JP2000123243A - Commodity carrying out equipment of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment capable of carrying out a commodities in a proper and easy attitude, simplifying the configuration and shortening the time for carrying out by moving a bucket part to near a commodity rack at the time of commodity vending, receiving the commodity, moving the bucket part to near an commodity take-out port later and ejecting the commodity to the commodity take-out port. SOLUTION: This commodity carrying-out equipment is provided with a commodity dispenser 21 and a commodity conveyer 22 for receiving a dispensed commodity S and conveying it to a commodity take-out port 5. The commodity conveyer 22 is provided with a Y module part 32 provided in front of a commodity storage chamber 11 so as to freely move from side to side, a pair of upper and lower X direction driving mechanism 32 for driving the Y module part 31 from side to side, and bucket 33 protruded from the right side face of the Y module part 31 to right and provided so as to freely move up and down. At the time of commodity vending, the bucket 33 moves to near the commodity rack, receives the commodity dispensed from the commodity rack, moves to near the commodity take-out port 5 later and ejects the commodity S to the commodity take-out port 5.

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 accommodating merchandise discharged from a merchandise rack and discharging the merchandise to a merchandise outlet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of product carrying device, there is known a device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-259342. This product unloading device includes a product delivery device that pays out products from a product rack that stores products arranged in the front-rear direction, and a product transport device that receives the delivered product and transports the product to a product outlet. The product dispensing device is provided in a product rack, has a driven conveyor on which products are placed and stored, and when the driven conveyor is driven, the products are discharged to the product transport device. on the other hand,
The product transport device is provided with a bucket movable in the vertical direction, which receives and stores the dispensed products, a drive conveyor provided at the bottom of the bucket, and a bucket provided at the same height as the product outlet. It has a conveyor and the like for conveying the goods transferred from the company to the goods outlet.

[0003] In such a product carrying device, the product is carried out at the time of sale as follows. That is, first, the bucket moves up and down and stops at a position facing the product rack that stores the selected product. Then
The bucket moves horizontally toward the product rack, and before and after this, the drive conveyor operates. Then, the rotation of the belt of the driving conveyor is transmitted to the driven conveyor via a driving roller projecting from the driving conveyor, so that the belt of the driven conveyor also rotates. Due to the rotation of the belt of the driven conveyor, the goods are discharged from the goods rack, transferred to the driving conveyor, and stored in the bucket. Thereafter, the bucket moves down to the position of the lower conveyor and stops there, and the belt in the drive conveyor rotates in the opposite direction, whereby the goods in the bucket are transferred to the conveyor. Then, after transporting the product to the front product outlet on the transport conveyor, it is dropped,
The product is carried out to the product exit.

[0004]

The above-mentioned conventional product unloading device transports the product delivered from the product delivery device by the drive conveyor and the transport conveyor, so that the configuration becomes very complicated and There is a disadvantage that the unloading time is long. In addition, since the goods delivered to the bucket are further transferred to the transport conveyor after that, depending on the shape and dimensions of the goods, the goods may be clogged in the bucket or may be incorrectly delivered to the transport conveyor. There is a possibility that the product may not be properly delivered to the exit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to reliably carry out a product to a product take-out port, and to simplify the configuration and shorten the carrying-out time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product discharging device for a vending machine.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a vending machine product delivery device for vending machines, which stores, at the time of sale, a product delivered from a horizontally extending product rack, and takes out the product to a product outlet. A product unloading device of a machine, which is movably provided between a product rack and a product outlet,
A bucket portion that accommodates products near the product rack and is driven near the product outlet, and is provided on a surface of the bucket portion on the side opposite to the product rack, and moves the bucket portion near the product outlet. And a bucket door that is opened to communicate the product outlet and the bucket section.

According to this configuration, at the time of selling the product, the bucket moves to the vicinity of the product rack, receives the product paid out from the product rack, and then moves to the vicinity of the product outlet to remove the product. Take out to the product exit. As described above, since the bucket unit that has received the product moves directly to the vicinity of the product outlet and carries out the product, compared with a case where the product is carried out using a conventional driving conveyor and a transport conveyor, The structure can be simplified and the unloading time can be shortened. Further, since the bucket portion moved to the vicinity of the product outlet is communicated with the product outlet by opening the bucket door, the product can be reliably carried out to the product outlet. The product can be directly taken out of the bucket through the product take-out port, and even if the product is caught on the bucket, it can be taken out without any trouble.

In this case, the bucket door has a flat plate-shaped opening / closing portion for opening and closing the bucket portion, and an arc-shaped curved portion connected to the lower end of the opening / closing portion and curved downward, and has a center of curvature of the curved portion. It is preferable to be configured to be rotatable about the center.

According to this configuration, since the bucket door rotates around the center of curvature of the curved portion, the bucket door can be opened and closed by rotating the bucket door within the bucket portion in a space-saving manner.

[0010] In these cases, the drum is disposed at the end of the bucket portion on the merchandise rack side and supports the merchandise from below when the merchandise is dispensed, and is rotatably driven in a direction of sending the merchandise to the bucket door side. Is preferably further provided.

According to this configuration, when the commodity is paid out, the drum is driven to rotate in the above direction, so that the commodity can be paid out and delivered reliably and efficiently.

In this case, there is further provided a chute provided in the bucket portion, which is inclined forward and downward in the direction of dispensing the goods, and guides the goods delivered from the drum to the bucket door side while supporting the goods from below. The chute is configured to be vertically movable between a storage position where the upper end is located below the drum and a carry-out position where the upper end is located above the drum, and when the bucket door is opened, It is preferable that the curved portion is driven from the storage position to the carry-out position by being pushed up by the end opposite to the opening / closing portion.

According to this structure, when the goods are stored in the bucket portion, the goods sent out from the drum are guided to the bucket door side by the chute located at the storing position,
It is smoothly accommodated in the bucket. Further, when the bucket door is opened, that is, when a product is taken out by the purchaser, the chute is pushed up by the curved portion of the bucket door, so that the chute is driven from the storage position to the carry-out position. Since the components such as the drum disposed at the rear end can be covered and hidden, the aesthetic appearance in the bucket portion can be maintained and the components can be protected.

[0014] In this case, it is preferable to further comprise a lock means for locking the chute at the carry-out position.

According to this configuration, even if the chute is forcibly pushed down from the carry-out position to the storage position by a mischief of the purchaser or the like, for example, the locking means is used.
Since the chute is locked at the carry-out position, this can be prevented.

In the above case, a rotatable payout gear for paying out a product, a rotatable floating gear configured to be freely disengageable from the payout gear, a drive source, and a rotary drive by the drive source. A cam disk for opening and closing the bucket door and for engaging and disengaging the floating gear;
It is preferable to further include

According to this configuration, the floating gear engaged with and disengaged from the dispensing gear for dispensing the commodities, and the bucket door can be driven by the common drive source and the cam disk, thereby simplifying the configuration of the apparatus, and thereby. Cost reduction can be achieved.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2
1 shows a vending machine incorporating a product unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This vending machine 1 is a so-called show in which a plurality of items S are arranged and stored in a vending machine main body 2 in a horizontally long box shape in the front-rear direction, and the products S can be seen through a transparent sliding door 2a on the front. It is a case type. The vending machine 1 includes the vending machine main body 2 and a merchandise unloading device 3 that carries out the merchandise S stored in the vending machine main body 2 at the time of sale. In the following description, the product located at the forefront among the stored products is referred to as a “front product”,
The product located immediately after this product is called the "next sale product"
The symbols S1 and S2 are given as appropriate.

The vending machine body 2 is formed by assembling a plurality of outer wall panels 2b in a box shape, and has two sliding doors 2a attached to its open front surface. The sliding door 2a is normally closed and locked, and is opened when the product S is refilled or the like.
Is to be replenished from the front. Further, a cooling device 4 for cooling the product S is provided at an upper part of the vending machine main body 2, and a product outlet 5 and a prepaid card or the like for inserting a prepaid card at the time of purchase are provided on the right side of the sliding door 2a on the front surface. A control panel provided with a card insertion slot 6, a selection button for inputting a product number allocated to each product, a display unit (not shown) for displaying the input product number, card balance, and the like. 7 are provided. Although not shown, a control circuit including a microcomputer for performing various controls in the vending machine main body 2 including the product unloading device 3 is provided on the back side of the control panel 7.

Further, inside the vending machine main body 2, two box-shaped product storage rooms 11, 11 on the left and right sides are provided. In each product storage room 11, a product storage plate 12, which is horizontally supported between left and right side wall panels 11a, 11a of the product storage room 11, and which supports and stores the product S from below, is disposed vertically. They are arranged side by side in the direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the product storage plate 12 is partitioned in the left and right direction by a plurality of product delivery devices 21, which will be described later, and the product rack 13 as a product storage passage is formed by the adjacent product delivery devices 21 and 21. It is configured.
In each product rack 13, a large number of products S of the same item are stored in a line in the front-rear direction. The product storage plate 12
Are arranged in the left and right product storage rooms 11 and 11 respectively, and can be pulled out to the front side when the product S is refilled.

The product unloading device 3 sends out the entirety of the product S in the product rack 13 to the front, receives the discharged product S, and receives the discharged product S, and sends it to the product outlet 5. And a product conveying device 22 for conveying.

FIG. 4 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a partition body 23 extending in the front-rear direction and partitioning the product rack 13, a front gear 24 (dispensing gear) and a rear gear 25 supported at a front end and a rear end of the partition body 23, respectively, A timing belt 26 wound around gears 24 and 25;
6 and a pusher 27 movable in the front-rear direction.

A pusher 27 is provided on the right side of the partition body 23.
And a receiving groove 23b for receiving and arranging the timing belt 26 are formed. The front gear 24 includes a timing belt 26
Is wound around the small gear portion 24a,
The large gear portion 24b, which has a diameter larger than a and engages with a floating gear 41 described later, is configured in two stages. On the other hand, the rear gear 25 has the same diameter and pitch as the small gear portion 24a of the front gear 24. The pusher 27 has a pusher body 28 made of a flat plate, and a pair of front and rear rollers 29a and 29a engaged with the guide grooves 23a. The pusher 27 supports the pusher body 28 and is connected to a lower portion of the timing belt 26. And a pusher support 29. At the rear end of the partition body 23, a pair of springs 30 for urging the rear gear 25 rearward is provided, and a certain tension is applied to the timing belt 26.

The commodity dispensing apparatus 2 configured as described above
In 1, when the front gear 24 is rotationally driven clockwise in FIG. 5 by the floating gear 41, the timing belt 26 rotates, and accordingly, the pusher 27 moves forward. Then, the entire product S in the product rack 13 is pushed forward and sent out, and the frontmost product S1 is paid out from the payout port 13a (see FIG. 3) at the front end of the product rack 13. The product dispensing device 21 can freely change the partition position on the product storage plate 12 according to the width of the product S.

As shown in FIG. 2, the product transport device 22
A Y module unit 31 provided in front of the product storage room 11 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and a pair of upper and lower X-direction driving mechanisms 32 for driving the Y module unit 31 in the left-right direction;
32, and a bucket 33 protruding rightward from the right side surface of the Y module unit 31 and movably provided in the vertical direction. The Y module section 31 has a box-shaped movable body 34 extending in the vertical direction.
Are driven by the X-direction drive mechanisms 32, 32 at the upper and lower ends thereof, and are driven in the left-right direction. The movable body 33 has a built-in Y-direction drive mechanism (not shown), and the bucket 33 is vertically driven with respect to the movable body 34 by the Y-direction drive mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bucket 33 receives a product S delivered from the product rack 13 and temporarily stores and holds the product S until it is carried out to the product outlet 5. Part), a separation position K (see FIG. 7) provided at the rear end of the bucket body 40 and separated from the front gear 24 of the commodity dispensing device 21 and stored in the bucket body 40; A floating gear 41 that rotates between engagement positions L (see FIG. 8) engaged with the gear 24, a first drive mechanism 42 that rotates and drives the floating gear 41, and opens and closes a bucket door 53, which will be described later; A triangular printer that is disposed at the rear end of the bucket body 40, extends horizontally in the left-right direction, has a triangular side cross section, and rotates the product S to pay out the product and sends the product S forward. 43 (drum), a second drive mechanism 44 that rotationally drives the triangular drum 43 and the floating gear 41, and a product detection that detects that the product S paid out from the product rack 13 has been delivered to the bucket body 40. And a sensor 45. The floating gear 41 and the first drive mechanism 42 are attached to the outside of a left side wall 51 of the bucket body 40 via a case 46. The second drive mechanism 44 is incorporated in a right side wall 52 of the bucket body 40, which will be described later.

The bucket body 40 is formed in a box shape by left and right side walls (left side wall 51, right side wall 52) and a bucket door 53 extending from the front surface to the bottom surface. It has an open structure. Through this open part (product storage opening 54),
The product S paid out from the product rack 13 is stored in a storage portion 55 which is a product storage space of the bucket body 40.

The bucket door 53 is connected to a front surface portion 40a (opening / closing portion) constituting the front surface of the bucket body 40 and a lower end of the front surface portion 40a, and forms a bottom surface of the housing portion 55.
A curved section 40b that is curved downward in a semicircular shape forms a side cross section “J”. Fan-shaped side plates 53a, 53a are provided on both left and right ends of the curved portion 40b, respectively. These side plates 53a, 53a
Are the left side wall 51 and the right side wall 5 at the apex portions, respectively.
The opening / closing gear 53b is fixed to the left side plate 53a coaxially. The bucket door 53 is normally closed, and when the product S is passed to the purchaser at the product outlet 5, the opening / closing gear 53b is driven to rotate, whereby the bucket door 53 is moved to the side plates 53a, 53a. , And more specifically, around the center of curvature of the curved portion 40b, and the front surface 40a is inclined upward and the front surface of the bucket body 40 is opened (see FIG. 9). . As described above, the bucket door 53 opens and closes by rotating within the bucket body 40 in a space-saving manner.

In the bucket body 40, the goods S sent out by the triangular drum 43 when the goods S are stored are arranged in the storage section 55 near the front of the triangular drum 43.
Is provided. The chute 56 is formed by bending a flat plate having a width approximately equal to the horizontal width in the bucket body 40 at two front and rear portions, and is inclined approximately 45 degrees forward and downward to support the product S from below. A guide portion 56a that guides the guide portion 56a, a front hanging portion 56b hanging down from the front end of the guide portion 56a to near the tip of the curved portion 40b of the bucket door 53 when closed, and a guide portion 5
6 a, and a hanging portion 56 c hanging down to the bottom surface of the bucket body 40. Further, the chute 56 has a left and right end portion of the hoop portion 56 c at the bucket body 4.
It is engaged with an engagement groove (not shown) formed to extend vertically on the left and right side walls 51, 52 (52a) of the 0, so that it can slide up and down.

More specifically, when the bucket door 53 is closed, the rear end of the guide portion 56a is located below the upper end of the triangular drum 43 as shown in FIGS. E) On the other hand, when the bucket door 53 is opened, the tip of the curved portion 40b, that is, the front portion 4
The end opposite to 0a is a lower hanging part 56b and a lower hanging part 56c.
And pushes up the chute 56 in contact with the bottom surface of the guide portion 56a. When the bucket door 53 is completely opened, the rear end of the guide portion 56a is located above the upper end of the triangular drum 43 (the unloading position F). Thus, when the product S is stored, the product S is moved to the storage portion 55 by the chute 56 at the storage position E.
And when the product S is carried out, the chute 56 and the curved portion 40b at the carry-out position F are provided.
Accordingly, components disposed at the rear end of the bucket body 40, such as the triangular drum 43, are covered. Thereby, while maintaining the aesthetic appearance in the bucket body 40,
The components can be protected.

The chute 56 is connected to the bucket door 53.
Is unlocked at the carry-out position F by the bending portion 40b when the is opened. Specifically, when the bucket door 53 is completely opened as shown in FIG.
Are locked by a toothed link 67 and a cam disk 63 described later, so that the bucket door 53 is kept open. Therefore, the chute 56 is supported at the bottom of the guide portion 56a by the tip of the curved portion 40b of the bucket door 53 from below, so that the discharge position F
Locked to. Thus, for example, it is possible to prevent the chute 56 from being forcibly pushed down from the carry-out position F to the accommodation position E due to mischief of a purchaser or the like. Therefore, the locking means for locking the chute 56 at the carry-out position F includes the bucket door 53 and the opening / closing gear 53.
b, a toothed link 67, a cam disk 63, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, the floating gear 41 is rotatably supported at the upper end of a trapezoidal gear support plate 57, and this gear support plate 57 is slightly lower than the intermediate portion in the vertical direction. (The rotation fulcrum 57a) as a center, the floating gear 41 is moved to the separation position K.
And the engagement position L. The gear support plate 57 is provided with a spring (not shown), and the floating gear 41 is constantly biased toward the engagement position L by the spring. At the lower end of the gear support plate 57, an engagement pin 57b that projects in the left-right direction and engages with a floating gear rotation link 65 described later is provided. The engaging pin 57b is normally pushed down by the floating gear rotating link 65, and the floating gear 41 is located at the separated position K in this case. On the other hand, the idle gear rotation link 6
When the depression by 5 is released, the gear support plate 57 is rotated by the spring (not shown), and the floating gear 41 is accordingly rotated to the engagement position L side. Further, the gear support plate 57 is rotatably supported at a rotation fulcrum 57a, and is provided with a two-stage intermediate gear 58 that meshes with the floating gear 41 and a gear 72 on the left side of the triangular drum 43 described later. Have been. Therefore, when the triangular drum 43 rotates, the floating gear 41 also rotates via the intermediate gear 58 accordingly.

As described above, by rotating the floating gear 41 toward the engagement position L and engaging with the front gear 24, the bucket 33 is stopped in front of the product rack 13 in which the selected product S is stored. In this case, even if there are some errors in the up-down direction and the front-back direction (depth direction), the errors can be absorbed, and the floating gear 41 can be reliably engaged with the front gear 24.

As described above, the first drive mechanism 42 is attached to the outside of the left side wall 51 of the bucket body 40 via the case 46, and as shown in FIGS. A disk having a thickness of about 1 to 2 cm and having two cam grooves (a gear cam groove 61 and a door cam groove 62) formed on the right side surface (the front side surface in FIGS. 7 to 9). , And a cam motor 64 (drive source) for rotating the cam disk 63 via a reduction gear train 60.

The gear cam groove 61 is for driving the floating gear 41 to rotate. Specifically, the cam disk 6
The gear cam groove 6 is formed so as to extend from the vicinity of the center of the gear 3 to the vicinity of the peripheral surface while making substantially one round clockwise.
1. A floating gear rotating link 6 formed of a flat plate having a predetermined shape.
5 are engaged via a pin 65a provided at the upper end. When the cam disk 63 rotates clockwise in FIG. 7, the floating gear rotating link 65 rotates counterclockwise about the lower fulcrum 65b, and the rear end (right end in FIG. 7) causes the above described movement. The downward pushing of the engagement pin 57b of the gear support plate 57 is released. As a result, the gear support plate 57 is rotated by the above-mentioned spring (not shown).
, And the floating gear 41
Rotates toward the engagement position L (see FIG. 8). Conversely, when the cam disk 63 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8, the floating gear rotation link 65 rotates clockwise about the fulcrum 65b and engages with the gear support plate 57 at the rear end. Pin 57b
Is pressed down against a spring (not shown). As a result, the gear support plate 57 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation fulcrum 57a, and accordingly, the floating gear 41 rotates toward the separation position K (see FIG. 7).

On the other hand, the door cam groove 62 is for driving the bucket door 53 to open and close. In particular,
The gear cam groove 61 is formed substantially in the same manner as the gear cam groove 61. A toothed link 67 having a fan-shaped side cross section and a plurality of teeth in an arc portion is formed in the door cam groove 62 at a rear end (right end in FIG. 7). )
Are engaged with each other via a pin 67a. Cam disk 6
3 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
Rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 67b at the upper end, and the opening / closing gear 53b of the bucket door 53 rotates counterclockwise. As a result, the bucket door 53 rotates counterclockwise to open the front surface of the bucket body 40 (see FIG. 9). Conversely, when the cam disk 63 rotates clockwise in FIG. 9, the toothed link 67 rotates counterclockwise about the fulcrum 67b, and the opening / closing gear 53b rotates clockwise.
As a result, the bucket door 53 rotates clockwise, closing the front surface of the bucket body 40 (see FIG. 7).

On the left side of the cam disk 63, a cylindrical convex ring 69 projecting leftward and concentric with the cam disk 63.
Are formed at the upper end on the left side of the cam disk 63. Two rotation angle detection switches 70, 70 for detecting the rotation angle of the cam disk 63 are provided side by side in the left-right direction. Three triangular projections 69 projecting outward in the radial direction and having a triangular side cross section are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the convex ring 69.
a, 69b and 69c are formed. These triangular projections 69a, 69b, 69c
It engages with 0 and 70 and switches them ON / OFF to detect that the cam disk 63 is located at a predetermined angular position. That is, the triangular projection 69a
Indicates the angular position (cam disk in FIG. 7) when the cam disk 63 is at the home position, and the triangular protrusion 69b indicates the cam disk 63 when the floating gear 41 is at the engagement position L.
The angular position of the cam disk shown in FIG. 8 (hereinafter, the angular position of the cam disk at this time is referred to as the “moving gear rotation position”) is defined by the triangular protrusion 69 c which is the cam disk 63 when the bucket door 53 is opened. (The cam disk in FIG. 9; hereinafter, the angular position of the cam disk at this time is referred to as a “bucket door open position”)
This is for detecting. These triangular projections 69
a, 69b, 69c are rotation angle detection switches 70, 7
When the rotation angle detection switch is turned ON / OFF by engaging with 0, the operation of the cam motor 64 stops, whereby the rotation of the cam disk 63 stops.

The triangular projection 69a has a continuous thickness substantially equal to the height of the convex ring 69, while the other two triangular projections 69b and 69c have the cam disc 63 in the thickness direction.
The side halves or the outer halves are notched differently from one another. That is, when the cam disk 63 rotates and the triangular protrusions 69b, 69c engage the rotation angle detection switches 70, 70, one rotation angle detection switch 70 is turned on and the other is turned off. Therefore, it is easy for the three triangular projections 69a, 69b, 69c and the two rotation angle detection switches 70, 70 to easily rotate the cam disk 63 from the home position to the floating gear rotation position or the bucket door open position. Can be detected.

The triangular drum 43 extends horizontally in the left-right direction and constitutes a lower edge of the product accommodating opening 54. As described above, the triangular drum 43 has a triangular side cross section, and its peripheral surface is made of a resin having a large friction, such as rubber, so that the slip with the product S is reduced. I have to. As shown in FIG. 7, a gear 7 is provided at each of the left and right ends of the rotation shaft of the triangular drum 43.
2, 72 are provided, and the left gear 72 meshes with the intermediate gear 58, while the right gear 72 meshes with a reduction gear train 82 of the second drive mechanism 44 described later.
Therefore, when the right gear 72 is rotationally driven by the second drive mechanism 44, the triangular drum 43 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8, and the left gear 72 also rotates. The floating gear 41 is driven to rotate.

As described above, the triangular drum 43 rotates in a predetermined direction when the product S is paid out, that is, in a direction in which the product S is sent out to the front storage section 55 side. In this case, the product S is sent forward with its bottom surface repeatedly scraped forward at the three apex portions of the triangular drum 43. Further, the rotation speed of the triangular drum 43 is
Is sent out to the storage unit 55 side at a speed of the product dispensing device 21.
Is set so as to be faster than the sending speed of the commodity S forward. Therefore, when the commodity S1 is paid out, when the foremost commodity S1 reaches the triangular drum 43, it is gradually separated from the next commodity S2 and is efficiently accommodated in the accommodation section 55.

As described above, the second drive mechanism 44 is disposed between the inner wall portion 52a and the outer wall portion 52b (see FIG. 6) constituting the right side wall 52 of the bucket body 40. A drive motor 81 for rotating and driving the gear 41;
And a reduction gear train 82 for transmission to the transmission. Therefore, when the drive motor 81 operates, the triangular drum 43 is rotationally driven, and the floating gear 41 is also rotationally driven via the intermediate gear 58. And the floating gear 41
The meshing front gear 24 is driven, and the product S in the product rack 13 is paid out to the front bucket 33 side.

The commodity detection sensor 45 has a set of light sensors composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. These elements are slightly above the triangular drum 43 and are located on the left side wall 51 and the right side wall 52 of the bucket body 40, respectively. Are attached to the rear ends of the front and rear surfaces so as to face each other. When the product detection sensor 45 detects that the earliest product S1 has been delivered to the bucket body 40 at the time of sale, the drive motor 8
1 is stopped.

Here, the operation of the product carry-out device 3 at the time of sale will be described with reference to FIGS. When the purchaser inputs the product number of the desired product S,
First, the X-direction drive mechanism 32 operates to activate the Y module unit 3.
1 moves in the left-right direction, and in parallel with this, the Y-direction drive mechanism of the Y
3 moves up and down. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the bucket 33 stops before the product rack 13 that stores the selected product S.

Next, the cam motor 64 is operated, and the cam disk 63 located at the home position in FIG. 7 rotates clockwise by about 160 degrees and stops at the floating gear rotation position (see FIG. 8). In this case, the floating gear 41 located at the separation position K rotates toward the engagement position L, and the tooth tips are engaged with the front gear 24 of the commodity delivery device 21.

Thereafter, the drive motor 81 operates, and the triangular drum 43 and the idle gear 41 rotate. With the rotation of the floating gear 41, as shown in FIG. 8, the floating gear 41 is located at the engagement position L and meshes with the front gear 24, and the commodity delivery device 21 is driven. Thereby, the product rack 1
The entire product S in 3 is pushed from the rear by the pusher 27 and moves forward, and the frontmost product S1 is gradually sent out to the front bucket 33 side.

When the foremost product S reaches the position of the triangular drum 43, the product S is pushed forward by the triangular drum 43 and moves forward so as to be separated from the next product S for sale.
Then, the product S sent forward by the triangular drum 43 is guided by the guide portion 56a of the chute 56,
It is stored in the storage section 55. In this case, when the product S is detected by the product detection sensor 45, the drive motor 81
Stops, the rotation of the triangular drum 43 and the floating gear 41 stops, and the operation of the commodity delivery device 21 also stops. As a result, the next sale product S2 is the product rack 1
3 will definitely stay.

As described above, when the commodity S is stored in the storage section 55 of the bucket body 40, the X-direction driving mechanism 32
And the Y-direction drive mechanism is operated, and the bucket 33 moves to the rear side of the product outlet 5. Then, the closing plate 5a closing the product outlet 5 slides downward to open the product outlet 5. Thereafter, the cam motor 64 operates, and the cam disk 63 rotates counterclockwise by about 160 degrees.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 9, the toothed link 67 engaged with the door cam groove 62 rotates clockwise, the bucket door 53 rotates counterclockwise, and the front surface of the bucket body 40 is rotated. Open. As a result, the storage section 55 of the bucket body 40 communicates with the product outlet 5.

Then, the purchaser reaches out to the bucket 33 side from the product outlet 5 to take out the product S. in this case,
Although the inside of the bucket body 40 can be seen from the front of the vending machine 1, the chute 56 is located at the carry-out position F and covers the components such as the triangular drum 43 so that the bucket body 4
It is possible to protect the component parts without deteriorating the aesthetic appearance in the area 0. Further, since the product S is directly taken out from the bucket body 40, the product S is temporarily
The product S can be taken out without any trouble even if the product S is caught in the storage section 55.

After the purchaser takes out the product S, the cam disk 63 returns to the home position again,
As a result, the front surface of the bucket body 40 is closed, and the product outlet 5 is closed by the closing plate 5a. Thereby, the sale of the product S is completed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13, the attitude of the product and the operation in the bucket body 40, particularly the operation of the bucket door 53, when the product (for example, a 350 ml can) of the normal canned beverage is carried out. , Will be briefly described.

FIGS. 10 to 13 show the operation in the case of unloading the product S of canned beverage. As shown in these figures,
First, the bucket 33 stops in front of the product rack 13 (see FIG. 10). Then, the product S paid out from the product rack 13 is sent out by the triangular drum 43 to the front chute 56 side (see FIG. 11). Then, the commodity S is guided by the chute 56 and is accommodated in the accommodating portion 55 in a state of being inclined forward by approximately 45 degrees. (See FIG. 12). Thereafter, after the bucket 33 moves to the product outlet 5, the bucket door 53 is opened, the chute 56 is driven from the storage position E to the unloading position F, and the product S is placed on the back of the front surface 40a of the bucket door 53. It is carried out while being laid down (see FIG. 13).

As described above, the product S of the canned beverage is carried out to the product outlet 5 in a state where the product S is inclined forward and the upper part projects forward from the bucket body 40, so that the purchaser can purchase the bucket body 40. The product S can be easily taken out by grasping the upper part of the product S without having to reach deep inside. Further, since the product S is carried out to the product outlet 5 without being turned upside down, the product S can be delivered without giving the purchaser discomfort.

As described in detail above, according to the commodity unloading device 3 of the present embodiment, the bucket 33 receiving the commodity S
However, since the product S is directly moved to the vicinity of the product outlet 5 to carry out the product S, the configuration can be simplified as compared with the conventional case in which the product is carried out using a drive conveyor and a transport conveyor, and the product is carried out. Time can be reduced. Further, the bucket 33 that has moved to the vicinity of the product outlet 5 is opened by opening the bucket door 53, so that the product outlet 5 is closed.
, The product S can be reliably carried out to the product outlet 5, and in addition, the purchaser can directly take out the product S from the bucket 33 via the product outlet 5, and if the product S is Even if it is hooked on the housing portion 55 of the bucket body 40, it can be taken out without any trouble.

In the present embodiment, the case where the product unloading device of the present invention is applied to a showcase-type vending machine has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also applicable to vending machines of the type and other vending machines.

[0055]

As described above, the product discharging device for a vending machine according to the present invention can reliably discharge a product to a product outlet, and can simplify the structure and shorten the discharging time. It has effects such as.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vending machine provided with a product unloading device of the present invention, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a side sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a state in which the front surface of the vending machine is open,
(A) is a front view, and (b) is a part (front part) of a left side sectional view.
Is shown.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a commodity delivery device arranged on a commodity storage plate.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a commodity delivery device.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing the commodity delivery device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a bucket.

FIG. 7 is an internal structural diagram showing a bucket immediately after stopping in front of a product rack.

FIG. 8 is an internal structural view showing a bucket when paying out products.

FIG. 9 is an internal structural diagram showing a bucket when a product is delivered to a purchaser.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a case in which a product of a canned beverage is carried out, and shows a state immediately after the bucket stops in front of the product rack.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 10 and shows a state where a bucket receives a product.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 10, showing a state where a product is stored in a bucket.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view similar to FIG. 10, showing a state in which goods are delivered to a purchaser at a goods outlet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 3 Merchandise unloading device 5 Merchandise take-out 13 Merchandise rack 24 Front gear (dispensing gear) 33 Bucket 40 Bucket body (bucket part) 40a Front part (opening / closing part) 40b Curved part 41 Floating gear 43 Triangular drum 53 Bucket door 56 Chute 63 Cam disk 64 Cam motor (drive source) E Storage position F Unloading position S Product

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A merchandise unloading device for a vending machine for storing merchandise discharged from a horizontally extending merchandise rack and discharging the merchandise to a merchandise outlet when selling the merchandise rack and the merchandise outlet. And a bucket portion, which is provided movably between the product rack and the vicinity of the product rack at the time of sale, and is driven near the product outlet, and a bucket portion on the opposite side of the product rack from the product rack. After the bucket is moved to the vicinity of the product outlet of the bucket,
And a bucket door for opening the product outlet and the bucket portion to communicate with each other when opened. 2. The bucket door has a flat plate-shaped opening / closing portion for opening and closing the bucket portion, and an arc-shaped curved portion connected to a lower end of the opening / closing portion and curved downward, and has a curvature of the curved portion. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to be rotatable about a center. 3. The product is disposed at an end of the bucket portion on the side of the product rack, and when the product is paid out, the product is supported from below and is rotationally driven in a direction of sending the product to the bucket door side. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drum. 4. A chute, which is provided in the bucket portion and is inclined forward and downward in a product payout direction, and guides the product delivered from the drum from the lower side to the bucket door side while supporting the product from below. The chute is configured to be vertically movable between a storage position in which the upper end is located below the drum and a carry-out position in which the upper end is located above the drum. 4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein when being opened, the curved portion is driven from the storage position to the unloading position by being pushed up by an end of the bending portion opposite to the opening / closing portion. 5. Product unloading device. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a lock unit configured to lock the chute at the unloading position.
A product unloading device for a vending machine according to item 1. 6. A rotatable payout gear for paying out a product, a rotatable floating gear configured to be detachable from the payout gear, a drive source, and a rotary drive by the drive source, The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a cam disc for opening and closing the bucket door and engaging and disengaging the floating gear.