JP2003022473A - Article carrying-out device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article carrying-out device of an automatic vending machine, which can securely hold the 2nd article from the bottom in a proper posture even when the article is a prismatic PET bottle article. SOLUTION: When prismatic PET bottle articles S11 and S21 are carried out, a gate lever 25 is opened and the articles S11 and S21 in an article column 1 are released from being supported. At this time, the pressing force of a spring means 29 is operating on the 2nd article S2 from the bottom, so the 2nd article S21 is pushed out toward the other flank A2 of an article passage A. Consequently, the lower corner of the 2nd article S21 is supported by a projection 30. By the supporting function of the projection 30, a gap is formed between the 2nd article 21 and the bottom article 11 which is falling and a main lock lever 22 enters the gap, so that the 2nd article S21 is securely held.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise unloading device for a vending machine which drops and unloads one by one from the lowest product in a product column. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a serpentine type vending machine, a product unloading device is installed in a product passage below a product column, and the product unloading device unloads products one by one as follows. ing. That is, a gate lever that rotates up and down in a product passage is installed at a lower portion of the product discharge device, and a lock lever that can also move into and out of the product passage is installed at an upper portion of the product discharge device. During standby for sale, the products are stacked one by one on the gate lever, and the entire product stored in the product column is held by the gate lever. At the time of sale, the lock lever protruding from one side of the product passage holds the second lowest product, and the gate lever rotates downward due to the load of the lowest product, causing the lowest position on the gate lever. Items are dropped and carried out. After the lowest commodity is dropped and carried out, the gate lever rotates upward and returns to the standby position. Then, retract the lock lever from the product path,
Drop the second lowest item on the gate lever,
Return to the standby state. By repeating the above operation, the products in the product column are carried out one by one from the lowest product. [0004] By the way, when holding the second lowest product when carrying out the product, the leading end of the lock lever is positioned between the lowest product and the second lowest product. As a result, even when the lowest product is dropped and carried out, the second lowest product is held by the lock lever. [0005] In the entry operation of the lock lever, when the product is a cylindrical can product or a bottle product, there is a large gap between the vertically adjacent products, so that the leading end of the lock lever is moved up and down. The product can easily enter the gap and securely hold the product. However, when the product is a prismatic plastic bottle product, the gap formed between the vertically adjacent products is limited to the R-shaped portion of each corner of the product, so that the lock lever is not used. It was difficult to get into this gap. In particular, since plastic bottle products are formed of soft resin or the like, the plastic bottle is deformed and passes between the lock lever and the side surface of the product passage, or the lock lever bites into the product. It was kept in a state, causing the product to be clogged. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product discharging device for a vending machine which can hold the second lowest product in a proper posture and securely even if it is a prismatic plastic bottle product. Is to provide. According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a gate lever holds the lowest order product when the lowest order product among the products stored in the product column is carried out. In a product discharging device of a vending machine which holds a second lowest product from a lower position by a lock lever protruding from one side of a product path while releasing the state and dropping and discharging the other side of the product path. Has a projection to support the second lowest item from the bottom,
The structure has a spring means for pressing the second lowest product from one side to the other side of the product passage. According to the present invention, for example, when unloading a prismatic PET bottle product, the gate lever is opened and the lock lever enters the product passage. When the gate lever is opened, the support state of the product in the product column is released, while the pressing force of the spring means acts on the second product from the bottom, so that the second product is in the product path. It is pushed out to the other side. This gives 2
Of the lower corners of the second product, the lower corner on the product passage side is located at a position facing the projection, and
Part of the second product is favored. Due to the support function of the projections, a gap is formed between the second product and the lowest product that is falling, and the lock lever enters into this gap to securely hold the second product. 1 to 6 show an apparatus for unloading goods from a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the vending machine, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the product carrying device when the small product is carried out, FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the product carrying device when the large product is carried out, and FIG. Side schematic view during standby, FIG. 7
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a large product at the time of sale. 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 path A at a lower side of the product column 1. . The structure of the product unloading device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The product unloading device 2 has a vertically extending substrate 21 and a sold-out detection switch 20 is installed at a substantially upper center of the substrate 21 as shown in FIG. 1 is detected. Here, the products stored in the product column 1 are prismatic plastic bottle products, in which small products S1 and S2 having a small cross-sectional area and large products S11 and S21 having a large cross-sectional area are stored. 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 main lock lever 22 is rotatable about the shaft 221 so as to be able to come and go in the product passage A. Also,
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. Also, the main lock lever 22
The support plate 22 projecting rearward as shown in FIG.
The support plate 223 is formed with a guide groove 224 that opens rearward. 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 traces the guide groove 224 to rotate the support plate 223 up and down, and the main lock lever 2.
The upper and lower rotational forces are applied to 2. The sublock lever 23 is formed in a square shape by a frame 231. The base of the sublock lever 23 is supported by a shaft 232 located above the main lock lever 22 so that the sublock lever 23 can rotate up and down in the product passage A. Has become. A spring 233 is wound around the shaft 232, and the entire frame 231 is urged upward by a spring force. The front frame of the frame 231 is formed with two claws 234 projecting rearward. The claws 234 can be fitted into the through holes 222 of the main lock lever 22. In addition, sublock lever 2
As shown in FIG. 4, the length dimension from the rotation center to the tip of
The upper end of the sublock lever 23 is designed to protrude forward from the upper end of the main lock lever 22 when hitting the front 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 for holding the second lowest products S2 and S21. At the bottom of the substrate 21, the lowest products S1, S
A gate lever 25 for holding 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 supported by the substrate 21 by a shaft 251. The receiving plate 250 rotates the shaft 251. It is rotatable vertically as an axis. A spring 252 is wound around the shaft 251.
Is urged upward. Further, a stopper arm 253 extends obliquely rearward on the back surface of the receiving plate 250. Further, a product position adjusting member 254 is fixed to the shaft 251 so that the second products S2 and S21 dropped on the receiving plate 250 are moved to the front side of the receiving plate 250 by the product position adjusting member 254. . 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 operating plate 262, and when the solenoid 26 sucks, the operating plate 262 is pulled upward.
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 an upper side of the operation plate 262, and the main lock lever 22 is protruded and retracted into the product passage A by the vertical movement of the operation plate 262 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 shaft 264 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 the rotation imparting shaft 225 and the stopper shaft 264 up and down on the left and right sides of the substrate 21 with the operation plate 262 therebetween 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 has lower guide holes 272 and 282. The sold-out detector 2 is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 21.
A spring means 29 for covering the front surface of the actuator No. 0 (not shown) is provided. The spring means 29 has a spring mounting board 291 and a spring plate 292. The upper end of the spring mounting board 291 is rotatably hung on a support shaft 2a that fixes the product unloading device 2 to the product path A,
The lower end is bent in a V-shape. The spring plate 292 is formed in a substantially U-shape, and has an upper end attached to the spring attachment substrate 291 via a shaft 292a. Also,
The left and right arms 292b of the spring plate 292 pass through the left and right cutouts 291a of the shaft mounting board 291. Also, the coil spring 2 is provided on the shaft 292a.
The spring plate 292 is set so as to be urged forward by the urging force of the coil spring 292c. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the product unloading device 2 thus configured is installed on one side A1 of the product passage A, and a projection 30 is installed on the other side A2 of the product passage A. The main lock lever 22 is formed in a triangular cross section, and is located substantially opposite to the upper end of the main lock lever 22. Next, the operation when large products S11 and S21 are stored will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. In the stand-by state, as shown in FIG. 6, the space between the base of the sublock lever 23 and the products S11 and S21 is reduced by the large cross-sectional area of the large products S11 and S21. The rotation angle of 23 is small. On the other hand, the lowest order product S11 is placed on the receiving plate 250, and is in a sales standby state. In this state, when a sales signal for a product is input, the solenoid 26 is excited to pull up the plunger 261 and the main lock lever 22 projects toward the product passage A as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, by the lifting operation of the plunger 261, the stopper shaft 264 is disengaged from the stopper arm 253 as shown in FIG. 7, 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 falls downward as shown in FIG. At this time, the spring plate 292 of the spring means 29 moves the second product S21 from the lowest to the other side A2 of the product path A.
, The second product S21 is pushed out just above the protrusion 30, and the protrusion 30
Are supported. As a result, the falling of the product S21 is restricted, and the lowermost product S11 and the second product S11 are controlled.
21 leaves. Then, the main lock lever 22 enters the gap between the product S11 and the product S21, and the second product S
Support 21. Thus, the second product S21 is held between the main lock lever 22 and the projection 30. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the sublock lever 23 is configured such that the pawl 222 has a through hole 234 of the main lock lever 22.
And restricts rotation of the main lock lever 22. Thereafter, while the gate lever 25 returns to the standby position by the urging force of the spring 252, the excitation time of the solenoid 26 ends and the operation plate 262, the stopper shaft 2
64 and the rotation imparting shaft 225 return to the original standby position. Further, the main lock lever 22 and the sublock lever 23 return to the original standby positions, and the second lowest product S21 falls onto the receiving plate 250 of the gate lever 25. As a result, the second lowest commodity S21 becomes the lowest commodity S11, and is again in the sales standby state. As described above, according to the commodity discharging device according to the present embodiment, when the lowest commodity S11 is carried out, the second commodity S21 from the bottom is projected by the spring means 29 into the projection 30.
Since it is pressed to the side and moves to the optimal holding position, there is no possibility that a carry-out failure occurs. When unloading the lowest order product S11,
The second product S21 is supported by the protrusion 30, and the lowest product S11 is separated from the lowest product S21. Therefore, the main lock lever 22 is connected between the second product S21 and the lowest product S11. The second product S21 is securely held by the main lock lever 22 and the projection 30. In the above-described embodiment, the arm 292b of the spring plate 292 is rotatably suspended on the shaft 292a. You may make it hang on 2a rotatably. In the present embodiment, the spring means 29 operates in the same manner when the small commodities S1 and S2 are carried out, and the description thereof will be omitted. As described above, according to the present invention,
When unloading the lowest order product, the second lowest order product is pressed to the protrusion side and moves to the optimal holding position, so that there is no unloading failure. When the lowest product is carried out, the second lowest product is supported by the projection, and the lowest product and the second lowest product are separated from each other. The second product from the lowest position is securely held by the lock lever and the projection, smoothly entering between the second product and the lowest product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vending machine. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a product unloading device. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a product unloading device. Perspective view [FIG. 5] Front perspective view at the time of unloading of a large product [FIG. 6] Schematic side view at the time of waiting for sale of a large product [FIG. 7] Schematic side view at the time of sale of a large product [Explanation of reference numerals] 1. ... Commodity unloading device, 24 lock lever, 25 gate lever, 29 spring means, 30 projection, S11, S21 large product, A product passage.

Continuation of front page    F term (reference) 3E046 BA03 BB02 CA01 DA01 EA08                       GA03                 3F030 AA04 AB01 CA02 CB02 CB03                       CC02 EA02 EB03 EB06

Claims (1)

Claims: When discharging the lowest order product among the products stored in the product column, the gate lever releases the holding state of the lowest order product and drops and discharges the product. In a product discharging device of a vending machine holding a second lowest product dropped from above by a lock lever protruding from one side of a passage, a second lowest drop falling on the other side of the product passage. A product ejecting device for a vending machine, comprising: a projection for supporting a product; and a spring means for pressing a second lowest product from one side to the other side of the product path. apparatus.