JP2000172936A - Commodity carrying-out device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To satisfactorily carry out a selling operation of commodities by turning a commodity to its storing position from its touching position when the commodity is carry out to its storing part and carrying out a control to set the commodity to be in a front falling attitude toward its storing part via a cooperation of the touching part and a carry-out means. SOLUTION: A commodity S is carried forward by a drum 81 which supports the bottom surface of the commodity S and also guided via a touching part 102 of a commodity attitude control plate 84 which supports the front face of the commodity S. Thus, the commodity S is controlled in its front falling attitude. Then, the plate 84 turns more toward a commodity storing position and the distance between the plate 84 and the drum 81 exceeds the front-back thickness of the commodity S so that the commodity S can be stored in its storing part 72. Under such conditions, the commodity S is dropped at its lower edge part and put on a tray 111. Then, the commodity S is stored in the part 72.

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 storing, at the time of sale, merchandise discharged from a merchandise rack for storing the merchandise in an upright posture, and discharging the merchandise to a merchandise outlet. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vending machine of this type generally has a bucket which is movable between a commodity rack in which commodities are stored and a commodity take-out port. Moves to a position horizontally opposed to the payout opening at the end of the product rack, stores the goods paid out from the product rack, and then transports the goods to the goods takeout port. A space (accommodating portion) for accommodating commodities is provided inside the bucket, and commodities paid out from the merchandise rack are supplied to the accommodating portion via an opening formed on the merchandise rack side of the accommodating portion. To be housed.

[0003]

In a product carrying device having a bucket as described above, when a product delivered from a product rack is stored in a storage portion, a gap or a step between the product rack and the opening of the bucket is required. For example, the posture of the product is easily disturbed. When the product is stored, the posture is disturbed. For example, when the product is stored in the storage unit in a state of falling down to the storage unit side and lying down, depending on the type (shape) of the product, the product may protrude from the bucket or become jammed in the storage unit. Or When the product is out of the bucket, the bucket may be stuck on the product rack or the like during transportation and may not be able to move to the product outlet, and when the product is jammed in the storage unit, the product cannot be taken out to the product outlet. In some cases, poor sales may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and when storing a product delivered from a product rack in a storage unit, the position of the product is appropriately controlled. Can be accommodated in the accommodation section,
An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine merchandise unloading device that can sell merchandise well.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a merchandise unloading device for a vending machine, which stores, at the time of sale, merchandise paid out from a merchandise rack for storing the merchandise in an upright posture, and unloads the merchandise to a merchandise outlet. A product delivery device of a vending machine for storing, a storage portion for storing the product, an opening formed at an end of the storage portion on the product rack side, and allowing the passage of the product to the storage portion, A delivery unit that faces the opening and sends out the paid-out product from the lower side to the storage unit while supporting it from below, a driving source, and is provided in the storage unit, and one end is rotatably supported on the upper part of the storage unit. Arm portion and a contact portion bent from the other end portion of the arm portion, the contact position where the contact portion contacts the surface of the dispensed product, and the product storage portion. Between the storage position that allows the storage of By rotating the product from the contact position to the storage position when the product is sent out to the storage portion by the feeding device, the posture of the product is moved toward the storage portion by cooperation of the contact portion and the feeding device. And a product attitude control member for controlling to a forwardly inclined position.

According to this configuration, when storing the goods paid out from the goods rack in the storage part of the bucket, the goods are sent out to the storage part side while being supported from below by the feeding means, and the goods attitude control is performed. By causing the contact portion of the member to abut on the surface of the product at the contact position and rotating the arm by the drive source, the product attitude control member is rotated toward the storage position. Then, while guiding the product by the abutting portion that is bent from the arm, the product is controlled to a posture of lowering forward toward the storage unit side. In other words, the product is stored in the storage portion while the product is forcibly controlled to the downwardly inclined position by the cooperation of the contact portion and the delivery means. Thereby, when storing the product, it is possible to reliably prevent the posture from being disturbed, such as the product falling down, and to appropriately store the product in the storage unit,
As a result, it is possible to sell the product satisfactorily. In addition, since the product can be appropriately accommodated in the accommodation section as described above, the accommodation section can be made compact.

[0007] In this case, the contact portion is rotatably connected to the arm portion between a bent position where the contact portion is bent with respect to the arm portion and a deployed position that extends substantially in the direction of the extension of the arm portion. The control member is provided with biasing means for biasing the contact portion toward the bending position and holding means for holding the contact portion at the bending position, and the contact portion is opposite to the product rack of the storage portion. It is preferable to be able to pivot to the deployed position by contacting the side wall.

According to this structure, when the contact portion held at the bending position by the urging means and the holding means abuts on the wall surface of the storage portion by rotating the product attitude control plate toward the storage position. The contact portion is rotatable to the deployed position by receiving a reaction force from the wall surface. For this reason, even if the contact portion abuts on the wall surface of the storage portion by rotating the product attitude control plate toward the storage position, the arm portion of the product attitude control plate is further rotated toward the storage position. This makes it possible to secure a large space for accommodating commodities in the accommodating section so that the arm section does not hinder the accommodating of the commodities.

In these cases, it is preferable that the opening is formed so as to extend from the upper end of the end of the storage portion on the side of the product rack toward the side opposite to the product rack.

[0010] According to this configuration, since the opening is configured as described above, even if the product is tall, the product controlled to the front-down position is released by using the opening, The product can be smoothly stored in the storage section.

[0011]

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 shows a vending machine provided with the product unloading device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine 1 comprises:
It comprises a box-shaped vending machine main body 2 and a main door 3 for opening and closing the front surface thereof. The main door 3 incorporates a transparent panel 4 corresponding to the size of the front surface of a product storage 7 described later, and a glass heat insulating door 6 is provided on the front of the product storage 7. That is, the vending machine 1 is of a so-called sheath type in which the product S itself stored in the product storage 7 is used as a display and the purchaser can see the selling operation of the product S.

Although not shown, a coin insertion slot, an amount display section 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 front heat insulating door 6 and a peripheral wall 7a containing heat insulating material.
And a product unloading device 8 for unloading the product S stored in the product storage 7 to the product unloading opening 5, and a microcontroller (not shown) that performs various controls in the vending machine main body 2 including the product unloading device 8. A control circuit including a computer is provided. The product storage 7 is slightly upper than an intermediate portion in the vertical direction, and is divided into upper and lower stages by a heat insulating partition plate 9 and the like. A heating chamber 11 is on the upper side and a cooling chamber 12 is on the lower side. The product unloading device 8 includes a product delivery mechanism 24 and a product transport device 41, which will be described later.

The interior of the heating chamber 11 is heated by a heater (not shown), whereby the commodity S is heated. on the other hand,
The interior of the cooling chamber 12 is cooled by a cooling device 17 including an evaporator (not shown), a condenser 14, an exhaust fan 15, a compressor 16, and the like, thereby cooling the product S. In the heating room 11 and the cooling room 12, product racks 18 for placing and storing the products S are arranged in three stages and four stages in the vertical direction, respectively.

Each product rack 18 has a horizontal storage surface 19 on which the product S is placed, and both left and right ends of the storage surface 19 are bent upward. Storage surface 19
At the top, eight partition walls 21 extending in the front-rear direction and arranged in the left-right direction are arranged in parallel with each other. The storage surface 19 is partitioned by these partition walls 21, and a large number of products S of the same item are stored side by side in the front-rear direction by the adjacent partition walls 21, 21, and are sent forward at the time of sale. A product storage passage 22 serving as a passage for the product S to be manufactured is formed. A product storage passage 22 is also formed between the right end partition wall 21 and the right bent portion of the product rack 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, each partition wall 21 extends in the front-rear direction, and is provided on a right side of the partition body 23 and a side wall of the product storage passage 22. And a gate which is provided at the front end of the partitioning body 23 and always closes the outlet at the front end of the product storage passage 22 and opens the outlet at the time of sale. 25.

The product delivery mechanism 24 includes a pair of front and rear gears 31 provided at a front end and a rear end of the partition body 23.
(In FIG. 3, the front end gear 31 (hereinafter referred to as “front gear”)
Only), a timing belt 32 wound around these gears 31, and a pusher (not shown) that is driven forward by the timing belt 32 and pushes out the product S forward. As shown in FIG. 3, the front gear 31 has a two-stage structure including a large gear portion 31a that meshes with a floating gear 83 described later, and a small gear portion 31b having a smaller diameter than the large gear portion 31a. The timing belt 32 is wound around the small gear portion 31b. The gear at the rear end around which the timing belt 32 is wound has the same diameter and pitch as the small gear portion 31b of the front gear 31. The pusher (not shown) is connected to the timing belt 32 and protrudes greatly from the right side of the partition body 23 toward the product storage passage 22. Therefore, when the front gear 31 is rotationally driven by the floating gear 83, the timing belt 32 rotates, and accordingly, the pusher moves forward while pushing the entire product S stored in the product storage passage 22 from behind. I do. As a result, among the products S stored in the product storage passage 22, the product S located at the forefront is paid out from the product rack 18 to the front. In the following description, among the products stored in the product storage passage 22, the product located at the forefront and the product located immediately after the product are appropriately referred to as “the foremost product” and “the next sale product”, respectively. .

The gate 25 is provided to prevent the product S from inadvertently dropping out of the product storage passage 22 during standby for sale, and has a length substantially equal to the width of the product storage passage 22 in the left-right direction. And a stopper 25a. The stopper 25a normally lays horizontally and closes the payout opening of the product storage passage 22 to prevent the product S from dropping from the product storage passage 22, while rotating around the base end during sales. It moves and stands almost vertically, opening the payout opening. The stopper 25a
Is opened when a predetermined portion of the gate 25 is pressed by a gate opening / closing means (not shown), and is closed when the pressing is released.

Next, a description will be given of a product transport device 41 for transporting the product S delivered from the product rack 18 to the product outlet 5. As shown in FIG.
Is a bucket 42 for storing and holding the goods S paid out from the goods rack 18 and transporting the goods S to the goods outlet 5.
, A horizontal moving mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “X module”) 43 for moving the bucket 42 in the left-right direction, and a vertical moving mechanism (hereinafter “Y”) for moving the bucket 42 in the vertical direction.
Module unit) 44).

The X module 43 has a bucket 4 inside.
2 and a horizontally long box-shaped bucket container 51 having a length substantially the same as the width of the product storage 7, and a moving mechanism built in the bucket container 51 to move the bucket 42 in the left-right direction (FIG. (Not shown). The bucket container 51 has a large opening at the back and bottom of the product, and the goods S paid out from the product rack 18 are delivered to the bucket 42 through the opening at the back, and the goods S are opened at the bottom. Through the product outlet 5. Note that most of the front surface of the bucket container 51 is formed of a transparent panel or the like so that the bucket 42 can be viewed from the front of the vending machine 1.

On the other hand, the Y module section 44 is provided at each of the left and right ends in the product storage 7, and moves up and down while supporting the bucket container 51 at the left and right ends. . Specifically, each Y module unit 44 includes a rotatable pulley 52 and a sprocket 53 disposed at upper and lower ends of the product storage 7 respectively.
And a pulley 52 and a sprocket 53, respectively, and the front ends thereof are connected to the bucket container 51 via support arms 54, and the rear ends are connected to each other via weights 55. Wire 56
And a chain 57. The pulleys 52, 52 and the sprockets 53, 53 of both Y module portions 44, 44 are coaxially arranged. Each of the pulleys 52 is independently rotated by a wire 56, while both sprockets 53, 53 are rotated. Are rotated in synchronization with each other via a drive shaft 58.

Both Y modules 4 configured as described above
At 4 and 44, when the drive shaft 58 is driven to rotate by the Y module drive motor 59 provided at the lower part in the product storage 7, the sprockets 5 fixed to both ends thereof are provided.
The wires 53 and the chain 57 are driven to drive the wire 56 and the chain 57. Thereby, the bucket container 51 is driven in the vertical direction, and accordingly, the bucket 42 is driven in the vertical direction.

The weight 55 has substantially the same weight as the bucket 42 and the X module 43.
The pulley 52 having a function as a constant pulley allows the bucket 42 to be driven vertically without requiring a large driving force. The front end of the chain 57 is connected to the support arm 54 via a tension spring 60, and applies tension to the entire wire 56 and the chain 57 so that they are not loosened and the pulley 52 and the sprocket 53 are not loosened. So that it can be wrapped around.

X module unit 4 configured as described above
The bucket 42 is driven up and down and left and right in front of the product rack 18 by the 3 and Y module sections 44, and transports the product S from the product storage passage 22 storing the selected product S to the product outlet 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bucket 42 receives a product S delivered from the product rack 18 and temporarily stores and holds the product S until it is carried out to the product outlet 5. 61 left side wall 61a
And a drive mechanism 63 for driving a payout / storage mechanism 75 and an unloading mechanism 76 which will be described later.
And so on.

The bucket main body 61 is formed in a box shape from a flat plate made of, for example, aluminum or the like, and has a structure that is open so as to extend forward from the rear surface and the upper end thereof.
The commodities S paid out from the commodity rack 18 are accommodated in the accommodating portion 72, which is the merchandise accommodating space of the bucket body 61, through the commodity accommodating opening 71 (opening) of the opened portion. In addition, the left and right 1
A pair of cylindrical guide members 73, 73 are provided,
Guide rails (not shown) extended in the left-right direction in the bucket container 51 by these guide members 73, 73.
Along, the bucket 42 can move smoothly in the left-right direction. Further, a transparent panel 74 is incorporated in an upper half portion of the front surface of the bucket body 61 so that the goods S stored in the bucket 42 can be seen from the front. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the bucket main body 61 drives a commodity dispensing mechanism 24 provided on the partition wall 21 and dispenses / contains a mechanism for accommodating the discharged commodities S in the accommodating section 72. 75, and an unloading mechanism 76 for unloading the stored product S to the product outlet 5.

The dispensing / storing mechanism 75 is provided with
And a drum 81 (delivery means) which, when paying out the product S at the time of sale, feeds the product S to the storage portion 72 side while supporting the product S from below,
1 in a rotatable manner, and a fulcrum 82a at the lower end.
And a drum holder 82 rotatably supported on the upper end of the drum holder 82.
Is engaged with the front gear 31 with the rotation of
(See FIG. 4) and a separation position F separated from the front gear 31.
(See FIG. 3).
When the product S is stored in the storage section 72, the product S is supported in cooperation with the drum 81 while supporting the front surface of the product S, and the product attitude control plate 84 (product attitude control) that controls the attitude of the product S to be lowered forward. A member).

The drum 81 extends horizontally in the left-right direction, is inserted into a cylindrical drum body 85 having a length substantially equal to the width of the inside of the bucket body 61, and is inserted into a bearing inside the drum body. A rotation shaft (hereinafter, “drum rotation shaft”) rotatably supported above the fulcrum 82 a of the shaft 82.
86). Therefore, the drum 81
Is a position where the drum holder 82 is mostly accommodated in the bucket main body 61 (hereinafter, this position is also referred to as a “separation position F”), and a position protruding toward the product rack 18 (hereinafter, this position). Is also rotated between the “engagement position E”). The bearing in the drum main body 85 is provided at a position shifted from the center in the drum main body 85. That is, the drum main body 85 is eccentrically supported with respect to the drum rotation shaft 86. As a result, when the drum main body 85 rotates, the average contact height between the product S and the drum main body 85 becomes substantially the same as the storage surface 19, so that the product rack 1
8 can be reliably supported from below while keeping the state at the time of storage, while the slip between the product S and the drum body 85 is extremely small, It can be sent out to the front storage section 72 side. When the drum body 85 rotates, the product S
The vertical position of the bucket 42 can absorb the error of the stop position of the bucket 42 in the vertical direction.

The drum rotation shaft 86 and the bearing of the drum main body 85 constitute a so-called one-way clutch.
, And is driven to rotate only in the counterclockwise direction. That is, when the drum rotation shaft 86 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4, the drum main body 85 also rotates counterclockwise. Therefore, when the commodity S paid out from the commodity rack 18 passes over the drum 81, the drum body 8
Reference numeral 5 plays a role as a "roller" so to speak, and rotates freely in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. Therefore, even before the drum body 85 is driven to rotate,
The product S is smoothly sent out to the front storage section 72 side. Conversely, even if the drum rotation shaft 86 rotates clockwise in FIG.
The drum main body 85 is kept stopped without rotating.

A drive gear 87 for rotating the drum body 85 and the idle gear 83 is provided at the left end of the drum rotation shaft 86. The drive gear 87 is composed of gears having large and small diameters in two stages, and a first intermediate gear 88 for driving the floating gear 83 meshes with the large diameter gear portion. This first intermediate gear 88 also
Like the drive gear 87, the drive gear 87 is configured in two stages. The drive gear 87 meshes with the large-diameter gear portion, and the gear timing belt 89 for rotating and driving the floating gear 83 is engaged with the small-diameter gear portion. It is wound. on the other hand,
A second intermediate gear 91 provided coaxially with a fulcrum 82a of the drum holder 82 is provided on a small diameter gear portion of the drive gear 87.
The drum timing belt 92 driven by the drum is wound. Thus, when the second intermediate gear 91 rotates, the driving gear 87 is rotationally driven via the drum timing belt 92. And this drive gear 8
With the rotation of 7, the drum rotation shaft 86 is driven to rotate, and the gear rotation shaft 96 described later is driven to rotate via the first intermediate gear 88 and the gear timing belt 89.

The floating gear 83 is rotatably supported by the upper end of the drum holder 82 and rotatably supported by an upper end of the drum holder 82. Shaft (hereinafter referred to as “gear rotating shaft”) 9
6. The floating gear body 95 is provided with the front gear 3.
1, the large gear portion 95a is disengaged from the large gear portion 31a of the front gear 31, while the small gear portion 95a is
The gear timing belt 89 is wound around b. Further, the gear rotation shaft 96 constitutes a so-called one-way clutch together with the bearing of the floating gear main body 95.
, And is driven to rotate only in the counterclockwise direction. That is, when the gear rotation shaft 96 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4, the idler gear body 95 also rotates counterclockwise. Conversely, even if the gear rotation shaft 96 rotates clockwise, the floating gear main body 95 does not rotate and is kept stopped.

The drum holder 82 has a substantially "U" shape when viewed from the front, and the left side wall extends upward longer than the right side wall. The floating gear 83 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the left side wall (hereinafter referred to as a “support plate”) 97, and the upper end of a substantially middle portion of the support plate 97 in the vertical direction and the right side wall (not shown). The drum 81 is rotatably supported by the portion. The second intermediate gear 91 is rotatably provided at a fulcrum 82a at the lower end of the support plate 97. The second intermediate gear 91 is provided with the drum timing belt 92.
Are formed in two stages by a small gear portion around which is wound and a large gear portion which meshes with a reduction gear train 124 of the drive mechanism 63 described later. Therefore, when the second intermediate gear 91 is rotationally driven by the driving mechanism 63, the drum timing belt 92 is rotated accordingly.

A torsion spring 98 is provided at the fulcrum 82a of the support plate 97. The torsion spring 98 urges the drum holder 82 toward the engagement position E. Accordingly, when the floating gear 83 is located at the engagement position E, the floating gear 83 is pressed against the front gear 31, and the engagement between the two gears 83, 31 can be further ensured. Further, the front end of the support plate 97 is provided with an engaging portion 9 that engages with a triangular link 132 described later.
9 are provided. A rectangular through hole 99a is formed in the engaging portion 99, and the through hole 99a
An engagement pin 132c provided on the triangular link 132 is loosely inserted. The drum holder 82 is normally locked by the engaging pin 132c so as to be attracted to the separated position F against the torsion spring 98, and the engaging pin 132c is driven backward to release the attraction. Then, it turns to the engagement position E side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the product attitude control plate 84
Is an upper part in the accommodation part 72, and the upper end part is the bucket body 61.
The arm 101, which is rotatably supported by the left and right side walls 61a, 61a, and the arm 101, which is rotatably connected to the lower end of the arm 101 and is suspended,
Abutment portion 1 that is bent slightly downward and forward toward the front
02. Each of the arm portion 101 and the contact portion 102 has a width substantially equal to the width of the inside of the bucket body 61, and is made of a transparent resin plate or the like. The contact portion 102 has a substantially “L” -shaped side cross section, and has a claw portion 102 at a connection portion with the arm portion 101.
a (holding means) abuts on the arm 101 and is urged by a torsion spring 103 (urging means) provided at the connecting portion, so that the arm 101 is always in the position shown in FIG. At a bent position (hereinafter referred to as a “bent position T”).

The product attitude control plate 84 thus configured
Is rotated by a drive mechanism 63, which will be described later, and the contact portion 102 comes into contact with the front surface of the product S immediately after being paid out while being held at the bending position T (see FIG. 5).
And a storage position Q at which the product S can be stored in the storage section 72.
(See FIG. 6). The product S is controlled by the cooperation of the product attitude control plate 84 and the drum 81 so as to be inclined forward and downward toward the storage section 72 (see FIG. 7), and is dropped from the lower end. Is housed in the housing part 72.

The accommodation position Q shown in FIG. 6 indicates the maximum position at which the product attitude control plate 84 can rotate when rotating clockwise in FIG. That is, the product attitude control plate 84 rotates clockwise from the contact position P to the accommodation position Q in FIG. 5, and the distance between the product attitude control plate 84 and the drum 81 is greater than the thickness of the product S in the front-rear direction. When the product S has a length that allows the product S to be stored in the storage section 72, the product S is stored in the storage section 72. Therefore, before reaching the storage position Q in FIG.
The product S may reach a position that allows the product S to be stored in the storage section 72.

The product attitude control plate 84 rotates toward the storage position Q, and depending on the shape of the product S, its arm 10
1 may be pushed to the storage position Q side by the product S stored in the storage section 72. In this case, the tip of the contact portion 102 of the product attitude control plate 84 is
That is, when the arm portion 101 is further pressed against the product S by abutting against the front wall surface 61b of the bucket body 61 from behind,
The contact portion 102 receives a reaction force from the wall surface 61b and rotates toward a position (hereinafter, referred to as a “deployed position U”) extending substantially in the direction of the extension of the arm portion 101. In this case, the arm 101 rotates more toward the storage position Q so that it does not hinder the storage of the product S.
A large space for the product S is secured. When the product S is carried out of the storage portion 72 and the contact portion 102 of the product attitude control plate 84 is separated from the wall surface 61b, the contact portion 102 is bent at the bending position T by the torsion spring 103 and the claw portion 102a. Automatically returns to

Next, the unloading mechanism 76 will be described. The unloading mechanism 76 is provided at the bottom of the bucket body 62 so as to be openable and closable, and is provided at the lower half of the front surface of the tray body 61 and the tray 111 constituting the bottom surface of the housing portion 72. An opening / closing door 112 that forms a half portion, and a connection link 113 that connects the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 to each other are provided.

The tray 111 is formed of a flat plate, and has a rear end rotatably supported by left and right side walls 61a, 61a of the bucket body 61. Thereby, the tray 111
Is, as shown in FIG. 3, a substantially horizontal position that always closes the lower surface of the storage section 72 (hereinafter referred to as a “tray closed position”).
As shown in FIG. 8, when the product S is carried out to the product exit 5, the product S is rotated between a position where the lower surface of the storage section 72 is opened and inclined forward and downward (hereinafter referred to as a “tray open position”). To open and close the lower surface of the housing portion 72. Also, the tray 111
A torsion spring 114 for urging the tray 111 to the tray closed position is provided at a rear end of the tray. The torsion spring 114 keeps the tray 111 at the tray closed position at all times.

At the left end of the tray 111, a pressed portion 115 (shown only in the lower portion in FIG. 3) extending obliquely upward is provided. The pressed portion 115 is pushed forward by a pressing means (not shown) interlocked with a cam disk 121 described later, so that the tray 111 is opened around the rear end. Conversely, when the pressing by the pressing means is released, the tray 111 is automatically returned to the tray closed position by the torsion spring 114.

The opening / closing door 112 is formed of a flat plate, similarly to the tray 111, and is rotatably supported at its upper end by the left and right side walls 61a, 61a of the bucket body 61. As a result, the opening / closing door 112 hangs down so as to close the lower half of the housing portion 72 as shown in FIG. 3 (hereinafter referred to as “door closing position”), and as shown in FIG. The lower half of the front surface of the opening 72 is opened and rotated between a tray 111 located at the tray opening position and a position inclined forward and downward so as to be substantially parallel (hereinafter referred to as a “door opening position”), and accommodated. The lower half of the front face of the part 72 is opened and closed. On the back of the opening / closing door 112, one end of a connecting link 113 is rotatably connected slightly above the middle part in the vertical direction, and the other end of the connecting link 113 is connected to the pressed portion of the tray 111. 115 is rotatably connected to the upper end. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening / closing door 112 moves the connection link 11 with the opening of the tray 111.
It is pushed forward by 3 and released.

As described above, when the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 are rotated to the tray opening position and the door opening position, respectively, as shown in FIG. Thus, an opening 116 for carrying out the stored product S is formed, and the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 allow the product outlet 5 to be taken out.
Is formed. And the product S
Falls while being guided by the tray 111, and is carried out to the product outlet 5.

Next, a description will be given of the drive mechanism 63 for driving the payout / housing mechanism 75 and the carry-out mechanism 76 configured as described above. The driving mechanism 63, as shown in FIG.
A cam disk 121 which is disposed substantially at the center of the case 62, has a large number of teeth on the peripheral surface, and has a cam groove on the side surface.
And a cam motor 123 (drive source) that rotationally drives the cam disk 121 via a reduction gear train 122, and a gear motor 125 that rotationally drives the drum 81 and the idle gear 87 via a reduction gear train 124. Have.

The cam disk 121 is configured to rotate forward and reverse via a reduction gear train 122 when the cam motor 123 rotates forward and backward. Cam disk 1 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 21 denotes a state before the rotation, that is, a state where the home position is located. In the following description,
The rotating direction of the cam disk 121 and the extending direction of the cam groove are
The description will be made based on the case when viewed from the right side surface (when viewed from the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3, on the left side surface of the cam disk 121, the floating gear 83 is driven to rotate between the engagement position E and the separation position F by rotating the drum holder 82. An accommodation cam groove 131 for rotating the product attitude control plate 84 between the contact position P and the accommodation position Q is formed. The accommodation cam groove 131 is provided in the cam disc 1.
From the vicinity of the center of 21 to the vicinity of the peripheral surface, approximately 5 /
The housing cam groove 131 is provided with a triangular link 132 having a substantially triangular shape, and a pin 132a provided at a front apex portion.
Are engaged through. When the cam disk 121 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the triangular link 132 rotates counterclockwise about the upper fulcrum 132b, and the engaging pin 132c provided at the rear apex portion. Is driven rearward to release the attraction of the drum holder 82 to the separation position F. Thus, the drum holder 82 is rotated clockwise around the fulcrum 82a by the torsion spring 98, and the floating gear 83 is rotated toward the engagement position E (see FIG. 4). Conversely, when the cam disk 121 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4, the triangular link 132 rotates clockwise about the fulcrum 132b, and the engagement pin 132c is driven forward, thereby causing the torsion spring to rotate. Drum holder 82 against 98
To the separation position F side. Accordingly, the drum holder 82 rotates counterclockwise about the fulcrum 82a, and accordingly, the floating gear 83 rotates toward the separation position F (FIG. 3).
reference).

A pin 133a provided at the rear end of the accommodation cam groove 131 is provided with a posture control link 133 formed in a predetermined shape for driving the product posture control plate 84.
Are engaged through. At the upper end of the attitude control link 133, the product attitude control plate 84 extends horizontally in the left-right direction.
A push rod 134 is provided for pushing the arm portion 101 backward. When the cam disk 121 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the attitude control link 133 rotates clockwise about the fulcrum 133b at the middle part in the front-rear direction, and the pressing rod 13
4 pushes the vicinity of the upper end of the arm unit 101 backward. Thus, the product attitude control plate 84 rotates counterclockwise around the upper end (the fulcrum 101a) of the arm 101 and is driven to the contact position P (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Conversely, when the cam disk 121 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4, the attitude control link 133 rotates counterclockwise about the fulcrum 133b, and the pressing rod 134 gradually moves downward. Then, the product attitude control plate 84 supported by the pressing rod 134 gradually rotates from the contact position P to the storage position Q side. Then, as the product attitude control plate 84 rotates toward the storage position Q and the drum 81 is driven to rotate, the product S is controlled to the forward-downward inclined attitude while being guided by the contact portion 102 ( (See FIG. 7).

The cam disc 121 has an unloading mechanism 76
Is engaged with the rotation of the cam disk 121 to open and close the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112. Specifically, when the cam disk 121 rotates clockwise in FIG. 3, a pressing unit (not shown) is driven to press the pressed portion 115 of the tray 111 forward. Thereby, the tray 111
And the opening / closing door 112 rotates to the tray opening position side and the door opening position side, respectively, and opens the lower part of the accommodating part 72 (refer FIG. 8). Conversely, when the cam disk 121 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
Is released, and the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 are released.
However, the torsion spring 114 automatically returns to the tray closing position and the door closing position, respectively, and closes the lower portion of the storage section 72.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG.
A gate cam groove 135 for opening the gate 25 on the product rack 18 side is formed on the right side surface of the product rack 18. The gate cam groove 135 is formed so as to extend from the vicinity of the center of the cam disk 121 to the vicinity of the peripheral surface while rotating substantially clockwise substantially half way. Means are engaged. When the cam disk 121 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the gate opening / closing means presses a predetermined portion of the gate 25 almost simultaneously with the rotation of the drum holder 82 to the engagement position E. The 25 stoppers 25a are driven to open. Conversely, when the cam disk 121 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4, the pressing by the gate opening / closing means is released almost simultaneously with the rotation of the drum holder 82 toward the separation position F, and the gate 25 is rotated.
Stopper 25a automatically closes.

At the rear end of the bucket body 61, a product detection sensor 137 for detecting that the product S has reached the drum 81 is provided. The commodity detection sensor 137 has a set of light sensors composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. These elements are located above the drum 81 and at the rear ends of the left and right side walls 61a, 61a of the bucket body 61. It is attached to face. When the commodity detection sensor 137 detects that the commodity S has reached the drum 81 at the time of sale, the gear motor 1
The operation of 25 is stopped.

Here, with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 8, a series of operations of the product unloading device 8 at the time of sale will be described focusing on the operations inside the bucket 42. When the selection button of the desired product S is pressed by the purchaser,
First, the X module unit 43 and the Y module 44 operate, and the bucket 42 stops in front of the product storage passage 22 for storing the selected product, as shown in FIG.

Next, the cam motor 123 operates, and FIG.
The cam disk 121 located at the home position is rotated counterclockwise by about 220 degrees and stopped (see FIG. 5). In this case, the floating gear 83 located at the separation position F is rotated by the drum holder 82 toward the engagement position E and the front gear 31 is rotated.
The product attitude control plate 84 in which the arm unit 101 is suspended is driven to the contact position P by the pressing rod 134 of the attitude control link 133.

Thereafter, when the gear motor 125 operates to rotate forward, the reduction gear train 124 and the second intermediate gear 9 are rotated.
1. Drum timing belt 92 and drive gear 87
5, the drum rotation shaft 86 is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. In this case, since the drum rotation shaft 86 rotates in the direction opposite to the direction in which the drum main body 85 can be rotationally driven by the drum rotation shaft 86, the drum main body 85 remains stopped without any rotation. On the other hand, the floating gear 83
The gear rotation shaft 96 includes a driving gear 87, a first intermediate gear 88.
And a gear timing belt 89 to rotate counterclockwise. The direction of rotation of the gear rotating shaft 96 is the same as the direction in which the floating gear body 95 can be driven to rotate by the gear rotating shaft 96, so that the floating gear body 95 rotates counterclockwise with the rotation of the gear rotating shaft 96. To rotate. The rotation of the floating gear body 95 drives the commodity delivery mechanism 24. As a result, the entire product S in the product storage passage 22 is pushed from behind by a pusher (not shown) and moves forward, and the frontmost product S is gradually sent out to the drum 81 side of the front bucket 42. Then, the foremost product S comes into contact with the contact portion 102 of the product attitude control plate 84 located at the contact position P as shown in FIG.

When the product detection sensor 137 detects that the foremost product S has reached the position of the drum 81,
The operation of the gear motor 125 temporarily stops, and immediately thereafter, the gear motor 125 operates to rotate in the reverse direction. In this case, the drum rotation shaft 86 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG.
This rotation direction is the same as the direction in which the drum main body 85 can be driven to rotate by the drum rotation shaft 86, and accordingly, the drum main body 85 rotates counterclockwise with the rotation of the drum rotation shaft 86. On the other hand, the gear rotating shaft 96 of the floating gear 83
Since the floating gear body 95 rotates in a direction opposite to the direction in which the floating gear body 95 can be rotationally driven by the gear rotation shaft 96, the floating gear body 9
5 stops with the stop of the gear motor 125, and the stopped state is maintained.

In this case, the cam motor 123 operates to rotate in the reverse direction, and the cam disk 121 in FIG. 5 rotates clockwise. Then, the attitude control link 133 moves to the fulcrum 1
The product attitude control plate 84 rotates counterclockwise around the center 33b, thereby gradually rotating from the contact position P to the storage position Q.

As described above, the product S is sent forward by the drum 81 supporting the bottom surface thereof, and is guided by the contact portion 102 of the product attitude control plate 84 supporting the front surface. As shown in FIG. 7, the posture is controlled so as to fall forward. Then, the product attitude control plate 84 further rotates toward the storage position Q, and the distance between the product attitude control plate 84 and the drum 81 becomes larger than the thickness of the product S in the front-rear direction. When the product S has a length that allows the product to be accommodated, the product S is dropped from the lower end and placed on the tray 111,
It is stored in the storage section 72.

If the product S has a large thickness in the front-rear direction, as described above, the product attitude control plate 8
4 abuts against the wall surface 61b of the bucket body 61 and rotates toward the deployment position U.
01 is further rotated toward the storage position Q, so that a large space for the product S in the storage section 72 is secured.
A product having a large thickness can be stored in the storage section 72.

When the product S is stored in the storage section 72 of the bucket body 61 as described above, the gear motor 125 stops. Thereafter, the cam disk 121 further rotates clockwise and returns to the home position. In this case, the drum holder 82 rotates counterclockwise, the floating gear 83 rotates from the engagement position E to the separation position F, and the engagement with the front gear 31 is released.

Thereafter, the X module section 43 and the Y module section 44 operate to move the bucket 42 into the commodity outlet 5.
Is driven to a position obliquely above. And the cam motor 1
23 operates again so that it rotates in the reverse direction, and the cam disk 121 rotates approximately 60 degrees clockwise from the home position. The rotation of the cam disk 121 drives the above-mentioned pressing means (not shown), and accordingly, the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 are opened. Thereby, the accommodation part 7
The product S stored in the container 2 is dropped into the front product outlet 5 through the carry-out passage 117 and carried out.

When it is detected that a product S has been carried out by a product take-out detection sensor (not shown) provided at the product take-out port 5, the cam motor 123 operates so as to rotate forward, and the cam disk 123 rotates. 121 rotates counterclockwise and returns to the home position (see FIG. 3). Accordingly, the tray 111 and the opening / closing door 112 are closed, and the sale of the product S is completed.

As described in detail above, according to the commodity unloading device 8 of the present embodiment, when the commodity S delivered from the commodity rack 18 is stored in the storage section 72 of the bucket 42, the commodity posture control plate 84 The product S is accommodated in the accommodating portion 72 while the product S is forcibly controlled to the downwardly inclined position by the cooperation of the contact portion 102 and the drum 81. The product S can be appropriately stored in the storage section 72. As a result, the sale of the product S can be performed favorably. Further, since the product S can be appropriately stored in the storage section 72 in this manner, the storage section 72 and the bucket 42
Can be configured compactly. Further, the product storage opening 71 is configured to be open so as to extend forward from the back surface and the upper end of the bucket main body 61, so that even if the product is tall, the product S controlled to the front-down position can be used. The product S can be smoothly stored in the storage section 72 by being released using the storage opening 71.

[0062]

As described above, the merchandise unloading device of the vending machine according to the present invention, while accommodating the merchandise paid out from the merchandise rack in the accommodating section, while appropriately controlling the posture of the merchandise. This has the effect of being able to be housed in the housing part and of being able to sell the product satisfactorily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vending machine provided with a product unloading device of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view,
(B) is a side sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a bucket.

FIG. 3 is an internal structural diagram of the bucket showing a state immediately after the bucket stops in front of a product rack.

FIG. 4 is an internal structural view showing a bucket when paying out products.

FIG. 5 is an internal structural view of a bucket showing a state when a product abuts on a product attitude control plate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a turning position of a product attitude control plate.

FIG. 7 is an internal structural diagram of a bucket showing a state in which the attitude of a product is controlled.

FIG. 8 is an internal structural view of a bucket showing a state in which a product is carried out to a product outlet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 5 Merchandise outlet 8 Merchandise unloading device 18 Merchandise rack 71 Merchandise accommodating opening (opening part) 72 accommodating part 81 Drum (delivery means) 84 Merchandise attitude control board (commodity attitude control member) 101 Arm part 102 Contact part 102a Claw portion (holding means) 103 Torsion spring (biasing means) 123 Cam motor (drive source) P Contact position Q Storage position S Product T Bending position U Deployment position

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine product unloading device for storing a product delivered from a product rack for storing the product in an upright posture at the time of sale and discharging the product to a product outlet. And an opening formed at the end of the storage unit on the side of the product rack, which allows the product to pass through to the storage unit. Sending means for sending out to the housing portion side while supporting, a driving source, an arm portion provided in the housing portion, one end of which is rotatably supported above the housing portion, and the other end of the arm portion A contact portion that bends and extends from the portion, and a contact position where the contact portion contacts the surface of the dispensed product, and a storage position that allows the product to be stored in the storage portion. And the sending-out means is rotated by the driving source. When the product is sent out to the storage portion side, the product is rotated from the contact position to the storage position side, and the posture of the product is changed by the cooperation of the contact portion and the sending-out means. And a product attitude control member for controlling the product to a downwardly inclined position toward the front of the vending machine. 2. The arm portion is rotatably connected to the arm portion between a bent position where the contact portion is bent with respect to the arm portion and a deployed position that extends in a direction substantially extending from the arm portion. The product attitude control member is provided with biasing means for biasing the contact portion toward the bending position, and holding means for holding the contact portion at the bending position; 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is rotatable to the unfolded position by contacting a wall of the storage unit opposite to the product rack. 3. 3. The product according to claim 1, wherein the opening is formed so as to extend from an upper end of an end of the storage portion on the product rack side toward an opposite side to the product rack. Item 3. An apparatus for unloading goods from a vending machine according to item 2.