JP2022007258A - Commodity take-out port structure of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a purchaser to take out a commodity from a commodity take-out port without touching a commodity take-out door.SOLUTION: A commodity take-out port structure of an automatic vending machine includes a commodity take-out port 28 formed on a customer side of an automatic vending machine main body (11, 12) and a commodity take-out door 29 for opening/closing the commodity take-out port 28. The commodity take-out port structure includes an opening/closing mechanism part 30 for moving the commodity take-out door 29 toward an opening direction to open the commodity take-out port 28 when input operation is made with respect to an operation part 40 provided on the customer surface while allowing the commodity take-out door 29 to close the commodity take-out port 28 in a normal state. It is preferable that the commodity take-out door 29 is pivotally supported in a swingable manner along the longitudinal direction so as to open the commodity take-out port 28 when it is swung forward and close the commodity take-out port 28 when it is swung backward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a product outlet structure of a vending machine that sells products.

Conventionally, in a vending machine that sells products, the products selected from the product rack inside the vending machine main body are paid out to a predetermined product extraction area on condition that proper monetary processing has been performed. Was there.

As a result, the purchaser of the product swings in the direction of opening the product take-out door that opens and closes the product take-out door formed on the front surface of the vending machine body, and then inserts a hand from the product take-out door to take out the product. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-238077

By the way, in the above vending machine, an unspecified number of people can be the purchasers of the products, and it is general that each purchaser manually swings the vending machine in the direction of opening the product take-out door. Therefore, the product outlet door was touched by an unspecified number of people, which was not hygienic.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product outlet structure of a vending machine that allows a purchaser to take out a product through a product outlet without touching the product outlet door.

In order to achieve the above object, the product outlet structure of the vending machine according to the present invention includes a product outlet formed on the customer service surface of the vending machine main body and a product outlet for opening and closing the product outlet. It is a product outlet structure of a vending machine provided with, and under normal conditions, the product outlet door allows the product outlet to be closed, while the operation unit provided on the customer service surface is provided. It is characterized by including an opening / closing mechanism portion that moves the product take-out door in the opening direction to open the product take-out port when an input operation is performed.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the product outlet structure of the vending machine, the operation unit is provided at the lowermost part of the customer service surface.

Further, according to the present invention, in the product outlet structure of the vending machine, when the product outlet door is pivotally supported so as to be swingable along the front-rear direction and swings forward, the product outlet is opened. It is characterized in that the product outlet is closed when the product is opened while swinging backward.

Further, in the product outlet structure of the vending machine, the present invention allows the product outlet door to close the product outlet by the weight of the product outlet door under normal conditions. On the other hand, when the input operation is performed on the operation lever of the operation unit, the product take-out door is swung forward to open the product take-out outlet.

According to the present invention, the opening / closing mechanism allows the product outlet door to close the product outlet under normal conditions, while the input operation is performed on the operation unit provided on the customer service surface. Since the product outlet is opened by moving the product outlet door in the opening direction, the purchaser can perform the input operation with the toes of the foot instead of the hand, and the product outlet can be operated only by the input operation to the operation unit. There is no need to touch the product take-out door because it can be opened. Therefore, there is an effect that the purchaser can take out the product through the product outlet without touching the product take-out door.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vending machine to which the product outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the product outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the product outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the opening / closing mechanism portion shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the opening / closing mechanism portion shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the operation unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the operation unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the operation of the opening / closing mechanism shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the product outlet structure of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vending machine to which the product outlet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine 1 illustrated here is configured to include a main body cabinet 10.

The main body cabinet 10 is a rectangular housing having an opening on the front surface. Although not clearly shown in the figure, a plurality of product storages having a heat insulating structure are defined inside the main body cabinet 10, and each product storage is provided with a product rack. The product rack has a product storage passage extending along the vertical direction, and the product is stored in the product storage passage along the vertical direction. In addition, an evaporator is installed in the product storage. The evaporator constitutes a refrigerating cycle that circulates a refrigerant with a compressor, a condenser, or the like, and cools the surrounding air by evaporating the passing refrigerant. The air cooled by the evaporator in this way is driven by a blower fan installed in the product storage to circulate inside the product storage and cool the products stored in the product rack.

The main body cabinet 10 is provided with a front door 11 that opens and closes an opening on the front surface so as to be swingable on the left side edge portion on the front side of the main body cabinet 10. The front door 11 constitutes a vending machine main body together with the main body cabinet 10, and the front surface thereof constitutes a customer service surface.

An exhibition room 12 is provided in front of the front door 11. The exhibition room 12 is for displaying a plurality of product samples 13 inside, and is configured in a rectangular shape with an open front surface. In the exhibition room 12, a plurality of stages 14 are provided in the vertical direction (three stages in the example of FIG. 1), and a plurality of product samples 13 are erected side by side in each stage 14.

The front opening of the exhibition room 12 is covered with a transparent resin panel 15, which prevents foreign matter from entering from the outside, while allowing the inside to be visually recognized through the resin panel 15. Further, the resin panel 15 is provided with a product selection button 16 corresponding to each of the product samples 13. That is, three product selection button groups 17 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction so as to correspond to the stage 14.

Below the exhibition room 12 in front of the front door 11, a coin slot 21, a bill insertion slot 22, a card reading / writing unit 23, a display unit 24, a coin return port 25, a short-range wireless communication unit 26, and an advertisement arrangement are placed. A section 27 and a product outlet 28 are provided.

The coin slot 21 is an opening for a purchaser (user) to insert coins. The denomination of coins inserted through the coin insertion slot 21 is determined by a coin mech (not shown) installed on the rear surface of the front door 11, and then the coins are stored in the coin collection box.

The bill insertion slot 22 is an opening for the purchaser to insert a bill. The denomination of the bill inserted through the bill insertion slot 22 will be identified by the bill variability data (not shown) installed on the rear surface of the front door 11. Further, the bill insertion slot 22 has a function for returning bills that could not be identified in the bill variability data.

The card reading / writing unit 23 is for reading or writing card information. The display unit 24 displays each information such as the amount of money (coin or money) inserted, whether or not it is on sale, and the like.

The coin return port 25 is an opening for returning coins that could not be identified in the coin mech or coins that can be changed. The short-range wireless communication unit 26 communicates with a mobile terminal device or an electronic money card held in a predetermined communication area by using a short-range wireless communication means. The advertisement placement unit 27 is for installing an advertisement panel.

The product outlet 28 is a rectangular opening for the purchaser to take out the purchased product. At the upper ends of the left and right side edges of the product outlet 28, a product outlet door 29 swingably supported along the front-rear direction is provided. The product outlet door 29 is for opening and closing the product outlet 28, and opens the product outlet 28 when swinging forward, while opening the product outlet 28 when swinging backward. 28 is to be closed. Then, the product take-out door 29 closes the product take-out outlet 28 when only its own weight acts.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an opening / closing mechanism portion 30 is provided at the left end portion of the product outlet 28. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the opening / closing mechanism portion 30 includes a mechanism main body 31 and a cam member 32.

The mechanism main body 31 is made of, for example, a resin material, and is attached to a member 291 that pivotally supports the left side of the product take-out door 29. The left side of the mechanism main body 31 is covered with a cover (not shown).

The cam member 32 is formed of, for example, a resin material and has a rectangular shape. The cam member 32 is provided so as to be displaceable along the vertical direction between the mechanism main body 31 and the cover. Further, the cam member 32 is formed with two elongated holes 321 and 322 at the top and bottom.

The elongated hole 321 on the upper side has a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and a protrusion 33c of a crank 33 attached to the left end portion of the swing shaft 29a of the product take-out door 29 enters. Here, the crank 33 is directed to the left toward the extending end portion of the extra-diameter extending portion 33b extending in the extra-diameter direction of the swinging shaft 29a from the crank base 33a attached to the left end portion of the swing shaft 29a. A protruding rod-shaped protrusion 33c is formed.

The lower elongated hole 322 has a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction like the upper elongated hole 321 and is formed slightly forward of the upper elongated hole 321. A slit 322a extending to the lower end of the cam member 32 is formed in a part of the lower edge portion of the lower elongated hole 322. One end WC1 of the wire cable WC protruding upward from the wire guide 34 attached to the mechanism main body 31 enters the lower elongated hole 322 via the slit 322a.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, such an opening / closing mechanism unit 30 is linked to the operation unit 40 through the wire cable WC. As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 40 is provided at the lowermost part of the front surface of the front door 11. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation unit 40 has an operation base 41 and an operation cover 42.

The operation base 41 is formed by processing, for example, sheet metal or the like, and is attached to the lowermost portion of the front surface of the front door 11. A shaft support piece portion 411 and a guide support piece portion 412 are formed on the operation base portion 41.

The shaft support piece portion 411 is a pair of upper and lower parts formed by cutting up the tongue piece-shaped part forward on the right side of the operation base 41. A shaft support hole is formed in each of the pair of upper and lower shaft support piece portions 411, and the lever shaft portion 431 of the operating lever 43 is inserted into the shaft support hole to support the shaft.

The operating lever 43 is supported by the shaft support piece portion 411 so as to be swingable around the central axis of the lever shaft portion 431. The operating lever 43 has a lever base portion 432 on the left side of the lever shaft portion 431 and a lever acting portion 433 on the right side of the lever shaft portion 431. The lever acting portion 433 is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the lever base portion 432, and specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lever base portion 432 is to the left with respect to the lever shaft portion 431. When extending toward, the lever acting portion 433 extends in a manner of gradually inclining forward from the lever shaft portion 431 toward the right.

The guide support piece portion 412 is formed by cutting up and bending the tongue piece-shaped portion rearward on the left side of the operation base 41, and the wire guide 44 is attached to the guide support piece portion 412. The other end WC2 of the wire cable WC protruding forward from the wire guide 44 enters and is supported by the slit-shaped portion 432a formed in the lever base 432.

The operation cover 42 is formed by processing, for example, sheet metal or the like, and has an opening on the rear surface. Such an operation cover 42 is fastened to the operation base 41 by a fastening member such as a screw (not shown) while the locking claw 42a formed on the rear surface of the top plate portion enters the locking hole 41a of the operation base 41. As a result, the lever acting portion 433 is exposed to cover the front region of the operating base portion 41.

The wire cable WC that connects the opening / closing mechanism portion 30 and the operation portion 40 is stretched via a guide roller or the like (not shown), and the product take-out door 29 closes the product take-out port 28 by its own weight. In this case, the operating lever 43 has a posture in which the lever base 432 extends to the left from the lever shaft 431 and the lever acting portion 433 gradually tilts forward as the lever acting portion 433 moves to the right from the lever shaft 431. (See Fig. 6). That is, the opening / closing mechanism portion 30 normally allows the product take-out door 29 to close the product take-out outlet 28 due to the weight of the product take-out door 29.

Then, the purchaser who inserts the predetermined coin and presses the product selection button 16 presses the lever acting portion 433 exposed by the toes of the foot or the like backward after the selected product is paid out. As shown by the arrows in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operating lever 43 swings so that the lever base 432 moves forward, and the other end WC2 of the wire cable WC is displaced forward. It will be.

As a result, in the opening / closing mechanism portion 30, one end portion WC1 of the wire cable WC is displaced downward, and as shown in FIG. 8, the cam member 32 is displaced downward. As a result of the cam member 32 being displaced downward in this way, the protrusion 33c of the crank 33 that has entered the upper elongated hole 321 is also displaced downward, and as a result, the product take-out door 29 is shown in FIG. As indicated by the arrow of, the product swings forward to open the product outlet 28. That is, when an input operation is performed on the operation lever 43 of the operation unit 40, the opening / closing mechanism unit 30 swings the product take-out door 29 forward to open the product take-out outlet 28.

As a result, the purchaser can take out the purchased product from the product outlet 28 to be opened without touching the product take-out door 29. After taking out the purchased product, when the purchaser releases the input operation to the operation lever 43 (the operation of pressing the lever acting portion 433 backward with the toes of the foot or the like), the product take-out door 29 due to its own weight. It swings toward the rear and closes the product outlet 28. Further, the cam member 32 is displaced upward due to the rearward swing of the product take-out door 29, and one end portion WC1 of the wire cable WC is displaced upward according to the upward displacement of the cam member 32. The other end WC2 of the WC is displaced rearward. As a result, the operating lever 43 swings so that the lever base 432 swings backward and the lever acting portion 433 swings forward, and returns to the posture shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As described above, according to the product outlet structure including the product outlet 28, the product take-out door 29, and the opening / closing mechanism portion 30, the opening / closing mechanism portion 30 normally has the product due to the weight of the product take-out door 29. When the take-out door 29 allows the product take-out port 28 to be closed, while an input operation is performed on the operation lever 43 of the operation unit 40 provided at the lowermost part of the front surface of the front door 11. Since the product take-out door 29 is swung forward to open the product outlet 28, the purchaser can perform an input operation with the toes of the foot instead of the hand, and the product can be input only by the input operation to the operation unit 40. Since the take-out port 28 can be opened, there is no need to touch the product take-out door 29. Therefore, the purchaser can take out the product through the product outlet 28 without touching the product take-out door 29. As a result, it can be made excellent in hygiene.

According to the above-mentioned product outlet structure, since the product take-out door 29 is swung in the opening direction by an input operation by the purchaser, a drive device for swinging the product take-out door 29 is not required, and the product is expensive. Is not required, so it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the wire cable WC is displaced and swung in the direction of opening the product take-out door 29 by the input operation to the operation unit 40, but in the present invention, the motor is corrected by the input operation to the operation unit 40. It may be rotationally driven to swing in the direction of opening the product take-out door, and when the input operation to the operation unit is released, the motor may be driven in reverse rotation to swing in the direction of closing the product take-out door. This also allows the purchaser to take out the product through the product outlet without touching the product take-out door.

In the above-described embodiment, the product outlet door 29 swings in the closing direction due to its own weight to close the product outlet 28, but in the present invention, in the normal state, the urging force of the urging means acts. Then, the product take-out door closes the product take-out door, and when an input operation is performed to the operation unit, the product take-out door is swung in the direction of opening against the urging force of the urging means. It may be a thing.

In the above-described embodiment, the product outlet 28 is opened and closed by swinging the product outlet door 29, but in the present invention, the product outlet can be opened and closed by sliding the product outlet door. good.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation unit 40 is provided at the lowermost part of the front surface (customer service surface) of the front door 11, but in the present invention, the operation unit is provided at the lowermost part if it is provided on the customer service surface. It does not have to be provided in. That is, the operation unit may be provided at a height position where the purchaser can perform an input operation with an elbow or the like.

1 ... Vending machine, 10 ... Main body cabinet, 11 ... Front door, 28 ... Product outlet, 29 ... Product take-out door, 30 ... Opening and closing mechanism, 31 ... Mechanism main body, 32 ... Cam member, 321, 322 ... Long hole , 33 ... crank, 33c ... protrusion, 40 ... operation part, 41 ... operation base, 411 ... shaft support piece, 412 ... guide support piece, 42 ... operation cover, 43 ... operation lever, 431 ... lever shaft part, 432 ... Lever base, 433 ... Lever working part, WC ... Wire cable, WC1 ... One end, WC2 ... The other end.

Claims (4)

The product outlet formed on the customer service side of the vending machine body,
It is a product outlet structure of a vending machine provided with a product outlet door for opening and closing the product outlet.
Under normal conditions, the product take-out door is allowed to close the product take-out door, while the product take-out door is opened when an input operation is performed on the operation unit provided on the customer service surface. The product outlet structure of the vending machine is provided with an opening / closing mechanism for opening the product outlet by moving the product to the door. The product outlet structure of a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is provided at the lowermost portion of the customer service surface. The product take-out door is pivotally supported so as to be swingable along the front-rear direction, and opens the product outlet when swinging forward, while the product take-out door swings backward. The product outlet structure of the vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outlet is closed. Under normal conditions, the opening / closing mechanism allows the product take-out door to close the product take-out door due to the weight of the product take-out door, while the input operation is performed on the operation lever of the operation unit. In this case, the product outlet structure of the vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the product outlet door is swung forward to open the product outlet.

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