JP2005038334A - Article storage box, and article storage rack and vending machine using same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate complicated supply work of articles in a vending machine. <P>SOLUTION: An article storage rack 10 of the vending machine is structured in that a plurality of canned drinks W are stored in advance while being aligned inside a box body 110, both upper and lower ends of the body 110 are opened, respectively, after the drinks W are staked mutually in an upper area of an article dispensing means 132 in a manner that the drinks W are layered one another. When the dispensing means 132 is driven, the drinks W are individually dispensed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a product storage box for storing products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, beverages in plastic bottles, and beverages in paper packs, a product storage rack using the product storage box, and a vending machine.

  Vending machines that sell products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, plastic bottled beverages, and paper-packed beverages usually have a product storage rack and product delivery means inside the storage. The product storage rack is for storing products along the vertical direction. The product dispensing means is disposed at the lower end of the product storage rack, and is for individually dispensing the products stored in the product storage rack by being driven according to a sales command.

  As a method for replenishing products to the vending machine, the product storage rack is directly stored in a state of being pulled out (see, for example, Patent Document 1), or stored in the product storage rack from the product input port via the top tray. There is a method to make it.

JP-A-57-90795

  In a vending machine that performs unattended sales of products, it is preferable to frequently replenish products in the product storage rack so that sales opportunities are not missed. However, in the conventional vending machine, due to its mechanism, it is necessary to store the products one by one in the product storage rack, and it takes a lot of time to replenish the products, and the work is extremely complicated.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to easily replenish products in a vending machine.

  In order to achieve the above object, the product storage box according to claim 1 of the present invention stores a plurality of products arranged in advance inside the box body, and these products are stacked together. After stacking each other on the upper area of the product dispensing means, the upper and lower ends of the box body are opened to form the product storage rack of the vending machine, and the products stored when the product dispensing means is driven individually It is characterized by paying out.

  The product storage box according to claim 2 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 1 described above, where L1 is a length dimension of the product and L2 is a diagonal dimension along the length direction. The internal length dimension A of the box body is set so as to satisfy the above condition.

  A product storage box according to claim 3 of the present invention is the product according to claim 1 described above, wherein the product has a circular cross section and the outer diameter is D, D <B <(D × 2). The internal width dimension B of the box body is set so as to satisfy / √2.

  A product storage box according to claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1 described above, the box body is made of a flexible and low specific gravity material.

  A product storage box according to claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1 described above, the box body is foldable via a ridge line portion.

  The product storage box according to claim 6 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed on one side surface of the box body, and the recess is formed on the other side surface of the box body. Protruding portions are provided.

  A product storage box according to claim 7 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 1 described above, wherein when the box body is stacked on the upper region of the product delivery means, the upper and lower end surfaces are opened and the box body is opened. A restriction member for restricting the passage of the product through the end face is detachably disposed on the box body.

  The product storage box according to claim 8 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 7 described above, wherein the regulating member can be detached from the box body by pulling it out toward the front side when stacked in the upper region of the product delivery means. It is characterized by being.

  The product storage box according to claim 9 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 7 described above, wherein the restriction member is positioned on the wall and the back side of the box body stacked in the upper area of the product delivery means. It is what was inserted in the insertion hole formed in each of the wall to perform.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the commodity storage box according to the seventh aspect described above, wherein the restriction member is a single flexible wire disposed so as to surround the periphery in such a manner as to pass through an open portion of the box body. It is a belt-like body.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the commodity storage box according to the seventh aspect is characterized in that the regulating member is a rod body having a desired rigidity.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the product storage box according to the seventh aspect is characterized in that the regulating member is a plate-like body having a desired rigidity.

  Further, in the product storage box according to claim 13 of the present invention, in the above-described claim 7, at least one of the box main body and the regulating member is colored so that both colors are different from each other. It is characterized by.

  A merchandise storage box according to claim 14 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1 described above, a partition plate is detachably disposed inside the box body.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the commodity storage box according to the fourteenth aspect described above, further comprising position changing means for changing the arrangement position of the partition plate with respect to the box body.

  The product storage box according to claim 16 of the present invention is the product storage box according to claim 1 described above, wherein the inside of the box body is divided into a plurality of storage areas by the partition plate, and a plurality of products are arranged in each storage area. It is characterized by being stored in a state.

  A merchandise storage rack according to claim 17 of the present invention is configured by applying the merchandise storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 16 described above.

  A vending machine according to claim 18 of the present invention is characterized in that a product storage rack is configured by applying the product storage box described in any one of claims 1 to 16 described above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to replenish the product by stacking the box body that has been stored in a state in which a plurality of products are arranged in advance. Product replenishment work can be performed very easily.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 conceptually shows a commodity storage rack that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The product storage rack 10 illustrated here is for storing a product (for example, a beverage enclosed in a hollow cylindrical can) (hereinafter simply referred to as a canned beverage W) in a vending machine. The storage box 100 is configured by being mounted on the base plate 130.

  The product storage box 100 stores a plurality of canned beverages W sold by a vending machine in advance in a state in which a plurality of canned beverages W are arranged in the interior (four in the first embodiment). As shown in FIG. And a belt-like body 120 which is a regulating member.

  The box body 110 is formed in a rectangular shape with both ends opened by appropriately bending and bonding a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate, and can be folded via a ridgeline. The box body 110 has a size corresponding to the type of canned beverage stored therein, and is individually prepared for each size of the canned beverage. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the length dimension of the canned beverage W is L1, and the diagonal dimension along the length direction is L2, the internal length is previously set so as to satisfy L1 <A <L2. As shown in FIG. 4, when the outer diameter dimension of the canned beverage W is D, the inner width is set in advance so as to satisfy D <B <(D × 2) / √2. A dimension B is set, and four canned beverages W of the same type can be stored side by side. The reason for setting the internal length dimension A to L1 <a <L2 is mainly to prevent the phenomenon that the canned beverage W stands up inside the box body 110. The reason why the internal width dimension B is set to D <B <(D × 2) / √2 is mainly to prevent the canned beverages W from being clogged in a bridged state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the box body 110 is provided with two band insertion holes 112 in each of the pair of narrow side walls 111 that define the internal length dimension A described above, An engagement hole 114 is provided in one of the pair of wide side walls 113 that define the width dimension B. The band insertion holes 112 are each formed in a rectangular slit shape, and (D × n) <H (where n is the number of canned beverages W stored in a row between those formed in each narrow side wall 111. In the state where the internal height dimension H satisfying the above is secured, it is provided at a position close to the opening 110a of the box body 110. The engagement hole 114 is for inserting and engaging an engagement claw 131 of the base plate 130 described later, and is provided at an appropriate position of the wide side wall 113. Although not clearly shown in the figure, the wide side wall 113 provided with the engagement hole 114 in the box body 110 is provided with a pedal insertion hole through which an auxiliary pedal of the commodity delivery means 132 described later appears and disappears.

  The belt-shaped body 120 is configured in a single strip shape by a flexible material such as paper or a synthetic resin thin plate. As shown in FIG. 2, when the band 120 is inserted through the band insertion hole 112 so as to cover the opening 110 a of the box main body 110, the canned beverage W can be interposed between the wide side wall 113 of the box main body 110. It has a width that secures a gap that is sufficiently narrower than the outer diameter of the can body, and restricts the passage of the canned beverage W through the opening 110a of the box body 110. The belt-shaped body 120 has a desired strength by being sufficiently wide so that it does not easily break even when the weight of four canned beverages W is added.

  The box body 110 and the band-shaped body 120 are band-shaped so that four canned beverages W of the same type are stored in a row in the box body 110 in advance, and then pass through and cover the openings 110a of the box body 110, respectively. By disposing the body 120, the product storage box 100 serving as a replenishment unit of the canned beverage W is configured. More specifically, the band-shaped body 120 is inserted from the one band insertion hole 112 provided in one narrow side wall 111 of the box body 110 into the band insertion hole 112 of the other narrow side wall 111 opposed to the one. Further, the band-shaped body 120 is inserted into the band-shaped through hole 112 of the one narrow-side wall 111 opposite to the other band-shaped through-hole 112 provided in the other narrow-side wall 111 so that the band-shaped body 120 can The opening 110a of the main body 110 is covered. Further, both end portions of the band 120 are bonded to each other at the outer surface portion of one narrow side wall 111 or to the outer surface of the narrow side wall 111 so that the band 120 does not inadvertently fall off from the box body 110. I am doing so.

  In the state described above, since the opening 110a of the box body 110 is covered with the belt-shaped body 120, the canned beverage W accommodated in the box falls outside regardless of the posture of the box body 110. There is no fear of doing.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5A, the box body 110 is installed with the opening 110a facing up and down, and the both ends of the strip 120 are separated from each other, or the narrow side wall 111 is As shown in FIG. 5B, when the end of the band-shaped body 120 positioned above is pulled out to the near side as shown in FIG. 5B, the band-shaped body 110 is stripped from the box body 110 as shown in FIG. The body 120 can be removed, and the openings 110a of the box body 110 covered with the belt-shaped body 120 are opened, so that the canned beverages W stored therein are sequentially dropped from the lower opening 110a. become.

  Although not clearly shown in the figure, at least one outer surface of the box body 110 and the belt-like body 120 is colored. This coloring is for easily discriminating between the box body 110 and the belt-like body 120. For example, any one of hue, lightness, and saturation, or all of them are the box body 110 and the belt-like body 120. It is given differently.

  The product storage box 100 configured as described above is configured by, for example, a bottler that is a manufacturer of canned beverages W, and further circulates in a state where a plurality of boxes are stored inside the transporting bin, and the vending machine is installed. It will be provided as a supplementary product to a manager or a replenishment operator called a route man. In this case, it is preferable that a plurality of narrow side walls 111 that expose both ends of the belt-like body 120 on the left and right sides of the wide side wall 113 provided with the engagement holes 114 are accommodated in the transport bin. .

  On the other hand, the base plate 130 serves as a reference when the commodity storage box 100 is mounted, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, has a flat plate shape extending in the vertical direction. The base plate 130 is provided with an engaging claw 131 and a product delivery means 132 called a bend mech.

  A plurality of engagement claws 131 are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the base plate 130, and have an L-shape that extends in the horizontal direction from each surface and then bends upward at a right angle. Each of the engaging claws 131 is formed with a width smaller than the engaging hole 114 provided in the box body 110 and can be inserted into the engaging hole 114. A distance corresponding to the overall height of the box body 110 with the opening 110a facing up and down is secured between the upper and lower engaging claws 131.

  The product dispensing means 132 is configured to dispense the products stored in the upper region one by one downward by driving a pedal 132a and an auxiliary pedal (not shown) arranged to be swingable with respect to the base plate 130. The base plate 130 is provided on both sides of the lower end portion. The pedal 132a is held in a state of projecting from the base plate 130 in a normal direction in a normal state, and is prevented from passing by contacting the product, while swinging downward when a product sales command is given. The product is allowed to pass through. An auxiliary pedal (not shown) protrudes from the surface of the base plate 130 before the pedal 132a swings downward, and makes contact with the bottom of the product located second from the lowest position, thereby dropping the product located above it. It is a deterrent. The distance from the pedal 132a to the lowermost engaging claw 131 is such that when the engaging claw 131 is inserted through the engaging hole 114 of the product storage box 100, the lower end of the product storage box 100 and the pedal 132a It is set so as to ensure a gap that the canned beverage W cannot pass between the upper surface and the upper surface.

  In order to mount the product storage box 100 on the base plate 130 configured as described above to configure the product storage rack 10, first, the product storage box 100 is taken out from the shipping bin, and FIGS. ), The product storage box 100 is placed above the product delivery means 132 by inserting the engagement claws 131 into the engagement holes 114 of the box body 110 while being surrounded by the belt-like body 120. Wear in a stacked manner. In this case, the product storage box 100 to be mounted on one surface of the base plate 130 is the same one storing the same type of canned beverages W, and is preferably mounted in order from the bottom of the base plate 130. Further, when the product storage box 100 is attached to the base plate 130, as shown in FIG. 1A, the product storage box 100 is selected so that both ends of the strip 120 are in the same direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a) and FIG. 6 (c), in the base plate 130 on which a predetermined number of product storage boxes 100 containing the same type of canned beverages W are mounted, these box bodies 110 are stacked so as to be connected to each other, and a series of passages having the same internal dimensions are defined therein.

  If the strip 120 of each product storage box 100 is removed from this state, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 6D, the openings 110a of the box body 110 positioned above and below are communicated with each other. Thus, the canned beverage W stored inside moves downward according to gravity, the canned beverage W positioned at the lowest position contacts the pedal 132a of the product dispensing means 132, and the canned beverage W It will be in the state contact | abutted. Accordingly, when the product dispensing means 132 is driven in accordance with the sales command, only one canned beverage W positioned at the lowest position is dispensed downward as shown in FIG.

  When the number of canned beverages W decreases according to sales, or when all the products in the product storage rack 10 are sold out, the canned beverages W are replenished. In this case, according to the product storage rack 10 of the first embodiment, if the strip 120 is removed after exchanging the empty product storage box 100 and the product storage box 100 storing the canned beverage W, the can The replenishment of the entering beverage W is finished. That is, by attaching the product storage box 100 to the base plate 130, it becomes possible to replenish a plurality of canned beverages W stored in the product storage box 100. For this reason, compared with the case where the canned beverage W is replenished to the product storage rack 10 one by one, the time required for replenishment is remarkably shortened, and the operation can be easily performed.

  In the above-described replenishment operation of the canned beverage W, according to the product storage box 100, since the box body 110 and the belt-like body 120 are colored differently so as to be easily identified, the box body 110 temporarily Even when the strip 120 is forgotten to be removed, this can be easily recognized. As a result, a situation where the canned beverage W is clogged due to forgetting to remove the strip 120 can be prevented.

  Moreover, when the product storage box 100 is mounted on the base plate 130 so that both ends of the strip 120 are in the same direction, it can be removed by pulling out the strip 120 to the front side. The work becomes very easy. In this case, since one strip 120 is applied, the two openings 110a of the box body 110 can be simultaneously opened by performing the operation of pulling out to the front side, and the working time is also significantly shortened. Will be.

  Moreover, since the opening 110a of the box body 110 is opened by pulling the belt-shaped body 120 to the near side, a space for the opening operation is not required as compared with the case of opening the lid-shaped body. Accordingly, the product storage box 100 can be tightly attached to the base plate 130, which is extremely advantageous in terms of space efficiency.

  Furthermore, since a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate is applied as the box body 110 of the product storage box 100, the product storage box even when the canned beverage W is stored. There is no fear of causing a significant increase in the weight of 100, which is extremely advantageous in terms of handling. In addition, the empty product storage box 100 can be reduced in volume by folding the box main body 110 through the ridge line portion. It is also possible to bend and fold the narrow side wall 111, and it is excellent in handling at the time of collection. In this case, the engaging claws 131 of the base plate 130 are inserted into the engaging holes 114 provided in the box body 110, and a plurality of product storage boxes 100 are stacked on the base plate 130 with the engaging claws 131 engaged. Since it is attached, the weight of the product storage box 100 located above does not add to the product storage box 100 located below. For this reason, even when a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate is applied as the box body 110 of the product storage box 100, the box body 110 located below may be crushed. There is no.

  Further, according to the product storage box 100 in which the product storage boxes 100 are stacked by engaging the engaging claws 131 of the base plate 130, the product is always close to the base plate 130 regardless of the internal width dimension B of the box body 110. The storage boxes 100 are aligned. For this reason, even when the product storage rack 10 for storing the small-diameter canned beverage W is configured, the small-diameter canned beverage W hits the pedal 132a of the product dispensing means 132 without requiring any adjustment mechanism. As a result, the canned beverages W can be reliably dispensed one by one by driving the commodity dispensing means 132. Further, the commodity storage box 100 engaged with the engaging claws 131 is not likely to fall down when vibration or impact is applied.

  Furthermore, when the length dimension of the canned beverage W is L1, and the diagonal dimension along the length direction is L2, the internal length dimension A of the box body 110 is set so as to satisfy L1 <A <L2. In addition, when the outer diameter dimension of the canned beverage W is D, the inner width dimension B of the box body 110 is set so as to satisfy D <B <(D × 2) / √2. It is possible to prevent the phenomenon that the canned beverage W stands up in the main body 110 and the phenomenon that the canned beverage W is clogged in a state of being bridged with each other, and problems due to dimensional factors of the product storage rack 10 occur. There is nothing to do. Moreover, since the internal dimensions of the box body 110 described above are all configured by a bottler when storing the canned beverage W, the canned beverage W sold in the product storage rack 10 has a different size. Even in the case of changing to the above, there is no need for the replenishment operator to adjust the dimensions each time, and there is no problem due to an adjustment error.

  7 to 10 conceptually show a vending machine to which the above-described product storage rack 10 is applied, and sell products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, beverages in plastic bottles, beverages in paper packs, and the like. An example of a vending machine is shown. The vending machine exemplified here is provided with a housing 2 having a heat insulating structure inside a main body cabinet 1, and includes a sliding means 3 on the lower surface of the upper wall of the housing 2. The sliding means 3 includes a fixed rail portion 3a fixed to the lower surface of the upper wall of the storage case 2, and an intermediate rail portion 3b and a movable rail portion 3c that are slidably supported with respect to the fixed rail portion 3a. Is. The fixed rail portion 3a is provided in plural (five in the illustrated example) along the left-right direction of the container 2, and extends in a manner along the front and rear. Each of the movable rail portions 3c can be slid toward the front of the fixed rail portion 3a via the intermediate rail portion 3b. A plurality of the above-described base plates 130 (three in the illustrated example) are provided on each lower surface. )keeping. The base plates 130 held by the movable rail portion 3c are equally spaced from each other, and both front and back surfaces are arranged in a manner along the left-right direction.

  In the vending machine configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 9, when the intermediate rail portion 3b and the movable rail portion 3c are pulled out after the door body 4 is opened, the base plate held by the movable rail portion 3c. 130 is completely exposed to the outside of the container 2. Accordingly, if the product storage boxes 100 are attached to the base plates 130 from this state, a large number (15 in the illustrated example) of product storage racks 10 can be configured, and the product storage rack 10 is inspected and maintained. Work can be easily performed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, when the intermediate rail portion 3b and the movable rail portion 3c are respectively stored in the fixed rail portion 3a and the front opening of the storage 2 is closed by the door body 4, the intermediate rail portion 3b and the movable rail portion 3c are held by the movable rail portion 3c. The base plate 130 is accommodated inside the storage 2, and the product storage rack 10 formed on each base plate 130 is also stored in the storage 2.

  As a result, according to the vending machine, it is possible to store many kinds of products by effectively using the space of the storage 2 while ensuring the maintenance and inspection workability for the product storage rack 10. In addition, as long as a common base plate 130 is prepared in the storage 2, the product storage racks 10 having different sizes can be arbitrarily configured according to the size of the product storage box 100 to be attached thereto. It is possible to provide a vending machine with an extremely high degree of freedom in layout while achieving cost reduction by mass production.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the vending machine described above preferably has a rack structure 5 that is detachably attached to the base plate 130. This rack structure 5 is formed in a rectangular shape in which both upper and lower end surfaces and one side surface are open, and has a U-shaped cross section. As shown in FIGS. 11-1 to 11-3, When mounted on the base plate 130, a product storage passage is formed between them.

  As shown in FIGS. 11-4 to 11-6, one side wall (hereinafter simply referred to as lid side wall 5a) arranged in a manner orthogonal to the base plate 130 in the rack structure 5 is perpendicular to the other side wall. It is provided so as to be swingable around the axis. If the lid side wall 5a is swung, the product storage passage is opened from the side over its entire length, and the product can be replenished / collected from any height position. Therefore, for example, the replenished product does not collide with other products at a high speed, and a situation of rising due to the reaction does not occur.

  According to the vending machine having such a rack structure 5, even if the replenishment product provided by the bottler is not stored in the product storage box 100, the rack structure 5 is mounted on the base plate 130 so that It becomes possible to sell products in the same way as vending machines. This rack structure 5 can also be used in combination with the product storage box 100 inside the container 2 and can handle products provided from various bottlers.

  In the first embodiment described above, the box body 110 having openings 110a on the upper and lower end faces when stacked in the upper region of the product dispensing means 132, and the canned beverage W through the opening 110a of the box body 110, respectively. The product storage box 100 is configured to include the belt-like body 120 that restricts the passage of the product, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

  12 and 13 are conceptual diagrams showing the basic concept of the product storage box and the product storage rack according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 13 (a), in the present invention, the products W are stacked on each other in a product storage box 100 ′ in which a plurality of products W are stored in advance. In the embodiment, the upper and lower ends of the box body 110 'are appropriately opened as shown in FIGS. 12 (b) and 13 (b). As long as the product storage rack 10 'of the vending machine is configured as described above, any configuration may be used.

  FIG. 14 conceptually shows a product storage box that is Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As in the first embodiment, the product storage box 200 illustrated here stores a plurality of canned beverages W sold by a vending machine in a state where a plurality of canned beverages W are arranged in advance (four in the second embodiment). , A box body 210 and two rod bodies 220 which are regulating members.

  The box body 210 is formed in a rectangular shape with openings 210a at both ends by appropriately bending and bonding a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate, and can be folded through a ridgeline. . The internal dimensions of the box body 210 are the same as in the first embodiment. The box body 210 is provided with two rod insertion holes 212 in a pair of narrow side walls 211. Each of the rod insertion holes 212 has a circular shape with a relatively large diameter, and is provided at a position close to the opening 210 a of the box body 210.

  The rod body 220 is formed in a cylindrical shape by a material having relatively rigidity such as metal. When each rod body 220 is inserted through the rod insertion hole 212 so as to cover the opening 210a of the box body 210, the rod body 220 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the canned beverage W between the wide side wall 213 of the box body 210. It has an outer diameter that ensures a narrow gap and restricts the passage of canned beverage W through opening 210a of box body 210.

  The box body 210 and the rod body 220 are rods so that four canned beverages W of the same type are stored in a row in the box body 210 in advance, and then pass through and cover the openings 210a of the box body 210, respectively. By disposing the body 220, the product storage box 200 serving as a replenishment unit of the canned beverage W is configured. More specifically, by inserting the rod body 220 from each rod insertion hole 212 provided in one narrow side wall 211 of the box body 210 into the rod insertion hole 212 of the other narrow side wall 211 facing each other, The rod body 220 covers the opening 210 a of the box body 210. Furthermore, it is preferable to temporarily connect the box body 210 and the rod body 220 by appropriate means so that the rod body 220 does not inadvertently fall off from the box body 210.

  In the above-described state, as shown in FIG. 14-2, the opening 210a of the box body 210 is covered with the rod body 220, so that the box body 210 can be accommodated in any position. There is no possibility that the canned beverage W falls outside.

  Conversely, as shown in FIG. 14-4, when the box body 210 is installed with the opening 210a facing up and down, and the rod bodies 220 are each pulled out from this state, the rod body 220 is removed from the box body 210. As a result of the opening 210a of the box body 210 being covered with the rod body 220 being opened, the canned beverages W housed therein are sequentially dropped from the lower opening 210a.

  Although not clearly shown in the drawing, at least one of the outer surface of the box body 210 and the end surface of the rod body 220 is colored. This coloring is for easily distinguishing the box body 210 and the rod body 220. For example, any one of hue, lightness, and saturation, or all of them can be used for the box body 210 and the rod body 220. It is given differently.

  The product storage box 200 configured as described above is configured by a bottler that is a manufacturer of canned beverages W, as in Example 1, and further circulated in a state of being stored in a plurality of boxes inside the transport bin. It will be provided as a replenishment product to a vending machine installation manager or a replenishment operator called a route man.

  If the product storage rack and the vending machine are configured by applying the product storage box 200 of the second embodiment, the empty product storage box 200 and the product storage box 200 storing the canned beverage W are exchanged. By removing the rod body 220 later, a plurality of canned beverages W can be replenished one by one, the time required for replenishment can be remarkably shortened, and the operation can be easily performed.

  FIG. 15 conceptually shows a product storage box that is Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The product storage box 300 illustrated here is similar to the first embodiment, and stores canned beverages W sold by vending machines in a state where a plurality of canned beverages W are arranged in advance (four in the third embodiment). And a box body 310 and two plate-like bodies 320 which are restricting members.

  The box body 310 is formed in a rectangular shape with openings 310a at both ends by appropriately bending and bonding a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate, and can be folded via a ridgeline. . The internal dimensions of the box body 310 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The box body 310 is provided with two plate insertion holes 312 in a pair of narrow side walls 311. The plate insertion holes 312 each have a rectangular slit shape, and are provided at positions close to the opening 310 a of the box body 310.

  The plate-like body 320 is configured in a thin plate shape using a material having relatively rigidity such as metal. When each plate-like body 320 is inserted into the plate insertion hole 312 so as to cover the opening 310a of the box body 310, the outer diameter of the canned beverage W is larger than that of the wide side wall 313 of the box body 310. It has a width that ensures a sufficiently narrow gap, and restricts the passage of the canned beverage W through the opening 310a of the box body 310.

  The box body 310 and the plate-like body 320 are previously stored in the box body 310 in such a manner that four canned drinks W of the same type are arranged in a line and then passed through the openings 310a of the box body 310, respectively. By disposing the plate-like body 320, the product storage box 300 serving as a supplement unit for the canned beverage W is configured. More specifically, the plate-like body 320 is inserted from the plate insertion holes 312 provided in one narrow side wall 311 of the box body 310 into the plate insertion holes 312 of the other narrow side wall 311 facing each other. The plate-like body 320 covers the opening 310a of the box body 310. Furthermore, it is preferable to temporarily connect the box body 310 and the plate-like body 320 by appropriate means so that the plate-like body 320 does not inadvertently fall off from the box body 310.

  In the above-described state, as shown in FIG. 15B, the opening 310a of the box body 310 is covered with the plate-like body 320, so that the box body 310 can be accommodated in any position. There is no possibility that the canned beverage W that has been made falls outside.

  On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 15-4, when the box body 310 is installed with the opening 310a facing up and down, and the plate-like body 320 is pulled out from this state, the plate-like body is removed from the box body 310. 320 can be removed, and the opening 310a of the box body 310 covered with the plate-like body 320 is opened, so that the canned beverages W stored therein are sequentially dropped from the lower opening 310a. become.

  Although not explicitly shown in the drawing, at least one of the outer surface of the box body 310 and the end surface of the plate-like body 320 is colored. This coloring is for easily discriminating between the box body 310 and the plate-like body 320. For example, any one of hue, lightness, and saturation, or all of these are included in the box body 310 and the plate-like body. 320 are different from each other.

  The product storage box 300 configured as described above is configured by a bottler that is a manufacturer of canned beverages W, as in Example 1, and further circulated in a state of being stored in a plurality of boxes inside the transporting bin, It will be provided as a replenishment product to a vending machine installation manager or a replenishment operator called a route man.

  If the product storage rack and the vending machine are configured by applying the product storage box 300 of the third embodiment, the empty product storage box 300 and the product storage box 300 in which the canned beverages W are stored are exchanged. By removing the plate-like body 320 later, a plurality of canned beverages W can be replenished one by one, the time required for replenishment can be remarkably shortened, and the operation can be easily performed.

  FIG. 16 conceptually shows a product storage box that is Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The product storage box 400 illustrated here has the same shape as any one of the first to third embodiments described above, and the material and the configuration method thereof are different. That is, in the product storage box 400 of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16A, the narrow side wall 411 and the wide side wall 413 of the box body 410 are individually made of thick synthetic resin having relatively rigidity. In addition, the narrow side wall 411 and the wide side wall 413 are connected so as to be swingable by a swing connecting means 420 such as a hinge.

  According to the product storage box 400 configured as described above, sufficient rigidity can be ensured in the box body 410, so that even if the product storage rack is configured by directly stacking the box bodies 410, for example, There is no possibility of incurring a situation where the box body 410 located in the position is crushed. In addition, the empty product storage box 400 can be reduced in volume by folding the box body 410 via the ridge line portion provided with the swing connecting means 420, and is easy to handle during collection. Also excellent.

  FIG. 17 conceptually shows a product storage box that is Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The product storage box 500 exemplified here stores a plurality of canned beverages W sold by a vending machine in a state where a plurality of canned beverages W are arranged in advance (four in the fifth embodiment). 520. As shown in FIG. 17A, the box main body 510 is a hollow body having an internal dimension capable of storing four canned beverages W (hereinafter simply referred to as long canned beverages WL) having the largest length dimension. It is a box. The box body 510 is provided with a plurality of slits 511a as position changing means on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower walls 511 located on both sides along the direction in which the long can-containing beverages WL are arranged side by side. The slits 511a are formed at portions of the upper wall 511 and the lower wall 511 facing each other so as to form a pair at the top and bottom, respectively, along the extending direction of the narrow side walls 512 facing the end surfaces of the long can-containing beverage WL. It is provided.

  The partition plate 520 has a width slightly smaller than the internal width dimension of the box main body 510 (the dimension in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 17), but slightly smaller than the internal height dimension (the vertical dimension in FIG. 17). It has a flat plate shape with a large length.

  According to the product storage box 500 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 17A, not only can the beverage WL containing a long can be stored, but also as shown in FIGS. 17-2 and 17-3. In addition, by arranging a partition plate 520 at an appropriate position inside the box body 510, it is possible to store a standard canned beverage WM having a medium length or a short can beverage WS having a short length. Become. That is, when storing a beverage WM with a standard can, as shown in FIG. 17-2, a partition plate 520 is disposed inside the box body 510 through the second slit 511a from the left, and a short can In the case of storing the beverage WS, if the partition plate 520 is disposed inside the box body 510 through the slit 511a located on the rightmost side, it can be placed between the narrow side wall 512 located on the right side. Storage spaces corresponding to the length dimensions of the beverages WL, WM, and WS are defined, and can be stored in an aligned state.

  As a result, the product storage box 500 can be used in common for canned beverages WL, WM, WS having different length dimensions, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  18 and 19 conceptually show a commodity storage rack that is Embodiment 6 of the present invention. The product storage rack 60 illustrated here is for storing the canned beverage W in the vending machine, as in the first embodiment, and is configured by attaching a plurality of product storage boxes 600 to the base plate 630. is there.

  The product storage box 600 stores a plurality of canned beverages W sold in a vending machine in advance in a state of being arranged in two rows (four in the embodiment 6) in two rows, as shown in FIG. A box body 610 and a partition plate 620 are provided. The box body 610 is formed into a hollow rectangular shape by appropriately bending and bonding a flexible and low specific gravity material such as cardboard or a synthetic resin thin plate. The partition plate 620 is a flat member provided in a manner of dividing the inside of the box body 610 into left and right, and constitutes two storage areas inside the box body 610. In the product storage box 600, four canned beverages W are stored in advance in each storage area. The canned beverages W stored in the storage area of the product storage box 600 may be the same as each other, or different types of canned beverages W may be stored in each storage area.

  On the other hand, the base plate 630 has a flat plate shape extending in the vertical direction, and is provided with a product dispensing means 632 at the lower end thereof. The product dispensing means 632 appropriately drives a pair of left and right pedals 632a and an auxiliary pedal (not shown) disposed so as to be swingable with respect to the base plate 630, so that the products stored in the upper region one by one. It pays out downward. The pair of pedals 632a are held in a state of projecting from the base plate 630 in a normal direction in the normal state, and are prevented from passing by abutting against the product, while being directed downward when a product sales instruction is given. The product is allowed to pass by swinging. The pair of pedals 632a can swing simultaneously or individually. An auxiliary pedal (not shown) functions in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  In order to construct the product storage rack 60 by mounting the product storage box 600 on the base plate 630 configured as described above, as shown in FIGS. The product storage box 600 is mounted on the upper region of the product delivery means 632 in such a manner as to be stacked on each other. In this case, the product storage boxes 600 attached to the base plate 630 are the same ones containing the same type of canned beverages W.

  If the upper and lower ends of each box body 610 are opened from the state described above, the box bodies 610 communicate with each other as shown in FIGS. 18B and 19B, and a series of passages are defined in two rows. Will be. As a result, the canned beverages W stored therein move downward according to gravity, the canned beverage W positioned at the lowest position comes into contact with each pedal 632a of the product dispensing means 632, and the canned beverages W are mutually connected. It will be in the state contact | abutted. Accordingly, if the product dispensing means 632 is driven in accordance with the sales command and the pedal 632a swings individually, it becomes possible to dispense only one canned beverage W positioned at the lowest position downward.

  Even in the product storage rack 60, when the canned beverage W is replenished, the empty product storage box 600 and the product storage box 600 in which the canned beverage W is stored may be exchanged. It becomes possible to replenish a plurality of canned beverages W stored in the storage box 600. For this reason, compared with the case where the canned beverages W are replenished to the product storage rack 60 one by one, the time required for the replenishment is remarkably shortened, and the operation can be easily performed.

  Moreover, since a plurality of rows of product storage racks 60 can be formed on one surface of the base plate 630, the storage efficiency when storing canned beverages W with a small length can be significantly improved. Become.

  The base plate 630 according to the sixth embodiment does not necessarily have to be mounted with the product storage box 600 having the partition plate 620 therein. For example, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to mount a product storage box 600 ′ stored side by side. In this case, the product W ′ can be paid out by swinging the pedal 632a of the product paying means 632 left and right simultaneously.

  FIG. 21 conceptually shows a product storage box that is Embodiment 7 of the present invention. Similar to the first embodiment, the product storage box 700 illustrated here stores a plurality of canned beverages W sold by a vending machine in advance in a state where a plurality of canned beverages W (four in the seventh embodiment) are arranged in advance. A box body 710 made of a synthetic resin having a relatively rigid thick plate is provided. The internal dimensions of the box body 710 are the same as in the other embodiments described above. As shown in FIG. 21A, the box body 710 has a convex portion 750 formed on the outer surface of one wide side wall 713, and a recess 760 provided on the outer surface of the other wide side wall 713. The convex portion 750 includes a base portion 751 protruding from the center portion of the wide side wall 713 and a convex portion protruding in a right angle direction from both sides of the protruding end portion of the base portion 751 along the outer surface of the wide side wall 713. It has a rib portion 752 and is configured integrally with the box body 710. The recess 760 is formed in a shape that can fit the convex portion 750 by providing the locking pieces 770 at both side edges of the wide side wall 713. That is, the locking piece 770 has a base piece portion 771 that protrudes from each of the wide side walls 713 and a concave rib portion 772 that protrudes from the protruding end portion of each base piece portion 771 in a direction perpendicular to each other. It is configured integrally with the box body 710.

  According to the product storage box 700 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 21-2, when a plurality of box main bodies 710 are arranged side by side, one projection 750 is fitted into the other recess 760. Thus, the box bodies 710 can be connected to each other. Therefore, for example, when distributing a product storage box 700 constituted by a bottler, it is possible to integrate a plurality of boxes without requiring a shipping bin, and the handleability of the product storage box 700 is significantly improved. .

  In addition, in Examples 1-7 mentioned above, although all have illustrated the product storage box, the product storage rack, and the vending machine which used the canned drink as a goods, it is not necessarily a canned drink, Other goods It is also possible to apply to those targeting the above.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a vending machine, and is particularly suitable for a vending machine that easily replenishes merchandise.

It is sectional drawing which shows notionally the goods storage rack which is Example 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a top view of the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a side view of the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the length dimension and diagonal dimension of goods. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the internal dimension of the goods storage box with respect to the length dimension and diagonal dimension of goods. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the outer diameter dimension of goods. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the internal dimension of the goods storage box with respect to the outer diameter dimension of goods. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the opening procedure of the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the procedure which comprises a goods storage rack by applying the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the vending machine which applies the goods storage rack shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view which shows the state which pulled out the goods storage rack in the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a front view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the other structural example of the goods storage rack prepared for the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a front view of the goods storage rack shown to FIGS. It is a side view of the goods storage rack shown to FIGS. It is a top view which shows the state which replenishes goods to the goods storage rack shown to FIGS. It is a section front view of the goods storage rack shown in Drawing 11-4. It is a side view of the goods storage rack shown to FIGS. 11-4. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the fundamental idea of the goods storage box and goods storage rack which concern on this invention. It is a side view of the goods storage box shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows notionally the goods storage box which is Example 2 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional side view of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 14-1. It is a side view of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 14-1. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the opening procedure of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 14-1. It is a top view which shows notionally the goods storage box which is Example 3 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional side view of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. It is a side view of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the opening procedure of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the goods storage box which is Example 4 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows notionally the goods storage box which is Example 5 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows notionally the other usage example 1 of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 17-1. It is sectional drawing which shows notionally the other usage example 2 of the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 17-1. It is sectional drawing which showed notionally the goods storage rack which is Example 6 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional side view of the goods storage rack shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view which shows the state which replaced | exchanged the goods storage box in the goods storage rack shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the goods storage box which is Example 7 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state which mutually connected the goods storage box shown to FIGS. 21-1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 2 Storage 3 Slide means 3a Fixed rail part 3b Intermediate rail part 3c Movable rail part 4 Door body 5 Rack component 5a Cover side wall 10 Product storage rack 60 Product storage rack 100 Product storage box 110 Box main body 110a Opening 111 Narrow Wide side wall 112 Band insertion hole 113 Wide side wall 114 Engagement hole 120 Strip body 130 Base plate 131 Engagement claw 132 Product delivery means 132a Pedal 200 Product storage box 210 Box body 210a Opening 211 Narrow side wall 212 Rod insertion hole 213 Wide side wall 220 Rod Body 300 product storage box 310 box body 310a opening 311 narrow side wall 312 plate insertion hole 313 wide side wall 320 plate body 400 product storage box 410 box body 411 narrow side wall 413 wide side wall 420 swing connection means 500 product storage box 510 box Body 511 top and bottom Both walls 511a Slit 512 Narrow side wall 520 Partition plate 600 Product storage box 610 Box body 620 Partition plate 630 Base plate 632 Product delivery means 632a Pedal 700 Product storage box 710 Box body 713 Wide side wall 750 Protrusion 751 Base 752 Convex rib 760 Recess 770 Locking piece 771 Base piece portion 772 Concave rib portion W Canned beverage

Claims (18)

  A plurality of products are stored in the box body in advance in a stacked state. After these products are stacked on top of each other in the form of stacking each other, the upper and lower ends of the box body are opened. Thus, a commodity storage rack of the vending machine is configured, and the stored commodity is individually paid out when the commodity delivery means is driven.   The internal length dimension A of the box body is set so as to satisfy L1 <A <L2 when the length dimension of the product is L1 and the diagonal dimension along the length direction is L2. The product storage box according to 1.   When the cross section of the product is circular and the outer diameter dimension is D, the inner width dimension B of the box body is set so as to satisfy D <B <(D × 2) / √2. The product storage box according to claim 1.   The product storage box according to claim 1, wherein the box body is made of a flexible and low specific gravity material.   The product storage box according to claim 1, wherein the box body is configured to be foldable via a ridge line portion.   The product storage box according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion is formed on one side surface of the box body, and a convex portion having a shape that fits into the concave portion is provided on the other side surface of the box main body.   When stacked in the upper region of the product dispensing means in the box body, the upper and lower end surfaces are opened, and a regulating member for restricting the passage of the product through the open end surface of the box body is detachably disposed on the box body. The product storage box according to claim 1.   8. The product storage box according to claim 7, wherein the regulating member is detachable from the box body by being pulled out toward the front side when stacked in an upper region of the product delivery means.   The restriction member is inserted through an insertion hole formed in each of a wall located on the front side and a wall located on the back side of the box body stacked in the upper region of the product dispensing means. Item storage box according to Item 7.   8. The commodity storage box according to claim 7, wherein the restricting member is a single flexible strip-like body disposed so as to surround the periphery in a manner of passing through an open portion of the box body.   The product storage box according to claim 7, wherein the restricting member is a rod body having a desired rigidity.   The product storage box according to claim 7, wherein the restricting member is a plate-like body having a desired rigidity.   The product storage box according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the box main body and the regulating member is colored so that both colors are different from each other.   The product storage box according to claim 1, wherein a partition plate is detachably disposed inside the box body.   15. The product storage box according to claim 14, further comprising position changing means for changing the position of the partition plate relative to the box body.   2. The product storage box according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the box body is divided into a plurality of storage areas by the partition plate, and a plurality of products are stored in each storage area.   A product storage rack comprising the product storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 16.   A vending machine comprising a product storage rack using the product storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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