JP2001357449A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine which realizes selling of merchandise of a large width and never generates a wasteful dead space in a merchandise column irrespectively of the width of the merchandise. SOLUTION: A right and left pair of merchandise carry-out mechanisms 30 is provided at the merchandise column, and a freely attachable and detachable partition board 22 is provided between the respective mechanisms 30. In the case of selling the merchandise A of a small width, the merchandise A is respectively housed on both sides of the board 22 and the mechanisms 30 are driven respectively to carry out the merchandise A. Furthermore, in the case of selling the merchandise B of a large width, the board 22 is removed and the merchandise is housed and the respective mechanisms 30 are driven simultaneously to carry out the merchandise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variety of shapes and sizes of beverages sealed in cans, bottles, plastic bottles, paper packs, or the like, or dairy products and confectioneries contained in predetermined containers such as cups. And vending machines capable of selling products having the following.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vending machine of this kind, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-302140, a vending machine main body having a product outlet at a lower part on a front surface is disclosed.
A plurality of product columns arranged in the width direction and the vertical direction of the vending machine main body, a product bucket arranged movably in the width direction and the vertical direction of the vending machine main body in front of each product column, and a product bucket. A vending machine having a moving mechanism for moving the main body in the width direction and the vertical direction is known.

[0003] In this vending machine, when a product is selected, the product bucket is moved to the product column corresponding to the selected product by the moving mechanism, and the product in the product column is pressed from behind by the extruding member and is moved from the product bucket. The goods bucket which has been carried out and received the goods is moved to the goods outlet by the moving mechanism, and the goods in the goods bucket are carried out to the goods outlet.

[0004]

However, since the storage width of the product column is formed to a fixed width corresponding to relatively small products such as cans, bottles or dairy products in containers, for example, boxed confectionery For example, there is a problem that products having a size exceeding the storage width of the product column cannot be stored, and sales of products having various shapes and sizes cannot be sufficiently supported. Also, if the storage width of the product column is made large to accommodate large products, wasteful empty space is generated when selling products with a small width, which leads to a reduction in the product storage efficiency as a whole. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable sale of a product having a large width, and to waste a product column regardless of the size of the product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine which does not generate a large free space.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vending machine body having a product outlet at a predetermined position, a vending machine body in a width direction and a vertical direction of the vending machine body. A plurality of product columns arranged in at least one direction, a product delivery mechanism provided in each product column to carry out the product in the product column in a predetermined direction, and a product capable of receiving the product carried out from each product column It has a receiver and a moving mechanism for moving the product receiver in the direction of arrangement of each product column. The moving mechanism moves the product receiver to an arbitrary product column, and the product unloading mechanism receives the product in the product column. In a vending machine which is carried out into the body and moves a product receiver which has received a product to a product outlet by a moving mechanism, a product discharging mechanism is provided on each of the product columns. Multiple each provided with a direction, each goods delivery mechanism of the commodity column and alone and simultaneously drivable arrangement is provided with a detachable partition member between each product delivery mechanism. Thus, when storing products having a small width, the products are stored on both sides of the partition member of the product column, and the products on both sides of the partition member are driven by independently driving the respective product carrying-out mechanisms of the product column. Each is carried out. In the case of storing a product with a large width, the product is stored in the product column by removing the partition member of the product column, and the product is discharged by simultaneously driving the respective product unloading mechanisms of the product column. .

According to a second aspect, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, the partition member is provided so as to be movable to an arbitrary position in a width direction of the product column. In this way, in addition to the operation of claim 1, when products having different widths are stored in the product column, by moving the partition member of the product column to the side of the product having the smaller width, each product becomes one product. It is stored in a column.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, each of the merchandise carrying-out mechanisms comprises an endless belt on which the merchandise is placed on an upper surface side, and a pair of pulleys which rotatably support the belt. Driving means for rotating the pulley is provided for each mechanism. Thus, in addition to the operation of the first or second aspect, by rotating the belt of each product carrying-out mechanism, the goods in the product column move together with the upper surface of the belt and are carried out.

[0009]

1 to 14 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine, FIG. 2 is a front sectional view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view thereof, 4 is a side sectional view of a product column, FIG. 5 is a front view thereof, FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a product bucket, FIG. 7 is a side sectional view thereof, FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a column drive mechanism, and FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of the main part, FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of the product support plate, and FIG. 14 is a front view of a product column showing an example of storing products.

This vending machine has a vending machine main body 10 having a part of the front surface formed to be transparent, and a plurality of product columns 20 arranged in the width direction and the vertical direction of the vending machine main body 10.
A product unloading mechanism 30 provided in each product column 20, a product bucket 40 as a product receiver capable of receiving the product A unloaded from each product column 20, and a product bucket 40 provided on the product bucket 40 side; It comprises a column drive mechanism 50 for driving the product unloading mechanism 30 of the product column 20 and a bucket moving mechanism 60 for moving the product buckets 40 in the direction in which the product columns 20 are arranged.

The vending machine main body 10 has an opening except for a lower part on the front surface, and this opening is covered with a transparent glass plate 10a. A product outlet 11 is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the vending machine main body 10, and a bill slot 12, a coin slot 13, an amount display section 14, a coin return port 15, and a product selection operation section 16 are provided on one side surface of the front face. Is provided. The inside of the vending machine main body 10 may be cooled or heated to a predetermined temperature depending on the type of the product for sale, or may be kept at a normal temperature.

Each product column 20 has a column body 21 extending in the front-rear direction, and is provided in the vending machine body 10 so as to be able to be pulled out forward. Product column 20
Although a detailed description of the drawer structure is omitted, it can be configured using, for example, a known slide rail. The product column 20 includes a partition plate 22 for partitioning the inside of the column main body 21 in the width direction. The partition plate 22 is detachably attached to a substrate 23 provided in the center of the column main body 21 in the width direction. The partition plate 22 is inserted into a hole (not shown) provided in the substrate 23 by inserting a part of the lower end thereof into the substrate 23.
Mounted on. In this case, the holes of the substrate 23 are provided at a plurality of positions in the width direction, and as shown in FIG.
Numeral 2 is adapted to be attached to an arbitrary position in the width direction of the product column 20. Further, each product column 20 is supported by a shelf 24 extending in the width direction at each level in the vertical direction, and each shelf 24 is vertically supported by a plurality of columns 25 erected on both sides in the width direction in the vending machine main body 10. It is fixed at a predetermined position in the direction.

Two product unloading mechanisms 30 are provided for each of the product columns 20, and the product unloading mechanisms 30 of the product column 20 are arranged in the width direction of the column main body 21. Each product carrying-out mechanism 30 includes a pair of pulleys 31 rotatably mounted on the front end side and the rear end side of the column main body 21, an endless belt 32 supported by each pulley 31, and a pulley on the front end side. A gear 33 is attached to the rotating shaft 31. The product A is placed on the upper surface of the belt 32. That is, in each of the product columns 20, two rows of the products A are stored with the partition plate 22 therebetween. In addition, the product unloading mechanism 30 is configured to rotate the gear 33 of the pulley 31 by a column driving mechanism 50 described later, thereby rotating the belt 32 and moving the product A forward.

The product bucket 40 has a bucket body 41 formed in a box shape.
It is formed to have a width substantially equal to zero. Product bucket 40
Is provided with a product support plate 42 for supporting the product A from the product column 20 when the product A is received from the product column 20.
1 support plate moving mechanisms 4 provided on both sides in the width direction
3 allows the bucket body 41 to move in the front-rear direction. The product support plate 42 is formed of a transparent plate extending in the up-down direction, and its lower end is bent so as to face obliquely upward toward one end side (the product column 20 side) of the product bucket 40. Each support plate moving mechanism 43 includes an endless wire 43a connected to the product support plate 42, and a pair of front and rear pulleys 43b rotatably supporting the wire 43a.
And a motor 43c for rotating the front pulley 43b. The motor 43c transmits torque to the pulley 43b via a plurality of gears 43d. Also,
A bottom plate 44 whose rear end is rotatably supported is provided on the bottom surface side of the bucket body 41, and the bottom plate 44 is configured to open and close the bottom surface of the bucket body 41 by a drive mechanism (not shown). Further, the bottom plate 4 is provided at the rear of the bucket body 41.
A product guide plate 45 that is inclined downward toward 4 is provided.

The column drive mechanism 50 meshes with a first gear 51 meshable with the gear 33 on the product column 20 side, a second gear 52 meshed with the first gear 51, and a second gear 52. A third gear 53, a fourth gear 54 meshing with the third gear 53, and a motor 55 capable of rotating the fourth gear 54 forward and backward, and both sides in the width direction in the product bucket 40. Are provided respectively. Second and third
The gears 52 and 53 are rotatably attached to the bucket body 41, and the fourth gear 54 is connected to a rotating shaft of a motor 55. A rotatable lever 5 as a gear supporting member is provided on a shaft 52a serving as a rotation axis of the second gear 52.
The first gear 5 is attached to one end of the lever 56.
1 is rotatably mounted. That is, the first gear 5
1 is rotatable with the lever 56 about the rotation axis of the second gear 52. The other end of the lever 56 is provided with an L-shaped bent portion 56a extending in the width direction of the second gear 52. As shown in FIG. 9, the second gear 52 is connected to the main body of the lever 56 and the bent portion 56a. And is located between. In this case, both ends of the shaft 52a are
Supported by the main body side and the bent portion 56a,
Between one side surface of the second gear 52 and the bent portion 56a, a coil-shaped spring 57 as a pressure contact means wound around the shaft 52a is interposed in a compressed state. That is, the other side surface of the second gear 52 is pressed against the main body of the lever 56 by the spring 57, and the lever 56 rotates integrally with the second gear 52 due to the frictional force generated by the pressing. . A first stopper 58 and a second stopper 59 are respectively provided at an upper predetermined position and a lower predetermined position of the lever 56, and the lever 56 is moved to an upper predetermined position (a meshing position with the gear 33 on the product column 20 side).
When it rotates to the first stopper 58, it comes into contact with the first stopper 58, and when it rotates to the lower predetermined position (standby position), the second stopper 59
To come into contact with. At this time, when the lever 56 comes into contact with one of the stoppers 58 and 59, the second gear 52 receives the frictional force of the spring 57 with the lever 56 while the rotation of the lever 56 is restricted by this contact. It is designed to rotate against it.

The bucket moving mechanism 60 includes a product bucket 4
0 in the width direction, and a pair of second driving units 6 for moving the first driving unit 61 in the vertical direction.
The second drive units 62 are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the vending machine 10. The first driving unit 61 includes a guide rail 61 a that movably supports the product bucket 40 and a motor 6 that moves the product bucket 40.
1b, the second driving unit 62 is a first driving unit 61
And a motor 62b for moving the first drive unit 61. In the bucket moving mechanism 60, the position of each product column 20 in the width direction and the vertical direction is detected by position detecting means such as an optical sensor, so that the product bucket 40 is moved to each drive unit 6.
1 and 62 are adapted to move to an arbitrary product column 20 or product outlet 11.

In the vending machine configured as described above, when money is input and a product is selected, the product bucket 40 is moved by the bucket moving mechanism 60 to the product column 20 corresponding to the selected product. Drive mechanism 5
0 motor 55 rotates in a predetermined direction. In this case, since the products A are stored in the product column 20 in two rows in the width direction, only the column drive mechanism 50 corresponding to the row in which the selected product is stored operates. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10A, the lever 56 of the column drive mechanism 50 rotates upward, and the first gear 51 meshes with the gear 33 on the product column 20 side. At this time, the rotation of the lever 56 is stopped by the contact with the first stopper 58.
Since 1, 52, 53 and 54 continue to rotate against the frictional force of the spring 57, the rotational force of the motor 55 is transmitted to the gear 33 on the product column 20 side. Thereby, the belt 32 of the product discharging mechanism 30 rotates, and the product A on the belt 32 is discharged into the product bucket 40. At this time, when the product A enters the bucket body 41, the product A is placed on the bucket body 41 on the product guide plate 45 as shown in FIG.
It abuts on the lower end side of the product support plate 42 while tilting to the side. When the entry of the product A is detected by a sensor (not shown), the product support plate 42 starts moving at a low speed toward the front of the bucket body 41 as shown in FIG. As a result, while the product A transfers to the product guide plate 45,
As shown in FIG. 12 (a), the product guide plate 45 slides down while being supported by the product support plate 42, and the product A moves onto the bottom plate 44 as shown in FIG. 12 (b). Thereafter, when the motor 55 of the column driving mechanism 50 rotates in the reverse direction, the lever 56 pivots downward as shown in FIG.
Is disengaged from the gear 51 on the product column 20 side. And the product bucket 40 containing the product A
Is moved to the product outlet 11 by the bucket moving mechanism 60, the bottom plate 44 of the product bucket 40 is opened as shown in FIG.
4 and is carried out to the product outlet 11 side while sliding.

In the vending machine, FIG.
As shown in (a), when a product B having a large width such as a boxed confectionery is stored in the product column 20, the product column 20
By removing the partition plate 22, the product B is placed on the belts 32 of the left and right product carrying mechanisms 30. in this case,
When unloading the product B, by operating both the left and right column driving mechanisms 50 of the product bucket 40, the respective product unloading mechanisms 30 of the product column 20 are simultaneously driven, and the respective belts 32 rotate. The product B is carried out.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), when a product A having a small width such as a dairy product in a container and a product C having a relatively large width such as a confectionery in a bag are stored in the product column 20. By moving the partition plate 22 of the product column 20 toward the product A having the smaller width, the products A and C having different widths are stored in one product column 20.

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present embodiment, the product column 20 is provided with the pair of left and right product unloading mechanisms 30, and the detachable partition plate 22 is provided between the product unloading mechanisms 30. When the product B having a large width is to be sold, the partition plate 22 is removed, the product B is stored, and the product unloading mechanisms 30 are simultaneously driven so that the product B is unloaded. Can be sold, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with the sale of products of various shapes and sizes.

Further, when selling a product A having a small width, the product A is stored on both sides of the partition plate 22, and the product discharge mechanism 30 is independently driven to discharge the product A. Even when the product A having a small width dimension is sold, there is no useless empty space, and the product can always be efficiently stored.

Further, since the partition plate 22 is provided so as to be movable at an arbitrary position in the width direction of the product column 20, when the products A and C having different width dimensions are stored on both sides of the partition plate 22, the partition plate 22 is provided. The plate 22 can be appropriately moved to a position corresponding to the width dimension of each of the products A and C, and can appropriately correspond to the width dimensions of various products.

Also, the product carrying mechanism 3 of each product column 20
0 is constituted by the belt 32 which is rotated by the gear 33, and the product A of the product column 20 is moved together with the upper surface of the belt 32 to be carried out, so that the product is pressed from behind by the pressing member as in the related art. This is extremely advantageous when selling products that do not come into contact with each other and are easily deformed or fall easily.

[0024]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the first aspect, it is possible to sell products having a large width dimension, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with sales of products having various shapes and sizes. In addition to this, even when a product with a small width is sold, no useless empty space is generated, so that the product can always be efficiently stored.

According to the vending machine of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the partition member can be appropriately moved to a position corresponding to the width of the product, so that the width of the various products can be reduced. We can respond appropriately.

According to the vending machine of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, since the products are not pressed from behind by the pressing member and come into contact with each other as in the related art, the vending machine is deformed. This is extremely advantageous when selling products that are easy to fall or products that easily fall.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a vending machine.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a product column.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a product column.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a product bucket.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a product bucket.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a column drive mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a front sectional view of a main part of a column drive mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a column drive mechanism.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product support plate.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product support plate.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the product support plate.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a product column showing an example of storing products.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vending machine main body, 11 ... Commodity take-out, 20 ... Commodity column, 22 ... Partition plate, 30 ... Commodity carry-out mechanism, 32 ... Belt, 31 ... Pulley, 40 ... Commodity bucket, 60 ... Bucket moving mechanism, A, B, C ... goods.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine main body having a product outlet at a predetermined position; a plurality of product columns arranged in at least one of a width direction and a vertical direction of the vending machine main body; A product unloading mechanism that unloads the products in the product column in a predetermined direction, a product receiver that can receive the products unloaded from each product column, and a moving mechanism that moves the product receptor in the arrangement direction of each product column. With
The product receiver is moved to an arbitrary product column by the moving mechanism, the product in the product column is carried out to the product receiver by the product unloading mechanism, and the product receiver that has received the product is moved to the product outlet by the moving mechanism. In the vending machine, the product column is provided with a plurality of product unloading mechanisms each in the width direction, and each product unloading mechanism of the product column is configured to be able to be driven independently and simultaneously, and between the product unloading mechanisms. A vending machine having a detachable partition member. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the partition member is provided so as to be movable to an arbitrary position in a width direction of the product column. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the commodity carrying mechanisms comprises an endless belt for placing the commodity on the upper surface side, and a pair of pulleys for rotatably supporting the belt. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a driving unit for rotating the vending machine.