JP2567588Y2 - Cup unloading device for cup-type vending machines - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cup discharging device for a cup-type vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vending machines have been remarkably popularized mainly by beverage vending machines. The beverage vending machines include cans, bottles, cups, and the like. Here, cup-based vending machines will be taken as conventional examples.

Conventionally, in a cup-type vending machine in which beverages such as coffee and juice are poured out into a cup and provided, a cup unloading device for supplying cups one by one to a predetermined selling position based on a sales order is required. . In order to store and supply a large number of cups, this cup unloading device usually has a plurality of cups stacked in a row of cups, and a delivery mechanism for delivering cups one by one from these cup rows. From the cup row.
The mainstream is a system that separates individual products and drops and supplies them to a sales position.

Conventionally, as this type of cup unloading device, there is a cylindrical device having a plurality of cup storage portions as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-43316,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 197890 proposes an apparatus having an elliptical storage section, but all of them are of a rotary type, so that a dead space exists around the outer periphery of the cylindrical section and near the center of rotation. As a result, there is a problem that the number of cups to be accommodated is small in spite of the external dimensions, and this has to be solved by some method.

In order to solve these problems, FIG. 7 shows a cup supply apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-39815 in which the storage section is made square to improve the storage efficiency. In the figure, a cup rail 2 is provided for placing a plurality of stacked cup rows 1 adjacent to each other in a linear and slidable manner.
The cup row 1 is guided to the cup unloading mechanism by moving the cup row 1 forward and dropping the cup row 1 unit.
In a cup supply device for separating and discharging cups one by one from a cup rail, a cup push plate 3 is provided above a cup rail 2 so as to be movable vertically and along the cup rail 2. A sprocket 4 having an upper surface in contact with the bottom surface of the cup row 1 and moving the cup row 1 forward during rotation; and a cup push plate 3 and a sprocket 4 connected to the sprocket 4 via a chain 5 as an interlocking mechanism. And a cup feed motor 6 for synchronously driving the cups 1 in the direction in which the cup row 1 moves forward.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the mechanism for driving the cup push plate 3 for pushing the cup row 1 on the cup rail 2 forward, that is, the chain 5, the sprocket 4, and the like, are not provided. A space for storing the cup is required, and the depth is slightly larger than the diameter of the cup. Therefore, there is no dead space in the left-right direction in which the cup row 1 moves. And there was room for improvement on the whole.

Further, in this apparatus, when the cup row 1 is moved and the stored cup row 1 is reduced and the cup row 1 is refilled, the motor 6 is reversed by the changeover switch to push the cup. It is necessary to move the plate 3 to the right, and after the replenishment, in order to prevent the refilled cup row 1 from falling left and right, the motor 6 is rotated forward to move the cup push plate 3 to the left and refill. It must be stopped at the position where the cup push plate 3 abuts the right end of the cup row 7.

Such an operation is actually a troublesome operation, and the operation of stopping the cup push plate 3 at the position where it abuts the right end of the cup row 1 in the above-described cup row refilling operation requires some skill. Therefore, there was a problem regarding operability.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide a cup unloading device which further reduces dead space and improves operability when filling a cup row.

[0010]

The cup discharging device of the cup type vending machine according to the present invention has a driven pulley supported on one end inside an endless belt below the body of the cup discharging device and a driven pulley supported on the other end. A conveyor device including a driving pulley, a belt drive motor connected to the driving pulley, a cup outlet separated from a shaft support end of the conveyor device, and a semicircular shape extending vertically above the outlet. Cup separation drum,
The upper and lower ends of the cup separating drum are rotatably supported at the center of the semicircular shape of the cup separating drum, and a hollow gear provided around the outer periphery of the lower end of the semicircular portion of the cup separating drum; A drum drive motor for rotating the cup separation drum, a control switch for controlling the operation of the belt drive motor, and a control device for controlling the rotation of the belt drive motor and the drum drive motor via the control switch; A guide rail fixed above the main body relative to the conveyor device, a cup row push plate suspended from the guide rail and slidable left and right, and a wire rope having one end engaged with the cup row push plate, A fixed pulley rotatably mounted on the body at the other end of the wire rope, and a tension spring respectively engaged with the other end of the wire rope and a lower portion of the body. It is those made.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the cup separating drum normally waits with the opening of the semicircular portion facing forward. Then, a cup row in which a plurality of cups are stacked is inserted from the opening. Thereafter, the cup rows are sequentially placed on the endless belt from the cup separating drum side, and the cup row filling operation is completed. Then, as a normal selling operation, the cups are unloaded by sequentially separating and dropping the cup rows in the cup separating drum from below by a delivery device arranged below the cup separating drum.

After that, when the row of cups in the cup separating drum is eliminated by the feeding device, the drum drive motor is energized by a cup detecting switch incorporated in the feeding device, and the cup separating drum is rotated by 90 ° to control. Stop by switch. Thereby, the opening of the semicircular portion of the cup separating drum is made to stand by toward the endless belt side, and the endless belt is transferred to the cup separating drum side by the belt driving motor by the control switch, so that the The cup row moves to the cup separating drum side, and the cup row closest to the cup separating drum separates from the endless belt, and falls and is stored in the cup separating drum.

Then, the cup detecting switch is actuated by the dropped cup row, the cup separating drum is further rotated by 270 °, stopped again by the control switch, and preparation for the selling operation by the sending device is completed again.

As described above, the row of cups on the endless belt is transferred into the cup separating drum by the same operation.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cup discharging device of a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the upper part of FIG. 1 when the cup separating drum is in a normal standby state, FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the upper part of FIG. 1 when the cup separating drum is rotated by 90 °, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a control circuit diagram of the control circuit shown in FIG.

1 to 6, reference numeral 8 denotes a main body constituted by a frame, and a driven pulley 9 disposed as a conveyor device 8a at a lower portion of the main body 8, and a moving vehicle disposed separated from the driven pulley 9. A pulley 10 is rotatably supported by a belt support plate 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes an endless belt which is stretched between the driven pulley 9 and the driven pulley 10. A belt drive motor 13 is connected to the driving pulley 10 by a gear 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a semicircular cup separating drum disposed on the side of the driven pulley 9, extending vertically, and having its upper and lower ends rotatably supported. Reference numeral 16 denotes a hollow gear, which is provided around the lower end of the cup separating drum 15.

The outer periphery of the hollow gear 16 is provided with a gear portion 16a for receiving rotational power. Reference numeral 17 denotes a drum drive motor. A drive gear 18 for transmitting rotation to the hollow gear 16 is mounted on the output shaft 17a, and is engaged with a gear portion 16a of the hollow gear 16. Reference numeral 19 denotes a delivery device, which is mounted on a discharge port 20 disposed directly below the cup separation drum 15 and rotates a full cycle cam 22 which is mounted on an output shaft 21a by a cup delivery motor 21 to make one rotation. Is detected, rotation is stopped, and cups are sequentially sent out. This is a conventionally well-known mechanism as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-39498, and its description is omitted.

Reference numerals 24A and 24B denote drum control switches.
Support shaft 15a fixed to the upper end of cup separation drum 15
The energization of the drum drive motor 17 is controlled by the cycle cam 25 attached to the shaft. Reference numeral 26 denotes a cup detection switch disposed below the cup separation drum 15, which detects the presence or absence of the cup row 1 a in the cup separation drum 15 by contacting and detaching the cup detection lever 26 a, and serving as a control switch for the belt drive motor 13. Control energization.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a guide rail fixed above the main body 8, and a cup row push plate 28 suspended from the guide rail 27.
A roller 28a that moves freely from side to side is rotatably mounted on the shaft. Reference numeral 29 denotes a wire rope, one end of which is engaged with the cup row push plate 28, and which is engaged with a constant pulley 30 which is rotatably mounted on the body 8 of the other end and stretched. An upper end of a tension spring 31 is engaged with the other end of the body 29, and a lower end thereof is engaged with a lower portion of the main body 8.
To the cup separation drum 15 side.

The operation of the cup unloading device configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a cup row 1a in which a plurality of cups are stacked
From the semicircular opening 15 a of the cup separation drum 15 and placed on the delivery device 19. Next, the cup row pressing plate 28 is pressed to the left, and another cup row 1 b is placed on the endless belt 12 between the cup row pressing plate 28 and the cup separation drum 15. While sequentially pressing the cup row push plate 28 to the left, the cup rows 1c-1
By placing f on the endless belt 12 in the same manner as described above, the filling operation of the cup row 1 is completed. At this time, the cup row pressing plate 28 abuts on the left side of the last filled cup row 1f and is constantly pressed rightward by the tension spring 31.

In this state, when the cup sending motor 21 of the sending device 19 is energized by a sales command, the cups are separated and dropped one by one from the cup row 1a and sent out. When the cup row 1a is lost by the above-described sending operation, the contact between the detection lever 26a of the cup detection switch 26 and the cup row 1a is released, whereby the cup detection switch 26 is operated, and the drum drive motor 17 is energized. The rotation of the drive gear 18 and the hollow gear 16 causes the cup separation drum 15 to rotate in the direction of arrow C. After the 90 ° rotation, the detection lever 24a of the drum control switch 24A rides on the peak 25a of the cycle cam 25 which is pivotally mounted on the upper end of the cup separation drum 15, and the rotation of the cup separation drum 15 is stopped. At the same time, the belt drive motor 13 is energized by the operation of the drum control switch 24B, and the cup rows 1b to 1
f moves rightward with the movement of the endless belt 12, and the cup row 1 b is separated from the endless belt 12 and stored in the cup separation drum 15, and is dropped and placed on the delivery device 19.

When the cup row 1b is placed on the delivery device 19, the cup row 1b and the cup detection switch 26 again come into contact with each other, so that the power supply to the belt drive motor 13 is stopped and the power supply to the drum drive motor 17 is performed again. The cup separating drum 15 is rotated in the direction of arrow C. And 270 °
After the rotation, the drum control switches 24A and 24B cause the detection lever 24a to enter the valley 25b of the cycle cam 25, and stop the rotation of the cup separation drum 15.

Such a series of operations is performed by the cup trains 1c to 1c.
By performing the process up to f, the cup rows 1 placed on the endless belt 12 are stored in the cup separating drum 15 and sent out one by one by the sending device 19.

It should be noted that when the cup separating drum 15 rotates by 270 °, the cup row 1b that enters the cup separating drum 15
It is expected that the collar of the next cup row 1c will engage with the collar of the next cup row 1b to prevent the cup row 1b from dropping into the delivery device 19.
This problem is solved by rotating while interrupting during the period. Further, the cup row 1 that has entered the cup separating drum 15 at the time of the feeding operation of the cup row 1 by the normal feeding device 19 also.
Move one cup at a time in order to fall down, but also in this case, since the cup separation drum 15 separates the two cup rows 1, there is no operation failure due to the engagement of the collars.

[0026]

According to the present invention, a driven pulley pivotally supported at one end inside the endless belt of the endless belt, a driven pulley pivotally supported at the other end, and a belt drive motor connected to the driven pulley are provided below the main body. A slidable conveyor device, a semicircular cup separating drum extending vertically above and below a cup discharge port separated from a shaft support end of the conveyor device, and upper and lower ends of the cup separating drum having a semicircular shape of the cup separating drum. A hollow gear rotatably supported at the center of the cup separating drum and provided around the lower end of the semicircular portion of the cup separating drum; a drum driving motor and a belt driving motor that are connected to the hollow gear to rotate the cup separating drum to rotate; Each control switch for controlling the operation, a guide rail fixed above the main body relative to the conveyor device, and a cup row push plate suspended from the guide rail and slidable left and right. A wire rope having one end engaged with the cup row push plate, a fixed pulley rotatably mounted on a body at the other end of the wire rope, and a wire pulley at the other end of the wire rope and a lower portion of the body, respectively. A tension spring engaged therewith, and a cup feeding device disposed immediately below the discharge port. Usually, the cup row in the cup separating drum is separated and dropped one by one by the cup feeding device, and each time a cup is sold. When the cup row in the cup separation drum runs out due to the sale, the cup separation drum is rotated by 90 ° and stopped in order to perform the replenishing operation, and another cup row filled and placed on the endless belt is conveyed by a conveyor device. The replenishing operation is completed by stopping the cup separating drum by rotating the cup separating drum by 270 ° and then stopping the cup separating drum.

With the cup discharging device configured as described above, the whole shape is rectangular, and the depth dimension is several mm larger than the diameter dimension of the cup, so that the cup can be efficiently stored with respect to the external dimensions. In addition, when filling the cups, the arrangement when storing the cups is in a straight line on the left and right, so that the filling operation is easy. In some cases, the left side of the remaining cup row is always filled, and so-called first-in first-out, in which old cups are sold first, is possible, and the practical effect is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cup discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the upper part of FIG. 1 in a normal standby state of the cup separation drum.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a main part in an upper part of FIG. 1 in a state where the cup separating drum is rotated by 90 °.

FIG. 5 is a control circuit diagram in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a control circuit diagram in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a conventional cup unloading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cup row 8 main body 9 driven pulley 10 driven pulley 12 endless belt 13 belt drive motor 14 gear 15 cup separation drum 16 hollow gear 17 drum drive motor 20 discharge ports 24A, 24B drum control switch 25 cycle cam 26 cup detection switch 27 guide Rail 28 Cup row push plate 29 Wire rope 30 Constant pulley 31 Tension spring

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A conveyor device comprising a driven pulley pivotally supported at one end inside an endless belt below a main body, a driving pulley pivotally supported at the other end, a belt drive motor connected to the driving pulley, and the conveyor. A semi-circular cup separating drum extending up and down above a cup discharge port separated from a shaft support end of the apparatus; and upper and lower ends of the cup separating drum rotatable around the center of the semi-circular shape of the cup separating drum. A hollow gear rotatably supported around the lower end of the semicircular portion of the cup separating drum, a drum driving motor connected to the hollow gear to rotationally drive the cup separating drum, and an operation of the belt driving motor A control device for controlling rotation of the belt drive motor and the drum drive motor via the control switch, and a control device fixed above the main body relative to the conveyor device. A worn guide rail, a cup row push plate suspended from the guide rail and slidable left and right,
A wire rope having one end fixed to the cup row push plate,
The wire rope comprises a constant pulley rotatably mounted on the body at the other end of the wire rope, and tension springs respectively engaged with the other end of the wire rope and a lower portion of the main body, and the wire rope is attached to the constant pulley. The cup discharge device of a cup-type vending machine, wherein the cup row pressing plate is slid and pressed by the urging of the tension spring when engaged.