JP2002150405A - Device for carry out of article for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance storability for a lower pedal to reduce dead space in a rack lower part, while securing strength of a device base plate and the lower pedal, and increase the number of stored articles. SOLUTION: A lower pedal 4 is connectedly supported by a connection plate 19, the pedal 4 is journaled freely turnably by a shaft 17, the pedal 4 is formed to be openable by making the shaft 17 held vertically movably move vertically by a bearing and a shaft holding member 80, and the operation for the shaft 17 is restricted by a stopper 84 operable following to opening and closing operations of an upper pedal 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product unloading device for a vending machine, and more particularly, to a product (can) having a different shape and outer diameter without adjusting the size of a product passage such as a serpentine type product rack. The present invention relates to a product unloading device of a vending machine capable of selling beverages and PET bottled beverage products).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of vending machine merchandise unloading apparatuses have been provided.
No. 4 is also disclosed. The merchandise unloading device of these vending machines is provided at the lower part of the merchandise passage with a main flap for receiving the lowermost merchandise and a sub-flap positioned above and for receiving the second lowest merchandise at the time of unloading. The discharge of the product is controlled by alternately rotating and projecting these flaps toward the product passage.

[0003] In other words, these product carrying devices regulate the size of the product passage depending on whether or not the flap projects (the amount of protrusion is always constant). Has previously dealt with by separately providing a member for regulating the width of the passage in the product passage, or by providing a dedicated product discharge device adapted to the size of the product.

However, as is well known, various types of containers having different shapes and outer diameters are distributed as containers for canned beverages and PET bottled beverages. It is necessary to adjust the dimensions of the product passage as described above, which is troublesome, and depending on the shape of the container, it is not suitable for the mechanism of the product discharging device, and there is a problem that the product cannot be sold.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-1.
No. 40853 has provided a product unloading device of a vending machine which can sell products having different shapes and outer diameters without adjusting the size of the product passage. Hereinafter, this product unloading device will be described.

FIG. 18 is a rear perspective view showing a product unloading device of a vending machine according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-140853.
FIG. 19 is a front perspective view showing a product unloading device of a vending machine, FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a receiving portion of a substrate opening, and FIG.
FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing a standby state for selling small-diameter products, FIG.
Is an explanatory diagram showing a sales state of a small-diameter product, and FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a sales state of a large-diameter rectangular product.

[0007] The substrate 1 is disposed below a commodity rack (not shown) and forms one surface of a commodity path. On the other surface of the product passage, a product exit adjusting plate 20 is provided, and the product passage is set to a size capable of storing a large-diameter product. The substrate 1 is provided with openings 1a and 1b. On the back surface of the substrate 1, a pair of bearings 1c are provided upright on both side edges of the opening 1a. An elongated hole 1 for slidably holding the shaft 3 of the upper pedal 2 is provided in the bearing portion 1c.
d is provided. A cover member 17 is provided on the rear surface of the substrate 1 along the operation range of the carrier 7.

The upper pedal 2 is formed so as to be able to move forward and backward from the opening 1a toward the product passage, and is for supporting the second product from the bottom among the products stacked in the product passage. The upper pedal 2 is screwed into a napier screw member 6 which is rotated by a motor unit 25 having a gear box, and a carrier 7 and a spring 10 which move up and down along this.
Through the opening 1a by the operation of the carrier 7.

The opening 1a is provided with a receiving portion 1g which comes into contact with the back surface of the upper pedal 2. This opening 1a is
The product G2, which is in contact with both the bottom product G supported by the lower pedal 4 and the substrate 1, is provided at a position where it can advance and retreat without being hindered by the product G2. Here, the case where the product G1 is located directly above the product G and the product G2 is located diagonally to the product G is shown.

The carrier 7 has a screw hole 7 a screwed with the napier screw member 6 and a pin 7 b connecting the lower end of the spring 10.
And a stopper shaft 9 via a shaft holding member 8 when descending.
Is pressed against the tension of the spring 11. When the carrier 7 moves up, the stopper shaft 9 moves upward by the tension of the spring 11. The stopper shaft 9 is held by a shaft holding member 8 and is connected to a bearing 1e by a spring 11. The shaft holding member 8 has an elongated hole (not shown), and is held by the bearing portion 1e so as to be vertically movable by a stepped screw or the like (not shown) inserted into the elongated hole.

The self-propelled switch 13 is for detecting the standby position of the carrier 7. The lower pedal 4 is for supporting the first product from the bottom among the products stacked in the product passage, and is rotatably supported by a shaft 5 provided on a bearing 1e on the back surface of the opening 1b. Have been.
A fan-shaped stopper portion 4a provided on the back surface of the lower pedal 4.
Is for restricting the rotation range of the lower pedal 4 by contacting the stopper shaft 9 which slides up and down in the elongated hole 1f of the bearing portion 1e.

That is, when the stopper shaft 9 is located above the elongated hole 1f, the stopper portion 4a and the stopper shaft 9 are pressed against each other so that the opening of the lower pedal 4 can be restricted (FIG. 21). reference). On the other hand, when the stopper shaft 9 is located below the elongated hole 1f, the pressure contact between the stopper portion 4a and the stopper shaft 9 is released, and the lower pedal 4 is formed so as to be opened by a product load (see FIG. 22). .

When the commodity G is sold out and the lower pedal 4 is no longer loaded with the commodity, the spring 12 is urged to return to the closed state. The sold-out state of the product is detected by a sold-out switch (not shown) provided at the base of the lower pedal 4.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. In the sales standby state, it is as shown in FIG. The motor unit 25 is operated in response to a sales command from a main control unit (not shown), and the carrier 7 starts to descend by the rotation of the napier screw member 6, and the upper pedal 2 connected to this by the spring 10 opens from the opening 1 a. When it protrudes and its tip abuts on the first product from the bottom, it enters the sales start state.

After the upper pedal 2 comes into contact with the first product from below, the carrier 7 continues to descend while the spring 10 is extended, and presses the shaft holding member 8. As shown in FIG. 22, when the carrier 7 descends to the lower limit position, the shaft holding member 8 pushes down the stopper shaft 9, so that the contact of the lower pedal 4 with the stopper portion 4a is released, and the lower pedal 4 is opened.
The first product from the bottom falls.

When a product falls, the upper pedal 2 projects to the maximum extent toward the product path by the tension of the extended spring 10 and supports the next product. That is, since the upper pedal 2 projects following the falling operation of the first product from the bottom, even products having a diameter significantly smaller than the size of the product passage can be reliably supported.

Thereafter, the lower pedal 4 returns to the standby position shown in FIG. Since the carrier 7 is raised by the rotation of the napier screw member 6, the upper pedal 2
To return to the standby position by retracting into the opening 1a.

[0018]

However, the substrate 1
The rigidity is weak because the opening 1b is formed in the lower part of the frame. Therefore, a method of connecting the lower portion of the opening 1b can be considered, but the storage space for the lower pedal 4 must be shifted upward and secured accordingly. In this case, it is necessary to arrange the board 1 at a position higher than the lower surface of the rack, and the position of the lowermost product is also necessarily higher, resulting in a dead space at the lower part of the apparatus and a reduction in the number of stored products. There was a problem of getting it. Thus, it has been desired to provide means for increasing the number of stored products while maintaining the strength of the board 1 and the lower pedal 4.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and while ensuring the strength of the device board and the lower pedal, enhances the storability of the lower pedal to reduce the dead space at the lower part of the rack. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine product carrying device capable of increasing the number of products.

[0020]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine having a product discharge device disposed at a lower end of a product path. A lower pedal, which is formed so as to be able to protrude from an opening of the substrate and supports a product located at the lowermost end, and is formed so as to be able to protrude from an opening of the substrate, and is located second from the bottom. With an upper pedal that supports the product
The upper pedal is urged to protrude toward the product passage prior to the opening operation of the lower pedal, and when the support of the lowermost product by the lower pedal is released,
In a product discharging device of a vending machine formed so as to protrude to a position for supporting a second product from the bottom, the lower pedal is connected and supported by a rotatable connection plate provided above the lower pedal. The end on the substrate side is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft, and is opened and closed by vertically moving the rotation shaft held vertically by a bearing and a shaft holding member. The operation of the rotating shaft is regulated by a stopper operable following the opening and closing operation of the upper pedal.

Thus, the commodity load can be dispersed and supported by the connecting plate and the lower pedal, and the lower pedal can be opened with good storage. Also, because the storage of the lower pedal is good,
The height of the product from the lower surface of the rack can be reduced accordingly, and the number of stored products can be increased.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a commodity discharging apparatus for a vending machine, wherein the lower pedal comprises: an urging means for urging a rotation axis of the lower pedal downward; Biasing means for biasing the protruding rotation to
It is formed to be biased in the closing direction. Thus, the force of the lower pedal to push back the product can be reduced, and a light product can be held.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product discharging device for a vending machine, wherein a bent portion for controlling a posture of a rectangular product is formed on a lower pedal. Thus, it is possible to prevent the side portion of the rectangular product from being sandwiched between the upper pedal and the inner wall of the product passage.

[0024]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a standby state for sales of a product unloading device of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the product unloading device, FIG. 3 is a front perspective view showing the product unloading device, FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the product unloading device, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the shaft holding member. , FIG.
Is an assembled perspective view showing a shaft holding member, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a stored state of a lower pedal, and FIGS. FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the pedal, FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the unloading operation of the rectangular product, FIG.
5 is an explanatory view showing the operation process (a) to (c) of the spring and the lower pedal, FIG. 16 is a rear view showing a product carrying-out device using another spring, and FIG. 17 is using another spring. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement process (a)-(c) of a lower pedal in a case. In the following description, members that are the same as or correspond to those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description of the basic configuration and operation will be omitted, and only different portions will be described.

The upper pedal 2 is connected to the carrier 7 via a connecting member 14 slidably formed on the substrate 1. The upper pedal stopper mechanism 30 moves back and forth from the opening 1a in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the upper pedal 2, supports the upper pedal 2 from the back, and can receive a product load. The lower pedal stopper mechanism 50 is
The lower pedal 4 is opened by the contact of the carrier 7 when the carrier 7 descends, and the lower pedal 4 is kept closed at other times. The start and end of the operation of the carrier 7 are detected by the position detection switch 60. The sold-out switch 70 detects the sold-out of the product G by detecting the opening / closing operation of the actuator 76.

Next, an outline of the basic operation of the commodity discharging device will be described. In the sales standby state, the upper pedal 2 is open and the lower pedal 4 is closed, and the products stacked in the rack are supported by the lower pedal 4.
Then, in response to a sales command from a control unit (not shown), the motor unit 25 operates, and the napier screw member 6 rotates.

Then, the carrier 7 screwed to the napier screw member 6 descends, the upper pedal 2 connected via the connecting member 14 starts to protrude from the opening 1a, and the upper pedal stopper mechanism 30 moves the upper pedal 2 downward. Support from.
At this time, the projecting direction of the upper pedal 2 is regulated by the shaft 16, and the upper pedal 2 projects between the first product from the bottom and the second product from the bottom supported by the lower pedal 4.

As the carrier 7 further descends, the amount of projection of the upper pedal 2 also increases. When the carrier 7 reaches the lower limit, the upper pedal 2 has a maximum protrusion amount to support the second product from the bottom, and the carrier 7 releases the lock by the lower pedal stopper mechanism 50 to lower the product. Open the pedal 4 and carry out the first product from the bottom.

Then, by the action of the napier screw member 6,
The carrier 7 starts rising from the lower limit position. Then, the lower pedal 4 is automatically returned to the closed state by the urging means, and is locked in the closed state by the lower pedal stopper mechanism 50.

As the carrier 7 rises, the upper pedal 2 retreats from the opening 1a, and the upper pedal stopper mechanism 30 also retreats in conjunction with the upper pedal 2 while supporting it. Then, the product previously supported by the upper pedal 2 loses its support and falls onto the lower pedal 4 to be in a sales standby state again. The above is the basic operation of the product unloading device according to the present invention. Subsequently, the main part of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

The lower pedal 4 is connected to a connecting portion 19 by a rotatable connecting plate 19 provided above the lower pedal 4.
a, the end on the substrate 1 side is rotatably supported by a shaft 17 and the shaft 17 held movably up and down by a bearing and a shaft holding member 80 is opened and closed by moving up and down. It is formed so that. The operation of the shaft 17 is formed so as to be regulated by a stopper 84 that can operate following the opening / closing operation of the upper pedal 2. With such a configuration, the product height H1 from the rack lower surface 22 can be formed to be lower than the height H2 in the case of a device not configured in this way, and the number of stored products can be increased (FIG. 1, FIG. (See FIG. 9).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the stopper 84 has long holes 84a and 84b, and the shaft holding member 80 has long holes 80a and 80c and holes 80b and 80e. The through hole 80d is for inserting a pressed piece 92 pressed when the carrier 7 descends, and the pressed piece 92 is connected to the shaft 88. The hole 80e locks the end of the spring 90. The stopper 84
It is movably held in the shaft holding member 80 by the shafts 86 and 88. The projection 80f is fitted and locked in a locking hole (not shown) of the substrate 1.

The lower pedal 4 is urged in the closing direction by a spring 94 for urging the shaft 17 downward and a spring 95 for urging the connecting plate 19 to protrude and rotate toward the product passage. As a result, the force for pushing back the product can be reduced and a light product can be held as compared with the case where the strong spring 97 is used (see FIGS. 14 to 17).

The lower pedal 4 is formed with a bent portion 4c for controlling the attitude of the rectangular product. As a result, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, the tip of the upper pedal 2 can be brought into contact with the corner of the rectangular product by slightly inclining the posture of the rectangular product (see FIG. 12). It is possible to prevent the side wall of the rectangular product from being sandwiched between the inner wall 21 of the passage.

[0036]

As described above, according to the commodity discharging device for a vending machine according to the present invention (claim 1), it is disposed at the lower end of the commodity passage and forms one inner wall of the commodity passage. A substrate, formed so as to freely protrude from an opening of the substrate,
A lower pedal that supports a product located at the lowermost end; and an upper pedal that is formed to protrude from an opening of the substrate and that supports a product located second from the bottom, wherein the upper pedal is provided with the lower pedal. Prior to the opening operation, when the lower pedal is released from supporting the lowermost product by the lower pedal, the protrusion projects to the position for supporting the second lowermost product. The lower pedal is connected and supported by a rotatable connection plate provided above the lower pedal, and the end on the substrate side is rotated by a rotation shaft. The pivot shaft is rotatably supported by the pivot shaft, and is formed so as to be opened and closed by vertically moving the pivot shaft held vertically by a bearing and a shaft holding member. Upper pedal Since so as to regulate the operable stop to follow the opening and closing operation, it is possible to disperse the support in the connecting plate and the lower pedal goods load, it can be opened good storability under pedal. Also, since the storage capacity of the lower pedal is good, the height of the product from the lower surface of the rack can be reduced correspondingly, and the number of stored products can be increased.

Further, according to the commodity discharging device for a vending machine according to the present invention (claim 2), the lower pedal includes an urging means for urging the rotation axis of the lower pedal downward, and a connecting plate. Since it is formed so as to be urged in the closing direction by the urging means that urges to protrude and rotate toward the product passage side,
The force of pushing down the product of the lower pedal can be reduced, and a light product can be held.

Further, according to the commodity discharging device for a vending machine according to the present invention (claim 3), the bent portion for controlling the posture of the rectangular commodity is formed on the lower pedal, so that the upper pedal and the inner wall of the commodity passage are formed. Can prevent the side portion of the rectangular product from being pinched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a sales standby state of a product unloading device of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the product unloading device.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view showing the product unloading device.

FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the product unloading device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a shaft holding member.

FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view showing a shaft holding member.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a stored state of a lower pedal.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of a lower pedal different from the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of a lower pedal different from the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing the unloading operation of a rectangular product.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the unloading operation of a rectangular product.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the unloading operation of a rectangular product.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a main part.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing operation processes (a) to (c) of a spring and a lower pedal.

FIG. 16 is a rear view showing a product discharging device using another spring.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing operation steps (a) to (c) of the lower pedal when another spring is used.

FIG. 18 is a rear perspective view showing a product unloading device of a vending machine according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-140853.

FIG. 19 is a front perspective view showing a product unloading device of a vending machine.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a receiving portion of the substrate opening.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing a standby state for selling small-diameter products.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a sales state of small-diameter products.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a sales state of a large-diameter rectangular product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 1a Opening 2 Upper pedal 4 Lower pedal 6 Napier screw member 7 Carrier G Product H1, H2 Height 14 Connecting member 16 Shaft 17 Shaft 18 Shaft 19 Connecting plate 19a Connecting portion 21 Product passage inner wall 22 Rack lower surface 25 Motor unit 30 Upper Pedal stopper mechanism 50 Lower pedal stopper mechanism 60 Position detection switch 70 Sold-out switch 76 Actuator 80 Shaft holding member 80a Long hole 80b Hole 80c Long hole 80d Through hole 80e hole 80f Projection 84 Stopper 84a Long hole 84b hole 86 shaft 88 Shaft 90 Spring 92 Pressed piece 94 Spring 95 Spring 97 Spring

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Katsuhiko Fukuda, 1-1 1-1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. No.1 Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3E046 BA03 BB03 BB04 CD01 CD06 DA01 EA08 EA09 GA03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate disposed at a lower end of a product passage and forming one inner wall of the product passage; and a lower pedal formed to protrude from an opening of the substrate and supporting a product located at a lowermost end. And an upper pedal formed so as to protrude from an opening of the substrate and supporting a product located second from the bottom, wherein the upper pedal is on the product passage side prior to the opening operation of the lower pedal. When the lower pedal is released from being supported by the lower pedal,
In a product discharging device of a vending machine formed so as to protrude to a position for supporting a second product from the bottom, the lower pedal is connected and supported by a rotatable connection plate provided above the lower pedal. The end on the substrate side is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft,
The rotary shaft held up and down by a bearing and a shaft holding member is formed so as to open and close by moving up and down, and the operation of the rotary shaft can be operated by following the opening and closing operation of the upper pedal. A product discharge device for a vending machine, wherein the product is regulated by a simple stopper. 2. The lower pedal is closed by urging means for urging the rotation axis of the lower pedal downward and urging means for urging the connecting plate so as to protrude and rotate toward the product passage. The product discharging device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the device is formed so as to be biased in the direction. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower pedal is provided with a bent portion for controlling a posture of the rectangular product.