JP2009093480A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine, shortening the sales time of a commodity. <P>SOLUTION: The vending machine includes an outlet door 100 for opening and closing a commodity slot 10 of an outer door 2. The outlet door 100 is movable between an upper position to close the commodity slot 10 and a lower position to open the commodity slot. The vending machine comprises a solenoid 28 which locks the outlet door 100 at the upper position and a photoelectric switch 29 which detects that a commodity is delivered. The outlet door 100 locked by the solenoid 28 is unlocked based on a detection output of the photoelectric switch 29 to open the commodity slot 10. When the commodity is detected by the photoelectric switch 29, the outlet door 100 locked by the solenoid 28 is unlocked. According to this, since the outlet door 100 instantaneously falls by the dead weight to open the commodity slot 10, the sales time of the commodity in the vending machine having the sales port (outlet) door 100 for automatically opening and closing the commodity slot 10 can be shortend. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products such as canned beverages and beverages containing plastic bottles stored in a product storage of a main body cabinet, and in particular, provided on an outer door that opens and closes the front surface of the main body cabinet. The present invention relates to a vending machine that facilitates user's convenience by taking out products from the product outlet.

  Conventionally, vending machines that sell products such as canned beverages and beverages in plastic bottles are provided with an outer door that is attached to the front of the main cabinet with a heat insulating structure so that it can be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism. A product sample is displayed in the display room and has a product selection button corresponding to the product sample, and a plurality of columns arranged in upper and lower rows and left and right rows in the product storage are arranged in a line in the front-rear direction. A product selection that selects a product by assigning addresses to the columns of the upper and lower and left and right columns in the product storage and providing a transparent panel through which the products stored side by side can be seen through. The thing which puts a button in a concentrated manner is known. These vending machines are configured such that a product carried out from the product storage by the operation of the product selection button is guided to a product outlet provided in the front surface of the outer door. Such a product outlet is provided with an outlet door that closes the product outlet in order to prevent the entry of dust from the outside.

  A general outlet door is formed as a transparent flapper made of a synthetic resin, and a horizontal support shaft (for example, a shaft integrally formed with the flapper and protruding from the left and right side edges) is provided at the upper end of the flapper. It is supported by bearings formed on the left and right ends of the upper edge so that it can be opened and closed in the vertical direction, and when the flapper closes the product outlet, the product outlet is closed by its own weight when the flapper closes the product outlet. Is configured to do. Therefore, when the user takes out the product taken out to the product outlet, the user pulls the product with the other hand while keeping the product outlet open by rotating the outlet door with one hand. I have to. As described above, since a general exit door is configured to be opened and closed by the user, there is a problem that it takes time for the user and is inconvenient for taking out the product when the user has only one hand available. Have Therefore, there is known one that automatically opens and closes the outlet door when the commodity is carried out to the commodity outlet (for example, Patent Document 1). The invention described in this patent document is provided with a drive mechanism in which the outlet door is movably arranged in the vertical direction, and the outlet door is reciprocated up and down. The product door is lowered by the drive mechanism to open the product outlet, and when the product is taken out from the product outlet, the drive mechanism is raised to close the product outlet. ing. The drive mechanism includes a pinion connected to a motor and a rack attached to the outlet door.

JP 2007-148632 A

  Such doors that automatically open and close are not limited to vending machines such as canned beverages and beverages in plastic bottles. For example, while producing beverages (for example, coffee beverages) in the main body cabinet, 2. Description of the Related Art A cup-type vending machine that supplies a cup to a bend stage and dispenses and sells a beverage in the cup is known. Thus, the vending machine provided with the door automatically opening and closing is excellent in convenience because the user does not need to open and close the door. However, conventionally known ones are configured such that the outlet door and the drive mechanism are connected, and the outlet door is opened and closed by the drive mechanism. That is, the product outlet is configured to be opened and closed by driving the outlet door by the drive mechanism. The speed at which the outlet door is opened by the drive mechanism is a substantially constant and relatively slow speed from the opening start time to the opening end time at which the product outlet is fully opened.

  By the way, when the user opens and closes the exit door, the sales time of the product is up to the time when the product is carried out to the product exit, while when the product automatically opens and closes the product, the product is carried out to the product exit. Since the exit door is still closed at that time, after the product is carried out to the product exit, the exit door is further driven by the drive mechanism until the exit end when the exit door fully opens the product exit. It is. Thus, what opens and closes a door automatically improves the convenience of a user, but has the subject that sales time becomes long. In order to shorten the sales time described above, it is conceivable to increase the opening speed of the sales door by the drive mechanism, but a motor is generally used as the drive mechanism. This is because it is convenient to execute an operation of securing the safety by opening the outlet door once when a hand or the like is caught when the commodity outlet is closed by the outlet door. Thus, when a motor is used as a drive mechanism, since a load (outlet door) is applied to the motor, the motor cannot be rotated at a high speed immediately after startup, so that the sales time is limited. In addition, it is conceivable to use a solenoid as a drive mechanism in order to operate the outlet door instantaneously, however, in order to open and close the sales outlet door, the stroke of the movable iron core in the solenoid becomes long and a large solenoid is required. To do. Furthermore, it is conceivable to devise the drive mechanism so that the opening speed of the outlet door is gradually increased from the opening start time, but there is a problem that the drive mechanism becomes complicated and costs increase.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the problem of the door for automatically opening and closing the product outlet described above, and enables the sales outlet door that closes the product outlet to move instantaneously to open the product outlet. By providing a vending machine that can shorten the sales time.

  In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine according to the present invention is a vending machine provided with an outlet door that opens and closes a product outlet that opens to an outer door hinged to be openable and closable on the front surface of the main body cabinet. The take-out door is movable between a raised position for closing the product take-out opening and a lowered position for opening the product take-out opening, and the lock means for locking the take-out door in the raised position and the product are carried out. And a merchandise carry-out detecting means for detecting the product, and based on a detection output of the merchandise carry-out detection means, the lock of the take-out door by the locking means is released to open the merchandise take-out opening.

  According to this configuration, the outlet door is configured to be movable between a rising position that closes the commodity outlet and a lowered position that opens the commodity outlet, and is normally lifted to close the commodity outlet by the locking means. When it is locked in position and the product delivery detection means detects the delivery of the product, the lock means is unlocked, and at the same time, the product is lowered by its own weight to open the product outlet. The sales time of the product can be shortened while maintaining the property, and in particular, the waiting time until the product is taken out after the product is carried out to the product outlet can be shortened.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the examples shown in FIGS. First, the whole structure of the vending machine to which the product outlet door which is embodiment of this invention is applied is demonstrated with FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine that sells canned beverages, bottled beverages, plastic bottled beverages, and the like, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

  The vending machine according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 enables the sale of a product when a coin or a bill or the like is inserted, and the condition that the amount of money matches the sale price of the product is satisfied. A 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 housing. . The main body cabinet 1 is formed in a box shape with an open front, and stores products in a product storage box surrounded by a heat insulating casing. In addition, there is also a type in which cash information is stored in an IC card without using cash, and a product is sold by so-called electronic money that exchanges data with an antenna unit provided on the front surface of the vending machine.

  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 banknote insertion slot 5 for inserting banknotes, a coin inserted into the coin insertion slot 4, a banknote inserted into the banknote insertion slot 5, or a 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 carried 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 product cabinet 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. Between them, a heat insulating partition wall (not shown) is arranged. The left chamber in the product storage is formed as a product cooling / warming storage, and the right chamber is formed as a room temperature storage for products. A plurality of product storage racks 20 are arranged along the vertical direction in the product storage (cooling / heating storage and room temperature storage) of the main body cabinet 1, and each product storage rack 20 has a product column 201. Are provided in a plurality of rows in the left-right 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. A front end of the product storage rack 20 is formed as a product cutout opening, and a product carry-out mechanism 23 that cuts out a product from the product storage rack 20 is provided adjacent to the product cutout opening. 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 room temperature storage, products of the same type as those stored in the cooling / warming storage are stored at room temperature.

  A bucket 24 that receives a product cut out from the product storage rack 20 and transports it to the product outlet 10 is disposed in a space in the front area of the product storage rack 20 in the cooling / warming storage. As will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 3, the bucket 24 includes a bucket frame formed in an L-shaped longitudinal section and a bucket body that is pivotally supported by the bucket frame. 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. Further, an XY transport mechanism is also provided in the space behind the product storage rack 20 disposed in the product storage, and the X-axis transport mechanism including the bucket includes a cooling / warming storage and a room temperature storage. It is provided across.

  The XY transport mechanism arranged in the front area of the product storage rack 20 stores the product specified based on the product sales instruction by operating the product selection button 8 (specifies the address assigned to each product storage column 201). The bucket 24 is moved to the front region of the rack 20 (product column 201) and temporarily stopped. In this stopped state, the product is cut out to the bucket 24 by the product carry-out mechanism 23 assembled to the product storage rack 20. The XY transport mechanism moves the bucket 24 to the vicinity of the product outlet 10 when the product is received in the bucket 24. Then, after rotating the bucket body in the bucket 24 and discharging the product (the operation of the bucket 24 will be described in detail in FIG. 3 to be described later), the XY transport mechanism holds the bucket 24 in a predetermined standby state. It is configured to move to a position to end a series of merchandise sales operations. On the other hand, the XY transport mechanism deployed in the rear area of the product storage rack 20 takes the same type of product as the previous sale product stored in the room temperature storage whenever the product is carried out of the cooling / warming storage. The product is cut out from the stored product column and received in a bucket (a belt conveyor driven by a motor is laid on the bottom of the bucket), and the bucket is moved to the rear area of the product column 201 sold last time. The product is supplied to the product column 201 by driving the belt conveyor of the bucket in this state.

  FIG. 3 shows details of the bucket 24 connected to the X-axis transport mechanism 242 of the XY transport mechanism provided in the front area of the commodity storage rack 20. 3A and 3B are perspective views of the bucket 24 as viewed from the upper right side of the front side. FIG. 3A shows a standby state of the bucket 24 and FIG. 3B shows a (commodity) carry-out state of the bucket 24.

  In FIG. 3, a bucket 24 is a synthetic resin bucket frame 24A formed in an L-shaped longitudinal section, and a synthetic resin pivotally supported by a metal support shaft 30 held by the bucket frame 24A. And a bucket body 24B. An angle projection 24A1 is formed at the end of the horizontal bottom wall of the bucket frame 24A. The bucket body 24B has a box shape having a size that can be accommodated in an L-shaped bucket frame 24A, and receives a product carried out from the product storage rack 20 (product column 201) shown in FIGS. And the rear surface is open. A bottom plate 24C forming the bottom surface of the bucket body 24B is pivotally supported by a metal support shaft 31 held by the bucket body 24B. An engagement piece 24D that extends in the horizontal direction and protrudes is formed at the upper end of the right side plate that forms the right side surface of the bucket body 24B. The support shaft 30 is disposed through a through hole formed in the upper part of the left side plate forming the left side surface of the bucket body 24B, and both ends thereof are formed by flanges (bearings) formed at the upper end of the vertical side wall of the bucket frame 24A. Is retained. Further, the support shaft 31 is disposed through a through hole formed on the left end side of the bottom plate 24C, and both ends thereof are held by flanges (bearings) formed on the lower end of the left side plate of the bucket body 24B. In FIG. 3, the X-axis transport mechanism of the XY transport mechanism is omitted, but the lower end of the bucket frame 24A is coupled to the X-axis transport mechanism, that is, the bucket frame 24A is placed on the X-axis transport mechanism. In combination with the X-axis transport mechanism.

  In the standby state, the bucket 24 described above is in a state in which the bucket body 24B is stored so as to fit in the bucket frame 24A, and the bottom plate 24C closes the bottom surface of the bucket body 24B, as shown in FIG. From such a standby state of the bucket 24, when a force for lifting from below is applied to the engagement piece 24 </ b> D of the bucket body 24 </ b> B, the bucket body 24 </ b> B rotates counterclockwise about the support shaft 30. That is, the bucket frame 24A functions as a fixed frame because it is coupled to an X-axis transport mechanism in an XY transport mechanism (not shown), whereas the bucket body 24B functions as a movable body. 24A is a hinge fixed frame, bucket body 24B is a hinge movable body, and the support shaft 30 functions as a hinge shaft, and a lifting force is applied to the engaging piece 24D of the bucket body 24B from the bottom to the bucket body 24B. Rotates (tilts) counterclockwise about the support shaft 30. As a result, the support shaft 31 held by the bucket body 24 </ b> B rises along an arcuate track centering on the support shaft 30. When the support shaft 31 rises along the circular arc track, the bottom plate 24C slides rightward so as to be pushed out of the bucket frame 24A. Thus, when the bottom plate 24C is pushed out of the bucket frame 24A, the bottom plate 24C slides on the ridgeline of the mountain-shaped protrusion 24A1 formed on the horizontal bottom wall of the bucket frame 24A. Therefore, the frictional resistance is remarkably reduced as compared with the case where the surface of the bottom plate 24C slides in contact with the surface of the horizontal bottom wall of the bucket frame 24A. As the counterclockwise rotation (tilting) of the bucket body 24B about the support shaft 30 proceeds, the support shaft 31 gradually rises. As the support shaft 31 rises, the bottom plate 24C is inclined so that the support shaft 31 side is high and the tip side pushed out from the bucket frame 24A is low, so that the bottom surface of the bucket body 24B is largely opened as shown in FIG. . When the force for lifting the engagement piece 24D of the bucket body 24B upward is removed from the state shown in FIG. 5B, the bucket body 24B rotates clockwise about the support shaft 30 by its own weight. Returning to the standby position of FIG. 1 (a), the bottom surface of the bucket body 24 is closed by the bottom plate 24C.

The operation of carrying out a product to the product outlet by the bucket 24 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the process of carrying out the product to the product take-out port by the bucket 24.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 25 denotes a left chamber (cooling / heating storage) facing the glass window 3 on the left side of the outer door 2 in the commodity storage of the main body cabinet 1 (see FIG. 1) and the right side of the outer door 2. It is a heat insulating partition wall that divides into a right chamber (room temperature storage) facing the customer service operation section. The partition wall 25 is formed with an opening for product exit 25A, and a stopper member 26 is attached so that the engaging projection 26A faces the exit port for product 25A. Reference numeral 10A denotes a product outlet frame of the product outlet 10 (see FIG. 1). Further, it is assumed that the product 27 cut out from the product storage rack 20 (see FIG. 1) by the control of the XY transport mechanism as described above is received in the bucket 24 in a standing state.

  As described above, the bucket 24 that has received the product 27 cut out from the product storage rack 20 (see FIG. 1) by the control of the XY transport mechanism is engaged with the bucket body 24B as shown in FIG. The piece 24D is lowered or raised to a position higher than the position of the engaging protrusion 26A of the stopper member 26 attached to the partition wall 25, and temporarily stops moving in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis transport mechanism 243 (see FIG. 2). Let Next, the X-axis transport mechanism 242 is operated to move the bucket 24 in the right direction, and the X-axis transport mechanism 242 moves the engagement piece 24D of the bucket body 24B in the vertical direction with the engagement protrusion 26A of the stopper member 26. The movement in the X-axis direction is stopped ((b) in the figure). Thereafter, the Y-axis transport mechanism 243 is restarted to lower the bucket 24. When the engaging piece 24D of the bucket body 24B comes into contact with the engaging protrusion 26A of the stopper member 26 due to the lowering of the bucket 24, the bucket body 24B is counterclockwise around the support shaft 30 as shown in FIG. Rotate (tilt) in the direction, the bottom plate 24C rotates clockwise about the support shaft 31, and the bottom surface of the bucket body 24B begins to open. When the lowering of the bucket 24 further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 4D, the inclination angle of the bucket body 24B increases and the inclination angle of the bottom plate 24C also increases. As a result, the product 27 in the standing state is pushed by the right side plate of the bucket body 24B and the center of gravity moves, and when the center of gravity moves to the left side of the vertical line at the contact point with the bottom plate 24C, it loses its support and falls down. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (e), the product 27 that has fallen due to loss of support slides down on the bottom plate 24C and is carried out to the product take-out frame 10A through the product take-out port 25A of the partition wall 25. In this manner, the inclined bottom plate 24C functions as a shooter in the process in which the product 27 is carried out to the product receiving frame 10A through the product carry-out port 25A. Thereafter, when the bucket 24 is lowered to the position where the engagement between the engagement piece 24D of the bucket body 24B and the engagement protrusion 26A of the stopper member 26 is released, as shown in FIG. Is returned to a standby position in the bucket frame 24A by its own weight, and the bottom surface is closed by the bottom plate 24C. The bucket 24 is moved to the lower sales standby position under the control of the XY transport mechanism to prepare for the next sale.

Next, FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the product take-out port 10 through which products are carried out from the bucket 24 as described above. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the product outlet 10 as viewed from the front side. FIG. 5A shows a state where the product outlet 10 is closed by the outlet door 100, and FIG. 5B shows a state where it is opened.
As is well known, the product outlet 10 is formed in the front surface of the outer door 2 so as to have an outlet door 100 for closing the product outlet 10 in order to prevent dust from entering from the outside. Is provided. The outlet door 100 is made of transparent plastic, is formed in a flat plate shape having a size capable of closing the commodity outlet 10, and is disposed behind the commodity outlet 10 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The outlet door 100 is always lifted to the upper limit position (upward position) and closes the commodity outlet 10 as shown in (a) of FIG. When the product 27 is carried out to the outlet 10, as shown in FIG. 5B, the product 27 is lowered from the upper limit position (up position) to the lower limit position (down position) to open the product outlet 10, and the product 27 is taken out. When it is done, it returns to the raised position and closes the product outlet 10. The door opening / closing drive mechanism shown below is provided for closing and opening the product outlet by the outlet door 100.

The door opening / closing drive mechanism of the outlet door 100 described above is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the main part of the door opening / closing drive mechanism of the outlet door 100.
In FIG. 6, the take-out door 100 is disposed behind the product take-out opening 10 formed in the front surface of the outer door 2 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and an engaging projection 101 projects from the lower end thereof. Has been. Further, a solenoid 28 (locking means) is provided in the vicinity of the back of the outlet door 100, and the solenoid 28 is moved to the raised position so as to close the commodity outlet 10 and the engagement protrusion 101 of the outlet door 100 is moved. It is arrange | positioned in the upper part position. A locking recess 282 is formed at the tip of the plunger 281 of the solenoid 28 to be fitted to a cylindrical protrusion 100A formed on the outlet door 100. The solenoid 28 is configured such that the plunger 281 protrudes to the front side in a non-energized (non-excited) state, and the plunger is attracted in an energized (excited) state. Thus, when the solenoid 28 is in a non-energized (non-excited) state, the locking recess 282 of the plunger 281 fits into the protrusion 100A formed on the outlet door 100 to hold the outlet door 100 at the upper limit position. The retaining recess 282 of the plunger 281 is pulled away from the protrusion 100A of the outlet door 100 by excitation), and the holding of the outlet door 100 is released. A belt 102 wound around a driving pulley 103 and a driven pulley 104 is provided in parallel with the outlet door 100, and a locking projection 105 is projected on the peripheral surface of the belt 102. The distance between the drive pulley 103 and the driven pulley 104 around which the belt 102 is wound is determined to be longer than the distance between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the outlet door 100 that reciprocates up and down. The drive pulley 103 is connected to a motor 106 as a drive source through a gear transmission mechanism. Further, a transmissive photoelectric switch 29 composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is disposed in the commodity outlet frame 10A, and the photoelectric switch 29 detects a commodity 27 that has been carried out of the commodity outlet frame 10A. It serves as a carry-out detection means. The solenoid 28 (locking means), the belt 102, the motor 106, and the photoelectric switch 29 (product carry-out detecting means) constitute a door opening / closing drive mechanism. Reference numeral 107 denotes a case in which a motor 106 and a driving pulley 103 are externally attached and a gear transmission mechanism is incorporated.

  FIG. 7 shows the operation of the door opening / closing drive mechanism, and FIG. 7 (a) shows a state (always) until the product 27 is carried out to the product takeout frame 10A. In this normal state, the takeout door 100 is at the upper limit position. The product outlet 10 is closed. This state is maintained by setting the solenoid 28 to a non-energized (non-excited) state so that the locking recess 282 of the plunger 281 is fitted and locked to the protrusion 100A formed on the outlet door 100. . Further, the locking protrusion 105 provided on the belt 102 is moved to the lowered position and stopped.

  When the product 27 is carried out to the product takeout frame 10A from the state of FIG. 7A, it is detected by the photoelectric switch 29 that the product 27 has been carried out to the product takeout frame 10A. The solenoid 28 is energized (excited) based on the detection output of the photoelectric switch 29. When the solenoid 28 is energized (excited), the plunger 281 is sucked as shown in FIG. 5B, and the locking recess 282 is pulled away from the protrusion 100A of the outlet door 100 to lock the outlet door 100. To release. The outlet door 100 unlocked by the solenoid 28 is instantaneously lowered by its own weight to open the commodity outlet 10. The lowering outlet door 100 is determined so as to stop the lowering at the lower limit position where the engaging protrusion 101 abuts the locking protrusion 105 provided on the belt 102.

  As described above, the product 27 carried out to the product outlet frame 10A is taken out through the opened product outlet 10. The removal of the commodity 27 is detected by a photoelectric switch 29 provided in the commodity outlet frame 10A, and a normal rotation command is given to the motor 106 based on the detection output of the photoelectric switch 29. As a result, the drive pulley 103 rotates in the clockwise direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. As a result, the belt 102 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow, and accordingly, the locking protrusion 105 provided on the belt 102 engages with the engagement protrusion 101 of the outlet door 100 to push up the outlet door 100. The outlet door 100 pushed up in this way rises toward the upper limit position. The arrival of the outlet door 100 at the upper limit position is detected by a micro switch (not shown) or the like, and when the micro switch detects that the outlet door 100 has reached the upper limit position, the driving of the motor 106 is temporarily stopped. . At the same time, the solenoid 28 is de-energized, the plunger 281 protrudes, and the engaging recess 282 is fitted into the protrusion 100A of the outlet door 100, whereby the outlet door 100 is held at the upper limit position. When the outlet door 100 is held at the upper limit position by the solenoid 28, a reverse rotation command is given to the motor 106. As a result, the locking protrusion 105 provided on the belt 102 is lowered as shown in FIG. 4D, and a series of opening / closing operations of the outlet door 100 is completed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the photoelectric switch 29 (product carry-out detection means) is installed in the product take-out frame 10A and arranged so as to detect the product 27 that has fallen to the bottom of the product take-out frame 10A. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a photoelectric switch is provided at the product outlet 25A of the partition wall 25 shown in FIG. 4 to detect that the product has passed through the product outlet 25A. You can also. Moreover, it can replace with the photoelectric switch 29 and the piezoelectric rubber laid in the bottom part of 10 A of goods outlet frames can also be used, and a piezoelectric rubber plays the role of a cushion in this case. Accordingly, the commodity carry-out detection means is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

  The door opening / closing drive mechanism of the outlet door 100 described above has the following safety measures. That is, when a hand is pinched by the take-out door 100 that rises when taking out the product from the product take-out port 10, there is no injury, and when the lift of the take-out door 100 is prevented by mischief. As a safety measure for preventing the door opening / closing drive mechanism from being damaged, the mechanism shown in FIG. 8 is employed.

  FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of the safety measure in the door opening / closing drive mechanism of the door 100. The same components as those shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, 108 is a motor fixing bracket, 109 is a coil spring, and MS is a microswitch. The motor fixing bracket 108 is a bearing of the shaft 103A in the drive pulley 103 protruding from the case 107 and is fixed to the frame of the outer door 2. The case 107 to which the motor 106 is externally attached by the motor fixing bracket 108 is the above-described case. The drive pulley 103 is attached so as to be rotatable about the shaft 103A. The coil spring 109 is stretched between the case 107 and the frame of the outer door 2, and the urging force thereof is determined to be larger than the torque for raising the outlet door 100 by the locking projection 105 provided on the belt 102. Yes. The case 107 is prevented from turning clockwise in the state shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8A shows a state in which a finger or the like is sandwiched in the ascending process from the lower limit position of the outlet door 100 (a state where the upward movement of the outlet door 100 is prevented). Until the ascent is prevented, the case 107 remains stationary at the illustrated position by the coil spring 109, and the outlet door 100 continues to rise due to the normal rotation of the motor 106. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the lifting of the outlet door 100 is prevented, the rotation of the belt 102 stops. At this time, the motor 106 continues to rotate forward, while the rotation of the belt 102 (drive pulley 103) is prevented, so that the torque of the motor 106 increases. When the torque of the motor 106 exceeds the biasing force of the coil spring 109, the case 107 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 103A of the drive pulley 103 as shown in FIG. Operate. By rotating the motor 106 in reverse by the operation of the micro switch MS, the take-out door 100 is lowered to prevent a finger or the like from being caught in the take-out door 100 or to prevent the door opening / closing drive mechanism from being damaged. Thereafter, the operation of raising the outlet door 100 is started, the outlet door 100 is raised while monitoring the operation state of the microswitch MS, and the operation described above is repeated when the microswitch MS is operated again. When the retry operation for raising the outlet door 100 reaches a predetermined number of times, the outlet door 10 is lowered to the lower limit position to stop the operation of the door opening / closing drive mechanism and notify the administrator of the vending machine of the failure information. To do.

  Next, a different embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the example shown in FIG. The vending machine in this embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 in the door opening / closing drive mechanism of the door 100, and other configurations are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. Since this is the same as the vending machine, the door opening / closing drive mechanism of the exit door 100 will be described here.

  FIG. 9 shows a door opening / closing drive mechanism of the outlet door 100 according to a different embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 110 denotes a rack having teeth that mesh with a pinion described later. The rack 110 is fixed to the outlet door 100 so as to extend in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 111 denotes a pinion arranged so as to face the teeth of the rack 110, and the pinion 11 is rotationally driven by a motor 112. Here, the motor 112 is built in a case 113 together with a gear transmission mechanism, and a pinion 111 is externally attached to the case 113. The case 113 is slidably attached to the left and right in the figure. When the case 113 is slid rightward, the pinion 111 is separated from the rack 110, and when the case 113 is slid leftward, the pinion 111 is rack 110. It is determined to mesh with. The case 113 is connected to a solenoid plunger (not shown) so as to be slid right and left.

  FIG. 9A shows a state (always) until the product 27 is carried out to the product take-out frame 10A. In this normal state, the take-out door 100 rises to the upper limit position and closes the product take-out port 10. ing. This state is maintained by fitting the locking recess 282 of the plunger 281 to the protrusion 100A formed on the outlet door 100 by setting the solenoid 28 in a non-energized (non-excited) state. The pinion 111 is separated from the rack 110, that is, the case 113 is slid rightward.

  When the product 27 is carried out to the product outlet frame 10A from the state of FIG. 9A, it is detected by the photoelectric switch 29 that the product 27 has been carried out to the product outlet frame 10A. The solenoid 28 is energized (excited) based on the detection output. When the solenoid 28 is energized (excited), the plunger 281 is attracted as shown in FIG. 5B, and the protrusion 100A of the outlet door 100 is unlocked by the locking concave portion 282, and the outlet door 100 is released. Release the lock. The outlet door 100 unlocked by the solenoid 28 is instantaneously lowered by its own weight to open the commodity outlet 10. The lower limit position of the outlet door 100 is configured to be positioned by a stopper (not shown). The goods 27 carried out to the goods outlet frame 10A are taken out through the goods outlet 10 thus opened. The takeout of the product 27 is detected by a photoelectric switch 29 provided in the product takeout frame 10A. Based on the detection output of the photoelectric switch 29, as shown in FIG. 6C, the solenoid coupled to the case 113 containing the motor 112 is excited to slide the case 113 to the left, and the pinion 111 is moved. The rack 111 is driven through the pinion 111 by meshing with the rack 110 and giving a normal rotation command to the motor 112, and the outlet door 100 is raised as shown in FIG. When the outlet door 100 reaches the upper limit position in this way, it is detected by a micro switch (not shown) that the outlet door 100 has reached the upper limit position, and the motor 112 is stopped by the detection output of the micro switch. At the same time, the solenoid 28 is de-energized, the plunger 281 protrudes, and the engaging recess 282 is fitted with the protrusion 100A of the outlet door 100, whereby the outlet door 100 is held at the upper limit position. Thereafter, the solenoid coupled to the case 113 is de-energized, the pinion 111 is disconnected from the rack 110, and a series of opening / closing operations of the outlet door 100 is completed.

  The door opening / closing drive mechanism of the outlet door 100 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is provided with torque monitoring means (not shown) for monitoring the torque of the motor 112, and the outlet door 100 is raised from the lower limit position. It is configured to detect a torque that increases when a finger or the like is pinched in the process (when raising of the outlet door 100 is prevented). Thus, when a finger or the like is pinched in the ascending process of the outlet door 100 (when the upward movement of the outlet door 100 is prevented), the solenoid connected to the case 113 based on the detection signal from the toggle monitoring means. Is deenergized to disconnect the pinion 111 from the rack 110. Thus, the outlet door 100 is lowered to prevent a finger or the like from being caught in the outlet door 100, or to prevent the door opening / closing drive mechanism from being damaged.

  According to the present invention described above, in the vending machine provided with the outlet door 100 that opens and closes the commodity outlet 10 that opens to the outer door 2 hinged to the front of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be opened and closed, the outlet door is provided. Reference numeral 100 designates a locking means (solenoid 28) that locks the take-out door 100 in the raised position, and is movable up and down between a raised position that closes the product take-out port 10 and a lowered position that opens the product take-out port. Commodity carry-out detection means (photoelectric switch 29) for detecting that the goods have been carried out is provided, and based on the detection output of the commodity carry-out detection means (photoelectric switch 29), the outlet door 100 of the lock means (solenoid 28) is provided. By releasing the lock and opening the product outlet 10, the product delivery detection means (photoelectric switch 29) detects the delivery of the product. The locking means locks the exit door 100 preparative by (solenoid 28) is released, the outlet door 100 preparative which is unlocked it becomes possible to open the outlet 10 collected product is lowered instantaneously by its own weight. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the sales time of products in a vending machine equipped with a sales door that automatically opens and closes the product outlet, and in particular, to reduce the waiting time until the product is taken out after being delivered to the product outlet. it can.

1 is a front view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the bucket from diagonally right above, (a) And (b) is a figure which shows the standby state and (commodity) unloading state of a bucket, respectively. It is explanatory drawing of the goods carrying-out operation | movement to the goods taking-out port by a bucket, (a) thru | or (f) is a figure which each shows a goods carrying-out operation process. The structure of a product outlet is shown, (a) is the state which closed the goods outlet by the outlet door, (b) is a figure which shows the state which the outlet door fell and open | released the goods outlet. It is a principal part side view which shows a door opening / closing drive mechanism. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a door opening / closing drive mechanism, (a) thru | or (d) is a figure which shows the operation | movement process of a door opening / closing drive mechanism, respectively. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the door opening / closing drive mechanism which gave the safety measure. The door opening / closing drive mechanism in the vending machine which shows different embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) thru | or (d) is a figure which shows the operation | movement process of a door opening / closing drive mechanism, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body cabinet, 2 ... Glass door, 3 ... Exhibition room, 4 ... Coin insertion slot, 5 ... Banknote insertion slot, 6 ... Return lever, 7 ... Display, 8 ... Product selection button, 9 ... Coin return slot, 10 Product outlet, 10A ... Product outlet frame, 24 ... Bucket, 24A ... Bucket frame, 24B ... Bucket body, 24C ... Bottom plate, 24D ... Engagement piece 24D, 25 ... Partition wall, 25A ... Product outlet, 26 ... Stopper member, 26A ... engagement projection, 27 ... product, 28 ... lock means (solenoid), 29 ... product carry-out detection means (photoelectric switch) 100 ... outlet door, 100A ... protrusion, 101 ... engagement projection 102 ... belt , 105 ... locking projection, 106 ... motor, 107 ... gear transmission mechanism, 108 ... motor fixing bracket, 109 ... coil spring, 110 ... rack, 111 ... pinion, 112 ... motor, 113 ... 242 ... X-axis transport mechanism, 243 ... Y-axis transport mechanism.

Claims (9)

In a vending machine equipped with an outlet door that opens and closes a product outlet that opens to an outer door that is hinged to the front of the main body cabinet,
The outlet door is movable between a raised position that closes the commodity outlet and a lowered position that opens the commodity outlet, lock means for locking the outlet door in the raised position, and the commodity is carried out. A vending machine comprising: a merchandise carry-out detecting means for detecting the fact that the product outlet detecting means unlocks the take-out door by the locking means based on the detection output of the merchandise carry-out detection means. . 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the locking means is a solenoid, and the outlet door is normally locked in a non-energized state (non-excited state), and energized (excited) based on the detection output of the product carry-out detecting means. The vending machine is characterized in that the door of the outlet is unlocked by being done. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the product carry-out detecting means is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the product carried out to the product take-out port. 4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the sensor is a micro switch or a photoelectric switch that is arranged so as to be movable up and down and detects a bottom plate that is biased by the weight of the product carried out to the product outlet. vending machine. 4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the sensor is a photoelectric switch that detects a product carried to the product outlet. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising drive means for moving the take-out door from the lowered position to the raised position, and product take-out detecting means for detecting take-out of the product from the product take-out opening. A vending machine characterized in that, based on the detected output, the drive means lifts the take-out door to close the product take-out door. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the driving means is connected to an engaging protrusion and a motor disposed on the outlet door and stretched in the vertical direction and engages with the engaging protrusion on a peripheral surface. A vending machine comprising an endless belt having an engaging claw. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the driving means comprises a pinion that is connected to a rack and a motor disposed on the outlet door and meshes with the rack when the outlet door is lowered. vending machine. 7. The vending machine according to claim 6, wherein the vending machine is also used as a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a product taken out to a product outlet as a product take-out detecting means.

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