JP2001273556A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine which can be constituted without mak ing its depth dimension dependent upon that of a taking-out hole. SOLUTION: In the vending machine 1, commodity storage racks 3 and a vertically moving base 5 are incorporated in a main body case 2. The vertically moving base 5 waits in the lower end of a main body box 8. When a commodity is purchased, the vertically moving base 5 rises to the height of a commodity placing base 10 on which the desired commodity is placed. When the vertically moving base 5 reaches the prescribed height, one commodity is discharged from the commodity placing base 10, and the commodity is received by a conveyor device 31 of the vertically moving base 5. Next, the vertically moving base 5 is lowered. A driving clutch piece 21 of a power source 20 exists in the fall position of the vertically moving base 5, and the driving clutch piece 21 and a driven clutch piece are connected. Then the motor of the power source 20 is rotated, and a conveyor 37 starts running to move the commodity right ward, and the commodity is put in a box provided with a commodity taking-out hole 9 on the side of a storage part 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to a variety of food products such as canned beverages, cup noodles, and PET bottle beverages, as well as a wide variety of products such as cigarettes, batteries, and sanitary products. It is suitable as an unmanned vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional vending machine sells a single kind of commodity such as a beverage or a cigarette. That is, in the vending machine of the prior art, a vending machine that sells beverages such as orange juice, coffee and beer and a vending machine that sells cigarettes such as Seven Star, Highlights and Peace (both are registered trademarks) are separate products. Was something. By the way, in recent years, a store form called “unmanned convenience store” has been proposed. The store format called "unmanned convenience store" is to sell a part of the station concourse or a corner of the store and sell products with the number of items equivalent to the number of items handled by ordinary convenience stores with vending machines .

For this reason, if a vending machine that sells a single product as in the past is installed in a store form called an “unmanned convenience store”, an enormous number of vending machines are required. Therefore, the front of the main body is covered with a transparent plate so that the inside can be seen, a product storage shelf is provided in the main body, the desired product is carried out from a predetermined product storage shelf, and the product is received from the product take-out port. Vending machines have been proposed.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a product conveying device of a conventional vending machine. In the conventional vending machine 100 shown in FIG. 7, when a product is selected by the product selection means, the product mounting table operates the selected product, and only one product is paid out. Prior to this dispensing operation, the goods transport device 10
The first product tray 102 that moves up and down moves in front of the corresponding product mounting table. Then, the dispensed product G is placed on the product tray 102. Further, the product receiving tray 102 of the product transport device 101 is stopped at a position facing the product take-out opening 103, and then the discharging means is operated and the product take-out opening 103
Is discharged.

[0005]

The vending machine of the prior art is a preferable configuration in that it does not give vibration or impact to the product and does not generate loud noise. However, in the configuration of the related art, since the product outlet 103 is provided in front of the product transport device 101, the depth dimension of the vending machine main body 100 is smaller than the product outlet 103.
However, there is a drawback in that it is difficult to carry and install, and the installation is restricted due to the problem of protruding onto public roads during installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine which can constitute a commodity transport apparatus without the depth of the vending machine being dependent on the depth of the take-out opening. I do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vending machine according to the present invention comprises a main body box constituting a goods storage room, and a plurality of main bodies housed in the main body box for discharging goods forward. Product storage shelves, a lifting table arranged in front of the product storage shelves and vertically moving up and down in the main body box, a conveyor device provided on the lifting and lowering table and transporting goods in a lateral direction with respect to the main body box, A power source for the conveyor device provided in the main body box, and a clutch for intermittently connecting and disconnecting the power source provided for the conveyor device and the main body box, and placing the products discharged from the product storage shelves on the conveyor device; Thereafter, the elevator is moved, the power source provided in the main body box is connected to the conveyor device by the clutch, and the product is moved in the lateral direction.

[0008] Thus, it is possible to provide a product take-out opening at a portion other than the front of the product storage shelf, and the vending machine can be designed to be thin.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the vending machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the vending machine has a vertically movable platform, the vertical platform can be moved to a desired height of a product storage shelf. Can be placed on the product. Then, the elevator is moved while the products are placed on the conveyor device, and the power source provided in the main body box is connected to the conveyor device by a clutch, and the products are moved in the lateral direction. Therefore, the product is moved laterally at a position at a predetermined height. As described above, in the vending machine of the present invention, the products can be transported in the horizontal direction, so that the product outlet can be provided beside the product storage shelf. Further, in the vending machine of the present invention, since the elevator itself does not have a power source such as a motor, the elevator is lighter and has less trouble. Further, in the configuration of the present invention,
Since there is no need to attach a power cable to the lift, there is little risk of disconnection. In addition, since there is no need to attach a power cable to the lift, the internal layout is neat and clear, and the appearance is good.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the power source is provided at a lower portion of the main body box, and the elevating platform always stands by at a lower portion of the main body box, rises by a predetermined signal, and is placed after a product is placed. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the clutch is connected to return to a lower portion to move the product in a lateral direction.

In the vending machine of the present invention, a power source is provided at a lower portion of the main body box, and a clutch is connected at a lower position to move the product in the lateral direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an elevating member which is moved up and down by power is provided inside the main body box, and the elevating table is movable integrally in the up-down direction and in the front-rear direction by the elevating member. The guide is provided on the inside of the main body box, a part of the elevator is engaged, and the elevator moves in the front-rear direction along with the vertical movement. The vending machine described.

In the vending machine of the present invention, an elevating member which is moved up and down by power is provided inside the main body box, and the elevating table is attached by the elevating member so as to be integrally movable in the up-down direction and movably in the front-rear direction. ing. And a guide part is provided inside the main body box, and a part of the elevator is engaged,
The elevating table also moves in the front-rear direction with the elevating movement. Therefore, even if the front end portions of the product storage shelves are not aligned, the elevator can be moved to a predetermined position, and the space utilization efficiency is high.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the front face of the main body box is covered with a transparent plate so that the inside is visible, and a product take-out opening is provided on the side of the position where the product storage shelf is arranged. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

In the vending machine of the present invention, since the front of the main body box is covered with a transparent plate and the inside is visible, the user can easily select a product. Further, in the vending machine of the present invention, the product take-out port is provided on the side of the arrangement position of the product storage shelf, so that the overall thickness can be designed to be thin.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, the up-down relationship is based on the state where the vending machine 1 is installed on the ground, and the left-right relationship is
The case where the user stands on the front side of the vending machine 1 is used as a reference. The front-back relationship is such that the user side is the front and the back side is the rear. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the inside and outside of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a standby state. FIG.
1 is an overall perspective view showing the inside and outside of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where an elevator is raised. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elevator used in the vending machine shown in FIG. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a conveyor section and a support section of the elevator of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a driving section (a) of the conveyor section of the lifting platform of FIG. 3 and a driving gear (b) of the main body box.
FIG. 6 is a front view and a side view showing the operation of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine 1 of the present embodiment includes:
As shown in FIG. 2, a main body case 2 has a product storage shelf 3 and a lift 5 built therein. To explain sequentially, the main body case 2 is a rectangular parallelepiped box whose entire surface (excluding the bottom) is covered by a transparent plate such as glass or acrylic resin. On the front (front), a coin slot 7 for inserting coins is provided.
And an operation panel (not shown) such as a numeric keypad. A product outlet 9 is formed at the lower right end when viewed from the front.

The inside of the main body case 2 has different sizes 3
Is divided into two rooms. That is, the product storage room 6 is formed on the left side as viewed from the front. The product storage room 6 is surrounded by a main box 8 covered with a heat insulating material. The right part of the main body box 8 is a storage unit 1 for storing electronic devices and the like.
It is 1. In addition, a box is provided separately in a part of the storage room 11, and the above-mentioned product outlet 9 is provided in the box. The lower part of the main body box 8 is a machine room 14 in which a refrigerator and the like are stored. In the vending machine 1 of the present embodiment, the product storage room 6 is refrigerated by a refrigeration device in the machine room 14.

The product storage shelves 3 are arranged in the product storage room 6. The product storage shelf 3 has a framework (not shown), and a large number of product placement tables 10 are arranged on the framework. Specifically, the vending machine 1 of the present embodiment
Then, the product storage shelves 3 have the product mounting tables 10 in five rows and six rows.
Are provided side by side. The product mounting table 10 has a conveyor belt 12 and a quadrant gate device 13 attached to the front end thereof. Individual products are placed on each product mounting table 10, and the conveyor belt 12 advances in the direction of the arrow according to a predetermined signal, and the gate device 13 opens to discharge the products. Although the positions of the front ends (gate devices 13) of the product mounting tables 10 are aligned, only the product mounting table 10 provided at the lowest stage is retracted to the back side as shown in the figure.

In one side wall of the main body box 8, the elevating member 1 is provided.
5 are provided. The elevating member 15 is specifically an endless toothed belt, suspended vertically inside the main body box 8, and is rotated by a motor (not shown). A not-shown clasp is attached to the endless belt, and a support bracket 16 of the elevator 5 described later is attached.

A guide member 17 is provided on the same inner surface as the side wall on which the elevating member 15 is provided. The guide member 17 is a pair of short walls erected at predetermined intervals, and extends from the fourth stage from the top of the product mounting table 10 to the bottom plate portion 18 of the main body box 8 as shown in FIG. I have.

The power source 2 is mounted on the bottom plate 18 of the main body box 8.
0 is provided. The power source 20 drives the conveyor device 31 of the lift 5 and includes a driving clutch piece 21 that is rotated by a motor. Drive side clutch piece 2
1 is a gear specifically. Drive side clutch piece 2
A shaft guide 22 is provided near 1. The shaft guide 22 is a member in the shape of the letter "H" as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, and has horizontal portions 22a and 22b provided at different levels, and is connected between the inclined portion 22c and the vertical portion 22d. It is.

As shown in FIG. 3, the elevating table 5 has a main body frame 30 to which a conveyor device 31 and a support member 32 are attached. The main body frame 30 of the elevating platform 5 is a rectangular frame in a plan view, and the top and bottom surfaces are open. And body frame 3
A guide roller 33 is provided on one end side of the zero. Further, a guide roller 34 is provided at one end on one long side.

In the conveyor device 31, a conveyor belt 37 is suspended around two pulleys 35 and 36 supported in the vicinity of both ends of a main body frame 30 so as to be idle. The conveyor belt 37 is a belt made of rubber or cloth, and a plurality of barriers 38 are attached to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 37 at regular intervals (only one is shown in the figure). The barrier 38 is formed separately from a resin and prevents the product from slipping.

A drive section 40 as shown in FIG. 5 is provided on the back side of the main body frame 30. The drive unit 40 is configured such that a friction wheel 43, a gear 45, and a driven clutch piece 46 are attached to a shaft 41 suspended on the main body frame 30.
The hole of the main body frame 30 that supports the shaft 41 has a round hole on the gear 45 side and a long hole 44 on the friction wheel 43 side. That is, the shaft 41 is suspended in the short direction at the end of the body frame 30, and the friction wheel 43 is integrally attached to one end of the shaft 41. A gear 45 is integrally attached to the other end of the shaft 41. And the shaft 4 so as to further cover the gear 45
1, a rotation frame 47 is attached, and a driven clutch piece 46 is attached to the rotation frame 47. The driven clutch piece 46 is a gear, and is always fitted with the gear 45 regardless of the rotation position of the rotation frame 47. Driven clutch piece 4
The central shaft 48 of the projection 6 projects from the rotating frame 47.

The drive unit 40 of the conveyor device 31 is located on the lower surface of the conveyor belt 37, and the friction wheel 43 is in contact with the conveyor belt 37 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the friction wheel 43
The conveyor belt 37 runs by rotating.

A tension mechanism 50 is provided near the friction wheel 43. The tension mechanism 50 has a swinging piece 52 that swings via a screw shaft 51. Rocking piece 52
The intermediate portion is supported swingably by a screw shaft 51, and a tension spring 53 is attached between the free end side and the main body frame 30. The other free end is pressed against the shaft 41 and presses the shaft 41 upward. As described above, since the hole supporting the shaft 41 is the long hole 44, the shaft 41 is urged toward the upper conveyor belt 37 by the tension mechanism 50. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the friction wheel 4 attached to the shaft 41
3 can always adhere to the conveyor belt 37.

The support bracket 16 has a substantially “L” shape, and has a vertical mounting portion 60 and a horizontal support portion 61. The mounting part 60 and the support part 61 described above are integrated. The mounting portion 60 is provided with a mounting hole 62.
The support bracket 16 is attached to the main body frame 30 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. More specifically, the above-described shaft 41 is inserted through a substantially “L” -shaped base, and
1 is provided with a shaft 6 provided on the other end of the body frame 30.
3 is inserted. Therefore, the support bracket 16 and the body frame 3
0 is integral in the up-down direction, but allows relative movement in the front-rear direction. A spring 65 is inserted through the shaft 63, and the support bracket 16 is constantly biased to one side.

The elevating table 5 is attached to the elevating member 15 of the main body box 8 via a support bracket 16. Specifically, the mounting portion 60 of the lifting platform 5 is fixed to a clamp of the lifting member 15 with a screw. Therefore, the elevating table 5 moves up and down in accordance with the up and down movement of the elevating member 15 (the elevating member 15 is a belt, so it is actually rotated). When the elevator 5 is at the bottom, the guide rollers 33 provided on the body frame 30 engage with the guide members 17 of the body box 8. Another guide roller 34 comes into contact with an inclined portion (not shown) provided at a lower portion of the front surface inside the door.

Next, the operation of the vending machine 1 of this embodiment will be described. In the vending machine 1, the elevator 5
Is waiting at the lower end of the main body box 8 as shown in FIGS. At this time, the guide rollers 33 provided on the main body frame 30 are engaged with the guide members 17 of the main body box 8, and the conveyor device 31 of the elevating platform 5 is located on the inner side of the main body box 8.

When purchasing products from the vending machine 1,
A predetermined money is inserted through the coin insertion slot 7, and a desired product is selected by operating a ten-key on an operation panel (shown in FIG. 1). Here, in the vending machine 1 of this embodiment, since the main body case 2 is transparent, the user selects a product while viewing the product storage shelf 3 from outside.

Then, the elevating member 1 is actuated by a signal from the numeric keypad.
5 functions, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the elevating platform 5 moves to the height of the product mounting table 10 on which the desired product is mounted. For example, when purchasing a product placed on the third-stage product mounting table 10 from the top, the third-stage product mounting table 10 and the elevating platform 5 are raised so as to have the same height. At this time, the guide roller 30 provided on the main body frame 30 of the elevating platform 5 leaves the guide member 17 of the main body box 8 and moves forward by the urging force of the spring.

When the elevating platform 5 rises to a predetermined height, the conveyer belt 12 rotates and the commodities
Discharge one 6. The discharged product 66 is received by the conveyor device 31 of the elevator 5, and the product 66 rides on the conveyor belt 37.

Subsequently, the elevating member 15 functions to lower the elevating table 5. At the time of lowering, the guide rollers 33 provided on the main body frame 30 are engaged with the guide members 17 of the main body box 8 again, and the elevating platform 5 is retracted rearward as it descends.

The power source 20 is located at the lower position of the lift 5.
The drive-side clutch piece 21 and the shaft guide 22 are provided, and the central axis 48 of the driven-side clutch piece 46 on the lift 5 side is the shaft guide 2.
Abuts on the second inclined portion 22a. When the elevator 5 further descends, the rotating frame 47 revolves around the shaft 41,
The shaft 48 moves laterally along the shaft guide 22. When the lift 5 descends to the lowest position, the driven clutch piece 46
Is located in the valley of the shaft guide 22, and the drive unit 4
The driven clutch piece 46 of 0 is engaged with the drive clutch piece 21 on the power source 20 side. That is, the drive-side clutch piece 21
And the driven side clutch piece 46 are connected.

Then, the motor of the power source 20 rotates, and the gear as the drive-side clutch piece 21 rotates. As a result, the rotational force is transmitted from the driving clutch piece 21 to the driven clutch piece 46. Further, the gear 45 fitted with the driven clutch piece 46 rotates, and the friction wheel 43 rotates via the shaft 41. Then, by the rotation of the friction wheel 43, the conveyor belt 37 in contact with the friction wheel 43 starts running. Therefore, the product 66 on the conveyor belt 37 moves to the right in the drawing and enters the box on the storage unit 11 side. Here, the user opens the product take-out port 9 and takes out a desired product.

In the above-described embodiment, a clutch in which gears are fitted is exemplified as a clutch, but a clutch using friction may be employed. Further, the lifting member 15 employs a belt, but may employ a chain or the like.

In the embodiment described above, the present invention is applied to a case in which the entire inside of the main body box 8 is refrigerated. For example, the upper side of the main body box 8 is heated and the lower side is cooled. It is possible to apply the present invention to the vending machine described above.

[0039]

As described above, in the vending machine of the present invention, goods can be conveyed in the horizontal direction, so that the goods take-out port can be provided beside the goods storage shelf. Therefore, the vending machine of the present invention has an effect that the thickness in the depth direction can be designed to be thin. Further, in the vending machine of the present invention, since the elevator itself does not have a power source such as a motor, there is an effect that the elevator is lighter and less failure occurs. Further, according to the configuration of the present invention, there is no need to attach a power cable to the elevating platform, so that there is little risk of disconnection. Further, there is an effect that the internal layout is neatly arranged and the appearance is good.

In particular, in the vending machine according to the second aspect, a power source is provided at a lower portion of the main body box, a clutch is connected at a lower position, and the product is moved laterally. The product moves laterally at a close position, and there is little waste in the operation of the elevator.

In the vending machine according to the third aspect, even if the front end portions of the product storage shelves are not aligned, the elevator can be moved to a predetermined position, and the space utilization efficiency is high. is there.

In the vending machine according to the fourth aspect, the front surface of the main body box is covered with the transparent plate and the inside is visible, so that the user can easily select a product. Further, in the vending machine of the present invention, since the product take-out port is provided on the side of the arrangement position of the product storage shelf, there is an effect that the overall thickness can be designed to be thin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the inside and outside of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention in a standby state.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view showing the inside and outside of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention in a state where the elevator is raised.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elevator used in the vending machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a conveyor unit and a support unit of the elevator of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a driving unit (a) of a conveyor unit of the lifting platform of FIG. 3 and a driving gear (b) of a main body box.

FIG. 6 is a front view and a side view showing the operation of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a product conveying device of a vending machine according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Main body case 5 Elevating stand 8 Main body box 9 Commodity take-out port 10 Commodity placing stand 12 Conveyor belt 15 Elevating member 17 Guide member 20 Power source 21 Drive side clutch piece 22 Axis guide 31 Conveyor device 37 Conveyor belt 40 Drive unit 43 friction wheel 46 driven clutch piece

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Yamazaki 4-2-5 Takaidahondori, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3E046 AA02 BA01 BA02 BA03 BB02 BB03 CB06 CC03 DA03 EA04 FA01 HA06

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body box constituting a product storage room, a plurality of product storage shelves housed in the main body box for discharging products forward, and a vertically arranged inside the main body box disposed in front of the product storage shelf. An elevating platform for raising and lowering, a conveyor device provided on the elevating platform, for transporting goods in a lateral direction with respect to the main body box, a power source of the conveyor device provided on the main body box, and provided on the conveyor device and the main body box And a clutch for intermittently connecting the power source to the conveyer device.The product discharged from the product storage rack is placed on the conveyor device, and then the elevator is moved to move the power source and the conveyor device provided on the main body box by the clutch. A vending machine characterized by connecting a product and moving the product in the horizontal direction. 2. A power source is provided at a lower part of the main body box, and a lifting platform always stands by at a lower part of the main body box, ascends by a predetermined signal, returns to the lower part after a product is placed, and connects the clutch to the lower part. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the product is moved in a horizontal direction. 3. An elevating member which is moved up and down by power is provided inside the main body box, and the elevating table is attached by the elevating member so as to be integrally movable in the up-down direction and movably in the front-rear direction. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a guide portion is provided in the vending machine, a part of the elevator is engaged, and the elevator moves in the front-rear direction along with the vertical movement. 4. The product box according to claim 1, wherein a front surface of the main body box is covered with a transparent plate so that the inside is visible, and a product take-out port is provided on a side of a position where the product storage shelf is arranged. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3.