JP2005056045A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine whose appearance is excellent in amenity property for increasing merchandise storage amounts. <P>SOLUTION: This vending machine for conveying articles to a discharge port on the basis of a selling instruction is provided with a rotary holder member equipped with a rotary body and a holder which rotates with the rotary body while holding an article column in the periphery of the rotary body, and configured to convey any article in the article column from an article drop hole to the discharge port by rotating on the basis of the selling instruction, a stocker for storing articles arranged at the predetermined height position of the rotary body surrounded by the holder, and equipped with a bottom face becoming lower toward the holder and a guide port arranged at the rotary body side of the holder to guide the articles stored in the stocker to the holder on the basis of the rotation of the rotary holder member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that stores articles that are products for sale while cooling or heating them, and is effective in, for example, selling soft drinks and medicinal drinks while displaying them in a space-saving manner.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines that sell products while being stored in a display state that can be seen through from the outside have been provided as so-called see-through vending machines. A conventional see-through type vending machine is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped casing having four side surfaces as a whole, and a heat insulating transparent panel is arranged on the front face of the casing so that the articles inside can be seen through from the front face. . Thereby, for example, the user can confirm and purchase the actual article. In this way, see-through type vending machines that sell real products in a display state are expected to have effects such as avoiding mistakes that the actual product and the sample are different, and promoting sales by actual display.
JP-A-10-188107 JP-A-11-250341

  As described above, a conventional see-through type vending machine is configured by a rectangular parallelepiped housing having four sides as a whole, and a heat-insulating transparent panel is disposed only on the front surface of the housing. You can't see what you're looking for unless you stand in front of it. That is, the stored articles can only be seen through from one direction, which is insufficient to obtain a so-called amenity display effect.

  On the other hand, in order to provide amenity, for example, if a see-through vending machine that can be viewed from all sides of a housing is provided, the article storage unit arranged along the side is a conventional see-through vending machine. The product storage / carrying column may correspond to a substantially annular shape, and thus the space on the inner side of the substantially annular shape may be cooled or heated, but may not be effectively used. That is, there is a possibility that the amount of goods stored in the vending machine is reduced.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine having a high product storage amount while having an appearance with excellent amenity.

  The invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is based on a sales command for selling an article. In an automatic vending machine for carrying out an article stored in an article storage unit to a payout outlet, the rotation rotates around a vertical axis. A plurality of holders rotating with the rotating body while holding a plurality of article rows around the rotating body in the direction of the vertical axis, and rotating based on the sales command, A rotating holder member for carrying out any article in the article row from the article dropping hole on the floor of the article storage unit to the payout opening, and a predetermined of the rotating body surrounded by the plurality of holders A stocker for storing articles having a bottom surface that is lowered toward the plurality of holders provided at a height position, and stored in the stocker provided on the rotating body side of the plurality of holders. Characterized by comprising a plurality of guide openings for guiding in said plurality of holders on the basis of the rotation of the rotary holder member goods.

  According to this vending machine, for example, an article as a product stored in the stocker receives centrifugal force due to rotation of the rotary holder member and is guided to the bottom surface that becomes lower toward the plurality of holders, Can slide toward. Therefore, the vending machine can have extra items stored in the stocker as sales items. Furthermore, the predetermined height position of the bottom surface of the stocker and the shape of the guide opening provided in the stocker, for example, can be set so that the sliding article is replenished to the empty holder. Therefore, it is possible to provide a vending machine with a high product storage capacity while having an appearance with excellent amenity.

  In the vending machine, the bottom surface has an inclination that allows an article on the bottom surface to slide toward the plurality of holders based on rotation of the rotating holder member. According to this vending machine, for example, an article as a product stored in the stocker receives a centrifugal force due to the rotation of the rotary holder member, and is guided by the inclination of the bottom surface of the stocker, so that a plurality of articles are placed on the bottom surface. Can slide toward the holder. Therefore, the vending machine can additionally store the articles stored in the stocker as sales merchandise, and becomes a vending machine with a large amount of merchandise stored.

  In the vending machine, the bottom surface has a conical shape. According to this vending machine, the articles stored in the stocker slide more effectively toward the plurality of holders on the conical bottom surface. Therefore, the vending machine can additionally store the articles stored in the stocker as sales merchandise, and becomes a vending machine with a large amount of merchandise stored.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vending machine with a high product accommodation amount can be provided, having the external appearance excellent in amenity.

=== Vending machine configuration ===
Hereinafter, the configuration of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration example of a vending machine according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing this configuration example with a part of the exterior being removed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment is configured so as to form a tower-type housing 11 having a regular hexagonal prism shape as a whole. The external shape of the housing 11 includes a regular hexagonal base 21, six struts 22 erected vertically from each vertex position of the regular hexagon on the base 21, and the upper ends of the respective struts 22. The upper frame member 23 is constrained and fixed on each vertex of a regular hexagon.

  The upper frame member 23 is formed of, for example, an integrally molded product of resin for heat insulation, and a circular window frame portion is formed inside. A heat insulating disc-shaped canopy 24 is fitted to the window frame portion from above. The canopy 24 has an appropriate locking mechanism (not shown), and can be locked or unlocked with a predetermined key from a key hole 25 provided in the center of the upper side surface. The canopy 24 is locked to the upper frame member 23 by locking, and the locking is released by unlocking and can be detached.

  An article storage unit 12 occupying the main space of the vending machine 10 is provided at the upper part of the housing 11. A machine room 13 is provided below the article storage unit 12. The machine room 12 is provided with a compressor and a condenser (condenser) for the cooling cycle 30. Further, a money collection device 33 and an article payout outlet 34 are disposed in the machine room 13. The article storage unit 12 and the machine room 13 are partitioned by a double floor 40.

  The double floor 40 is configured by interposing a layered space between the heat insulating plate 41 and the floor plate 44. In this case, the heat insulating plate 41 is disposed on the machine room 13 side, and the floor plate 44 is disposed on the article storage unit 12 side. With such a structure, the double floor 40 forms a heat insulation floor with good mechanical strength and heat insulation. Due to this heat insulation, the article storage unit 12 is thermally insulated from the machine room 30. The base 21, the double floor 40, and the upper frame member 23 are arranged with a regular hexagonal outline in which vertices and sides overlap each other.

  The article storage unit 12 is surrounded by a six-sided transparent heat insulation panel 35 fitted between adjacent columns 22 to form a regular hexagonal heat insulation chamber. The heat insulation chamber is covered with a canopy 24 and insulated, and the bottom is insulated with the double floor 40. As the transparent heat insulation panel 35, for example, so-called pair glass in which a heat insulation air layer is sandwiched between two glasses is preferable. This pair glass hardly causes fogging due to a temperature difference between the article storage unit 12 side and the outside air side, and has both good heat insulation and transparency. For example, a ribbon or a film-shaped electric heater is attached to a part of the pair glass, and a weak current is supplied to the electric heater so that the electric heater is always heated. Can do.

  The machine room 13 is surrounded by a metal side plate 36 such as a steel plate and forms a storage space having a regular hexagon shape therein. The side plate 36 is provided with an appropriate ventilation slit (not shown) or the like for radiating the heat radiation from the condenser. The outer side of the machine room 13 has a regular hexagonal column shape that is substantially flush with the outer side of the article storage unit 12, and one surface of the regular hexagonal column is opened to dispose the money receiving device 33 and the article payout outlet 34. It has come to be.

  In FIG. 3, the components of the article storage unit 12 are shown extracted. In the same figure, about the double floor 40, the floor board 44 (FIG. 2) is removed and only the heat insulation board 41 adjacent to the lower part is shown. The heat insulating plate 41 is made of, for example, a hard foam resin that is thick and rigid, and the main surface portion excluding the edge portion is formed with a flat concave bottom surface 42 so that a layered space is formed when the floor plate 44 is overlaid thereon. It has become. A flat convex surface portion 43 is formed in an island shape on the concave bottom surface 42, and this functions as a spacer that supports the floor plate 44 flatly. The outline of the heat insulating plate 41 is a regular hexagon that overlaps the base 21, and an oval article drop hole 45 is formed along one side of the regular hexagon. The article drop hole 45 is a drop passage to the article delivery outlet 34 and is formed in the same shape at the corresponding position of the floor board 44.

  A spring return type one-way valve lid (not shown) is interposed under the article drop hole 45. The valve lid is automatically opened by the weight of the article 50 only in the direction from the article drop hole 45 toward the article discharge outlet 34, but is otherwise always closed by a spring bias.

  Each transparent heat insulation panel 35 surrounding the side surface of the heat insulation chamber is sandwiched between the columns 22 via the side frame members 46 and 47 as shown in FIG. The support column 22 is made of a steel plate formed in a rod shape having a V-shaped cross section. The side frame members 46 and 47 are formed by the outer frame member 46 and the inner frame member 47. Both frame members are rod-shaped having a uniform cross-sectional shape, and are fitted so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction along the inside and outside of the V-shaped cross-section column shown in FIG. Both width ends of the transparent heat insulating panel 35 are sandwiched between the two frame members 46 and 47 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The outer frame member 47 is formed using, for example, an aluminum extrusion-molded product in order to have both appearance appearance (aesthetic appearance), rigidity, and strength. The inner frame member 47 is formed by using, for example, an extruded product of resin in order to obtain heat insulation and buffering effects.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper frame member 23 described above. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the canopy 24 covering the window frame portion of the upper frame member 23. As shown in the figure, the outer side of the upper frame member 23 is a regular hexagon that overlaps the base 21 and the double floor 40, and the inner side is a circular window frame part into which the canopy 24 is fitted from above. . The canopy 24 covers the window frame and closes the heat insulation chamber.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view partially showing the inside of the entire vending machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in the figure, an article 50 that is a product to be sold by the vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment (for example, a soft drink product such as a can, a bottle, or a plastic bottle) is 3 on a double floor 40. The books (three) are stacked one above the other, and the 50 rows of articles are stored in a state of being arranged in a circle at a central angle interval of 30 degrees (360 degrees ÷ 12 rows). Thereby, in the illustration of FIG. 6, it is possible to store up to 36 (= 3 × 12 columns). As described above, the double floor 40 has a double structure in which the floor plate 44 is stacked on the heat insulating plate 41, and the upper surface thereof is flat and slidable so that 50 rows of articles stacked vertically can slide. It is formed smoothly.

  On the center surface of the double floor 40, a drum-shaped rotary holder member 51 is disposed with its axis line upright. The rotary holder member 51 is assembled by assembling a rectangular U-shaped metal channel material (holder) 52 into a circular shape. In the present embodiment, the twelve channel members 52 are arranged so as to form a circle at a central angle interval of 30 degrees with the opening side of the rectangular U-shaped portion facing outward. Each channel member 52 forms a row holder portion for holding 50 rows of articles from the side. Both ends of the rectangular U-shaped portion are bent at a substantially right angle inside to hold the 50 rows of articles, and hold the article 50 (bottle) by holding the bent. The drum-shaped rotary holder member 51 is provided on the center surface of the double floor 40 so as to be rotatable around an axis perpendicular to the double floor 40. Each channel member 52 is formed by bending a metal plate (thin steel plate) into a rectangle.

  As described above, a compressor, a condenser, and the like of the cooling cycle 30 are disposed in the lower part of the double bed. In addition, a money receiving device 33, an article paying outlet 34, and the like are disposed at the lower part of the double floor. An automatic opening / closing tray 60 that is opened by gravity operation and is closed by spring return is attached to the article discharge outlet 34. The automatic opening / closing tray 60 is pushed outward by the weight of the article 50 when the valve lid (not shown) is opened and the article 50 is dropped from the article drop hole 45 (FIG. 3) of the double floor 40. When the article 50 is not dropped, the article 50 is automatically pulled out to be easily taken out. When the article 50 is not dropped, the article 50 is lifted up by a spring that is constantly acting to automatically close the article discharge outlet 34. .

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the vending machine 10 of the present embodiment, a stocker bottom 88 is provided at the height of the upper surface of the upper disk-shaped frame 70 described later, that is, the bottom of the article 50 positioned at the uppermost stage. ing. Thus, the surface forming the drum-like inner side of the rotary holder member 51 and the stocker bottom portion 88 form a stocker 500 for storing the articles 50 to be sold. The stocker bottom portion 88 includes a conical portion 88 a that forms the upper surface of the stocker bottom portion 88 and a side surface portion 88 b that forms the side surface of the stocker bottom portion 88. In the present embodiment, the conical portion 88a is highest at the rotation center portion of the rotary holder member 51, is lowest at the circumferential portion of the conical portion 88a, and gradually decreases from the rotation center portion to the circumferential portion. It is formed as follows. In the present embodiment, the side surface portion 88b has a predetermined height because the conical portion 88a is supported above the upper end portion of a positioning guide shaft 87 described later. As shown in FIG. 6, a guide port 520 is provided on the inner side of each channel member 52. The guide port 520 includes a vertical portion 520a and a horizontal portion 520b. In the present embodiment, the vertical direction portion 520a has a width that allows the article 50 to easily pass through the width between the vertical direction portions 520a, for example, and the horizontal direction portion 520b The height of 520b (the predetermined height position of the rotating body) is the height of the circumferential portion of the conical portion 88a of the stocker bottom portion 88.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view partially showing a configuration in the vicinity of the article drop hole 45. As shown in the figure, a drop control plate 61 is erected in the vicinity of the outside of the article drop hole 45. The drop control plate 61 has an upper end projecting horizontally toward the article 50 row side, and the projecting part is placed between the lowermost article 50 and the second article 50 among the articles 50 stacked vertically. By interposing, only the lowermost article 50 is selectively dropped into the article drop hole 45.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view partially showing the rotary holder member 51 and the inside thereof. As shown in the figure, the channel material 52 of the present embodiment forming the rotary holder member 51 is a metal plate bent into a channel shape having a substantially rectangular U-shaped cross section. . Each channel member 52 is arranged in a circle with the U-shaped bottom side facing the center, and is assembled in a drum shape.

  Each channel member 52 is assembled in a drum shape by being arranged in a circle while the side surfaces of the U-shaped portion are closely adjacent to each other. Therefore, the side surfaces of the U-shaped portion in each channel member 52 are not parallel but open approximately 15 degrees in total, approximately 30 degrees. For this reason, on one side plate portion of the U-shaped portion, a cut-and-raised piece 53 that is cut and raised in a rectangular shape toward the inside of the U-shape is formed. By this cut-and-raised piece 53, each channel member 52 is formed with a substantially right-angled U-shaped holder portion.

  Each channel member 52 is provided with a horizontal notch 54 at a height corresponding to the horizontal overhanging portion of the drop control plate 61 (FIG. 7). The horizontal cutout 54 is provided with a width that does not hinder the holding of the article 50 in order to avoid positional interference with the horizontal overhang when the rotary holder member 51 is rotated on the double floor 40. Yes. As described above, the guide port 520 including the vertical portion 520a and the horizontal portion 520b is provided on the inner side of each channel member 52.

  The double floor 40 is provided with an article drop hole 45, and an article sensor 62 is disposed in front of the article drop hole 45. Here, the article sensor 62 detects whether or not the article is located at a fixed position 45 before the article dropping hole. The article sensor 62 of the present embodiment is assumed to use a switch such as a micro switch (also called a limit switch) that is turned on or off by mechanical operation. However, the article detection sensor 62 is not limited to such a mechanical operation type switch, and for example, an appropriate optical sensor, a touch sensor (contact sensor), or the like may be used.

  FIG. 9 is an essential part extraction diagram in the cross-sectional direction of the rotary holder member 51 of the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an essential part extraction diagram of the rotating holder member 51 in the side surface direction. The rotating holder member 51 of the present embodiment is formed by assembling an upper disk-shaped frame 70 and a lower annular frame 71. As shown in FIG. 9, both the frames 70 and 71 are formed so that the outer contours form a regular dodecagon, and each channel member 52 is fixed to each side of the regular dodecagon with screws. As a result, they are assembled in a drum shape so as to form a circular shape adjacent to each other. In addition, in order to facilitate understanding, a cross section of only the channel material 52 is also shown in the upper part of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a large gear 72 is provided at the center of the upper disk-shaped frame 70, and a through guide hole 73 is provided at the center axis position of the large gear 72. The upper frame 70 and the lower frame 71 are provided with roller rings 74 and 75, respectively, in which guide rollers pivotally supported at fixed positions on the fixed side are inscribed. The rotating body of the present embodiment has a configuration that contributes to the rotation of the rotating holder member 51, such as the upper disk-shaped frame 70, the lower annular frame 71, the roller rings 74 and 75, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the evaporator 31 and the cooling fan 32 of the cooling cycle 30 are disposed inside the rotary holder member 51. The evaporator 31 forms part of the cooling cycle 30 and is connected to the condenser below the double bed 40 by piping. The evaporator 31 is provided with appropriate heat exchange fins (not shown), and an electric cooling fan 32 is disposed above the heat exchange fins.

  The cooling fan 32 sucks air from the lower part of the article storage unit 12 and passes it in the vicinity of the heat exchange fins of the evaporator 31. Air (cold air) cooled by being passed near the heat exchange fins is blown up above the cooling fan 32. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 10, the blown-up cold air circulates from the inner side to the outer side of the rotary holder member 51 to the lower part of the article storage unit 12 while cooling the article 50 row.

  As described above, the rotary holder member 51 of the present embodiment is formed by arranging 12 channel members 52 in a circle and assembling in a drum shape. As shown in FIG. A rectangular ventilation window 55 is formed in the U-shaped bottom portion of each channel member 52 so that cold air can be circulated through the ventilation window 55.

  A layered space portion is formed between the heat insulating plate 41 and the floor plate 44 forming the double floor 40, and this layered space portion communicates with the inside of the article storage portion 12 through a vent hole provided in the floor plate 44. ing. The ventilation hole is provided so as to form a ventilation duct between the outer side and the inner side of the rotary holder member 51. The air that has circulated from the inside to the outside of the rotary holder member 51 to cool the article 50 circulates to the evaporator 31 through the ventilation duct in the double floor 40 and is cooled again. Thereby, the article 50 held on the outside of the rotary holder member 51 can be cooled uniformly.

  In this way, the cold air blown up by the cooling fan 32 flows from the ventilation window 55 to the outside of the rotary holder member 51, efficiently cooling the article stored outside the rotary holder member 51, and The inside of the storage unit 12 can be circulated. Further, since the channel material 52 is made of metal, its thermal conductivity is good. Therefore, this channel material 52 is also cooled by cold air. The cooled channel material 52 cools the articles held inside the U-shaped portion evenly. In this way, the article 50 group can be efficiently cooled with low power consumption because of its small cooling capacity.

  In this way, the cool air blown up by the fan 32 circulates from the ventilation window 55 to the outside of the rotating holder member 51, and stores the article while efficiently cooling the article 50 stored outside the rotating holder member 51. The inside of the part 12 is circulated. Moreover, since the thermal conductivity of the metal channel material 52 is good, the channel material 52 is also cooled by cold air. The cooled channel material 52 uniformly cools the article held inside the U-shape. In this manner, the article group can be efficiently cooled with a small cooling capacity, that is, with low power consumption.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, at least three roller wheels 81 are attached to the lower end portion of the rotation holder member 51 at equal intervals. The rotating holder member 51 is mounted on the roller wheel 81 and can be rotated in the horizontal direction on the surface of the double floor 40. That is, the roller wheel 81 functions as a kind of thrust bearing that rotatably supports the rotary holder member 51 on the double floor 40.

  Each roller wheel 81 is attached so as to rotate in the circumferential direction on the same circumference, and its outer periphery is curved in an arc shape or a curved shape. According to this, the roller wheel 81 can smoothly roll in the circumferential direction while contacting the double floor 40 surface with a small contact area and a small rolling resistance. Thereby, the rotation holder member 51 can be smoothly and stably rotated in the horizontal direction on the surface of the double floor 40 with a relatively small driving force.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, a gate-shaped frame member 82 having an inverted U shape is attached to the inside of the rotary holder member 51. The frame member 82 is configured using a structural material such as a steel plate, and is fixed to the double floor 40 inside the rotating holder member 51 so as to straddle the condenser 31 and the cold air fan 32. A motor 83 with a reduction gear (so-called geared motor) is attached to the upper end of the frame member 82. A small gear 84 is attached to the reduction output shaft of the motor 83, and the small gear 84 is engaged with the large gear 72 on the rotating holder member 51 side.

  In addition, guide rollers 85 and 86 that are inscribed in the upper and lower roller rings 74 and 75 on the rotary holder member 51 side are attached to the frame member 82. Further, a positioning guide shaft 87 that is inserted into the through guide hole 73 of the large gear 72 is vertically projected from the center of the upper end of the frame member 82. By the guide shaft 87 and the guide rollers 85 and 86, the rotary holder member 51 is positioned at the center in the article storage unit 12, and is guided to rotate in the horizontal direction in the positioned state. In this state, the motor 83 with the reduction gear can be driven to rotate while holding the article. The article 50 is swung in accordance with the rotation of the rotary holder member 51 while being stacked up and down.

  As described above, the vertical cross section in FIG. 10 at the conical portion 88a of the stocker bottom 88 has an isosceles triangular shape. That is, the conical portion 88 a forms a surface that is inclined toward the channel material 52 side with the rotation center of the rotary holder member 51 as the apex. The conical portion 88a of the stocker bottom 88 constituting the stocker 500 of the present embodiment is configured such that the article 50 is stably placed when the rotating holder member 51 is not rotating, and the conical portion 88a is rotating when the rotating holder member 51 is rotating. An inclined surface is formed so that the article 50 slides toward the channel member 52 side by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation and is stored in the rotating holder member 51. The stable placement and sliding motion described above also depend on the frictional force acting on the upper surface of the conical portion 88a and the bottom surface of the article 50. Therefore, the upper surface of the conical portion 88a of the present embodiment has such a roughness that the article 50 is stably placed when the rotary holder member 51 is not rotating even in the inclined portion. When the is rotating, the article 50 also has such a smoothness that the article 50 slides toward the channel member 52 side by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation and is stored in the rotating holder member 51.

=== Operation of the vending machine ===
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state transition of the article 50 until the article 50 in the stocker 500 provided in the vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment is stored in the rotary holder member 51. When the rotary holder member 51 rotates every time the article 50 is sold, a centrifugal force along the radial direction of the rotation acts on the article 50 in the stocker 500. Thereby, the article 50 (state K) stably placed on the inclined surface of the conical portion 88a slides on the inclined surface toward the channel member 52 side (state L).

  As shown in FIG. 11, the article 50 that slides on the inclined surface of the conical portion 88a toward the channel member 52 can pass through the guide port 520 and enter the channel member 52 (state M). For example, if the article 50 already stored in the channel material 52 is placed at the lowermost stage, the article 50 in the state M is lowered from the state M by gravity and placed on the middle stage of the channel material 52. (State N).

  The article storage state of the vending machine 10 described above with reference to FIGS. The drum-shaped rotating holder member 51 stores 50 rows of stacked articles in a circular arrangement, and the state of this circular arrangement is shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. The arrows in the figure indicate the rotation direction of the rotary holder member 51, that is, the turning movement direction of the article 50, and the leftmost article 50 moves to the rightmost end in the next movement step.

  In the figure, the rotary holder member 51 is rotated until the article sensor 62 detects the article 50. That is, when the sensor 62 detects one of the articles 50, the motor 83 is stopped at the detection position, and thereby the turning movement of the article 50 is also stopped. However, if a continuous non-detection time detection timer is interposed in the drive circuit of the motor 83 and the article sensor 62 does not detect the article 50 continuously for a preset time or longer, the motor is controlled by the timer. The drive by 83 is stopped.

  Here, when the money receiving device 33 detects the insertion of a predetermined amount of money (such as coins) in a state where the article 50 is stored, the money receiving device 33 issues a command for paying out a product. The motor 83 is driven to rotate the article 50. The motor 83 is driven by detecting the insertion of money until the next article 50 comes to the detection position of the article sensor 62. That is, each time the money receiving device 33 detects the input of a predetermined amount, the row of articles 50 is swung on the double floor 40 by a certain pitch. As a result, the article 50 sent out from the detection position of the sensor 62 falls into the drop hole 45 and is carried out (dispensed) to the article discharge outlet 34, and the next article 50 is fed out to the detection position before the drop hole 45. In the above description, although the sale of the article 50 is started by detecting the insertion of a predetermined amount of money, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the vending machine 10 may be provided with an appropriate sales button (not shown) instead of the money receiving device 33. In this case, when the sales button is appropriately pressed by a user of the vending machine 10, for example, a signal indicating that the article 50 is sold is output from the sales button. Thus, if the vending machine 10 provided with a sales button for telling the user that he wants the article 50 is installed in, for example, a conference room, the attendees of the conference have cooled, for example, without paying money. Article 50 as a beverage can be freely obtained.

  In this case, even if the article 50 is stacked on the article 50 sent to the drop hole 45, the above-described drop control plate 61 is interposed between the lowermost article 50 and the article 50 thereon, Only one at the bottom is dropped into the drop hole 45. For example, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, when the second row and the upper row of the items 50 are re-extracted by a predetermined pitch when the next row of items 50 is detected by the detection of the next money insertion or the sales button press, Each of them falls down one step in front of the drop hole 45.

  As described above, the articles 50 held by the rotary holder member 51 are paid out to the article payout outlet 34 one by one for every money inserted. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the last one held by the rotary holder member 51 is paid out, the motor 83 is driven by a timer for a time sufficient for the rotary holder member 51 to go around, Be stopped. The money receiving device 33 is interlocked with the detection of the article sensor 62 and is configured to accept money input only when the article 50 remains on the rotary holder member 51.

  The replenishment of the article 50 can be performed by opening the canopy 24 from the upper part of the article storage unit 12. At this time, the replenishment part of the article 50 may be any part of the rotary holder member 51. As shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. 15, the article 50 held by the rotary holder member 51 can be dispensed without leaving one at any position.

  In FIG. 12 to FIG. 15, the description of the operation of replenishing the article 50 from the stocker 500 to the rotary holder member 51 is omitted.

  In the stocker 500 of the present embodiment, it is possible to store extra articles 50 to be replenished in the article storage unit 12, for example. That is, for example, the operator can store an extra amount of articles 50 in the vending machine 10 that is greater than or equal to the amount stored in the rotary holder member 51, and the articles 50 are automatically replenished by appropriate rotation at the time of sale. It will be done. In addition, since the cooling effect is obtained even inside the rotary holder member 51 by the cool air indicated by the arrows in FIG. 10, the article 50 can be stored while being cooled to a temperature close to the appropriate temperature at the time of sale. Therefore, the article 50 replenished by being transferred from the stocker 500 to the article storage unit 12 is in a state where it can be quickly sold. This is equivalent to an increase in the amount of goods stored in the vending machine 10 by the amount of the stocker 500.

=== Other Embodiments ===
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and equivalents thereof are also included.

  For example, the horizontal cross section of the transparent heat insulation panel 35 of the vending machine 10 may have a regular polygon shape other than a regular hexagon. However, in the case of a polygon less than six corners, a wasteful space at the corner portion becomes large, and in the case of a polygon exceeding six hexagons, the number of parts such as the support column 22 and the transparent heat insulating panel 35 increases. In terms of efficiency and rationality of construction, regular hexagons are optimal and preferred. Moreover, the horizontal direction cross section of the transparent heat insulation panel of the vending machine 10 may generally form a polygonal shape or a circular shape.

  As the cooling cycle 30, a cooling system such as a Peltier element can be used in addition to the cooling cycle using a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator. A gap may be intermittently provided at the bottom of the rotary holder member 51, and the air blown upward by the cooling fan 32 may be circulated through the gap. Further, the vending machine 10 according to the present invention can be used not only for the purpose of cooling and selling an article, but also for the purpose of heating and selling an article.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vertical cross section in FIG. 10 at the stocker bottom 88 has an isosceles triangle shape, but is not limited thereto. For example, it may generally have an unequal triangular shape or an arc shape. If the unequal triangular shape is used, it is not necessary to precisely process the stocker bottom portion 88 to have an accurate isosceles triangular shape, and the manufacturing cost of the vending machine 10 can be reduced. Moreover, if it is circular arc shape, the articles | goods 50 can be mounted more stably in the center part of the stocker bottom part 88. FIG. Furthermore, the upper surface of the stocker bottom portion 88 does not need to be rotationally symmetric with respect to the axis of rotation center, and may have a polygonal pyramid shape, for example. In this way, the article 50 can be stably placed on each surface of the polygonal pyramid.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the guide port 520 is composed of two vertical portions 520a facing each other and one horizontal portion 520b adjacent to the vertical portion 520a. The shape is notched, but is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the guide port 530 may have an opening shape. In this case, as shown in FIG. 17, the article 50 slides and falls on the stocker bottom portion 88 so that the bottom portion faces the guide port 530 at the time of sale, passes through the guide port 530, and the rotating holder member. 51 is stored. If the guide port 530 has an opening shape, the article 50 in the stocker 500 adjacent to the article 50 already stored in the rotary holder member 51 applies a load to the article 50 in the rotary holder 51 during rotation. You can prevent it.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the vending machine by one Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which removes and shows a part of exterior of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which takes out and shows the component of an article storage part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an upper frame member. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the perspective view of a canopy. It is a perspective view which shows partially the inside of the whole vending machine shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the article drop hole vicinity partially. It is a perspective view which shows a rotation holder member and its inner side partially. The main part in the cross-sectional direction of the rotating holder member is extracted and shown. The main part in the side surface direction of a rotation holder member is extracted and shown. It is a figure which shows the transition of the state of the said goods until the goods in a stocker are stored in a rotation holder member. It is a plane development view showing the 1st state of article storage in a vending machine. It is a plane development view showing the 2nd state of the above-mentioned article storage. It is a plane development view showing the 3rd state of the above-mentioned article storage. It is a plane development view showing the 4th state of the above-mentioned article storage. It is another perspective view which shows partially the inside of the whole vending machine shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is another figure which shows the transition of the state of the said goods until the goods in a stocker are stored in a rotation holder member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vending machine 11 Housing | casing 12 Goods storage part 13 Machine room 21 Regular hexagonal base 22 Support | pillar (six)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 Regular hexagonal upper frame member 24 Heat-insulating disk-shaped canopy 25 Keyhole 30 Cooling cycle 31 Evaporator 32 Cooling fan 33 Money receiving device 34 Goods outlet 35 Transparent heat insulation panel 36 Metal side plate 40 Double floor 41 Heat insulation plate 42 Concave bottom surface 43 Convex surface portion 44 Floor plate 45 Article drop hole 46 Outer frame member 47 Inner frame member 50 Article 51 Rotating holder member 52 Metal channel material 53 Cut and raised piece 54 Horizontal cutout portion 55 Rectangular ventilation window 60 Automatic opening / closing tray 61 Drop control Plate 62 Article sensor 70 Upper disc-shaped frame 71 Lower annular frame 72 Large gear 73 Through guide hole 74 Roller ring 75 Roller ring 81 Roller wheel 82 Portal frame 83 Motor with reduction gear 84 Small gear 85 Guide roller 86 Guide roller 87 Guide shaft 88 Stocker bottom 88a circle Part 88b side portion 500 stocker 520 and 530 guide opening 520a vertical portion 520b horizontally unit

Claims (3)

In a vending machine that carries out the articles stored in the article storage unit to the payout outlet based on the sales instruction for selling the articles,
A rotating body that rotates about a vertical axis, and a plurality of holders that rotate together with the rotating body while holding a plurality of article rows around the rotating body in the direction of the vertical axis, and based on the sales instruction A rotating holder member for causing any article in the plurality of article rows to be carried out from an article drop hole on the floor of the article storage section to the payout port by rotating
A stocker for storing articles having a bottom surface that is lowered toward the plurality of holders, provided at a predetermined height position of the rotating body surrounded by the plurality of holders;
A plurality of guide ports provided on the rotating body side of the plurality of holders for guiding articles stored in the stocker into the plurality of holders based on rotation of the rotating holder member;
Vending machine characterized by having   2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface has an inclination that allows an article on the bottom surface to slide toward the plurality of holders based on rotation of the rotating holder member. 3.   The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom surface has a conical shape.

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