JP2009211354A - Article dispensing device and vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensively manufacturable article dispensing device and a vending machine that reduce article jams irrespective of the type of articles fed by preventing the side displacement of a spiral member uniformly. <P>SOLUTION: The article dispensing device stores articles 15 in a spiral space defined by an article storage part for storing the articles 15 in a front-back direction and by the spiral member 12 placed on a storage part bottom of the article storage part, and rotates the spiral member 12 with a drive motor 13 to dispense the article 15 in the front row. The bottom of the storage part 11 is bent into a depressed portion 11b over the length of the spiral member 12, and the spiral member 12 is placed in the depressed portion 11b. This can prevent side displacement of the spiral member 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a product delivery device that drives a spiral member in a horizontal direction to deliver a product stored in a spiral space.

  Conventionally, there is a product sending apparatus provided with a spiral member as disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional product delivery device of a vending machine described in Patent Document 1.

  A rotation carrying member (spiral member) 2 of the product storage column 1 is driven to rotate by a drive motor 3 so that the product is carried out. The product is sandwiched in the spiral space 2 a of the spiral member 2 and penetrates through the spiral member 2. The product 5 is placed on the flat spiral angle 4.

  Further, in order to detect the sold out of the product, an actuator 6 that is pressed against the product and rotates with the movement of the product is provided. When the actuator 6 rotates, the sold out switch 7 is detected and turned off. When the product does not rotate, the sold-out switch 7 is detected and turned on to display sold-out.

  FIG. 5 is a front view of a conventional product delivery device of a vending machine described in Patent Document 1. In FIG.

  Spiral guide that guides the spiral member 2 so that it does not shift laterally during rotation only at the front part of the bottom of the product storage column 1 that stores the spiral member 2 (periphery of the portion where the most advanced product is carried out by the spiral member 2). 8 is formed.

Therefore, with these configurations, the product is conveyed forward while preventing the lateral displacement of the spiral member 2 during rotation, and the product is pressed against the actuator 6 to detect whether the product has been sold out. , It can prevent the money from being taken and the goods not available.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-81533

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the product is placed on the flat spiral angle 4 and conveyed forward by the rotational drive of the spiral member 2, so that parts for placing the product are required, and the manufacturing cost is increased. There is a problem that becomes higher.

  In addition, since the actuator 6 is arranged near the tip of the product storage column 1 and is detected by product pressure contact, the product 5 may be actuated by pressure contact with the actuator 6 depending on the type of packaging of the product in a bag shape or box shape. There is a possibility that the product may not be carried out by being sandwiched between the spiral member 2 and the spiral member 2, or the product packaged in a bag shape may be crushed by pressure contact.

  Further, the spiral guide 8 guides only the front part of the spiral member 2, and the other parts are not guided. Therefore, the spiral member 2 is not uniformly guided in the length direction, and the spiral member 2 is not horizontally guided in the part other than the front part. There is a risk of misalignment, and there is a problem that only the money is taken out without leading-edge products being carried out.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and suppresses lateral displacement of the spiral member uniformly, reduces product clogging regardless of the type of product to be conveyed, and product delivery device and vending machine with reduced manufacturing cost The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the vending machine according to the present invention includes a product storage unit for storing products in the front-rear direction, and a product in a spiral space of a spiral member placed on the bottom surface of the storage unit of the product storage unit. In the product delivery device for delivering the product in the front row by rotating the spiral member by the driving means, the bottom of the housing part is bent, and a recess is provided along the length of the spiral member. The spiral member is placed on the part.

  Accordingly, lateral displacement is prevented in the longitudinal direction of the spiral member, and the product storage portion is bent to form the indentation portion, so that the cost can be reduced with a simple configuration.

  The vending machine of the present invention can improve the product clogging and unloading performance by reducing the manufacturing cost and ensuring the reliability of the spiral member.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a product is stored in a spiral space of a product storage unit that stores products in the front-rear direction and a spiral member that is placed on the bottom surface of the storage unit of the product storage unit, and the spiral is driven by a drive unit. In the product delivery device for delivering the products in the front row by rotating the members, the bottom surface of the storage unit is bent to have a recessed portion over the length direction of the spiral member, and the spiral member is placed in the recessed portion Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lateral displacement of the spiral member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the concave portion is formed in a substantially V-shaped cross section, and both sides of the concave portion on which the product is placed are configured in a horizontal shape. Both ends of the product are placed on the horizontal shape portion, and the product can be stably conveyed and moved by the rotational drive of the spiral member.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a rotation support member that supports the rotation of the spiral member on the bottom surface of the storage portion, and between the rotation support member and the bottom surface of the storage portion. Since the spiral member is rotationally driven, the upward floating of the spiral member can be reduced, and the product stored in the spiral space can be prevented from being floated and stored from the bottom surface of the storage unit.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a product detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of the product by reflecting light to the product stored on the bottom surface of the storage unit. Since it is not detected by applying an external force to the product, the product delivery is not disturbed, the product clogging by the detection means can be reduced, and the accuracy of the sold-out detection can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein rails that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction are provided on both sides of the product storage unit, and the product storage shelf is vertically and horizontally A plurality of stages are formed, and an outer door that covers the front surface of the product storage unit and the product storage shelf are connected to each other so that all the product storage shelves can be pulled out together with the outer door, and the product can be replenished to all storage shelves. It can be done easily.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is a vending machine including the commodity delivery device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and can provide an inexpensive and highly reliable vending machine.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a side view of a product delivery device for a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a rotary carry-out member (hereinafter referred to as a spiral member) 12 placed on a product storage column 11 is rotated through a joint 14 by a drive motor 13 so that the product 15 is sandwiched in the spiral space 12a. The load of the product 15 is applied to the horizontal shape portion 11a of the product storage column 11 at the time of standing. Note that the joint 14 is not easily detached during operation by a drop prevention portion 16 provided on the mounting member of the drive motor 13. Further, in order to detect the sale of the product, a product detection sensor 17 that detects the presence or absence of the product by reflecting light on the product 15 placed on the horizontal shape portion 11a is connected to the front portion (spiral member 12) of the product storage column 11. If the light receiving element cannot detect the light emitted by the light emitting element, it will be sold out and a sold out display will be displayed.

  FIG. 2 shows a front view of the commodity delivery device of the vending machine in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, the product storage column 11 is placed in a recessed portion 11 b formed in a substantially V-shaped cross section over the length direction of the spiral member 12, and the front portion of the product storage column 11 (by the spiral member 12). A spiral guide 18 is formed in the vicinity of a portion where the most advanced product is carried out) to prevent the product 15 from being floated and floating due to the shake of the spiral member 12.

  The operation and effect of the vending machine product delivery apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

  First, the drive motor 13 has an origin position detection (not shown). When the drive motor 13 rotates 360 ° from the origin position to the origin position, the spiral member 12 directly connected to the joint 14 rotates once. Then, the product 15 sandwiched between the spiral space portions 12 a slides the horizontal shape portion 11 a of the product storage column 11 and is sent forward by one pitch of the spiral member 12. The product storage column 11 has a hollow portion 11b having a substantially V-shaped cross section over the length direction of the spiral member 12, and prevents the lateral displacement of the rotary carry-out member 12 and obtains stable rotation without load fluctuation. be able to. Further, the spiral guide 18 regulates not only the lateral displacement but also the floating of the spiral member.

  Moreover, it is equipped with the product detection sensor 17 which detects the presence or absence of a product by reflecting light on the product placed on the bottom of the horizontal shape portion 11a of the product storage column 11, and detects by applying an external force to the product. Therefore, the delivery of the product is not disturbed, the product clogging by the detection means can be reduced, and the accuracy of the sold-out detection can be improved.

  As described above, in the product delivery device of the vending machine according to the present embodiment, the spiral member 12 is regulated by the recessed portion 11b formed in the substantially V-shaped cross section of the product storage column 11 and the spiral guide 18. As a result, it is possible to obtain a stable rotation with no load fluctuation by restricting lateral displacement and lifting. Further, the non-contact product detection sensor 17 does not interfere with the product delivery, the product clogging by the detection means can be reduced, and the accuracy of the sold-out detection can be improved regardless of the product shape and packaging form.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, by forming with the steel plate which lubricated the surface of the horizontal shape part 11a of the product storage column 11, the frictional resistance between the product 15 and the horizontal shape part 11a of the product storage column 11 is reduced. Thus, the load on the motor 13 can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, elongated ribs in the length direction of the spiral member 12 are formed on the surface of the horizontal shape portion 11 a of the product storage column 11, and the contact between the product 15 and the horizontal shape portion 11 a of the product storage column 11 is made. By reducing the area, the frictional resistance can be reduced, and the load on the motor 13 can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the spiral member 12 can be received by the entire hollow portion 11b formed in a substantially V-shaped cross section of the commodity storage column 11, so that it is not necessary to give the spiral 12 itself a large rigidity, Rationalization can be achieved by using an elastic (spring) material having a thin wire diameter.

  In addition, by forming the spiral guide 18 over substantially the entire length of the spiral member 12, the effect of preventing the spiral from rising can be further enhanced.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the product storage section of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  Rails 22 that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction are provided on both sides of the product storage unit 21, the product storage shelves 23 are formed in a plurality of stages in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the outer door 24 that covers the front of the product storage unit 21 is the entire shelf And is locked with a key 25 except for filling and maintenance of the product. Further, a merchandise display window 26, a merchandise selection button 27, and a merchandise outlet 28 are arranged on the outer door 24 so that a merchandise purchaser can select a desired merchandise.

  The operation and effect of the vending machine product delivery apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

  First, a purchaser of a product selects a product by looking at the product display window 26 of the outer door 24 and presses a product selection button 27. The product is taken out from the product display shelf 23, and the purchaser takes out the product from the product outlet 28. If the sale of the product is repeated, the content of the product display shelf 23 is reduced, and the work of replenishing the product occurs. At this time, since the product storage shelf 23 is connected to the outer door 24, the outer door 24 is held. By pulling forward, all the product storage shelves 23 can be pulled out by the rail 22 with a light operating force, and the product can be easily replenished to the storage shelves.

  In addition, a stopper is provided in the middle to ensure safety so that the slidable product storage shelf 23 is not pulled out and dropped out.

  As described above, in the product storage section of the vending machine according to the present embodiment, all the product storage shelves 23 can be pulled out with a light operating force, and the product can be easily replenished to all the storage shelves. .

  As described above, the product delivery device and the vending machine according to the present invention can reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the product clogging and unloading performance by ensuring the reliability of the spiral member. It can be applied to all kinds of vending machines.

The side view of the goods delivery apparatus of the vending machine in Embodiment 1 of this invention The front view of the goods delivery apparatus of the vending machine in Embodiment 1 of this invention External appearance perspective view of the goods storage part of the vending machine in Embodiment 2 of this invention Side view of a conventional vending machine product delivery device Front view of conventional vending machine product delivery device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Commodity storage column 11a Horizontal shape part 11b Recessed part 12 Spiral member 12a Spiral space part 13 Drive motor 15 Goods 17 Goods detection sensor 18 Spiral guide (rotation support member)
21 commodity storage part 22 rail 23 commodity storage shelf 24 outer door

Claims (6)

  Products are stored in a spiral space of a product storage unit that stores products in the front-rear direction and a spiral member placed on the bottom surface of the storage unit of the product storage unit, and the spiral member is rotated by driving means to be in the front row A product delivery apparatus for delivering a product, comprising: a bottom portion that is bent over the bottom surface of the storage portion, and a recess portion that extends along a length direction of the spiral member, wherein the spiral member is placed on the recess portion.   2. The product delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed in a substantially V-shaped cross section, and both sides of the recess on which the product is placed are storage unit bottoms configured in a horizontal shape.   The rotation support member which supports rotation of a spiral member in a storage part bottom face is provided, The said spiral member is rotationally driven between the said rotation support member and the said storage part bottom face, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Product delivery device.   The product delivery device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a product detection sensor that reflects light on the product stored on the bottom surface of the storage unit to detect the presence or absence of the product.   Rails that can be pulled out in the front-rear direction on both sides of the product storage unit, the product storage shelves are formed in multiple stages in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the outer door that covers the front of the product storage unit and the product storage shelves are connected The product delivery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein all the product storage shelves can be pulled out together with the outer door.   A vending machine comprising the commodity delivery device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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