position when the rack 7 is drawn out from the body 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called see-through type vending machine in which a large number of commodities are stored side by side in the front-rear direction, the commodities are paid out at the time of sale, and the commodities actually sold can be visually recognized. The present invention relates to a product storage and dispensing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of goods storing and dispensing apparatus, there is known an apparatus shown in FIG. In the commodity storage and dispensing apparatus 70, a plurality of commodity racks 71 are stored in a vending machine main body of a vending machine (not shown) in a vertical direction. Each product rack 71 has left and right product passages 74, 7 defined by two side walls 72, 72 and a partition wall 73.
4, and in these product passages 74, 74,
A large number of products (not shown) are housed side by side in the front-rear direction.
At the rear of each product passage 74, a pusher 75 is provided, and the pusher 75 constantly presses the stored product from the rear to the payout port 76 side, and the product is placed in the payout port 7.
6 and moves to the payout port 76 side as the number of products in the product passage 74 decreases, and keeps the products pressed.

At the front end of each product passage 74 of the product rack 71, a gate 77 is provided facing the payout port 76, and the gate 77 is made of a transparent synthetic resin plate. The rotation shaft 77a of the gate 77 is connected to the push rod 78 via a link mechanism (not shown). When the push rod 78 is pushed backward at the time of sale, the gate 77 rotates to a position where the payout port 76 is opened in a vertical posture shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. At the time of sales standby, the payout opening 76 is closed in a posture obliquely lowered with respect to the left and right direction indicated by the solid line in FIG.
The product line is held between the product line and the pusher 75. During loading, the product rack 71 is pulled out from the vending machine main body to the front side, and the merchandise is stored in the vending machine main body, and then returned and stored in the vending machine main body.

[0004]

Generally, a see-through type vending machine is greatly characterized by a display effect of showing a product to be sold to a product purchaser. However, in the above-described conventional product storage and dispensing device 70, the gate 77 is in the closed position and partially blocks the product at the forefront position when the product is on standby, so the gate 77 itself is transparent, There is a problem that the visibility of the product is reduced and the display effect is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can improve the display effect of goods and the workability at the time of loading. In addition, the goods rack can be properly stored in the main body of the vending machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product storage and dispensing device capable of easily confirming whether or not the product is stored.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A vending machine product storage and dispensing device that stores products to be sold in the main body of the vending machine in a state that can be viewed from the front, and pays out products forward at the time of sale. A product rack having a passage, at the front end of the product passage, a payout port for paying out the product is formed, and a product rack stored in the vending machine main body so as to be able to be pulled out; and a closing position for closing the payout port of the product rack. And an opening / closing member movably provided between the opening and opening position to open the payout opening, and the opening / closing member is engaged with the opening / closing member, and the opening / closing member is stored in the vending machine main body in a predetermined storage state. And a driving means for driving the product rack to the closed position when the product rack is pulled out from the vending machine main body.

According to the vending machine product storage and dispensing device, when the product rack is stored in the vending machine main body in a predetermined storage state, the driving means drives the opening / closing member to the open position. Open the payout of the product aisle in the product rack. Thus, there is no obstruction to visually block the products in the product path of the product rack from the front, so that the display effect of the products can be improved. further,
Whether or not the product rack has been properly stored in the vending machine body in a predetermined storage state can be easily confirmed by the position of the opening / closing member. Further, when the product rack is pulled out from the inside of the vending machine main body, the drive means drives the opening / closing member to the closed position, thereby closing the payout opening of the product path of the product rack. As a result, when the product rack is pulled out from the vending machine main body, the product in the product aisle does not fall forward from the payout port or is erroneously paid out, so that the product rack can be easily handled at the time of loading or the like. And the workability can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the merchandise storage and dispensing device according to the first aspect, wherein the merchandise storage and dispensing apparatus is movably provided at one front portion of the side wall of the merchandise passage of the merchandise rack, so that the merchandise is ready for sale. A stopper that protrudes into the passage and holds the product at the forefront position between the other side wall of the product passage, and a stopper driving unit that engages with the stopper at the time of sale and drives the stopper to retreat from the product passage. Characterized by having

According to the merchandise storing and dispensing apparatus of the vending machine, the stopper holds the merchandise at the forefront position between the other side wall of the merchandise passage during standby for sales. Therefore, when waiting for sale, the product in the product aisle can be held without being visually obstructed from the front, and the product is prevented from being accidentally paid out from the payout exit of the product aisle due to vibration or the like. In addition to the display effect described above, it is possible to improve the reliability of the operation of storing and selling the product. Further, at the time of sale, the stopper is driven by the stopper driving means so as to retreat from the product passage, so that the product can be paid out from the payout port.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A merchandise storage and dispensing device for a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a product storage and dispensing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a so-called see-through type vending machine in which a product S to be actually sold, such as canned juice or plastic bottled beverage, can be visually recognized from the outside. 2 is applied. The vending machine 2 includes a vending machine body 3
And a main door 4 attached to the front of the vending machine body 3
And The main door 4 has a transparent heat insulating plate 4a and a sales port 4b, and the goods S stored in the vending machine main body 3 can be visually recognized through the transparent heat insulating plate 4a.
A control panel 5 is attached to a lower right portion of the front surface of the main door 4, and the control panel 5 includes a cash input unit 5a and a ten-key type product selection button 5b. When purchasing a product, the product purchaser puts cash into the cash input unit 5a of the control panel 5, and presses a product selection button 5b. As a result, the product S becomes the sales outlet 4b.
And the product purchaser can get the sold product S.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the vending machine main body 3 is divided into two upper and lower storage chambers 6, 6 by a partition plate 3a. In the upper storage room 6, a total of twelve product racks 7 are stored in the vertical direction, with four left and right four as one stage, and in the lower storage room 6, a total of 16 product racks 7 in the vertical direction. A product rack 7 is stored. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each product rack 7 is placed on a shelf plate 8 when stored in each storage room 6. Thereby, the product rack 7 is arranged in the storage room 6 so as to extend horizontally and in the front-rear direction. At the front end of the shelf 8, a fitting portion 8 extending in the vertical direction and further extending diagonally downward from the upper end thereof.
a is formed, and as shown in FIG.
Is stored in the vending machine main body 3 with the state fitted on the fitting portion 8a and placed on the shelf 8 as an appropriate predetermined storage state.

Also, as shown in FIG.
Are two side walls (the other side walls) 7a, 7
a, a central partition wall (one side wall) 7b, and two base plates 7c, 7c, so that the product rack 7 has two product passages 7 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction.
d and 7d are defined. As shown in FIG. 1, in the merchandise passages 7d, 7d, merchandise S of the same brand is housed side by side in the front-rear direction, and two merchandise for paying out the merchandise S are provided at the front end of the merchandise rack 7. Outlets 7e, 7e are formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the right and left halves of the commodity rack 7 are symmetrical with respect to the partition wall 7b. explain. On the base plate 7c in the product passage 7d, a pusher 7f is movably disposed between the front end and the rear end of the product passage 7d. The pusher 7f is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown), and is moved forward by a predetermined distance substantially the same as the depth dimension of the product S in the product path 7d for each selling operation. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the partition wall 7b
A stopper 9 is provided at the front of the. FIG. 7 (a)
As shown in Fig. 7, the stopper 9 is formed of a transparent synthetic resin plate having a "-" shape when viewed from above, and its bending portion is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 9a. Rotating shaft 9
a is provided with a torsion coil spring 9b,
The stopper 9 is always urged counterclockwise in FIG. 7A by the urging force. As a result, the stopper 9 protrudes into the product passage 7d as shown by a solid line in the figure, and holds the product S at the forefront position between the product S and the opposing side wall 7a.

A push rod (stopper driving means) 10 is provided at the front of the partition wall 7b so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The rear end of the push rod 10 always contacts the rear end of the stopper 9, and the front end protrudes from the front surface of the partition wall 7b. The push rod 10
The stopper 9 is rotated clockwise to a position shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7A by being pushed backward by an elevator 15 described later while resisting the urging force of the torsion coil spring 9b.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a gate (opening / closing member) 11 for opening and closing the payout opening 7e is provided on the side wall 7a of the product rack 7. The gate 11 is made of a transparent synthetic resin plate, and has an open position (a position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) for opening the payout port 7e and a closed position (shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) for closing the payout port 7e. Position). The gate 11 is formed integrally with the pivot shaft 12. The pivot shaft 12 extends rearward from the right end of the gate 11, and has a gear 12a at the center thereof.
have. At the front end of the inner surface of the side wall 7a, a step 7g is provided.
Are formed, and two bearings 13 are provided below the stepped portion 7g. The rotating shaft 12 is rotatably supported by these bearings 13 and 13 in a state parallel and horizontal to the side wall 7a (see FIGS. 4 to 6).

At the front end of the inner surface of the side wall 7a, a slide rod (drive means) 14 extends vertically so as to be orthogonal to the rotation shaft 12. This slide rod 14
Are provided so as to slide up and down while penetrating through holes (both not shown) in the bottom wall of the product rack 7 and the step 7g in the side wall 7a. A rack 14 a is formed at the center of the slide rod 14, and the rack 14 a
a is always engaged. With this, as the slide rod 14 slides in the vertical direction, the rotating shaft 12
It rotates clockwise and counterclockwise as shown in FIG. Further, a flange-shaped spring receiver 14b is formed on the upper portion of the slide rod 14, and the coil spring 14c is
It is mounted between the spring receiver 14b and the upper edge of the side wall 7a so as to contact both. Therefore, the slide rod 14 is constantly urged downward by the urging force of the coil spring 14c, and as shown in FIG. It protrudes downward from the hole in the bottom wall. Product rack 7
Is configured as described above, and the left half is similarly configured.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), an elevator 15 is arranged in front of each product rack 7, and the elevator 15 is connected to the payout port 7 of each product rack 7.
e and the selling port 4b are provided so as to be vertically movable and movable in the left-right direction. At the time of sale, the elevator 15 moves to the vicinity of the payout port 7e of the product rack 7 storing the selected product S, stops, receives the product S paid out from the payout port 7e, and carries it out to the sales port 4b. I do. The elevator 15 includes a solenoid mechanism (not shown). The solenoid mechanism is configured to press the push rod 10 rearward when the elevator 15 stops near the payout port 7e at the time of sale.

The operation of the merchandise storage and dispensing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. First, the operation at the time of loading will be described. When the product rack 7 is pulled out from the vending machine main body 3, as shown in FIG.
After lifting the front part of the shelf board 8, the user pulls the front part of the shelf board 8 over the fitting portion 8a of the shelf plate 8. At this time, the slide rod 14 slides downward by the urging force of the coil spring 14c, and projects downward from the hole in the bottom wall of the product rack 7. Accordingly, the gate 11 rotates from the open position to the closed position by the engagement of the rack 14a of the slide rod 14 and the gear 12a of the rotating shaft 12, and the closed position, that is, the payout port 7e.
Is held in the closed position. Therefore, when the product rack 7 is pulled out, even if the product rack 7 is tilted, receives an impact, or the push rod 10 is pushed rearward, incorrect payout of the product S from the payout port 7e is prevented. .

When the merchandise rack 7 is stored in the vending machine main body 3 after loading is completed, as shown in FIG. 4, when the merchandise rack 7 is properly stored in a predetermined storage state, the slide rod 14 is moved to the shelf. It slides upward by contacting the upper surface of the plate 8. As a result, the gate 11 rotates from the closed position to the open position, and is held at the open position, that is, the position that opens the payout port 7e. Therefore, by confirming the switching of the gate 11 from the closed position to the open position, it can be determined whether or not the product rack 7 has been properly stored in a predetermined storage state.

The selling operation of the merchandise storage and dispensing apparatus 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the merchandise rack 7 is in a predetermined storage state and is in a sales standby state, the gate 11 is in the open position. The stopper 9 holds the product S at the forefront position between the stopper 9 and the side wall 7a. This stopper 9
As a result, incorrect payout of the product S is prevented.

At the time of sale, that is, when the commodity selection button 5b is pressed by the commodity purchaser and the commodity S to be sold is selected, the elevator 15 moves to the vicinity of the payout opening 7e of the commodity passage 7d storing the selected commodity S. Move up and stop. Thereafter, the solenoid mechanism of the elevator 15 is excited, and the solenoid mechanism pushes the push rod 10 backward against the urging force of the torsion coil spring 9b. When the push rod 10 is pushed, the stopper 9
The clockwise rotation in FIG. 7A opens the payout port 7e, and then the drive mechanism operates to move the pusher 7f forward by a predetermined distance. As a result, only the foremost product S is paid out from the payout port 7e to the elevator 15 side. Thereafter, the solenoid mechanism is demagnetized, and the stopper 9 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 7A by the urging force of the torsion coil spring 9b.
The push rod 10 moves forward. by this,
The stopper 9 holds the product S at the forefront position again between the product S and the opposing side wall 7a. The elevator 15 conveys the dispensed goods S to the sales port 4b, and ends the sales operation.

According to the merchandise storage and dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, when the merchandise rack 7 is stored in the vending machine main body 3 in a predetermined storage state, the gate 11 is opened. Since the payout opening 7e is opened and the stopper 9 also only holds the foremost product S between the facing side plate 7a, the obstruction of the foremost product S from the front is eliminated, so that the product S The display effect can be improved. When the product rack 7 is pulled out during loading, the gate 11 is connected to the payout port 7e.
Is closed, the wrong delivery of the product S from the payout port 7e can be reliably prevented even when the product rack 7 is tilted, receives an impact, or the push rod 10 is pushed backward. This facilitates the handling of the product rack 7. Further, when storing the product rack 7 after the loading is completed, the gate 11 is switched from the closed position to the open position, so that it is easy to determine whether the product rack 7 is properly stored in a predetermined storage state. be able to. Therefore, the storing operation of the product rack 7 is ensured.

In the above-described embodiment, the gate 11 rotates upward when the product rack 7 is stored and moves from the closed position to the open position. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The gate 11 may be rotated downward. Further, the stopper 9 and the gate 11 are provided on the partition wall 7b and the side wall 7a, respectively, but these may be provided in reverse. Further, as the product rack 7, a horizontal product passage 7d
However, the product storage and dispensing apparatus 1 of the present invention is not limited to this, and is applied to a so-called slant shelf type product rack or the like in which a product passage is formed diagonally rearward or diagonally rearward. Is also good. Further, the configuration of the stopper 9 and the pusher 7f may be any configuration as long as the product S can be paid out one by one at the time of sale, and any configuration other than the above embodiment can be applied.

[0025]

As described above, according to the merchandise storing and dispensing apparatus of the vending machine of the present invention, the display effect of the merchandise and the workability at the time of loading can be improved, and the merchandise rack is connected to the vending machine main body. It can be easily confirmed whether or not the information has been properly stored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view and FIG. 1B is a side sectional view of a vending machine provided with a product storage and dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a product storage and dispensing device in a state where the device is pulled out from a vending machine main body.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a front view, respectively, showing a product storage and dispensing device stored in a vending machine main body.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the merchandise storage and dispensing device of FIG. 3;

5A is a plan view and FIG. 5B is a front view of the merchandise storage and dispensing apparatus when the merchandise is dispensed from the vending machine main body.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the merchandise storage and dispensing device of FIG. 5;

7A is a plan view and FIG. 7B is a front view showing a configuration of a stopper of the product storage and dispensing device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the stopper of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a conventional product storage and dispensing device of a vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity storage and dispensing apparatus 2 Vending machine 3 Vending machine main body 7 Commodity rack 7a Side wall (the other side wall) 7b Partition wall (one side wall) 7d Product passage 7e Payout port 9 Stopper 10 Push rod (stopper driving means) 11 Gate ( Opening / closing member) 14 Slide rod (drive means) S Product

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine merchandise storing and dispensing apparatus for storing commodities to be sold in a vending machine main body so as to be visible from the front, and dispensing the commodities forward at the time of sale. A merchandise rack having a merchandise passage for storing the merchandise arranged in the front-rear direction, a payout opening for paying out the merchandise formed at a front end of the merchandise passage, and a merchandise rack stored in the vending machine body so as to be able to be drawn out; An opening and closing member movably provided between a closed position for closing the dispensing opening of the rack and an open position for opening the dispensing opening; and engaging the opening and closing member. Drive means for driving the product rack to the open position when stored in the vending machine main body in a predetermined storage state, and the closed position when the product rack is pulled out from the vending machine main body, respectively. Special Commodity storage dispensing device for the automatic vending machine to be. 2. The product rack is movably provided at one front portion of a side wall of the product passage, protrudes into the product passage during standby for sale, and moves a product at the forefront position to the other side wall of the product passage. The stopper according to claim 1, further comprising: a stopper for holding the stopper at the time of sale, and stopper driving means for engaging with the stopper at the time of selling and driving the stopper to retreat from the product passage. Product storage and dispensing device for vending machines.