JP2002288730A - Commodity carrying-out device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity carrying-out device of an automatic vending machine capable of smoothly carrying out a commodity by surely moving the commodity falling on a gate lever and being in the second from the lowest position to the tip side of the gate lever. SOLUTION: This commodity carrying-out device of the automatic vending machine carries out the commodity one by one from the lowest commodity 51 by the gate lever 25. The gate lever 25 has a receiving plate 250 for supporting the lowest commodity. The receiving plate 250 is composed of a first receiving part 250a inclined obliquely upward from the rotary shaft 251, and a second receiving part 250b inclined obliquely downward to the tip of the receiving plate 250 from the upper end of the first receiving part 250a. Thus, an inclination of the second receiving part 250b can be increased so that the commodity falling on the second receiving part 250b of the receiving plate can be surely rolled to the tip side of the receiving plate 250.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article dispensing apparatus for a vending machine which drops and ejects one item at a time from the lowest item in an item column.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a serpentine type vending machine, a product discharging device is installed in a product passage below a product column, and the products are discharged one by one by the product discharging device. To explain this unloading structure, a gate lever that can move in and out of the product passage is installed at the lower part of the product unloading device, and a lock lever that can also move in and out of the product passage is installed at the upper part. When the lowest product is carried out, the lock lever is protruded into the product passage in advance to hold the second lowest product, and then the gate lever is opened to carry out the lowest product. ing.

By the way, when the gate lever carries out the lowest product, it is necessary to move the product on the gate lever to the tip end side of the gate lever in order to smoothly drop and carry the product along the product path. is there. For this reason, the conventional gate lever is installed so as to be inclined obliquely downward toward the front end, and the product that has fallen on this inclined surface is guided to the front end side. On the other hand, when a product with a small product diameter (a so-called thin can product) is stored in the product column, the second product from the bottom can easily enter between the gate lever and the lock lever because of the small product size. As a result, there were circumstances in which the downward inclination of the gate lever could not be so large. For this reason, the conventional gate lever is installed in a state where it is slightly inclined downward toward the tip.

[0004]

However, if the gate lever is slightly inclined downward as described above, when a product falls on the gate lever, the falling product may fall due to a subsequent product load or the like. The product often moved to the rotating shaft side, and the product could not be smoothly carried out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to automatically move the second lowest product from the lowest position onto the gate lever to the tip end of the gate lever so that the product can be smoothly carried out. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product unloading device for a vending machine.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the gate lever moves downward when the lowest product among the products stored in the product column is carried out. Rotating toward the bottom, the lowest product on the gate lever is dropped and carried out, and the lock lever protrudes into the product path to hold the second lowest product, and carries out one product at a time from the lowest product. In the vending machine, the gate lever has a receiving plate for supporting the lowest order product, the receiving plate has a first receiving portion inclined obliquely upward from a rotation axis thereof, and a first receiving portion. And a second receiving portion inclined obliquely downward from the upper end toward the tip of the receiving plate.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the first receiving portion near the rotation axis of the receiving plate is inclined obliquely upward, the distal end of the second receiving portion inclined downward is lower by that amount. Never be. In addition, the inclination angle of the second receiving portion can be increased, and the product that has fallen on the second receiving portion of the receiving plate can be reliably rolled to the distal end side of the receiving plate. Further, since the first receiving portion is located near the rotation axis of the receiving plate, the center of the product dropped on the receiving plate is located near the second receiving portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the merchandise unloading device for a vending machine according to the first aspect, the second receiving portion has a first inclined plate located near the first receiving portion and a second inclined portion located near the tip of the receiving plate. 2
It has a structure in which the inclination angle of the first inclination plate is larger than the inclination angle of the second inclination plate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if a product falls near the center of the receiving plate, the product can be reliably moved to the second inclined plate through the first inclined plate having a large inclination. The product moved to the second inclined plate rolls to the tip end side of the second inclined plate and is supported on the second inclined plate in a state of hitting the wall of the product passage.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 to 11 show a product discharging device of a vending machine according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the vending machine, and FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the product discharging device. , FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the product carrying device, FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the small-diameter product carrying out, FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the large-diameter product carrying out, FIG. 6 is a side view showing the inclination angle of the gate lever, FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a small-diameter product at a stand-by time, FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a small-diameter product at the time of sale, FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing a small-diameter product moving on a gate lever, and FIG. And FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a large-diameter product at the time of sale standby.

First, an outline of a vending machine will be described with reference to FIG. This vending machine is a serpentine type vending machine, in which a plurality of product columns 1 are arranged in front and behind, and a product unloading device 2 is installed in a product passage A on the lower side of the product column 1. .

FIGS. 2 to 6 show the structure of the product unloading device 2.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The product unloading device 2 has a vertically extending substrate 21, and a sold-out detection switch 20 is installed substantially at the upper center of the substrate 21. Is detected.

A lower end of a shaft 22 is provided substantially at the center of the substrate 21.
A plate-shaped main lock lever 22 pivotally supported at 1 extends in the lateral direction. The shaft 221 is rotatable about the shaft 221 so that the shaft 221 can come and go in the product passage A. The main lock lever 22 has two through holes 222 on the left and right, and a claw 234 of the sublock lever 23 described later fits therein. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of support plates 223 projecting rearward are provided on the back surface of the main lock lever 22 at intervals, and the support plate 223 has a guide groove 224 opened rearward. Has formed. A rotation imparting shaft 225 is provided in the guide groove 224. When the rotation imparting shaft 225 moves up and down, the rotation imparting shaft 225 is rotated.
Traces the guide groove 224 to rotate the support plate 223 up and down, so that a vertical rotation force is applied to the main lock lever 22.

The sub-lock lever 23 is formed in a square shape by a frame 231.
Is rotatably supported by a shaft 232 and can be turned up and down in the product passage A. A spring 233 is wound around the shaft 232, and the frame 23 is
1 is urged upward. Also, the frame 231
Of the front frame has a claw 23 protruding rearward.
4 are formed, and the pawls 234 can be fitted into the through holes 222 of the main lock lever 22. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the length of the sublock lever 23 from the center of rotation to the front end is determined when the sublock lever 23 contacts the front end of the main lock lever 22. Are designed to protrude forward from the upper end of the main lock lever 22.

The main lock lever 22 and the sublock lever 23 configured as described above constitute a lock lever 24 that holds the second lowest products S2 and S21.

On the lower part of the substrate 21, the lowest products S1, S
A gate lever 25 that holds the gate 11 is provided. The gate lever 25 has a receiving plate 250 for placing and supporting the lowest products S1 and S11. One end of the receiving plate 250 is pivotally supported on the substrate 21 by a shaft 251. The receiving plate 250 rotates the shaft 251. It is rotatable vertically as an axis. As shown in FIG. 6, the receiving plate 250 includes a first receiving portion 250a and a second receiving portion 250b. The first receiving portion 205a is the shaft 25
The first receiving portion 250a is slantingly inclined upward by θ1 in a state where it is closer to one and supports the lowest order products S1 and S11, that is, in a sales standby state of the product unloading device 2.
The second receiving portion 250b is inclined obliquely downward from the upper end of the first receiving portion 250a toward the tip of the receiving plate 250. Further, the first receiving portion 250b is connected to the first receiving portion 25.
The first inclined plate 250c located near 0a and the receiving plate 25
The second inclined plate 250d is located closer to the leading end of the first inclined plate 250c, and the inclination angle θ2 of the first inclined plate 250c is larger than the inclined angle θ3 of the second inclined plate 250d. A spring 252 is wound around the shaft 251, and urges the gate lever 25 upward by the elastic force of the spring 252. A stopper arm 253 extends obliquely rearward on the back surface of the gate lever 25.

As shown in FIG. 3, a solenoid 26 is provided on the upper back surface of the substrate 21. This solenoid 26
Plunger 261 extends downward,
A vertically extending operating plate 2 is provided at the lower end of the plunger 261.
62 are connected.

A return spring 263 is connected to the lower end of the operation plate 262, and when the solenoid 26 sucks, the operation plate 262 is pulled upward, while
When the suction operation of the solenoid 26 ends, the operating plate 262 moves downward by the urging force of the return spring 263. The rotation imparting shaft 225 is connected to the upper side of the operation plate 262, and the main lock lever 22 protrudes and retracts into the product passage A as shown in FIGS. To rotate. A stopper shaft 264 is fixed to a lower end of the operation plate 262. When the stopper shaft 264 is at the lower position (when the gate lever 25 is in a standby state), the lower end of the stopper arm 253 contacts the stopper arm 253 as shown in FIG. 3 and regulates the downward rotation of the gate lever 25. . On the other hand, when the stopper shaft 264 moves upward, this restriction is released, and the gate lever 25 is allowed to rotate downward.

As shown in FIG. 3, a guide member 2 for guiding a rotation imparting shaft 225 and a stopper shaft 264 up and down on the left and right sides of the operation plate 262 as shown in FIG.
7, 28 are formed. Of the guide members 27, 28, the guide member 27 on the left side as viewed in FIG. 3 is a side plate of the substrate 21, while the guide member 28 on the right side is formed of a vertically extending rod. An upper guide hole 27 for guiding the rotation imparting shaft 225 is provided on an upper side of each of the guide members 27 and 28.
1, 281 and a stopper shaft 26 on the lower side.
4 have lower guide holes 272 and 282.

Next, the operation of the product unloading device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. First, the operation when the vending machine stores products S1 and S2 having a small product diameter as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 will be described. At the time of sales standby, as shown in FIG.
2, the distance between the base of the sublock lever 23 and the products S1 and S2 is increased by the small diameter of the product, whereby the upward rotation angle of the sublock lever 23 is increased by the urging force of the spring 233. I have. On the other hand, the gate lever 25
The lowermost product S1 is placed on the receiving plate 250, and a downward rotating force is applied to the receiving plate 250 by the product load. However, the stopper arm 253 of the gate lever 25 hits the stopper shaft 264. Therefore, the receiving plate 250 does not rotate downward, and supports the lowest product S1 and waits for sale.

In this state, when a sales signal for a product is input, the solenoid 26 is excited to pull the plunger 261 upward. As a result, the rotation imparting shaft 225 pushes up the support plate 223 while tracing the guide groove 224, so that the main lock lever 22 is moved as shown in FIG.
It protrudes into the product passage A. On the other hand, since the stopper shaft 264 moves upward by the lifting operation of the plunger 261, the stopper shaft 264 is disengaged from the stopper arm 253 as shown in FIG. . As a result, the lowest order product S1 is dropped and carried out.

By dropping and transporting the lowest commodity S1,
The second lowest product S2 stacked on the product S1 moves downward, and the product S2 hits the sublock lever 23, and the sublock lever 2
3 is rotated downward. When the sublock lever 23 rotates downward, the main lock lever 2
4 and 8, the front end of the sublock lever 23 contacts the upper end of the main lock lever 22, and the rotation of the sublock lever 23 is restricted at this position, as shown in FIGS. . Accordingly, the second lowest commodity S2 that is in contact with the sublock lever 232 from above is also prevented from falling.

Thereafter, the gate lever 25 having dropped and carried out the lowest order product S1 returns to the standby position by the urging force of the spring 252. When returning to the standby position, the excitation time of the solenoid 26 ends, and the operating plate 262 moves downward again by the urging force of the return spring 263. The downward movement of the operation plate 262 causes the stopper shaft 264 to move downward and hit the lower end of the stopper arm 253, thereby restricting the gate lever 25 from rotating downward. Also, the operation plate 26
Due to the downward movement of 2, the rotation imparting shaft 225 moves downward again while tracing the guide groove 224.
Accordingly, the main lock lever 22 separates from the product passage A as shown in FIG. 9 and returns to the original position. When the main lock lever 22 returns to the original position, the support state of the sublock lever 23 is released. The sublock lever 23 whose support state has been released is rotated downward by the load of the second lowest product S2 as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. As shown by the dashed line, it falls on the first inclined plate 250c of the receiving plate 250. And falling goods S2
Is the second inclined plate 25 along the inclined surface of the first inclined plate 250c.
It rolls to the 0d side, moves to the tip side of the second inclined plate 250d, and is supported on the second inclined plate 250d in a state of hitting the wall of the product passage A as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. . Also,
Since the product S2 is separated from the sublock lever 23 by the rolling of the product S2 to the second inclined plate 250d, the sublock lever 23 is rotated upward by the return force of the spring 233 to the standby position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Return. Such a series of unloading operations is performed, and the second lowest product S2 becomes the lowest product S1, and again enters the sales standby state.

Next, referring mainly to FIGS. 10 and 11,
The operation when the products S11 and S21 having a large product diameter are stored will be described. At the time of selling standby, as shown in FIG. 10, the product diameters of the products S11 and S21 are large,
The distance between the base of the sublock lever 23 and the products S11 and S21 is reduced, thereby reducing the rotation angle of the sublock lever 23. On the other hand, the lowest order product S11 is placed on the receiving plate 250, and the lowest order product S11 is on standby for sale in the same manner as the above-described products S1 and S2 with a small product diameter.

In this state, when a product sale signal is input, the solenoid 26 is excited and the plunger 261 is pulled upward as described above, and the main lock lever 22 is turned on.
As shown in FIG. 11, it protrudes toward the product passage A.
On the other hand, the lifting operation of the plunger 261 causes
As shown in (2), the stopper shaft 264 is disengaged from the stopper arm 253, and the gate lever 25 rotates downward due to the product load. As a result, the lowermost product S11 is dropped and carried out.

By dropping and transporting the lowest commodity S11, the second lowest commodity S21 stacked on the commodity S11 moves downward. At this time,
Since the main lock lever 22 has already protruded into the product passage A, the product S21 hits the upper end of the main lock lever 22 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the sublock lever 23 has a claw 222 formed with a through hole 234 of the main lock lever 22.
And is held on the front side of the main lock lever 22.

Thereafter, the gate lever 25 returns to the standby position by the urging force of the spring 252, as in the case of the above-mentioned lowest commodity S1, while the excitation time of the solenoid 26 ends and the operation plate 262, the stopper shaft 264 and the rotation applying The shaft 225 returns to the original standby position. Further, the main lock lever 22 and the sublock lever 23 return to the original standby position, and the second lowest product S2 is moved to the gate lever 2.
5 is supported on the receiving plate 250.

As described above, according to the commodity discharging apparatus according to the present embodiment, the stored commodities are the small commodities S1, S2
In the case of, at the time of unloading the product, the second lowest product S2
Are supported by the sublock lever 23. On the other hand, when the stored products are the products S11 and S21 having a large product diameter, the second lowest product S21 is supported by the main lock lever 22, so that the thin or large Any product can be securely held. In addition, by increasing the dimension up to the tip of the sublock lever 23, it is possible to cope with products of various product diameters.

Further, the receiving plate 250 of the gate lever 25 is composed of a first receiving portion 250a and a second receiving portion 502b near the shaft 251, and the first receiving portion 250a is inclined obliquely upward ( Tilt angle θ1), the second receiving portion 2 tilted downward during standby for sale
The tip of 50b is not extremely lower. In addition, since the inclination angle (θ2) of the second receiving portion 250b can be increased, the products S2 and S21 that have fallen on the first inclined plate 250c of the second receiving portion 250b can be reliably rolled to the front end side of the receiving plate 250. As a result, the products S2 and S21 can be made to wait at an appropriate position.

Further, by rolling the products S2 and S21 to appropriate positions, the sublock spring 23 also returns to an appropriate position corresponding to the product diameter, and does not hinder the next product sales.

Further, the first receiving portion 250a is provided with the receiving plate 2
50, the center M of the product S2 that has fallen on the receiving plate 250 is, as shown in FIG.
It is located near the receiving part 250b. Therefore, the product S2
Is not biased and supported on the first receiving portion 250a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, since the inclination angle (θ2) of the first inclined plate 250c of the second receiving portion 250b is larger than the inclination angle (θ3) of the second inclined plate 250d, the second inclination The product dropped on the plate 250c is surely the second
It rolls to the inclined plate 250d side.

[0033]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the angle of inclination of the second receiving portion can be increased, and the product dropped on the second receiving portion of the receiving plate can be reliably received by the receiving plate. Can be rolled to the front end side, and goods can be smoothly carried out.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the commodity dropped on the receiving plate can be reliably transported to the second inclined plate through the first inclined plate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the product unloading device.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the product unloading device.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view when a small-diameter product is carried out.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view when a large-diameter product is carried out.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an inclination angle of a gate lever.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a small-diameter product on standby for sale.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a small-diameter product at the time of sale.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing a small-diameter product moving on a gate lever.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a large-diameter product on standby for sale.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a large-diameter product at the time of sale.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Commodity column, 2 ... Commodity discharge device, 24 ... Lock lever, 25 ... Gate lever, 250 ... Receiving plate, 250a ...
1st receiving part, 250b ... 2nd receiving part, 250c ... 1st inclined plate, 250d ... 2nd inclined plate, S1, S2 ... Small diameter goods,
A: Product passage, S11, S12: Large diameter product.

Claims (2)

[Claims] When the lowest product among the products stored in the product column is carried out, the gate lever rotates downward to drop and carry the lowest product on the gate lever, and to lock the product. In a product discharging device of a vending machine in which a lever protrudes into a product passage and holds the second lowest product and discharges products one by one from the lowest product, the gate lever supports the lowest product. A first receiving portion that is inclined obliquely upward from a rotation axis of the first receiving portion, and a second inclined portion that is inclined obliquely downward from an upper end of the first receiving portion toward a tip of the receiving plate. A product discharging device for a vending machine, comprising a receiving portion. 2. The second receiving portion includes a first inclined plate located near the first receiving portion and a second inclined plate located near the tip of the receiving plate, and the inclination angle of the first inclined plate is set. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle of the second inclined plate is larger than the inclination angle of the second inclined plate.
A vending machine described above.