JP2010170366A - Direct stack type merchandise housing rack for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discriminate the height adjustment lever of vend mechanisms arranged in parallel at the front face side of a merchandise housing rack corresponding to each of the columns of the rack from the adjustment lever of a passage width adjusting mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The direct stack type merchandise housing rack of a vending machine is configured to pile up and house merchandise in merchandise housing columns defined in a box-shaped rack case vertically in a row, and to successively drop and carry out the merchandise from the lowest order merchandise by the operation of a vend mechanism 12, and provided with a movable board for adjusting the merchandise passage width of the columns and its adjusting mechanism inside the sidewall of the rack case oppositely to the vend mechanism 12, wherein the grips of an adjustment lever 16a of the passage width adjusting mechanism and an adjustment lever 12d of the stopper height adjusting mechanism of the vend mechanism are arranged to be pulled out to the front face of the rack case. The adjustment lever 16a of the passage width adjusting mechanism and the adjustment lever 12d attached to the vend mechanism are both made of plastic, and both the grips are colored in different colors to be classified by color. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a direct-product-type product storage rack of a vending machine that sells beverage products in paper packs, and more specifically, adjustment of a product passage width adjustment mechanism attached to the product storage rack and a stopper height adjustment mechanism of a bend mechanism. Related to the lever.

  The direct-product-type product storage rack described above stores products stacked in a vertical row in a product storage column defined in a box-shaped rack case, and then drops and transports the products from the lowest product in order by operating the bend mechanism. This direct-product-type product storage rack has a product passage width of the product storage column according to the outer size of the stored product, and a stopper mechanism of the bend mechanism that holds the second-most-ordered product in the sales standby position. As means for adjusting the position, a passage width adjusting mechanism and a stopper height adjusting mechanism of a bend mechanism are provided (for example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  Next, FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 show the structure of the vending machine equipped with the above-described direct-product-type product storage rack and the direct-product-type product storage rack. First, in FIG. 2, 1 is a cabinet of a vending machine, 2 is an outer door of the cabinet 1, 3 is a heat-insulated inner door, 4 is a commodity outlet of the heat-insulated inner door leading to a commodity outlet (not shown) of the outer door, 5 is a drawer-type direct-product-type product storage rack housed in the cabinet of the cabinet 1, and 6 is a product delivery shooter that lays the product at the bottom of the cabinet and delivers the product delivered from the product storage rack 5 to the product exit 4. 7 is a condensing unit of a refrigerator that keeps the inside of the cabinet 1 cool.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the direct-product-type product storage rack 5 is an assembly in which a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) box-shaped rack cases 10 are arranged side by side between the upper and lower support frames 8 and 9. Each rack case 10 has a partition wall 11 disposed in the center of the case, and a bend mechanism 12 provided on the lower side of the partition wall 11 so that a pair of product storage columns is provided between the left and right side walls of the rack case 10. The column door 13 is provided in front of each column.

  FIG. 4 is an internal structural view of the rack case (for one unit) in FIG. That is, the rack case 10 is a box-shaped case made of a sheet metal whose front and lower surfaces are open, and a pair of left and right merchandise is stored between the case partition wall 11 and the bend mechanism 12 with the partition wall 11 and the bend mechanism 12 in between. A column 14 is defined, and the paper pack products 18 loaded from the front of the rack case 10 are stacked and stored in the column 14 in a vertical line.

  Here, as described in detail in Patent Document 1, the bend mechanism 12 holds the flapper 12a carrying the products arranged in the lowest position in the column 14 and the products arranged in the second order from the lowest in the sales standby position. A tilting stopper 12b is provided and connected to a bend motor (not shown), and when the product is sold, the flapper 12a and the stopper 12b are tilted to drop and carry out the products 18 arranged at the lowest position. For the stopper 12b, an operation portion 12c of the adjustment mechanism is arranged on the front surface of the bend mechanism 12 so that the height position thereof is adjusted according to the size of the stored product. The height position of the stopper 12b is variably set up and down by the adjustment lever 12d drawn forward.

Returning to FIG. 4, a movable side plate 15 that adjusts the product passage width of the column 14 is arranged through a parallel link mechanism (not shown) inside the left and right side walls of the rack case 10 so as to face the bend mechanism 12. The operation portion 16 of the passage width adjusting mechanism connected to the parallel link mechanism of the movable side plate 15 is disposed on the front surface of the side wall of the rack case 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the movable side plate 15 is moved to the left and right by the operation of the adjustment lever 16a drawn forward from the operation unit 16, and the product passage width of the column 14 is variably set according to the product size. Yes. Reference numeral 17 denotes a depth attachment (product guide plate) that regulates the depth dimension of the product passage of the column 14 according to the length size of the product 18.
(Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-185139) JP 2004-246432 A (FIGS. 10 to 12)

  By the way, regarding the passage width adjusting mechanism and the stopper height adjusting mechanism of the bend mechanism attached to the direct stack type product storage rack, in the conventional product, the handle (operating end) of the adjusting lever 12d of the bend mechanism 12 is made of plastic (engineering plastic). On the other hand, the adjusting lever 16a disposed in the operation section 16 of the passage width adjusting mechanism is formed by pressing the tip of a metal rod connected to the parallel link mechanism of the movable side plate 15 into a handle shape. The part is pulled out to the front of the rack case 10.

In this case, the adjustment lever 16a of the passage width adjusting mechanism in which the handle is formed by pressing the metal rod as described above is expensive to process. Therefore, in recent years, in order to reduce the cost of parts, a structure is adopted in which the handle of the adjustment lever 16a is replaced with the same plastic (engineering plastic) part as the adjustment lever 12d of the bend mechanism 12.
However, if the handle of the adjustment lever 12d of the bend mechanism 12 and the adjustment lever 16a of the passage width adjustment mechanism are made of plastic and used in a natural color (for example, white) that is not colored, the product storage rack There are the following problems in the operability of the adjustment work performed when changing the product stored in the column to a product of a different size.

  That is, the drawer-type direct-product-type product storage rack 5 mounted in the vending machine warehouse has a structure in which a plurality of columns are arranged side by side as shown in FIG. The height adjusting lever of the bend mechanism 12 and the adjusting lever of the passage width adjusting mechanism corresponding to the above are disposed at the lower part of the rack case 10 on the left and right at substantially the same height position. Therefore, not only a user who is unfamiliar with the adjustment operation of the vending machine, but also a user who is accustomed to the adjustment operation, the height adjustment lever and the passage width adjustment mechanism of the bend mechanism located in a relatively dark place below the rack case 10. It is difficult to distinguish if the adjustment levers of the same color remain the same, which makes the adjustment operation difficult. In addition, when sales are started without noticing the misadjustment, there is a risk of causing a product jam in the product storage column and a trouble of carrying out multiple products.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the serviceability to the user, and the height adjustment lever and the passage width of the bend mechanism arranged in a large number in front of the product storage rack. The distinction from the adjusting lever of the adjusting mechanism is to provide a vending machine direct-product-type product storage rack that is improved so that even a user unfamiliar with the adjusting operation can be surely identified at a glance.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, products are stacked and stored in a product storage column defined in a box-shaped rack case, and dropped and carried out in order from the lowest product by operating the bend mechanism. A direct-product-type product storage rack of a vending machine, comprising a movable side plate that adjusts the product passage width of a column facing the bend mechanism inside the side wall of the rack case, and an adjustment mechanism thereof, and the passage width adjustment mechanism In which the handle of the adjustment lever of the bend mechanism and the adjustment lever of the stopper height adjustment mechanism of the bend mechanism are each pulled out to the front of the rack case,
The adjustment lever of the passage width adjustment mechanism and the handle of the adjustment lever attached to the bend mechanism are color-coded in different colors (claim 1), wherein the adjustment lever of the passage width adjustment mechanism and the adjustment lever of the bend mechanism Both the handles are made of plastic (claim 2).

  For the adjustment lever for adjusting the passage width and the adjustment lever for adjusting the height of the bend mechanism as described above, the handle of both adjustment levers is colored in different colors. Even if the user is unfamiliar with the adjustment operation of the vending machine, the adjustment lever of the bend mechanism and the adjustment lever of the passage width adjustment mechanism can be reliably identified, improving the workability of the adjustment operation, and serviceability to the user Improvement can be achieved.

  In addition, since the adjustment lever of the passage width adjusting mechanism and the handle of the adjusting lever of the bend mechanism are both made of plastic, it is not necessary to perform metal processing on the adjusting lever, and the cost of parts can be reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the front view of the main structure of the direct-product-type product storage rack shown in FIG.
That is, in FIG. 1, the adjustment lever 12d for adjusting the height of the stopper 12b (see FIG. 4) disposed on the front surface of the bend mechanism 12 corresponding to the columns arranged in the left and right sides, and the front side of the left and right side walls of the rack case. In the illustrated embodiment, the adjustment levers 16a and 16a are both made of plastic, and the adjustment lever 12d and the adjustment lever 16a are colored in different colors. is doing. Specifically, at the time of molding the adjusting lever, the adjusting levers 12d and 16a are mixed with different color pigments or colored, or one of the adjusting levers is left in a natural color, and the other adjusting lever The resin material is colored by mixing pigments of different colors.

Accordingly, in the state in which the direct stack type product storage rack 5 is pulled out from the vending machine of FIG. 2, the adjustment lever 16a for adjusting the passage width and the stopper height adjustment of the bend mechanism 12 arranged on the front side of the rack corresponding to each column. The control lever 12d can be easily distinguished visually by the color of the handle.
Therefore, when changing the sales product to a different size with the vending machine at the location, even if the user is unfamiliar with the adjustment operation of the vending machine, the width of the aisle can be adjusted according to the size of the stored product without mistaking the adjustment lever , And the adjustment work of the stopper height of the bend mechanism can be accurately performed, and the serviceability to the user can be improved.

  In addition, the workability of adjustment in a dark place can be improved by kneading or applying the phosphorescent paint to the plastic raw material for molding each handle.

The front view of the principal part of the direct product type goods storage rack to which this invention is applied Overall configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with a direct product storage rack FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the direct-product-type product storage rack in FIG. Rack internal structure diagram in FIG.

5 Direct product type product storage rack 10 Rack case 11 Partition wall 12 Bend mechanism 12a Flapper 12b Stopper 12c Height adjustment mechanism operation part 12d Adjustment lever 14 Column 15 Movable side plate 16 Path width adjustment mechanism operation part 16a Adjustment lever 18 Product

Claims (2)

A vending machine direct-stacking type product storage rack in which products are stacked and stored in a row in a product storage column defined in a box-shaped rack case, and dropped and transported in order from the lowest product by operation of a bend mechanism. A movable side plate that adjusts the product passage width of the column and the adjustment mechanism inside the side wall of the rack case facing the mechanism, and an adjustment lever of the passage width adjustment mechanism, and a stopper height adjustment mechanism of the bend mechanism In what has been arranged by pulling the handle of the adjustment lever to the front side of the rack case,
A direct-loading type product storage rack for a vending machine, wherein the adjustment lever of the passage width adjustment mechanism and the handle of the adjustment lever attached to the bend mechanism are color-coded in different colors. The direct product type product storage rack according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment lever of the passage width adjusting mechanism and the handle of the adjustment lever of the bend mechanism are both made of plastic.

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