JP2002251662A - Commodity storing device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity storing device for an automatic vending machine capable of positively storing a commodity in a proper sideways attitude. SOLUTION: In the commodity storing device 1 for the automatic vending machine, a plurality of commodities S loaded from above in sideways states are stored sideways in a vertically stacked state. It is provided with two vertically extended passage walls mutually facing each other with an interval in between and partitioning a commodity passage 2 storing the plurality of commodities S, and a buffer member 21 attached to at least one of the two passage walls in a state forwardly descending toward an interior of the commodity passage 2 and comprising a plate spring for decelerating the commodities S and controlling falling attitudes of the commodities S by contact of falling commodities S from above in loading.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise storage device for a vending machine for storing a plurality of products loaded sideways from above in a vertically stacked state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has proposed a product storage
For example, it has already been proposed in Utility Model Registration No. 2562799. This product storage device has a serpentine-type product passage extending meandering in the vertical direction. The passage wall that defines the product passage is formed by arranging a plurality of arc members that extend in the up-down direction and that are curved outwardly convex at predetermined intervals in the up-down direction. At the lower end of each of the arc members, a control member for controlling the falling speed and the falling posture of the product when loading the product is attached.

The control member is made of an elastic resin,
A main body part having a substantially rectangular planar shape, a connecting shaft for rotatably connecting the main body part to the arc member, and a spring part for urging the main body part in a direction to protrude into the product passage are integrally formed. I have. When the product is not in the product passage, the control member protrudes into the product passage in a posture in which the main body portion is inclined forward and inward toward the inside of the product passage. When a product is loaded into the product path, the product falls along the product path while sequentially hitting the main body of each control member from above. When the product hits the main body of the control member, the main body is pushed down by the weight of the product, and rotates at a large angle about the connecting shaft against the spring portion so as to retreat from the product passage. In this case, the product that hit the body
While being decelerated by the spring portion, the falling posture is controlled to a stable sideways posture. In the storage state after the loading is completed, the main body of the control member is held in a state of being retracted from the product passage by the product stored near the control member, and closes between the upper and lower two arc members. Thus, it also functions as a part of the passage wall.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned commodity storage device, the main body of the control member having a posture inclined forward and upward before loading is rotated at a large angle during loading or in the storage state. Therefore, a large load is applied to the spring portion of the control member. Therefore, the urging force of the spring portion made of resin is likely to decrease due to long-term use of the product storage device, and in addition, a large load may repeatedly act on the spring portion, which may cause a crack in the spring portion. . In these cases,
The falling speed and falling posture of the product during loading cannot be controlled adequately and properly. As a result, the product surface is damaged and the product is placed in the proper sideways posture (length of the standing product). (The posture in which the axis in the vertical direction is substantially horizontal), it is impossible to store the product in the product passage.

Further, in recent years, as a product sold by a vending machine, a beverage product contained in a PET bottle (hereinafter referred to as a “PET bottle product”) has been increasing. There are types. When loading such a plastic bottle product having a square cross section, even if the product is loaded in a proper sideways posture, when the product reaches the lower end of the product passage,
If the product falls on an already loaded product, the rebound may be irregular depending on the location of the product, and the product may be in an oblique or upright posture, and may not be able to maintain a proper sideways posture. In particular, the product stored at the lower end of the product passage has a higher falling speed when reaching the lower end of the product passage than the product stored at the upper portion of the product passage, and thus the posture of the product is easily disturbed. in this way,
If the product is stored in an inappropriate posture, the product is likely to be jammed in the product passage, and the product dispensing device provided at the lower end of the product passage does not properly pay out the lowest sales product at the time of sale. There is a risk. In this regard, there is room for improvement in this product storage device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product storage device of a vending machine which can store products in an appropriate sideways posture. And

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a vending machine merchandise storage apparatus for storing a plurality of merchandise loaded sideways from above in a vertically stacked state. A storage device, comprising two passage walls extending in the up-down direction and facing each other at an interval, and defining a product passage for storing a plurality of products,
At least one of these two passage walls is attached in a posture inclined forward and downward toward the inside of the product passage, and the product falling during loading hits from above, thereby decelerating the product and dropping the product. And a buffer member made of a leaf spring for controlling the pressure.

According to this configuration, when a product is loaded into the product path from above, the product falls in the product path, and during the fall, hits the cushioning member inclined forward and downward from above. Since the cushioning member is made of a leaf spring, a part of energy of the falling of the product is absorbed by the elasticity of the cushioning member itself, and the product is decelerated. Also,
Even if the product is in an incorrect posture when it first hits the cushioning member, the product can be properly rotated by turning the portion hit by the cushioning member as a fulcrum, in addition to the aforementioned deceleration of the product. It is controlled so as to assume a proper sideways posture. As a result, it is possible to reliably store the product in an appropriate sideways posture without damaging the surface of the product. Further, in the product storage device having the above configuration, unlike the conventional control member, the cushioning member does not rotate or bend at a large angle, so that even if the product storage device is used for a long time, the product storage device can store the product. The control performance of the falling speed and the falling posture can be reliably maintained.

In this case, each of the two passage walls has a plurality of arc members arranged in a state of being arranged vertically, and each of the plurality of arc members has a curl portion having an opening. It is preferable that the upper end of the cushioning member is attached to at least one of the curled portions of the plurality of arc members so as to be prevented from falling off through the opening. .

According to this configuration, the upper end of the cushioning member is
Since it is attached to the curled part of the arc member through the opening in a state that it can not be removed, without using screws for attachment,
The buffer member can be easily attached to the arc member.
In general, by forming the passage wall with a plurality of arc members, a serpentine-type product passage is defined, and the arc member as described above rotatably supports the arc member itself at its upper end. For this purpose, a curled portion having an opening is formed. Therefore, the buffer member can be easily attached to the existing arc member having such a curled portion.

In this case, the surface of the cushioning member is preferably made of a material having lubricity.

According to this configuration, the product hitting the cushioning member can be dropped while sliding on the cushioning member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rotation of the product rolling downward in the sideways posture. . As a result, in general, the rotation of the product, which is likely to be irregularly rotated by rolling, can be suppressed, and as a result, the product can be prevented from being in an inappropriate posture due to such irregular rotation, and the product can be further improved. It can be stored in a proper sideways posture.

Another product storage device for a vending machine according to the present invention is a product storage device for a vending machine for storing a plurality of products loaded sideways from above in a vertically stacked state. And two passage walls extending in the vertical direction and facing each other with an interval therebetween and defining a product passage for accommodating a plurality of products, and provided at a lower end portion of the product passage, A product support portion for supporting a lower order product, and provided in a predetermined range above the product support portion of the product passage so as to protrude into the product passage, and a product dropped and passed during loading hits the product from below. And a rebound suppressing member formed of a leaf spring for suppressing the rebound.

According to this configuration, when a product is loaded into the product path from above, the product falls in the product path and reaches the lower end of the product path. In this case, when the product hits the product support portion or the product already loaded from above, even if the product rebounds, the rebounded portion hits the rebound suppressing member from below, and further rebound is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to reliably store the product in a stable posture, that is, in a proper sideways posture. The predetermined range in which the rebound suppressing member is to be provided is preferably set appropriately in consideration of the amount of rebound of the product at the time of loading, the vertical dimension of the entire product path, the product to be stored, and the like.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a lower part of a product storage device of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The product storage device 1 is incorporated in a vending machine that sells, for example, plastic bottle products, canned beverage products, and the like, and stores a large number of products in a state where they are stacked sideways and vertically.

As shown in FIG. 1, the merchandise storage device 1 includes two serpentine-type front and rear (left and right in FIG. 1) merchandise passages 2 extending vertically.
At the lower end portion, a product dispensing device 3 (product support unit) that supports the lowest-order sales product S and the next-sale product S immediately above it and pays out the sales product S at the time of sale is provided. The product dispensing device 3 is configured to open and close the lower end portion of the product passage 2 so as to support and pay out the sold product S, and to slide freely along a V-shaped guide groove 5. It has an ejector 6 for supporting the sale product S, a drive motor 7 for slidingly driving the ejector 6, and the like, and pays out the sale product S without adjustment regardless of the size or shape of the product to be sold. Flexible type that can be used. As shown in the figure, the commodity dispensing devices 3 are disposed between the front and rear two commodity passages 2 in a state of being back to back with each other, and at the time of sale, each commodity dispensing apparatus 3 operates independently. ,
The sales merchandise S in each merchandise passage 2 is paid out. In addition, about the detailed structure of the goods delivery device 3,
Since this is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-336593, which has already been proposed by the present applicant, a description thereof is omitted here.

Each of the product passages 2 extends in the up-down direction, and a pair of left and right side plates 11, 11 facing each other at an interval in the left-right direction (front and back directions in FIG. 1), and between these side plates 11, 11. Are defined by a plurality of arc members 12 (passage walls) and the like which are arranged in the up-down direction and face each other with an interval in the front-rear direction. Below the outer arc member 12, an opposing plate 13 extending in the up-down direction and facing the commodity dispensing device 3 at an interval in the front-rear direction.
Are arranged, and the facing plate 13 and the commodity delivery device 3
Thus, the lower end of the product passage 2 is defined.

Each of the arc members 12 has a lateral width (width in the left-right direction) substantially equal to the distance between the side plates 11, 11, and extends in the up-down direction and curves outwardly convex as shown in FIG. It is formed so that. In addition, on the upper part of the arc member 12,
A C-shaped curl portion 14 extending in the left-right direction is formed. The curl portion 14 extends slightly longer in the left-right direction than the lateral width of the arc member 12 itself, and both ends are rotatably supported by the side plates 11, 11. FIG.
As shown in (b), the lower end of the curl portion 14 is larger than the thickness of a buffer
Has an opening 14a smaller than the inside diameter of the opening 14a.

The arc member 12 configured as described above includes:
A buffer member 21 for controlling the falling speed and the falling posture of the article S to be loaded is appropriately attached. The cushioning member 21 has a width approximately the same as that of the arc member 12 and is made of a metal leaf spring having a smooth surface, and the whole is attached to the arc member 1.
2, that is, inwardly of the product passage 2, and is attached so as to extend gently curved and extend forward and downward. As shown in FIG. 2B, the upper end 21a of the cushioning member 21 is bent and formed to have a size smaller than the inner diameter of the curled portion 14 of the arc member 12 and larger than the opening 14a. When attaching the buffer member 21 configured as described above to the arc member 12, prior to attaching the arc member 12 to the side plates 11, 11, the cushion member 21 is attached.
The cushioning member 21 can be easily attached to the curled portion 14 of the arc member 12 through the opening 14a in a state where the curl portion 14 can be easily prevented from being pulled out simply by inserting the upper end portion 21a of the curved member 14 from one end of the curled portion 14 of the arc member 12.

With the cushioning member 21 as described above, the control of the falling speed and the falling posture at the time of loading the commodity S is performed as follows. That is, when a product S is inserted from a product insertion port (not shown) provided above the product passage 2, the product S falls in the product passage 2, and during this fall, the product S is dropped onto the cushioning member 21 from above. Hit. Since the cushioning member 21 is made of a leaf spring having a smooth surface, the elasticity of the cushioning member 21 itself absorbs a part of the energy of the falling of the product S, thereby decelerating the product S and rotating the product S while falling. Suppress irregular rotation due to movement. Even when the product S is in an inappropriate posture at the time of first hitting the cushioning member 21, the product S is not limited to the aforementioned deceleration and the irregular rotation of the product S, but also to the cushioning member 2.
By turning while using the portion corresponding to 1 as a fulcrum, it is controlled so as to have an appropriate sideways posture. As a result, the product S
The product S can be securely stored in a proper sideways posture without being damaged. Further, in the product storage device 1 of the present embodiment, unlike the conventional control member described above, the cushioning member 21 does not rotate or bend at a large angle, so that the product storage device 1 can be used for a long time. Even so, the control performance of the falling speed and the falling posture of the product S can be reliably maintained.

The opposite plate 13 is provided with two upper and lower rebound suppressing members 22 (22A, 22B) for suppressing rebound during loading of the product S stored at the lower end of the product path 2. I have. Each of the rebound suppressing members 22 is made of a leaf spring similar to the cushioning member 21, and is attached so as to extend downward while being slightly curved to the opposite side of the attached opposing plate 13. The lower rebound suppressing member 22A is disposed so that the lower end thereof is located slightly above the state where the lowest product S is stored in a proper sideways posture.
On the other hand, the upper rebound suppressing member 22B is arranged at an interval substantially equal to the outer diameter of the product S with respect to the lower rebound suppressing member 22A. In addition, each rebound suppressing member 22 is attached by welding its upper end to the opposing plate 13.

Such a rebound suppressing member 22
A and 22B suppress rebound during loading of the product S as follows. That is, when a product S is inserted into the product path 2 having no product from an upper product insertion port (not shown), the product falls in the product path 2 and reaches the ejector 6 of the product delivery device 3. In this case, when the product S hits the ejector 6, even if it rebounds, the rebounded portion hits the lower rebound suppressing member 22A from below, and further rebound is suppressed. As a result, the first product S
(Hereinafter, referred to as “first product S”) can be reliably stored in a stable posture, that is, an appropriate sideways posture.
Similarly, even if the product S that has been placed after the first product S falls on the first product S and rebounds, the rebound is suppressed by hitting the upper rebound suppressing member 22B from below. . Therefore, the product S that has been successively inserted after the first product can be reliably stored in a proper sideways posture.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the number and the mounting positions of the cushioning members 21 and the rebound suppressing members 22 to be provided in one product passage 2 are, for example, as follows. 2 According to the overall top and bottom dimensions and the products to be stored (shape, size, elastic modulus, etc.), determine appropriately so that all the products stored in the product path 2 are stored in an appropriate sideways posture. Is preferred. In the embodiment, the rebound suppressing member 22
Is attached to the facing plate 13 facing the commodity delivery device 3, but may be attached to the commodity delivery device 3. further,
The present invention may be applied to a vending machine having a product dispensing device other than the flexible type. Further, the detailed configuration of the buffer member 21 and the rebound suppressing member 22 shown in the embodiment are merely examples, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention.

[0024]

As described in detail above, the merchandise storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention has the effect that the merchandise can be securely stored in a proper sideways posture.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a lower portion of a product storage device of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view showing a state in which a buffer member is attached to an arc member, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the attachment portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity storage apparatus 2 Commodity passage 3 Commodity payout apparatus (commodity support part) 12 Arc member 14 Curl part 14a Opening 21 Buffer member 22 Rebound suppressing member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Tomita 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Fujimoto 2-5-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 F term in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (reference) 3E046 BA03 BB03 BB04 CA20 GA06

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine product storage device for storing a plurality of products loaded sideways from above in a vertically stacked state, wherein the products extend vertically and are spaced apart from each other. Opposite
Two passage walls defining a commodity passage accommodating the plurality of commodities; and at least one of the two passage walls is attached to at least one of the two passage walls in a posture inclined forward and downward toward the inside of the commodity passage, and is loaded. And a cushioning member made of a leaf spring for slowing down the product and controlling a falling posture of the product by hitting the product falling from above from above, and storing the product in the vending machine. apparatus. 2. Each of the two passage walls has a plurality of arc members arranged in a vertically aligned state, and each of the plurality of arc members has a curl portion having an opening. The upper portion of the cushioning member is attached to at least one of the curled portions of the plurality of arc members in a state where the cushioning member is prevented from falling off through the opening. The product storage device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The surface of the cushioning member is made of a material having lubricity.
Item storage device for a vending machine according to item 1. 4. A merchandise storage device for a vending machine for storing a plurality of products loaded sideways from above in a vertically stacked state, wherein the products extend vertically and are spaced apart from each other. Opposite
Two passage walls defining a product passage for accommodating the plurality of products; a product support portion provided at a lower end of the product passage, for supporting a lowest-order product of the plurality of products; A leaf spring that is provided in a predetermined range above the product support portion of the passage so as to protrude into the product passage, and that suppresses rebound of the product by falling from the bottom and hitting the product that has passed during loading. A product storage device for a vending machine, comprising: a rebound suppressing member comprising: