JP2008033506A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine capable of well realizing a first in first out operation about articles by facilitating a refilling operation. <P>SOLUTION: The machine comprises a first conveying unit 30 which is partitioned into an article storing chamber 10 for storing articles and an article accommodating chamber 20 for maintaining the articles at a desired temperature state into up and down direction, receives articles existing in the most back side of a column of the article storing chamber 10 to be designated in response to an article refilling command, and conveys them to the last end portion of a designated column of the article accommodating chamber 20; a second conveying unit 40 for receiving articles existing in the most front side of a column in the article accommodating chamber 20 designated in response to an article selling command, and for conveying it into an article delivery outlet; a first heat insulating barrier unit 50 for thermally insulating and separating each column of the article accommodating chamber 20 from a conveying path of the first conveying unit 30 at a normal state, and permitting article refilling to the column at the time of refilling the articles; and a second heat insulating barrier unit 60 for thermally insulating and separating each column of the article accommodating chamber 20 from a conveying path of the second conveying unit 40 at a normal state, and permitting article reception when selling the articles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more specifically, product storage for storing products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, and plastic bottled beverages while maintaining them in a desired temperature state, that is, in a cooled or heated state. The present invention relates to an improvement of a vending machine provided with a room and a product storage room for storing the product at room temperature.

  Conventionally, the following are known as vending machines that sell products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, and plastic bottled beverages. For example, it is a vending machine in which a product storage room and a product storage room are divided into upper and lower parts inside a main body cabinet that is a main body of the vending machine.

  The product storage chamber is disposed on the upper side inside the main body cabinet, has a heat insulating structure, and is provided with a product storage rack for storing products. The product storage chamber stores and stores the products in the product storage rack in a desired temperature state (cooled or heated state) by cooling or heating the internal atmosphere. In such a product storage room, an input tray that is inclined in such a manner that the height gradually decreases from the front to the rear in the upper region of the product storage rack, and the product is input from the front side of the input tray. As a result, the product is stored in the product storage rack through the input tray.

  The product storage room is disposed on the lower side inside the cabinet, and is used for storing products at room temperature. This product storage room stores products by arranging product storage shelves (columns) for storing products in a line along the front-rear direction in upper and lower rows and left and right rows.

  Such a vending machine is provided with a transport mechanism for transporting products stored in the product storage room to the product storage chamber in response to a product replenishment command. The transport mechanism is provided on the front side inside the main body cabinet. In response to the product replenishment command, this transport mechanism accepts the product located on the front side of the designated product storage shelf in the product storage room and transports it to the input port of the specified input tray in the product storage room. is there. Here, the product conveyed to the input port enters the product storage rack through the input tray, and is stored in the product storage rack. Then, in accordance with the merchandise sales command, the carry-out mechanism at the lower part of the merchandise storage rack that stores the selected merchandise is driven to carry out the merchandise at the lowest level of the merchandise storage rack. The carried-out merchandise is transported and sold to a merchandise outlet formed in a door provided to open and close the front opening of the main body cabinet (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-5-20536

  By the way, in general, when replenishing products to the product storage room, with the door opened, that is, with the front surface of the product storage room opened, the product storage shelf is pulled forward to the product storage shelf. The product will be replenished.

  However, in the vending machine proposed in Patent Document 1 as described above, the transport mechanism transports the product located at the forefront of the product storage shelf designated by the product replenishment command to the product storage room. In this case, it is necessary to place a product that has been stored in the product storage room or a product with a near expiration date before the product storage shelf and a new product to be replenished on the rear side of the product storage shelf. In order to realize first-in first-out of products, the product replenishment operation (so-called loading operation) has been complicated.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of facilitating a product replenishment operation and realizing a first-in first-out of a product.

  In order to achieve the above object, an automatic vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention arranges a plurality of columns for storing products in a line along the front-rear direction in upper and lower rows and left and right rows, and placing the products at room temperature. A product storage room for storing products in a state and a plurality of columns for storing products arranged in a line along the front-rear direction are arranged in upper and lower rows, left and right rows, and the products are stored while being maintained at a desired temperature state. An automatic vending machine main body having a product storage chamber and a door for opening and closing a front opening formed in the main body of the vending machine, and for selling products stored in the product storage chamber In the vending machine, in response to a product replenishment command, the first transport means for receiving the last product of the designated column of the product storage room and transporting it to the rear end of the designated column of the product storage room; Designation of the product storage room according to the product sales directive A second transport means for receiving the product on the front side of the column and transporting it to a product take-out port formed in a form opening in the front surface of the door body; in a normal state, each column of the product storage chamber; A first heat insulating wall that allows the product to be replenished to the column when the product is replenished, and the product storage in a normal state. Each column of the chamber and the conveyance path of the second conveying means are partitioned in a heat-insulating manner, and a second heat insulating wall body that allows the second conveying means to accept the goods at the time of selling the goods is provided. And

  The vending machine according to claim 2 of the present invention is the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the commodity storage room is provided on the upper side of the main body of the vending machine, while the commodity storage room is the automatic vending machine. It is provided on the lower side of the vending machine body.

  The vending machine according to claim 3 of the present invention is the above-described vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each column of the commodity storage room is inclined in such a manner that the height gradually decreases from the front toward the rear. On the other hand, each column of the product storage chamber is provided so as to be inclined in such a manner that the height gradually decreases from the rear to the front.

  The vending machine according to claim 4 of the present invention is the vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the product storage room stores the product in an upright position, while the product storage room The product is accommodated in a standing posture.

  The vending machine according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the vending machine according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above, wherein the first heat insulating wall body moves in the vertical direction according to the movement of the first conveying means. It is characterized by having a folding door type structure whose length can be changed.

  The vending machine according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the vending machine according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the second heat insulating wall body is arranged in a vertical direction according to the movement of the second conveying means. It is characterized by having a folding door type structure whose length can be changed.

  According to the vending machine of the present invention, the first transport means receives the last product in the designated column of the product storage room in response to the product replenishment command, and after the designated column of the product storage room. The product is formed in such a manner that the second transport means accepts the product on the forefront side of the designated column of the product storage chamber and opens to the front surface of the door body in accordance with the product sales instruction. Since it is transported to the exit, it is only necessary to load the product from the front of the product storage room when replenishing the product, making it easy to replenish the product and realizing the first-in first-out of the product. Play. In addition, the first heat insulating wall body normally partitions each column of the product storage chamber and the transport path of the first transport means, while the product column is transported by the first transport means when the product is replenished. The second heat insulating wall normally partitions each column of the product storage chamber and the transport path of the second transport means while the product is sold by the second transport means at the time of product sales. Therefore, only the space in which each column of the commodity storage chamber is disposed can be a heat insulating structure, and only the necessary minimum space can be cooled. Accordingly, the cooling efficiency is excellent, and there is an effect that energy saving can be achieved.

  Exemplary embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 schematically show a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view and FIG. 2 is a sectional side view. 1 and 2, the vending machine sells products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, and plastic bottled beverages in a cooled or heated state, and a main body cabinet 1 that is the main body of the vending machine. It has.

  The main body cabinet 1 has a rectangular shape with an open front, and its interior is largely divided into three parts, upper, middle, and lower, and a machine room 2, a product storage room 10, and a product storage room 20 are provided. It is.

  The machine room 2 is a room partitioned in the lowermost part, and various machines are disposed therein. In particular, the compressor and the condenser are provided as those related to the present embodiment, although not explicitly shown in the drawing.

  The product storage room 10 is a room partitioned at the top. Inside the product storage room 10, a plurality of product storage columns 11 are arranged in an upper and lower row and a left and right row. The merchandise storage column 11 extends along the front-rear direction, and is inclined so as to gradually decrease in height from the front to the rear. The merchandise storage column 11 stores merchandise in a line along the front-rear direction in a standing posture. Such a product storage room 10 stores products stored in each product storage column 11 at room temperature.

  In addition, at each rear end of the product storage column 11, a carry-out mechanism 12 that carries out stored products one by one is provided. Here, the carry-out mechanism 12 does not have a drive unit separated from a power source such as a drive motor or a solenoid, and the receiving unit 32 constituting the first transport unit 30 described later is provided in the designated product storage column 11. When accessed, the power from the electric drive mechanism 34 constituting the first transport unit 30 is transmitted and driven.

  The product storage chamber 20 is a chamber partitioned in the middle, that is, a chamber located between the machine room 2 and the product storage chamber 10. The product storage chamber 20 is partitioned from the product storage chamber 10 using the upper heat insulating plate 20a as a partition plate, and is partitioned from the machine room 2 using the lower heat insulating plate 20b as a partition plate. Thereby, the product storage chamber 10 is provided on the partitioned upper side of the main body cabinet 1, while the product storage chamber 20 is provided on the partitioned lower side.

  In the lower part of the product storage chamber 20, there is provided an evaporator 3 connected to the above-described compressor and condenser through a refrigerant pipe. The evaporator 3 constitutes a cooling unit together with the compressor and the condenser, and cools the internal atmosphere.

  Inside the product storage chamber 20, a plurality of product storage columns 21 are arranged in upper and lower rows and left and right rows. More specifically, the product storage column 21 extends along the front-rear direction, and is inclined and provided such that the height gradually decreases from the rear toward the front. The product storage column 21 stores products in a standing position in a line along the front-rear direction.

  A product detection sensor (not shown) is provided for each product storage column 21 inside the product storage chamber 20. The product detection sensor detects whether or not the corresponding product storage column 21 has a vacancy, and if there is a vacancy, outputs a signal to that effect to the vending machine control unit C1 described later.

  An unloading mechanism 22 for unloading stored products one by one is provided at each front end of the product storage column 11. Here, the carry-out mechanism 22 does not have a drive unit separated from a power source such as a drive motor or a solenoid, and the receiving unit 42 constituting the second transport unit 40 described later is provided in the designated product storage column 21. When accessed, the power from the electric drive mechanism 44 constituting the second transport unit 40 is transmitted and driven.

  On the other hand, the main body cabinet 1 is provided with a door body 4. The door body 4 has an outer door 4a and an inner door 4b. The outer door 4 a is for covering the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 and is hinged to the one side edge of the main body cabinet 1 in a manner that can be opened and closed. A display window 5 and a product outlet 6 are provided on the front side of the outer door 4a.

  The display window 5 is a window for visually recognizing the product sample 7 provided inside the outer door 4a. The product outlet 6 is provided at the center position on the front side of the outer door 4a and serves as an opening for the user to take out the product. Although not shown in the figure, on the front surface of the outer door 4a, a product selection button, a bill insertion slot, a coin insertion slot, a return lever, a monetary indicator, and a coin return necessary for selling the product While a mouth is provided, a money processing unit is provided on the rear side.

  The inner door 4b is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper door (hereinafter also referred to as the first inner door 4b1) is for covering the front surface of the commodity storage room 10, and the lower door (hereinafter referred to as the first door 4b1). , Also referred to as the second inner door 4b2) is for covering the front surface of the part corresponding to the product storage chamber 20, and can be opened and closed at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1 at a position inward of the outer door 4a. Are arranged. The second inner door 4b2 is provided with a product outlet 4c at a portion corresponding to the product outlet 6. In addition, in this Embodiment, although shown about the case where the inner door 4 is divided | segmented up and down, the structure in this invention is not limited to this. That is, when the product storage room 10 and the product storage room 20 are completely partitioned, at least the first inner door 41b1 is unnecessary.

  The main body cabinet 1 is provided with a first transport unit (first transport means) 30 and a second transport unit (second transport means) 40. The first transport unit 30 is provided on the rear side of the main body cabinet 1, that is, on the rear side of each of the product storage chamber 10 and the product storage chamber 20, and stores the products stored in the product storage chamber 10 in the product storage chamber 20. It is for carrying. The first transport unit 30 includes an XY transport mechanism 31 and a receiving unit 32.

  The XY transport mechanism 31 is equipped with a receiving portion 32 and moves the receiving portion 32 in the vertical direction and the left-right direction. The XY transport mechanism 31 is well known and will not be described in detail. However, an X-axis transport unit 31a (see FIG. 5) extending in the left-right direction extends in the up-down direction, and a pair of left and right The Y-axis transport unit 31b (see FIG. 5) is connected.

  The X-axis transport part 31a guides and supports the receiving part 32 to be mounted so as to be movable along the X-axis direction, that is, the left-right direction. The Y-axis transport unit 31b guides and supports the X-axis transport unit 31a so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, that is, the vertical direction. That is, the Y-axis transport unit 31b guides the movement of the receiving unit 32 mounted on the X-axis transport unit 31a along the vertical direction.

  Further, in such an XY transport mechanism 31, position detecting means (not shown) for moving and stopping the receiving portion 32 to the position of the designated column (product storage column 11, product storage column 21). ) And is transferred to the designated product storage column 11 and product storage column 21 in accordance with a given product supply command.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a first heat insulating wall unit (first heat insulating wall) 50 is connected to a lower portion of the front end of the base 33 that engages with the Y-axis transport portion 31b.

  The first heat insulation wall unit 50 has a folding door structure in which a plurality of heat insulation boards 51 are connected via a hinge 52. The heat insulating board 51 is formed of a heat insulating material and has a rectangular shape in which the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction. The length of the heat insulation board 51 in the left-right direction is large enough to cover the left-right direction of the commodity storage chamber 20. The uppermost heat insulating board 51 is connected to the lower part of the front end of the base 33 so as to be swingable via a connecting member 53, and the front side of the lower end is the second heat insulating board from above. A hinge 52 is connected to the front side of the upper end of 51. The heat insulation board 51 that is the second from the top is connected to the rear surface side of the upper end of the heat insulation board 51 that is the third from the top through a hinge 52. That is, each heat insulation board 51 is connected by providing the hinges 52 alternately front and rear. The rear surface side of the lower end portion of the heat insulation board 51 located at the lowest position is connected to a predetermined portion of the lower heat insulation plate 20b via a hinge 52. Then, the uppermost heat insulation board 51 and the heat insulation boards 51 positioned every other position (in the illustrated example, the heat insulation board 51 third from the top, the heat insulation board 51 fifth from the top, and seven from the top Protruding shaft-shaped portions (not shown) are formed on both sides of each upper end of each of the heat-insulating board 51 and the ninth heat-insulating board 51) from above. It engages with a support rail 54 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The support rails 54 are provided in the form of a pair of left and right on each of both side plates constituting the product storage chamber 20, and have a long shape extending along the vertical direction.

  The heat insulation board 51 constituting the first heat insulation wall unit 50 will be described in detail later, but the first transport unit 30 can move to the top dead center, that is, the uppermost product storage column 11 of the product storage chamber 20. A sufficient number is prepared. By having such a configuration, the first heat insulating wall unit 50 can vary the length in the vertical direction according to the movement of the first transport unit 30 in the vertical direction. At this time, the shaft portion formed on the heat insulating board 51 moves along the extending direction of the support rail 54.

  The receiving portion 32 is configured by an endless belt conveyor 32b stretched between a pair of front and rear rollers 32a. One of the pair of rollers 32a is connected to a roller driving mechanism 32c (see FIG. 5) such as a motor. As a result of the rotation of the rollers 32a, the upper surface of the belt conveyor 32b moves forward. Displace in a manner. Such a receiving portion 32 is guided and supported by an X-axis transport portion 31a constituting the XY transport mechanism 31 via a guide roller (not shown).

  The first transport unit 30 is provided with an electric drive mechanism 34 (see FIG. 5). As described above, the electric drive mechanism 34 transmits the driving force to the carry-out mechanism 12 of the commodity storage column 11 to drive the carry-out mechanism 12.

  In such a standby state (normal state), such a first transport unit 30 waits at a position where the receiving portion 32 is slightly higher than the upper heat insulating plate 20a constituting the product storage chamber 20, as shown in FIG. Yes. Thereby, each product storage column 21 constituting the product storage chamber 20 is sealed with the rear side covered by the first heat insulating wall unit 50. That is, the 1st heat insulation wall unit 50 is partitioning in the aspect which heat-insulates each goods storage column of the goods storage chamber 20, and the conveyance path of the 1st conveyance unit 30 in the normal state.

  And the hinge 52 which connects these heat insulation boards 51 moves very smoothly. Therefore, when the receiving part 32 is waiting at a predetermined standby position, the heat insulating board 51 on the upper side extends along the vertical direction as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the remaining heat insulation board 51 will be in the state folded by the upper surface of the lower heat insulation board 20b.

  The second transport unit 40 is provided on the front side of the product storage chamber 20 and is used to transport the product stored in the product storage chamber 20 to a position corresponding to the product outlet 6. The second transport unit 40 includes an XY transport mechanism 41 and a receiving unit 42.

  The XY transport mechanism 41 is provided with a receiving portion 42 and moves the receiving portion 42 in the vertical direction and the left-right direction. This XY transport mechanism 41 is a well-known one. An X-axis transport unit 41a (see FIG. 5) extending in the left-right direction extends in the up-down direction, and a pair of left and right Y-axis transport units 41b ( (See FIG. 5).

  The X-axis transport part 41a guides and supports the receiving part 42 to be mounted so as to be movable along the X-axis direction, that is, the left-right direction. The Y-axis transport unit 41b guides and supports the X-axis transport unit 41a so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, that is, the vertical direction. That is, the Y-axis transport unit 41b guides the movement of the receiving unit 42 mounted on the X-axis transport unit 41a along the vertical direction.

  Further, such an XY transport mechanism 41 is provided with a position detecting means (not shown) for moving the receiving portion 42 to the designated position of the product storage column 21 and stopping it. The product is transferred to the designated product storage column 21 according to the product sales command.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a second heat insulating wall unit (second heat insulating wall) 60 is connected to a lower portion of the rear end of the base 43 that engages with the Y-axis transport portion 41 b.

  The second heat insulation wall unit 60 has a folding door structure in which a plurality of heat insulation boards 61 are connected via a hinge 62. The heat insulating board 61 is formed of a heat insulating material and has a rectangular shape in which the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction. The length of the heat insulation board 61 in the left-right direction is large enough to cover the left-right direction of the commodity storage chamber 20. The uppermost heat insulating board 61 is connected to the lower part of the rear end of the base 43 in a swingable manner via a connecting member 63, and the rear surface of the lower end is second from the top. The board 61 is connected to the rear surface side of the upper end portion via a hinge 62. The heat insulation board 61 that is the second from the top is connected via a hinge 62 to the front surface side of the upper end of the heat insulation board 61 that is the third from the top. That is, each heat insulation board 61 is connected by providing hinges 62 alternately front and rear. The front side of the lower end portion of the heat insulation board 61 located at the lowest position is connected to a predetermined part of the lower heat insulation plate 20b via a hinge 62. And each of the uppermost heat insulation board 61 and the heat insulation board 61 (it is the 3rd heat insulation board 61 from the upper direction, and the 5th heat insulation board 61 from the upper direction in the example shown) located every other one from this. Protruding shaft-like portions (not shown) are formed on both sides of each upper end portion of the, and the shaft-like portions engage with the support rails 64 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). The support rails 64 are provided in the form of a pair of left and right on each of both side plates constituting the product storage chamber 20, and have a long shape extending along the vertical direction.

  As will be described in detail later, the number of the heat insulating boards 61 constituting the second heat insulating wall unit 60 is sufficient to allow the second transport unit 40 to move to the top dead center, that is, the position corresponding to the product outlet 6. Only prepared. By having such a configuration, the second heat insulating wall unit 60 can vary the length in the vertical direction according to the movement of the second transport unit 40 in the vertical direction. At this time, the shaft-like portion formed on the heat insulating board 61 moves along the extending direction of the support rail 64.

  The receiving part 42 has a mounting table 42a, and is guided and supported by an X-axis transport part 41a constituting the XY transport mechanism 41 via a guide roller (not shown). The second transport unit 40 is provided with an electric drive mechanism 44 (see FIG. 5). As described above, the electric drive mechanism 44 transmits driving force to the carry-out mechanism 22 of the product storage column 21 to drive the carry-out mechanism 22.

  In the standby state (normal state), such a second transport unit 40 stands by at a position corresponding to the product outlet 6 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the front side of each product storage column 21 constituting the product storage chamber 20 is sealed and covered by the second heat insulating wall unit 60. That is, the 2nd heat insulation wall unit 60 is partitioning in the aspect which heat-insulates each goods storage column 21 of the goods storage chamber 20, and the conveyance path of the 2nd conveyance unit 40 in the normal state.

  Thereby, when both the 1st conveyance unit 30 and the 2nd conveyance unit 40 are in a standby state, in addition to the upper side heat insulation board 20a and the lower side heat insulation board 20b, the goods storage chamber 20 is a 1st heat insulation wall unit. 50. As a result of the front side being surrounded by the second heat insulating wall unit 60, only the space in which each commodity storage column 21 is disposed has a heat insulating structure.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the control system of the vending machine in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the vending machine includes a vending machine control unit C1, a product supply control unit C2, and a product sales control unit C3.

  The vending machine control unit C1 controls the overall operation of the vending machine. In particular, in this embodiment, the vending machine control unit C1 outputs a product supply command to the product supply control unit C2, and the product sales control unit C3. The product sales order is output to More specifically, when the product detection sensor provided in each product storage column 21 of the product storage chamber 20 outputs a signal, the vending machine control unit C1 issues a product supply command to the product supply control unit C2. Output.

  On the other hand, when the money is inserted through the bill insertion slot and the coin insertion slot, the vending machine control unit C1 determines whether the money is correct through the money processing unit, and further recognizes the insertion amount when the money is correct. The vending machine control unit C1 validates the product selection button when the amount of money required for the product sale is inserted, and when the activated product selection button is pressed, the vending machine control unit C3 Output to.

  The product supply control unit C2 controls each part of the first transport unit 30 in accordance with a program and data stored in the memory M1 in advance when a product supply command is output from the vending machine control unit C1.

  The product sales control unit C3 controls each part of the second transport unit 40 in accordance with a program and data stored in the memory M2 in advance when a product sales command is output from the vending machine control unit C1.

  The product supply operation and the product sales operation of the vending machine having the above configuration will be described.

  First, when replenishing goods to the vending machine from the outside, the outer door 4a and the first inner door 4b1 are opened. Thereby, the merchandise storage chamber 10 is in a state where the front surface is open. In this state, as a result of loading and replenishing the products while standing from the front side, as shown in FIG. 2, the products are stored in a line along the front-rear direction in each product storage column 11. . Then, the 1st inner door 4b1 and the outer door 4a are closed, and the replenishment operation | work of goods is complete | finished.

  In this state, if the product storage column 21 of the product storage chamber 20 is empty, a signal is output from the product detection sensor provided in the product storage column 21 to the vending machine control unit C1. Then, the vending machine control unit C1 outputs a product supply command to the product supply control unit C2.

  When the product supply command is output, the product supply control unit C <b> 2 causes the receiving unit 32 to access the designated product storage column 11 through the XY transport mechanism 31 constituting the first transport unit 30. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, after the receiving portion 32 is moved upward, it is positioned on the rear side of a predetermined product storage column 11 at the uppermost stage. At this time, the first heat insulating wall unit 50 increases the length in the vertical direction in accordance with the upward movement of the first transport unit 30.

  When the receiving unit 32 accesses the designated product storage column 11, the product replenishment control unit C2 drives the electric drive mechanism 34 to drive the carry-out mechanism 12 of the product storage column 11 and stores it at the last side. In other words, the product that has been input first in the product storage column 11 is carried out. The unloaded goods are stored in the receiving portion 32 in a standing posture.

  When a product is stored in the receiving unit 32, the product supply control unit C2 causes the receiving unit 32 to access the designated product storage column 21 through the XY transport mechanism 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the receiving portion 32 is positioned on the rear side of the uppermost product storage column 21. At that time, the length of the first heat insulating wall unit 50 in the vertical direction is reduced according to the downward movement of the first transport unit 30.

  When the receiving unit 32 accesses the designated product storage column 21, the product supply control unit C2 drives the roller driving mechanism 32c to rotationally drive the pair of rollers 32a to displace the belt conveyor 32b. Thereby, the product placed in an upright posture on the upper surface of the belt conveyor 32b is stored in the product storage column 21 from the rear side while maintaining the posture. Thereafter, the same product replenishing operation is repeatedly performed to load products in all the product storage columns 21 in a standing posture.

  By performing such a product replenishment operation, the product stored in the product storage room 10 at room temperature is conveyed to the product storage room 20.

  Then, when the 1st conveyance unit 30 will be in a standby state, as shown in FIG. 2, the receiving part 32 will wait in the position slightly higher than the upper side heat insulation board 20a which comprises the goods storage chamber 20. As shown in FIG. At this time, each of the heat insulating boards 61 constituting the first heat insulating wall unit 50 is extended along the vertical direction by the dead weight of the heat insulating board 61, while the remaining heat insulating boards 61 are downward. Folded to the side. As a result, each product storage column 21 constituting the product storage chamber 20 is sealed from the rear side by the first heat insulating wall unit 50 and is partitioned from the transport path of the first transport unit 30. That is, the first heat insulating wall unit 50 is partitioned in such a manner that each product storage column 21 in the product storage chamber 20 and the transport path of the first transport unit 30 are insulated from each other when the first transport unit 30 is in a standby state (normal state). On the other hand, when the product is sold, replenishment of the product by the first transport unit 30 is allowed.

  As described above, when the rear side of the product storage chamber 20 is sealed with the first heat insulating wall unit 50, and the second transport unit 40 is also in the standby state, the front side is sealed with the second heat insulating wall unit 60. The storage chamber 20 has a heat insulating structure only in the space in which each product storage column 21 is disposed. In this state, by operating the cooling unit, the atmosphere inside the product storage chamber 20 is cooled, and the product stored in the product storage column 21 is maintained in a desired cooling state.

  On the other hand, when a product sales instruction is output from the vending machine control unit C1, the product sales control unit C3 passes through the XY transport mechanism 41 constituting the second transport unit 40 and the product storage column 21 corresponding to the selected product. The receiving unit 42 is caused to access the (designated product storage column 21). For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the receiving portion 42 is moved downward and is positioned on the front side of the lowermost product storage column 21. When the receiving unit 42 accesses the designated product storage column 21, the product sales control unit C3 drives the carry-out mechanism 22 of the product storage column 21 by driving an electric drive mechanism 44 as shown in FIG. The product stored in the foremost side, that is, the product stored first in the product storage column 21 is carried out. The unloaded goods are accommodated in the receiving portion 42 in a standing posture.

  When the merchandise is stored in the receiving unit 42, the merchandise sales control unit C3 causes the receiving unit 42 to access a position corresponding to the merchandise outlet 6 through the XY transport mechanism 41 and ends the merchandise sales operation. When the receiving unit 42 accesses a position corresponding to the product takeout port 6, the user can take out the product through the product takeout port 6.

  Thereafter, when the second transport unit 40 enters a standby state, the receiving unit 42 waits at a position corresponding to the product outlet 6 as shown in FIG. At this time, the heat insulation board 61 which comprises the 2nd heat insulation wall unit 60 is extended along an up-down direction. Thereby, the front side of each column constituting the product storage chamber 20 is sealed by the second heat insulating wall unit 60, and is partitioned from the transport path of the second transport unit 40. That is, the second heat insulation wall unit 60 is partitioned in such a manner that each product storage column 21 in the product storage chamber 20 and the transport path of the second transport unit 40 are thermally insulated when the second transport unit 40 is in a standby state (normal state). On the other hand, when the product is sold, the second transport unit 40 accepts the product.

  In the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the first transport unit 30 responds to the product replenishment command, and the product on the last side of the designated product storage column 11 in the product storage room 10 That is, the product stored first in the product storage column 11 is received and transported to the designated product storage column 21 in the product storage chamber 20, and the second transport unit 40 stores the product in accordance with the product sales instruction. When the product in the foremost side of the designated product storage column 21 in the chamber 20, that is, the product stored first in the product storage column 21 is received and transported to the product outlet 6, It is only necessary to put in the product from the front of the product storage room 10, and the replenishment work of the product can be facilitated, and the first-in first-out of the product can be realized well. Moreover, the first heat insulating wall unit 50 is partitioned in such a manner that each product storage column 21 of the product storage chamber 20 and the transport path of the first transport unit 30 are thermally insulated when the first transport unit 30 is in the standby state (normal state). On the other hand, when the product is sold, the replenishment of the product by the first transport unit 30 is allowed, and when the second heat insulating wall unit 60 is in the standby state (normal state), each product storage column of the product storage chamber 20 is allowed. 21 and the transport path of the second transport unit 40 are partitioned in a heat-insulating manner, and when the product is sold, the second transport unit 40 allows the product to be received, so that each product storage column 21 of the product storage chamber 20 is disposed. Only the space formed can be a heat insulating structure, and only the minimum necessary space can be cooled. Accordingly, the cooling efficiency is excellent, and energy saving can be achieved.

  According to the vending machine, since the product is conveyed to the product take-out port 6 in a standing posture, the user can easily take out the product, and the convenience can be improved.

  In addition, according to the vending machine, the product is stored in the product storage room 10 at room temperature, and the product as much as necessary for sale is stored in the product storage room 20 while maintaining the desired temperature state. The energy required for cooling can be reduced, and energy saving can be achieved.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the first heat insulating wall unit 50 and the second heat insulating wall unit 60 have the folding door structure has been described as a specific configuration. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sliding door type. It may be a structure. Moreover, even if it has a folding door structure, the use of the hinges 52 and 62 is an example as in the embodiment, and the heat insulating boards 51 and 61 are connected by an elastic sheet such as rubber. May be.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the goods storage chamber 20 was cooled, in this invention, an internal atmosphere can also be heated by providing a heater in the goods storage chamber 20 inside.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention is useful for selling products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, and plastic bottled beverages.

It is a front view which shows simply the vending machine in embodiment of this invention. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a vending machine in an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing typically shown of the 1st conveyance unit and the 1st heat insulation wall unit in FIG. It is explanatory drawing typically shown of the 2nd conveyance unit in FIG. 2, and a 2nd heat insulation wall unit. It is a block diagram which shows simply the control system of the vending machine in the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a vending machine in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a vending machine in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a vending machine in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing a vending machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 6 Product outlet 10 Product storage room 11 Product storage column 20 Product storage chamber 21 Product storage column 30 1st conveyance unit 31 XY conveyance mechanism 32 Receiving part 40 2nd conveyance unit 41 XY conveyance mechanism 42 Receipt 50 50 1st heat insulation wall unit 51 Heat insulation board 52 Hinge 53 connection material 60 2nd heat insulation wall unit 61 Heat insulation board 62 Hinge 63 connection material

Claims (6)

A plurality of columns for storing products arranged in a line along the front-rear direction are arranged in upper and lower rows, left and right rows, a product storage room for storing the products at room temperature, and the products arranged in a row along the front-rear direction A vending machine main body having a plurality of columns to be stored in upper and lower stages, left and right columns, and having a product storage chamber for storing the products while maintaining the desired temperature state;
A door body for opening and closing a front opening formed in the vending machine body,
In a vending machine that sells products stored in the product storage room,
A first transport means for receiving a product on the last side of a designated column of the product storage room in response to a product replenishment command, and transporting the product to a rear end portion of the designated column of the product storage room;
A second transport means for receiving the product on the forefront side of the designated column of the product storage chamber in accordance with a product sales instruction and transporting the product to a product take-out port formed in a form opening on the front surface of the door;
In a normal state, each column of the product storage chamber and the transport path of the first transport unit are partitioned in a heat-insulating manner, and replenishment of the product transported by the first transport unit to the column is allowed at the time of product replenishment. A first heat insulating wall;
In a normal state, each column of the product storage chamber and the transport path of the second transport unit are partitioned in a heat-insulating manner, and a second heat-insulating wall body that allows the second transport unit to accept a product when the product is sold; Vending machine characterized by comprising   2. The automatic storage device according to claim 1, wherein the commodity storage room is provided on an upper side of the vending machine body, and the commodity storage room is provided on a lower side of the vending machine body. Vending machine.   Each column of the product storage chamber is provided with an inclination in such a manner that the height gradually decreases from the front to the rear, while each column of the product storage chamber gradually increases in height from the rear to the front. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vending machine is provided so as to be inclined so as to be lowered.   The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the merchandise storage room stores the merchandise in an upright position, and the merchandise storage room stores the merchandise in a standing attitude. Machine.   The said 1st heat insulation wall body has a folding door type structure which can change the length of an up-down direction according to the movement of a said 1st conveyance means, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vending machine.   The said 2nd heat insulation wall body has the folding door type structure which can change the length of an up-down direction according to a movement of the said 2nd conveyance means, The one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Vending machine.

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