JP2008299805A - Commodity storage device of vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a support mechanism of commodity racks from being damaged due to motion of the racks to the replenishment position by inertia when drawing the racks to the front of a main body. <P>SOLUTION: A commodity storage device of a vending machine which includes a commodity rack 20 having commodity storage passages (commodity columns) by aligning many commodities in one row in an anteroposterior direction and having a commodity carrying out port at one end, wherein the racks 20 moves freely in an anteroposterior direction in the storage by means of a slide support mechanism, and the racks 20 are usually stored in a storage of the main body, and drawn to the front of the main body from the storage in replenishment of the commodities. The device is provided with an interlock mechanism 80 for stopping the racks in a plurality of positions on the way of drawing the racks 20 up to the replenishment positions to the front of the main body from the storage, and allows stopping the racks 20 in the plurality positions by the interlock mechanism 80 when drawing the rack 20 to the front of the main body from the storage in replenishment the commodities to the racks 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a main body cabinet having an open front surface, an outer door hinged to the front surface of the main body cabinet so as to be openable and closable, and stored in the cabinet of the main body cabinet so that a large number of products are aligned in a longitudinal direction. The product storage device of a vending machine having a product storage path that forms a product storage passage and stores a product outlet at one end of the product storage passage. The present invention relates to a product storage device for a vending machine configured to draw a product storage rack stored therein in front of a main body cabinet.

  In the product storage rack in the product storage device of this type of vending machine, partition walls are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval corresponding to the size of the product sold on the bottom plate. A product storage passage (product column) for storing a large number of products arranged in a line in the front-rear direction is defined between the partition walls, and at one end (the front side of the main body cabinet) of the product storage passage. A product exit is formed. A product carry-out mechanism for holding the products in the front row is disposed at the product carry-out port of the product storage passage, and the products stored in the product storage passage are cut out and sold one by one by the product carry-out mechanism. Has been.

The product storage racks are arranged in a plurality of stages in the left-right width direction and the up-down direction in the cabinet of the main body cabinet. The product storage rack can be moved in the front-rear direction in the warehouse, and is always stored in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, and can be pulled out from the interior of the cabinet to the front of the main body cabinet when the product is replenished. As a method for arranging the product storage rack in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, a method in which the product storage rack is inclined with a predetermined gradient so that the product outlet side is lowered (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and the product storage rack is installed in the store A system (for example, patent document 2) arrange | positioned horizontally is known.
JP-A-6-28555 Japanese Patent No. 3478066

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 1, when a product storage rack that is inclined in the cabinet is pulled out to the front of the main body cabinet, the product storage rack is moved up and down by a lifting mechanism so that the inclined product storage rack is horizontal. The product storage rack held in a horizontal state is pulled out to a refilling position. The product storage rack after the product is replenished to the product column of the product storage rack in the horizontal state is stored in the cabinet, and the product storage rack in the horizontal state is moved up and down by the lifting mechanism and held in the original inclined state. Has been. On the other hand, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2, a horizontally disposed product storage rack is pulled out from the interior to the front of the main body cabinet in a horizontal state, and the product storage rack pulled out to the replenishment position is tilted forward. It is configured to be. As described above, the product storage rack is tilted forward at the replenishment position, thereby facilitating the replenishment of the product, particularly the product storage rack located on the upper side in the warehouse.

  The prior art described in Patent Document 2 has an advantage that the commodity storage rack drawn out in front of the main body cabinet is in a forward leaning posture, thereby facilitating replenishment of the commodity. However, when the product storage rack is pulled out from the inside of the cabinet to the front of the main body cabinet, there are the following problems. That is, the product storage rack is pulled out to the replenishment position while placing a hand, and the product storage rack pulled out to the replenishment position is tilted forward while being supported by the hand. This is to prevent a large load from being applied to the mechanism that supports the product storage rack. However, if the product storage rack can no longer be supported due to an unexpected situation while the product storage rack is being pulled out of the warehouse, the product storage rack will be affected by the inertia of moving forward. The inertia moves forward to the replenishment position and tilts forward. When the product storage rack that has lost its support is tilted to the forward tilted posture, a large load is applied to the mechanism that supports the product storage rack, so that the support mechanism may be damaged and the product storage rack may fall off. Moreover, there is a possibility that the commodity storage rack moving forward collides with other members. Such a situation is the same as in the case of the prior art described in Patent Document 1. Although the inertia of the product storage rack is smaller than when the product storage rack is pulled out in an inclined state, the product storage rack is installed at the replenishment position. There is a risk of damage to the stopper mechanism to be stopped.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when a product storage rack is pulled out to the front of the main body cabinet in order to refill the product storage rack stored in the warehouse, the product storage rack is refilled by inertia. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product storage device for a vending machine capable of preventing the support mechanism of the product storage rack from being damaged by moving to a position.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a main body cabinet having an open front surface, an outer door hinged to the front surface of the main body cabinet so as to be openable and closable, and a large number of products aligned in the front-rear direction. And a product storage rack having a product exit at one end thereof, the product storage rack being movable in the front-rear direction by a slide support mechanism, and is always a main body In the product storage device of the vending machine stored in the cabinet and configured to be pulled out from the cabinet to the front of the main cabinet when the product is replenished, the product in the middle of being pulled out from the cabinet to the refill position in front of the main cabinet An interlock mechanism for stopping the storage rack at a plurality of positions is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the commodity storage device for the vending machine according to the first aspect, the interlock mechanism is provided on a shelf frame laid in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, and latched at a plurality of positions in the front-rear direction. A latch engaging member having a portion, a slide rail frame of the product storage rack that is slidable in the front-rear direction, a slide plate biased forward, and pivotally supported by the product storage rack, A latch plate configured to be coupled to the rear end of the slide plate with play and to rotate in conjunction with the rearward movement of the slide plate so that the latch engagement member is disengaged from the latch engagement portion. It is characterized by the following.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to the first or second aspect, the commodity storage rack is inclined with a predetermined gradient so that the commodity outlet is lowered. It is characterized by being.

  According to the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention, a main body cabinet having an open front surface, an outer door hinged to the front surface of the main body cabinet so as to be openable and closable, And a product storage rack having a product exit at one end thereof, the product storage rack being movable in the front-rear direction by a slide support mechanism. In a product storage device of a vending machine that is always stored in the cabinet of the main cabinet and pulled out from the cabinet to the front of the main cabinet at the time of product replenishment, from the interior to the refill position in front of the main cabinet By providing an interlock mechanism that stops the product storage rack in the middle of pulling out at multiple positions, the product storage rack can be When pulling out to the front of the net, it is possible to stop the product storage rack in the middle of pulling out at multiple positions by the interlock mechanism, so that even if the product storage rack is pulled out, the product storage rack can be stored It is possible to prevent the rack from moving all at once to the product replenishment position due to inertia. As a result, it is possible to prevent the product storage rack from falling off due to damage to the slide support mechanism of the product storage rack.

  According to the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to claim 2 of the present invention, the interlock mechanism is provided on the shelf frame laid in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, and the latch engaging portions are provided at a plurality of positions in the front-rear direction. A latch engaging member, a slide rail frame of the product storage rack that is slidable in the front-rear direction, a slide plate that is biased forward, and pivotally supported by the product storage rack so that the slide A latch plate connected to the rear end of the plate with play and pivoting in conjunction with the rearward movement of the slide plate so as to be disengaged from the latch engagement portion of the latch engagement member; With this configuration, the latch engaging portion can be integrally formed on the shelf frame that supports the commodity storage rack in the cabinet so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, so that the cost can be reduced.

  According to the product storage device of the vending machine according to claim 3 of the present invention, the product storage rack is replenished by being inclined with a predetermined gradient so that the product outlet is lowered. Since the product storage rack pulled out to the position is tilted forward, the product can be easily replenished.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the examples shown in FIGS. First, the overall configuration of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine that sells canned beverages, bottled beverages, beverages in plastic bottles and the like targeted by the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

  The vending machine according to the embodiment shown in the figure allows a product to be sold when a coin, bill, or other money is inserted, and the condition that the input amount matches the sales price of the product is satisfied, and a product selection button Is operated to sell products such as canned beverages, bottled beverages, and plastic bottled beverages, and has a main body cabinet 1 (see FIG. 2) formed as a heat insulating casing. The main body cabinet 1 is formed in a box shape with an open front, and stores products in a cabinet surrounded by a heat insulating casing.

  The outer door 2 that covers the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 is formed as a single-open door that is hinged to the left end side of the main body cabinet 1. In this embodiment, the outer door 2 has a large glass window 3 that can be seen through from the left side when viewed from the front, and a customer operation section on the right end side. The customer service section includes a coin insertion slot 4 for inserting coins, a bill insertion slot 5 for inserting banknotes, coins inserted into the coin insertion slot 4, banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion slot 5, or change return The return lever 6 operated for the purpose, the money input amount, the display 7 indicating that the vending machine is in a state where the product can be sold, the change of the change or the operation content, and the product to be purchased. A product selection button 8 to be selected, a coin return port 9 through which coins returned when the return lever 6 is operated, a product outlet 10 through which sold products are sent out, and the like are provided. The manual operation handle constituting the door lock device and the intake port of the refrigerator condensing unit are not shown. Moreover, the glass window 3 of the outer door 2 is comprised so that heat insulation may be maintained as double glass. An acrylic resin can be used instead of the glass.

  The interior of the main body cabinet 1 is partitioned into a left chamber facing the glass window 3 on the left side of the outer door 2 and a right chamber facing the customer operation section on the right side of the outer door 2. A heat insulating partition wall (not shown) is disposed between them. The left chamber in the cabinet is formed as a product cooling / warming storage, and the right chamber is formed as a room temperature storage. A plurality of stages of product storage racks 20 are arranged along the vertical direction in the cabinet (cooling / heating storage and room temperature storage) of the main body cabinet 1, and the product columns 201 are arranged on the left and right of each product storage rack 20. A plurality of rows are provided in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the product storage rack 20 of the cooling / warming storage is installed with a predetermined gradient so that the front side is lowered, and a predetermined space is provided in the front area in the storage on the glass window 3 side. Have. The front end of the product storage rack 20 is formed as a product carry-out port, and a product carry-out mechanism 23 is provided adjacent to the product carry-out port. The product storage rack 20 and the product carry-out mechanism 23 constitute a product storage device. On the other hand, the product storage rack of the room temperature storage is configured in the same manner, except that the product storage rack is inclined with a predetermined gradient so that the front side is high and the rear side is low.

  In the space in front of the product storage rack 20 in the cooling / warming storage, a bucket 24 for receiving the product carried out from the product storage rack 20 and transporting it to the product outlet 10 is provided. The bucket 24 is formed in a concave shape in the longitudinal section, and the concave portion is formed as a product passage, and a pair of left and right gates 241 and 241 are provided at the front end of the product passage. The pair of left and right gates 241 and 241 are closed so as to close the merchandise passage in the sales standby state, and the merchandise carried out from the merchandise storage rack 20 is received and held by the gates 241 and 241. The bucket 24 is connected to an X-axis transport mechanism 242 of an already well-known XY transport mechanism. The XY transport mechanism includes the X-axis transport mechanism 242 and a Y-axis transport mechanism 243 (see FIG. 2) to which one end of the X-axis transport mechanism 242 is connected. An XY transport mechanism is also provided in the space behind the product storage rack 20 disposed in the storage, and the X-axis transport mechanism including the bucket straddles the cooling / warming storage and the room temperature storage. Is provided.

  The XY transport mechanism provided in the front area of the product storage rack 20 places the bucket 24 in the front area of the product storage rack 20 (product column 201) designated based on the product sales command by the operation of the product selection button 8. The bucket 24 is temporarily stopped, and when the commodity is received in the bucket 24, the bucket 24 is moved to the position of the commodity outlet 10. And after rotating the said gates 241 and 241 with the motor with which the said bucket 24 is rotated and sending out goods, XY conveyance mechanism moves the said bucket 24 to a predetermined | prescribed sales standby position, and performs a series of goods sales operation | movement. It is configured to terminate. On the other hand, the XY transport mechanism provided in the rear area of the product storage rack 20 can store the same type of product as the sold product stored in the product storage whenever the product is discharged from the cooling / warming storage. A product is cut out from the product column to be accommodated and received in the bucket 24, and the product received in the bucket 24 is conveyed to the product column 201 sold last time to supply the product column 201 with the product.

  Now, details of the product storage rack 20 disposed in the cooling / warming storage described above are shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a flat product shelf (slide rail frame) that forms the bottom surface of the product storage rack 20, and this product shelf is formed from a single metal material. Slide rail frames, which will be described later, are integrally assembled on the left and right ends of the product shelf 21, and the product shelf 21 is mounted by spanning the slide rail frames on a shelf frame (described later) laid in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1. Is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction in the cabinet. A plurality of engagement holes 212 having a predetermined interval in the left-right width direction (interval corresponding to the size (diameter) of each product to be sold) are formed in the product shelf 21 in the front-rear direction. Reference numeral 22 denotes a partition wall made of plastic, and an engagement protrusion (not shown) corresponding to the engagement hole 212 is formed on the lower end surface of the partition wall. By engaging the engagement protrusion with the engagement hole 212, the product shelf 21 is erected. In the drawing, the rightmost partition 22 is erected by engaging an engagement protrusion 212 in an engagement hole 212 formed at the right end of the commodity shelf 21, and the partition 22 adjacent to the left side of the rightmost partition 212 is a product to be sold. The engaging protrusions are engaged with the engaging holes 211 formed at intervals of the size (diameter), and are erected. Similarly, the left partition wall not shown in the figure is also erected by engaging the engaging protrusion with the corresponding engaging hole according to the size (diameter) of the product to be sold. A product storage passage (product column 201) is formed between a pair of partition walls 212 erected on the product shelf 21. A mounting plate 213 made of plastic and having a plurality of concave and convex surfaces extending in the front-rear direction is laid on the bottom surface of the product storage passage, and the product is stored in an upright state on the mounting plate 213.

  In FIG. 3, the product delivery mechanism 23 is again shown at 23, and the product delivery mechanism 23 is connected to the front side of each partition wall 22. The product carry-out mechanism 23 is a first gate means 30 that appears in the product storage passage and holds the products in the front row stored in the product storage passage, and the products in the front row and the next sale products that appear in the product storage passage. And a slider 50 for driving the first gate means 30 and the second gate means 40. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 25 denotes a bridging member provided at the front end of the commodity storage passage. This bridging member 25 can be rotated between a standing position as shown in the figure and a position pushed forward by the product and tilted so as to straddle between the product storage rack 20 and the bucket 24. The bridging member 25 is locked in an upright state by a slider 50 (reciprocating) of the product carry-out mechanism 23, released from the lock by the forward movement of the slider 50, and returned to the upright state and locked by a backward movement of the slider. It is configured as follows.

  Here, the operation of the product carry-out mechanism 23 will be described. The bucket 24 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) mounted on the XY transport mechanism is sold based on a product sale command by operating the product selection button 8 (see FIG. 1). The product stops from the standby position in front of the selected product column 201. The bucket 24 incorporates a pressing member, a Napier screw mechanism for moving the pressing member forward and backward, and a motor for driving the Napier screw mechanism, as already known (for example, JP-A-10-302140). (These mechanisms are shown schematically in FIG. 2 at 240). In the state where the bucket 24 is stopped in the front region of the selected product column 201, the pressing member is configured to face the slider 50 in the product carry-out mechanism 23, and is driven by the motor via the Napier screw mechanism. The slider 50 is reciprocated back and forth against a return spring (not shown).

  When the slider 50 is pushed in, the second gate means 40 in the retracted position retracted from the merchandise storage passage among the first gate means 30 and the second gate means 40 interconnected with the slider 50 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the product is rotated counterclockwise to advance between the front row product and the next sale product, and is divided into the front row product and the next sale product. Further, when the slider 50 of the product carry-out mechanism 23 is pushed into the final position by the advancement of the pressing member provided in the bucket 24, the first gate means 30 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise in FIG. The product moves from the advance position to the retreat position to the retreat position, and the product in the front row moves forward. At this time, the bridging member 25 provided at the front end of the product storage passage is pushed and tilted by the product in the front row, and straddles between the product storage rack 20 and the bucket 24. As a result, the products in the forefront row are surely carried out without disturbing the posture by the bridging member 25 that fills the gap between the product storage rack 20 and the bucket 24.

  When the pressing member included in the bucket 24 starts to move backward from forward movement, the slider 50 of the product carry-out mechanism 23 returns to the standby position by the urging force of a return spring (not shown). In the returning process of the slider 50, first, the first gate means 30 is rotated from the retracted position retracted from the product storage passage to the advanced position, and then the second gate means 40 is retracted from the advanced position to the product storage passage. It moves to the position, returns to the standby state, and ends a series of unloading operations.

  FIG. 4 shows a commodity storage rack 20 disposed in a room temperature storage. The product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 4 is configured in substantially the same manner as the product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 3, but the product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 4 is different from the product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. This is a mounting plate 2131 made of a plastic material laid on the bottom surface of the product storage passage (product column 201). The product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 4 is installed with an inclination with a predetermined gradient so that the front (left side in FIG. 4) is high and the rear (right side in FIG. 4) is low. The mounting plate 2131 is different from the mounting plate 213 shown in FIG. 3 in that a flange 2132 is formed at the front edge.

  The product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 4 is replenished with products from the front side, and the replenished products are slid on the mounting plate 2131 toward the rear and stored in the product storage passage (product column). Here, the product storage rack 20 is configured to store a plurality of types of products having different diameters. In other words, the product storage rack 20 is shared for a plurality of types of products having different diameters. For this reason, the number of products that can be stored in the product storage rack 20 varies depending on the diameter of the product, and depending on the type of product, there is a product that fits tightly in the front-rear direction of the product storage path of the product storage rack 20, while Depending on the type, there may be a gap that is insufficient to completely store the product on the front side (product replenishment side) of the product storage passage. Originally, it is necessary to avoid replenishing products in the gap more than necessary, but vending machine managers tend to replenish more than necessary to increase the number of storage and increase the operating rate. . When a product is replenished in the gap, the product is unstable because it is not completely stored in the product column. A product in such an unstable state may drop due to vibration or the like, and the product may be damaged, or the container may be damaged depending on the type of the product container.

  In this respect, in the embodiment of the present invention in which the flange 2132 is formed on the mounting plate 2131, even if there is a gap that is insufficient to completely store the product on the front side (product replenishment side) of the product storage passage, If an attempt is made to replenish the product in the gap, the flange 2132 becomes an obstacle and the product cannot be aligned in the product column. Further, even if a product is placed on the flange 2132, the left and right ends of the flange 2132 are formed in an arc shape, so that the product placed on the flange 2132 has either a left or right position without being determined. Will fall over. Therefore, the flange 2132 can prevent the product from being replenished more than necessary. Furthermore, the front surface of the flange 2132 is a product information display unit that represents product information, and product information, in this case, a label that represents the type of product, can be attached to the product information display unit, thereby replenishing the product. It is possible to prevent sometimes different products from being replenished by mistake.

  Next, the slide support mechanism of the product storage rack 20 drawn out from the inside of the cabinet to the front of the main body cabinet 1 and the product storage rack 20 in the middle of drawing out the product storage rack 20 from the inside of the cabinet to the replenishment position in front of the main body cabinet 1. An interlock mechanism for stopping at a plurality of positions will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the commodity storage rack 20 as viewed obliquely from the right end side, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the slide rail frame, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the shelf frame. In FIG. 5, the same members as those in FIG. Although the right end side of the product storage rack 20 is shown in the figure, the left end side is similarly configured.

  In FIG. 5, 60 is a slide rail frame made of steel plate integrally assembled at the end of the flat product shelf 21 forming the bottom surface of the product storage rack 20, and 70 is laid in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1. It is a steel plate shelf frame, and this shelf frame 70, together with the slide rail frame 60, constitutes a slide support mechanism that supports the product storage rack 20 so that it can be stored and pulled out in the cabinet. 80 is provided on the slide rail frame 60 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The slide plate 81 is urged forward, and is pivotally supported by the commodity storage rack 20. A latch plate 82 which is connected with play and rotates in conjunction with the rearward movement of the slide plate 81, and a latch engaging member hidden behind the shelf frame 70 in FIG. 5 (the latch shown in FIG. 7 described later). An interlock mechanism comprising the engaging member 83). All of the slide plate 81, the latch plate 82, and the latch engaging member 83 constituting the interlock mechanism 80 are formed of a steel plate.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the slide rail frame 60 includes a frame body 61 having a substantially Z-shaped cross section, a pair of upper and lower rail pieces 621 and 621, and an attachment piece 622 that pivotally supports the roller RL <b> 1 and the latch plate 82. It consists of a rail holder 62, and is integrally configured by joining the frame body 61 and the rail holder 62 by spot welding. The leg pieces 611 below the frame body 61 are spot-welded to the end of the product shelf 21 (see FIG. 3) of the product storage rack 20, whereby the frame body 61 (slide rail frame 60) is integrated with the product storage rack 20. Assembled. Further, an urging spring mounting piece 6121, which will be described later, is formed on the leg piece 612 above the frame body 61 by cutting and raising. A stopper piece 623 formed by cutting and raising is formed in front of the roller RL1 pivotally supported by the mounting piece 622 in the rail holder 62. A stopper piece 613 is also formed at the front end of the frame body 61.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the slide plate 81 constituting the interlock mechanism 80 has a sliding portion 811 that is L-shaped in cross section and is elongated in the front-rear direction. The flat portion of the sliding portion 811 includes A pair of front and rear elongated holes 812 through which the stepped screws S1 and S2 are inserted are perforated, and a biasing spring mounting piece 813 described later is formed by cutting and raising. A front end of the sliding portion 811 is bent downward to form a pressing portion 814, and an engaging tongue piece 815 that falls from a flat portion of the sliding portion 811 is formed at the rear portion of the sliding portion 811. The tongue piece 815 is formed with an opening 8151 that opens upward and a clamping piece 816. The latch plate 82 constituting the interlock mechanism 80 has a latch claw 822 and an engagement piece 823 formed by bending from a mounting portion 821 in which the insertion hole 8211 of the stepped screw S3 is formed. It is formed one step higher than the engaging piece 823. The engaging piece 823 of the latch plate 82 is formed to have a size that can be loosely fitted into an opening 8151 formed in the engaging tongue piece 815 of the slide plate 81.

  The slide plate 81 is placed on the leg piece 612 above the frame main body 61 constituting the slide rail frame 60 described above, and the stepped screws S1 and S2 are inserted into the pair of front and rear elongated holes 812, thereby the stepped screw S1. , S2 are slidably assembled to the slide rail frame 60 by screwing them into the frame body 61. On the other hand, the latch plate 82 is assembled to the slide rail frame 60 as follows. That is, the engagement piece 823 of the latch plate 82 is fitted into the opening 8151 formed in the engagement tongue 815 of the slide plate 81, and the attachment portion 821 of the latch plate 82 is attached to the slide rail frame 60 while maintaining this state. The stepped screw S <b> 3 is screwed into the mounting piece 622 through the insertion hole 8211 of the mounting portion 821. As a result, the latch plate 82 is rotatably assembled to the slide rail frame 60. Here, the latch plate 82 is pivotally supported eccentrically so as to rotate clockwise in FIG. 5 about the stepped screw S3 by its own weight. When the latch plate 82 is in a free state (standby state), the latch plate 82 is supported. The latch pawl 822 is engaged with the front edge of the opening 8151 formed in the engagement tongue 815 of the slide plate 81. Then, both ends of the urging spring (tensile coil spring) 84 are locked and attached to the attachment piece 813 of the slide plate 81 and the attachment piece 6121 of the slide rail frame 60. Accordingly, the slide plate 81 is configured to be constantly urged forward by the urging spring 84. At this time, the stepped screws S1 and S2 are in contact with the rear edges of the pair of front and rear elongated holes 812 and 812 of the slide plate 81, and the slide plate 81 is held at a standby position protruding forward. When the slide plate 81 and the latch plate 82 are assembled to the slide rail frame 60, the clamping piece 816 formed on the engagement tongue piece 815 of the slide plate 81 covers the upper end side of the mounting portion 821 of the latch plate 82. Thus, the upper end side of the attachment portion 821 of the latch plate 82 is sandwiched between the attachment piece 622 of the rail holder 62.

  FIG. 7 shows a latch engaging member that constitutes the interlock mechanism 80 together with the slide plate 81 and the latch plate 82. As shown in FIG. 7, the latch engaging member 83 is formed with a plurality of latch engaging portions 831 in the front-rear direction, and in this embodiment, four steps in the front-rear direction, and this latch engaging portion 831 is latch-engaged. The upper end of the member 83 is folded back and provided at a location formed in a thick plate shape. A lower end of the latch engaging member 83 is bent at a right angle to form a rail piece 832. The latch engaging member 83 is spot-welded to a shelf frame 70 constituting a slide support mechanism, and the rail piece 832 is attached to a slide rail frame 60 (FIGS. 5 and 5) together with a rail piece 71 formed at the lower end of the shelf frame 70. 6), and serves as a guide for the roller RL1 provided in FIG. A roller RL2 is pivotally supported in the vicinity of the front end of the shelf frame 70, and a stopper piece 72 is formed by cutting and raising behind the roller RL2. The roller RL2 is guided by a pair of upper and lower rail pieces 621 formed on the slide rail frame 60. The shelf frame 70 also has a four-stage latch engagement portion 74 corresponding to the latch engagement portion 831 of the latch engagement member 83, and a stopper piece 73 is formed at the front end of the shelf frame 70. Yes.

  Next, operations of the slide support mechanism and the interlock mechanism of the product storage rack 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 8, and 9. 8 is a side view of the product storage rack 20 including the shelf frame 70 viewed from the right side, and FIG. 9 is a side view of the product storage rack 20 viewed from the right side with the shelf frame 70 removed.

  First, an operation for storing the product storage rack 20 in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1 will be described. The roller RL1 and the stopper piece 623 pivotally supported at the rear end of the slide rail frame 60 (only the right end side is shown here) at the left and right ends of the commodity storage rack 20 are passed over the roller RL2 provided near the front end of the shelf frame 70. When the roller RL1 is inserted between the rail piece 71 formed on the lower end of the shelf frame 70 and the rail piece 832 of the latch engaging member 83 assembled to the shelf frame 70, the roller RL1 is Guided by the rail piece 71 and the rail piece 832, the rear end of the commodity storage rack 20 is supported. The upper rail piece 621 of the pair of upper and lower rail pieces 621 formed on the slide rail frame 60 in the middle of pushing the product storage rack 20 while supporting the front end side of the product storage rack 20 is near the front end of the shelf frame 70. When riding on the provided roller RL2, the product storage rack 20 is supported by a slide support mechanism including the slide rail frame 60 and the shelf frame 70. When the product storage rack 20 is further pushed in from this state, the roller RL2 provided near the front end of the shelf frame 70 is guided to the pair of upper and lower rail pieces 621 and 621 formed on the slide rail frame 60, and thereafter the slide rail frame When the stopper piece 613 provided at the front end of 60 is pushed in until it comes into contact with the stopper piece 73 provided at the front end of the shelf frame 70, the product storage rack 20 is stored in the cabinet.

  In the middle of storing the product storage rack 20 in the cabinet, the rear inclined surface of the latch claw 822 of the latch plate 82 constituting the interlock mechanism abuts on the latch engaging member 83. However, the interlock function does not work in the middle of storing the product storage rack 20 in the cabinet. This is because the latch plate 82 is loosely fitted in the opening 8151 formed in the engagement tongue 815 of the slide plate 81 and is pivotable counterclockwise. This is because the latch plate 82 is configured to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing and escape from the latch engaging member 83 when the rearward inclined surface of 822 contacts the latch engaging member 83. Therefore, the interlock mechanism does not act when the product storage rack 20 is stored in the cabinet. In the state where the product storage rack 20 is stored in the cabinet, the latch claw 822 of the latch plate 82 is in a standby state in which it is engaged (interlocked) with the last latch engaging portion 831 formed in the latch engaging member 83 ( 8), the state where the commodity storage rack 20 is stored at a predetermined position in the warehouse is maintained.

  Next, an operation for pulling out the product storage rack 20 stored in the cabinet as described above will be described. First, the pressing portion 814 formed at the front end of the slide plate 81 in the product storage rack 20 is pressed against the force of the biasing spring 84. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the latch plate 82 rotates counterclockwise via the latch claw 822 that contacts the front edge of the opening 8151 formed in the engagement tongue 815 of the slide plate 81. Thus, the engagement with the last latch engaging portion 831 formed in the latch engaging member 83, that is, the interlock is released. When the interlock is released in this way, the commodity storage rack 20 is inclined and installed with a predetermined gradient so that the front side is lowered, and thus moves forward due to its own weight.

  In the state where the interlock is released, that is, while the pressing portion 814 formed at the front end of the slide plate 81 is kept pressed, the product storage rack 20 is moved by the unexpected situation while moving the product storage rack 20 forward. In other words, when the state in which the interlock is released by pushing the pressing portion 814 formed at the front end of the slide plate 81 cannot be maintained, the slide plate 81 moves forward by the biasing force of the biasing spring 84. The latch plate 82 becomes free. When the latch plate 82 is in a free state, the latch plate 82 is eccentrically supported by the shaft, so that the latch plate 82 can be rotated in the clockwise direction, and the latch claw 822 contacts the upper edge of the latch engagement member 83 and moves relatively. It becomes a state to do. Then, the position at which the latch claw 822 faces one of the plurality of stages of latch engagement portions 831 formed on the latch engagement member 83, for example, the latch engagement portion 831 of the second stage from the rear of the four stages. The latch plate 82 is rotated clockwise, and the latch claw 822 falls into the latch engagement portion 831. Next, the latch claw 822 contacts and engages the front edge of the latch engagement portion 831. Thus, the latch pawl 822 engages with one latch engaging portion 831 of the latch engaging member 83, so that the interlock function works and the forward movement of the commodity storage rack 20 is stopped.

  After the unexpected situation is resolved, the product storage rack 20 is pulled out by pushing the pressing portion 814 formed at the front end of the slide plate 81 against the force of the biasing spring 84 in the same manner as described above to release the interlock. That's fine. The product storage rack 20 is pulled out while maintaining the unlocked state, and the stopper piece 623 formed at the rear end of the slide rail frame 60 of the product storage rack 20 is formed near the front end of the shelf frame 70. The product storage rack 20 stops moving forward when it is pulled out to the position where it comes into contact. This state is the replenishment position of the product storage rack 20. If the product storage rack 20 is not released when the product storage rack 20 is pulled out (when an unexpected situation does not occur), the product storage rack 20 is continuously pulled out to the replenishment position while releasing the interlock. be able to. The operation of storing the product storage rack 20 in the cabinet after the product replenishment is as described above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the main body cabinet 1 whose front surface is open, the outer door 2 hinged to the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be openable and closable, and a large number of products are stored in a line in the front-rear direction. A product storage path (product column 201) and a product storage rack 20 having a product outlet at one end thereof, the product storage rack 20 being movable in the front-rear direction by a slide support mechanism; In the product storage device of the vending machine that is normally stored in the storage of the main body cabinet 1 and can be pulled out from the storage to the front of the main body cabinet 1 when the product is replenished, the product storage rack 20 is removed from the storage. An interlock mechanism that stops the product storage rack 20 at a plurality of positions in the middle of being pulled out to the refill position in front of the main body cabinet 1 is provided. Accordingly, when the product storage rack 20 is pulled out from the interior to the front of the main body cabinet 1 when the product storage rack 20 is replenished, the product storage rack 20 can be stopped at a plurality of positions by the interlock mechanism. It is possible to prevent the product storage rack 20 from moving all the way to the replenishment position due to inertia even if the product storage rack is released due to an unexpected situation while the storage rack is being pulled out. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the product storage rack 20 from falling off due to the slide support mechanism of the product storage rack 20 being damaged.

  The present invention is not limited to the vending machine having a large glass window through which the inside can be seen as described in the above-described embodiment, but can also be applied to a vending machine that cannot see through the inside. It is. Further, the present invention is not limited to the product storage device of the vending machine arranged as a product storage rack with a predetermined gradient so that the product exit side is lowered, but also the vending machine in which the product storage rack is arranged horizontally This product storage device is also useful, and is not limited to a product storage rack that is inclined with a predetermined gradient so that the product outlet side is lowered. Furthermore, the latch plate of the interlock mechanism can be provided with an urging spring for urging toward the standby state, and the notch shape of the latch engagement portion of the latch engagement member is not limited to a quadrangle, and the bottom is directed rearward. It can also be a triangular shape that becomes higher according to the above, and is not limited to that described in the embodiment.

1 is a front view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the vending machine of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the diagonally upper left which shows the principal part of the goods storage rack of the cooling / heating container in the vending machine of FIG. The principal part of the goods storage rack of the goods storage in the vending machine of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is the perspective view seen from diagonally upward right, (b) is the perspective view of a mounting board. It is the perspective view which looked at the goods storage rack 20 in the vending machine of FIG. 1 from diagonally upward on the right end side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the slide rail frame of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the shelf frame of FIG. 6A and 6B are operation explanatory views for explaining the operation of the interlock mechanism of FIG. 5, wherein FIG. 6A is a side view showing a standby state, and FIG. 6B is a side view showing an operation state. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of an interlock mechanism by deleting a shelf frame from FIG. 8, (a) is a side view showing a standby state, (b) is a side view showing an operation state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 2 Outer door 20 Commodity storage rack 21 Commodity shelf 22 Bulkhead 23 Commodity carry-out mechanism 24 Bucket 30 First gate means 40 Second gate means 50 Slider 60 Slide rail frame 70 Shelf frame 80 Interlock mechanism 81 Slide plate 82 Latch plate 83 Latch engagement member

Claims (3)

A main body cabinet with an open front, an outer door hinged to the front of the main body cabinet so as to be openable and closable, and a product storage passage for storing a large number of products arranged in a line in the front-rear direction. A product storage rack having a carry-out port, and the product storage rack can be moved in the front-rear direction by a slide support mechanism, and is always stored in the storage of the main body cabinet. In a product storage device of a vending machine configured to be pulled out to the front of the main body cabinet, the product storage rack is stopped at a plurality of positions while the product storage rack is being pulled out from the interior to the refilling position in front of the main body cabinet. A vending machine product storage device provided with a lock mechanism. The product storage device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the interlock mechanism is provided on a shelf frame laid in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, and has latch engaging members having latch engaging portions at a plurality of positions in the front-rear direction. The slide rail frame of the product storage rack is slidable in the front-rear direction, and is slid forwardly urged, and is pivotally supported by the product storage rack, and has a play at the rear end of the slide plate. And a latch plate configured to be coupled and pivoted in conjunction with the rearward movement of the slide plate to disengage the latch engagement member from the latch engagement portion. Vending machine product storage device. 3. A product storage device for a vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the product storage rack is arranged with an inclination with a predetermined gradient so that the product exit side is lowered. Product storage device for vending machines.

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