JP2000348248A - Serpentine type article storage rack for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure high reliability at a low cost in the built-up structure of a movable side plate incorporated into a serpentine type article storage rack. SOLUTION: In the configuration where a movable side plate 8 which regulates the with of a part in accordance with the size of an article length and which is movable and adjustable to the left and right is arranged in a vertical article storing path formed between left and right rack side plates, a parallel link mechanism consisting of a pair of vertical rocking links 10 and a connection plate 11 spanning between the rocking links is also installed between the movable side plate and on rack side plate, and the movable side plate is guided and supported in a horizontally movable way, a corrugated rib part 10b with the cross section in a U shape which swells outward is formed at the central part along the vertical direction of the movable side plate, a bearing part 8c having a long groove 8c-1 is also lovered and formed at two upper and lower places of the rib part, the connection plate with a U-shaped cross section is fit into the recessed groove 8b-1 of the rib part from the inside of the movable side plate and subsequently, the parts are subjected to pin connection through a connection pint 13 made to penetrate the bearing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serpentine type product storage rack mounted on a vending machine for cans and bottled products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, the structure of a serpentine type product storage rack described above is shown in FIGS. As is well known, the serpentine-type product storage rack 1 includes a pair of left and right rack side plates 2, an arc-shaped track rail 3 provided between the rack side plates 2, and a vertical meandering product defined between the track rails 3. A top tray 5 for placing goods, which is laid on the upper side of the rack in connection with the storage passage 4, a bend mechanism 6 provided at the exit side of the storage passage 4, and a storage passage for the entire width A between the rack side plates 2. 4 left and right passage width B to product 7
As an assembly with the movable side plate 8 which is regulated in accordance with the length L of the movable side plate.

Here, the movable side plate 8 is made of a vertically long inverted L-shaped steel plate laid along the meandering product storage passage 4 and the top tray 5. Of the product 7, the guide groove and the adjusting tongue 8a opened in the plate surface of the top tray 5 are selected, and the locking tongue piece 8a is inserted therein. Movable side plate 8 according to length L
To adjust the positioning.

Next, FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) show a conventional structure of a support mechanism for guiding and supporting the movable side plate 8 to the left and right. That is, a reinforcing metal 9 having a U-shaped cross section is welded (spot-welded) in a vertical direction so as to overlap the outer surface of the movable side plate 8 (the back side with respect to the product storage passage 4), and the reinforcing metal 9 is opposed to the reinforcing metal A pair of upper and lower swing links 1
A parallel link mechanism 12 composed of a combination of a U-shaped connecting plate 11 straddling the O and swing links 10 is provided. Here, a vertical groove 9a is opened in the reinforcing metal 9 at a connection position with the swing link 10, and the long groove 9a is formed.
The swing link 10 and the connecting plate 11 are pin-connected to the movable side plate 8 via the connecting pin 13 passing through a. In addition,
The other end of the swing link 10 is pin-connected to the rack side plate 2 (see FIG. 3).

[0005] With this configuration, when replenishing commodities in the merchandise storage rack, the cans and bottled commodities 7 are supplied onto the top tray 5 in a horizontal position through a commodities insertion port opened in the upper front of the rack 1. Thus, as is well known, the product 7 rolls on the top tray 5 while being guided by the rack side plate 2 and the movable side plate 8, and falls into the product storage passage 4 from its rear end to be stored.

When the product 7 is changed to a product having a different length, the mounting position of the movable side plate 8 is adjusted to the left and right, and the product passage width B is set according to the length of the new product 7. cure.

[0007]

However, the conventional assembly structure of the movable side plate has the following problems. (1) As described with reference to FIG. 4, in the conventional structure, the long reinforcing metal 9 is welded to the movable side plate 8. For this reason, in addition to an increase in the number of parts, a troublesome welding operation is required in the assembling process, which causes a cost increase.

(2) The reinforcing metal 9 serves not only to connect the swing link 10, the connecting plate 11 and the movable side plate 8, but also to apply an impact load when a product storage rack is refilled with a product, and to store the product. In this state, the movable side plate 8 serves to prevent the movable side plate 8 from being deformed (warped) due to a lateral product load applied to the movable side plate 8. For this reason, if there is a welding defect in the welded portion between the movable side plate 8 and the reinforcing metal 9, there is a possibility that the welded portion is peeled off due to the repeatedly applied load of the product and the reinforcing metal 9 falls off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problems and to improve the assembly structure of a movable side plate so as to ensure high reliability at low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product storage rack.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the width of a vertical product storage passage defined between a pair of right and left rack side plates is determined by the length of the product. A movable side plate that can be adjusted to the left and right that is regulated according to the size is provided, and a pair of upper and lower swing links and a link between the swing links are connected between the movable side plate and one rack side plate. In a serpentine type product storage rack of a vending machine in which a movable side plate is guided and supported so as to be movable left and right by arranging a parallel link mechanism composed of plates, the movable side plate bulges outward at the center portion along the vertical direction of the movable side plate. Corrugated ribs with a U-shaped cross section are formed by sheet metal processing,
In addition, a long-groove bearing portion connected to the swing link of the parallel link mechanism is cut and raised at two positions above and below the rib portion, and a parallel U-shaped cross section is formed in the concave groove of the rib portion from the inside of the movable side plate. After fitting the link plate of the link mechanism,
The connecting plate and the oscillating link are connected to the movable side plate via a connecting pin passing through the long groove of the bearing portion.

According to this configuration, compared to the conventional structure in which the reinforcing metal is welded to the movable side plate, the number of parts is reduced and a welding process is not required, thereby reducing costs and causing troubles due to welding defects. Is also avoided. In addition, since a connecting plate having a U-shaped cross section is fitted into the corrugated rib portion formed in the movable side plate from the inside into the concave groove, almost a step is generated on the side surface of the passage of the movable side plate that slides with the product. Therefore, there is no possibility that the movement of the goods moving in the passage is adversely affected.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
A description will be given based on the embodiments (a) and (b). In the drawings of the embodiment, members corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, in the illustrated embodiment, a corrugated rib portion 8b having a U-shaped cross section bulging outward (opposite to the product passage) is formed at the center of the movable side plate 8 in the vertical direction. And at two upper and lower portions of the rib portion 8b, a bearing portion 8c which is connected to the swing link 10 of the parallel link mechanism is cut and raised to the outside toward the outside, and further formed on the bearing portion 8c. A vertically long groove 8c-1 is open. In the drawing, only the upper bearing portion is illustrated.

In the assembling step of connecting the swinging link 10 of the parallel link mechanism to the movable side plate 8, first, the U-shaped cross section is connected to the concave groove 8b-1 of the rib portion 8b from the inner side of the movable side plate 8. The plate 11 is fitted with the end face toward the product passage as shown in the figure, and a bifurcated connecting portion protruding from the upper and lower ends of the connecting plate 11 is attached to the inside of the bearing portion 8c through the opening hole of the rib portion. Next, the tip of the swing link 10 is overlapped with the bearing portion 8c from outside the movable side plate 8, and in this state, the connecting pin (split pin) 13 is opened from the side to the tip (upper end side) of the swing link 10. Through the pin hole 10a, the long groove 8c-1 of the bearing portion 8c, and the pin hole 11a of the connecting plate 11, the members are pin-connected to each other. The pin hole 10b opened at the other end of the swing link 10 is provided on the rack side plate 2 (FIG. 3).
Reference).

With this configuration, the width of the product storage passage in the product storage rack is adjusted by positioning and setting the movable side plate 8 in accordance with the length of the stored product, similarly to the conventional structure. In addition, the corrugated rib portion 8b formed by bending the movable side plate 8 also serves the same reinforcing function as the reinforcing metal 9 having the conventional structure shown in FIG. Further, in the assembled state of the movable side plate 8, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the connecting plate 11 is fitted into the concave groove 8b-1 of the rib portion 8b facing the product storage passage 4, and the end face of the connecting plate 11 And the plate surface of the movable side plate 8 are substantially flush with each other, so that there is no step in the portion.

[0016]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, the vertical width of the product storage passage defined between the pair of left and right rack side plates is adjusted according to the length of the product. A movable side plate that can be adjusted to move left and right is provided, and between the movable side plate and one rack side plate, a pair of upper and lower oscillating links and a connecting plate that connects the oscillating links to each other are parallel. In a serpentine-type product storage rack of a vending machine in which a link mechanism is erected to guide and move a movable side plate so as to be movable left and right, a U-shaped cross-section bulging outward at a central portion of the movable side plate along a vertical direction of the movable side plate. A corrugated rib portion is formed by sheet metal processing, and a long grooved bearing portion connected to the swing link of the parallel link mechanism is cut and raised at two positions above and below the rib portion, and is formed in a concave groove of the rib portion. Movable After inserting the connecting plate of the parallel link mechanism having a U-shaped cross section from the inside of the plate and connecting the connecting plate and the oscillating link to the movable side plate via the connecting pin passing through the long groove of the bearing portion, the movable plate is movable. Compared with the conventional structure in which the reinforcing metal is welded to the side plates, a welding step is not required in addition to the reduction in the number of parts, thereby reducing costs and avoiding troubles caused by welding defects. In addition, since a connecting plate having a U-shaped cross section is fitted into the concave groove that opens to the product storage passage side with the formation of the corrugated rib portion,
Almost no step is formed on the side surface of the movable side plate that slides with the product, so that the product can move smoothly in the product storage passage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembly structural view of a movable side plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is an exploded perspective view of each part, and (b) is a top view of an assembled state.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a serpentine type product storage rack to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the upper part of the rack in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an assembly structure diagram of a conventional movable side plate;
(a) is an exploded perspective view of each part, and (b) is a sectional view of a main part in an assembled state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Serpentine type goods storage rack 2 Rack side plate 4 Product storage passage 5 Top tray 6 Bend mechanism 7 Product 8 Movable side plate 8b Corrugated rib part 8b-1 Depression groove 8c Bearing part 8c-1 Long groove 10 Oscillating link 11 Connecting plate 13 Connection pin

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Tsuruha 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kentaro Waki 1-1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Fuji F-term (reference) in Electric Corporation 3E046 BB03 BB04 CA01 CD01

Claims (1)

[Claims] A movable side plate which is adjustable to the left and right to regulate the width of the passage in accordance with the length of the product, with respect to a vertical product storage passage defined between a pair of left and right rack side plates; And a parallel link mechanism comprising a pair of upper and lower swing links and a connecting plate connecting the swing links to each other between the movable side plate and one of the rack side plates so that the movable side plate can be moved left and right. In a serpentine-type product storage rack of a vending machine guided and supported, a corrugated rib portion having a U-shaped cross section bulging outward at a central portion along a vertical direction of the movable side plate is formed by sheet metal processing, and the rib is formed. A parallel link machine having a long grooved bearing portion connected to the swing link of the parallel link mechanism cut and raised at two upper and lower portions of the portion, and having a U-shaped cross section from the inside of the movable side plate in the concave groove of the rib portion. The connecting plate on which the fitting of, serpentine commodity storage rack of an automatic vending machine, characterized in that the connecting plate via a connecting pin passing through the long groove of the bearing portion, the swing link and connected to the movable side plate.