JP2720922B2 - Food heating vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food heating vending machine which can automatically sell refrigerated or frozen foods such as hamburgers and the like and packaged foods which can be stored at room temperature. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there have been proposed vending machines for automatically heating and selling frozen foods having a long storage period by using a microwave oven.

FIG. 9 shows a vending machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-77191. A vending machine 80 has a freezing compartment 81, a bend rack 82 provided, and a product 83 stored therein. This product is received by the comb-shaped hand portion 85 of the robot hand 84 in accordance with the sales command, carried into the microwave oven 86 below the freezing chamber 81 and cooked. After heating, the product is taken out by the robot hand 84 and taken out 87 Is conveyed to the public.

[0004]

However, the transfer by the robot hand 84 increases the cost because the moving range of the robot is large and three-dimensional movement is required. Further, since a large freezer compartment door 88 that does not interfere with the hand unit 85 is provided because the hand unit 85 needs to be inserted into the freezer compartment 81, the flow of warm air and the flow of cool air are large, so that the size of the refrigerating apparatus needs to be increased. Further, there is a problem that the opening / closing mechanism of the long freezer compartment door 88 becomes large and complicated. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to simply and compactly convey a product stored in a storage by a plurality of conveying devices without requiring complicated movement.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a food heating vending machine of the present invention stores food at a temperature range of room temperature, refrigeration, freezing, etc., and has a plurality of bend racks inside. A bottom wall provided with a product exit at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product exit, a storage having a loading door, and pushing the food dropped on various places on the bottom wall to the product exit. A conveyer device for collecting, a food heating range in which a tray rack is provided on the inner surface of the door, located below the storage, a tray for placing the food, and a tray for placing the tray. Part, and the tray is located between the position of the commodity outlet, the position of the tray rack, and the carry-out position.
And an external transport device that moves the

[0006] Further, the in-compartment transfer device is characterized by comprising a front-rear pressing member moving back and forth and a left-right pressing member moving left and right.

[0007] Further, the outside transport device moves the tray up and down by linear motion and curved motion.

[0008] The door of the range may open leftward or rightward. Further, when the door of the range is opened, the tray rack of the range exists within the movement locus of the tray mounting portion of the external transport device.

Still further, the food is stored at a temperature range of room temperature, refrigeration, freezing, and the like, has a plurality of bend racks inside, and has a product outlet at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product outlet. A storage having a wall and a loading door;
An in-vessel conveying device for collecting foods falling on various places on the bottom wall at the product outlet, a food heating range located below the storage, and a tray rack provided on an inner surface of the door, and placing the foods thereon; The tray to be moved and the position of the product outlet The external transport device that moves the tray between the position of the tray rack and the unloading position, and pushes out the goods on the tray between the unloading position to the unloading position. It is characterized by having an unloading device.

Still further, the food is stored in a temperature range of room temperature, refrigeration, freezing, etc., a plurality of bend racks are provided inside, and a product outlet is provided at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product outlet is provided. A storage having a wall and a loading door;
An in-conveyor that collects food falling at various locations on the bottom wall at the commodity outlet, a food heating range located below the storage, and a tray rack provided on the inner surface of a left-opening door; And a transport device for moving the tray between the position of the commodity outlet, the position of the tray rack, and the unloading position, wherein the tray is the tray rack when heated. It is characterized in that it is mounted on

[0011]

According to the above construction, the goods that have fallen from the bend rack to the bottom wall are conveyed to the commodity outlet by the in-compartment conveying device, and put on the tray moved by the outside-conveying apparatus waiting at the commodity outlet. The tray and the food are placed on the tray rack of the range in which the door is open by the drive of the transporting device outside the refrigerator, and then the range is operated by closing the door, and after heating, the door is opened. The tray and the product are transported from the tray rack to the unloading position by driving the external transport device.

[0012] Further, the commodity that has fallen from the bend rack to the bottom wall is conveyed to the commodity outlet by a front-rear pushing member moving back and forth in the in-compartment conveying device and a left-right pushing member moving left and right. In addition, the external transport device moves the tray up and down by linear movement and curved movement to transfer the tray to and from the tray rack.

Further, the door of the microwave oven is opened and closed by opening left or right, and the tray is positioned at the open position of the door and within the range.

Further, when the door of the range is opened, the tray rack of the range exists within the movement locus of the tray mounting portion of the external transport device, and the tray is transferred.

Further, the goods on the tray between the unloading positions are pushed out to the unloading port by the unloading device.

Further, the tray on which the food is placed is placed on the tray rack of the microwave oven for food heating provided on the inner surface of the left-opening door, and in that state, the door is closed to be carried into the range. Is heated.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.
An outer door 5 having a carry-out door 4, a coin slot, a select button (none of which is shown), and the like, and a storage 5 for storing the product 2 therein and storing it in a freezing temperature zone, for example, are provided. Reference numeral 6 denotes a loading door provided on the front surface of the storage 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a heat-insulating box, reference numeral 8 denotes a bottom wall in the storage, and a cooling air passage 9, a cooler 10, and a fan 11 are disposed below the bottom. 12 is
A bend rack consisting of a spiral body 13 rotated by a motor (not shown) and a box-shaped column 14 stores the goods 2 between the spiral bodies 13 and drops the goods 2 by rotation of the spiral body 13. Things. Reference numeral 15 denotes a product outlet that is opened substantially at the center of the bottom wall 8 and is provided with a slide door 16.

Reference numeral 17 denotes an in-compartment transporting device which transports the goods sliding on the bottom wall 8 to the commodity outlet 15 falling from each bend rack 12, and includes a left-right pushing member 18 moving left and right and a front-rear pushing member 19 moving forward and backward. Have.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a microwave oven for heating food, which is installed in a machine room 22 below the storage 5 so that a left-opening door 21 faces the left side surface of the vending machine 1. On the inner wall of the door 21, a tray rack 24 for removably mounting a tray 23 for mounting the product 2 thereon is provided.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a tray 23 between the position of the commodity exit 15, the position of the carry-out exit 3, and the tray rack 24.
The tray 23 is detachably mounted on the tray and moves up and down by linear motion and curved motion.
A mounting section 26 is provided.

Reference numeral 27 denotes an unloading device which pushes out the goods on the tray 23 to the unloading port 3 between the unloading positions, and has a push piece 28 which reciprocates back and forth.

Next, a detailed configuration of each device will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. FIG. In FIG. 3, the in-compartment transfer device 12 has a carriage 29 to which the left and right pushing member 18 is fixed, which is movable in a guide rail 30, and a wire 31 for driving the carriage 29, and a left and right driving motor. 32, a non-contact type limit switch 33, and a wire pulley 34.

The carriage 35 to which the front-rear push member 19 is fixed is a guide rail portion 36.
It is provided so as to be movable inside, and has a wire 37 for driving the carriage 35, a front-rear drive motor 38, a non-contact type limit switch 39, and a wire pulley 40.
FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the in-compartment transport device, in which the length of the left-right pressing member 41 in the depth direction is the front bend rack 1.
It corresponds to two lengths. Reference numeral 42 denotes a front-rear push member having a substantially full width of the storage 5 and is moved by a carriage 44 which moves in guide rail members 43 provided on the left and right. A drive shaft 45 is driven by a front-rear drive motor 46. The parts having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description is omitted.

In FIG. 5, the door 21 of the microwave 20
As is well known, a door latch (not shown) is provided.
A door opening / closing mechanism 50 for opening / closing 1 by a four-bar link 49 is provided.

Referring to FIG. 6, a transfer device 25 outside the warehouse comprises a chain 5 which is engaged with a drive sprocket 52 which is rotated by a motor (not shown) on a substantially U-shaped frame 51.
3 A carrier 55 of a slide guide 54 is attached to the chain 53, and a vertically movable body 56 is fixed. The tray mounting section 26 is connected to the vertical moving body 56 by a parallel link 57. Also, the tray mounting section 26
A cam lever 60 which is engaged with a cam track 59 provided on the inner wall of the frame 51 is fixed to the bar 58 on the negative side of the parallel link 57 so as to perform linear motion and curved motion.
The cam track 59 is provided with a straight portion 61 that gives a linear motion to the tray mounting portion 26 and a curved portion 62 that gives a curved motion. A linear motion and a curved motion between the position of the carry-out port 3 and the tray 24 of the microwave oven 20 are performed. Reference numeral 63 denotes a guide hole formed in the tray mounting portion 26. The guide pin 64 of the two pairs of guide pins 64 and 65 provided on the lower surface of the tray 23 shown in FIG. Guide pin 65
Engages with the guide holes 66 (FIG. 2) of the tray rack 24 to perform positioning. Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

After the coin is inserted, when the commodity is selected (STEP 1), the spiral body 13 of the selected bend rack 12 is driven (STEP 2), and the door 16 is opened (STEP 3). By the ascending linear drive of the device 25, the tray 23 is raised to a position slightly below the bottom wall 8 through the product outlet 15 (STEP 4). At this time, the left and right pressing members 18 and the front and rear pressing members 19 of the in-compartment transfer device 17 are provided.
Are sequentially driven (in the case of the other embodiment of FIG. 4, the order of the front-rear push member 42 and the left / right push member 41 is reversed), and the bend rack 12
The dropped product 2 is guided to the product exit 15 and placed on the tray 23 (STEP 5). Next, the transporting device 25 outside the warehouse is turned down (STEP 6), and the tray on the tray placing portion 26 is moved.
23, deliver the product 2 onto the tray rack 24 of the door 21 in the open state. During this time, the closing operation of the door 16 (STEP 7),
The transfer device 17 in the warehouse is reset (STEP
8). Thereafter, the door 21 is closed and cooking is performed for a predetermined time (STEP 9). When the cooking is completed, the door 21 is opened (STEP 10), the transport device 25 outside the warehouse is swung up, and the tray 23 and the product 2 are placed again on the tray placing portion 26. Stop at (STEP1
1). Then, the carry-out device 27 is operated to push the product to the carry-out port 3 (STEP 12) and to transfer the product to a position where the product can be taken out. (STEP 13) Next, the effects of the above-described embodiment will be described.

In the in-compartment transfer device 12 shown in FIG. 3, a carriage 29 to which the left and right pressing members 18 are fixed is provided so as to be movable in a guide rail 30, and a wire 31 for driving the carriage 29 and a left and right driving motor are provided. Because of the configuration including the heater 32, the non-contact type limit switch 33, and the wire pulley 34, the wire 31 has flexibility against the icing of moisture that has invaded the inside of the refrigerator, so that the wire 31 is deformed during driving. Thereby, icing and peeling are easy and operation stability is high.

Further, in another embodiment of the in-compartment transfer device shown in FIG. Since the member 42 is provided, the front-rear drive motor
Since 46 and the like can be fixedly installed instead of a moving body, there is no need to strengthen the coating by moving the wiring code, which is advantageous in cost.

As shown in FIG. 5, the door 21 of the microwave oven 20 is provided with a door latch (not shown).
Since the door opening / closing mechanism 50 that opens and closes the door with the four-bar link 49 is provided, the operation timing and the operation speed can be easily adjusted.

The external transport device 25 in FIG.
A cam lever 60 that engages with a cam track 59 provided on the inner wall of the frame 51 is fixed to the bar 58 on the negative side of the parallel link 57 so that the mounting portion 26 performs linear motion and curved motion. The cam track 59 is provided with a straight portion 61 that gives a linear motion to the tray mounting portion 26 and a curved portion 62 that gives a curved motion. Since the linear movement and the curved movement between the position of the carry-out port 3 and the tray 24 of the microwave oven 20 are performed,
The product 2 can be transported while being kept horizontal, and its configuration is simple, so there is no need to set the motion trajectory by control like a robot, and the motion operation is extremely stable and realized at low cost. it can.

The guide hole 6 provided in the tray mounting portion 26
3, the guide pin 64 of the two pairs of guide pins 64 and 65 formed on the lower surface of the tray 23 shown in FIG. Since the positioning is performed by engaging with (FIG. 2), the tray 23 can be reliably supported regardless of whether the tray 23 is moved or stopped.

[0033]

According to the present invention, a product falling from the bend rack to the bottom wall is transported to the product outlet by the in-compartment transport device, and is moved by the external transport device waiting at the product outlet. The tray and the food are placed on the tray rack of the range in which the door is open by the drive of the external transport device, and then the door is closed.
The oven is operated, the door is opened after heating, and the tray and the goods are transported from the tray rack to the unloading position by the drive of the external transport device.

Therefore, the goods stored in the storage can be moved by a plurality of transporting devices without requiring complicated movements.
It can be transported compactly. Also, compared to the transfer by a robot hand, there is no need to make the moving range of the three-dimensional movement by the robot based on-, so that the cost is not increased, and further, there is no need to insert the hand part into the storage, and the hand part interferes. A large opening is not required, and a large amount of warm air flows in and a large amount of cool air flows out during refrigeration and storage of the refrigeration temperature.

Further, the product that has fallen from the bend rack to the bottom wall is transported to the product outlet by a front-rear push member that moves forward and backward and a left-right push member that moves right and left of the in-compartment transport device, so that the product is reliably delivered. To be protected in the upside and downside,
Compared with the conventional method in which the product is moved to a predetermined position by a slope, the vertical dimension can be reduced, the ineffective portion of the storage space can be reduced, and the storage amount can be increased. In addition, if the top and bottom are inverted, it is not convenient, for example, soup food can be handled, and there is no menu restriction.

The door of the microwave oven opens and closes left or right to open and close the tray so that the tray is located at the door opening position and within the range. There is no space above and below the door,
Good sfactor.

Also, when the door of the range is opened, the tray rack of the range exists within the movement locus of the tray mounting portion of the extra-conveying device, and the delivery of the tray is performed. Since a single transfer system is used, no separate transfer device into the range storage is required, and there is no fear of reversing the product.

Further, since the goods on the tray are pushed out to the carry-out port by the carry-out device between the carry-out positions, the goods are surely conveyed to the carry-out port irrespective of the change in the coefficient of friction of the package due to heating. it can.

Further, since the outside transfer device moves the tray up and down by linear movement and curved movement to transfer the tray and the tray, the layout of the position of the range and the exit position of the goods is performed. Is not restricted, and expansion of the machine room is prevented.

Furthermore, the tray on which the food is placed is placed on a tray rack of a microwave oven for food heating provided on the inner surface of the door that opens leftward, and in that state, the door is closed and carried into the range. Since heating is performed, visual check of operation is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a food heating vending machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the internal configuration of the food heating vending machine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the in-compartment transfer device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the in-compartment transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the microwave oven.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the external transport device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the tray.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the food heating vending machine of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a conventional food heating vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Commodity 5 Storage 6 Loading door 8 Bottom wall 12 Bend rack 15 Commodity outlet 16 Door 17 Carrier inside warehouse 18 Left and right pushing member 19 Front and rear pushing member 20 Range 21 Door 23 Tray 24 Tray rack 25 Outside carriage 26 tray mounting part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshito Kimura 3-22, Takaidahondori, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-273388 (JP, A) JP-A-Hei 3-77191 (JP, A)

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bottom wall for storing food at a temperature range of room temperature, refrigeration, freezing, etc., having a plurality of bend racks therein, and having a product outlet at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product outlet. A storage having a loading door, an in-compartment conveying device for pushing and collecting the food dropped on various places of the bottom wall to the commodity outlet, and a tray rack located below the storage and provided on an inner surface of the door. A tray for heating the food, a tray for placing the food, and a tray placing portion for placing the tray, between the position of the commodity outlet, the position of the tray rack, and the unloading position. 3. A food heating vending machine comprising: an external transport device for moving the tray. 2. The food heating vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the in-compartment transfer device comprises a front-rear push member moving back and forth and a left-right push member moving left and right. 3. The food heating vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the outside transport device moves the tray up and down by linear motion and curved motion. 4. The food heating vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the door of the range opens leftward or rightward. 5. The food heating vending machine according to claim 1, wherein when the door of the range is opened, the tray rack of the range exists within the movement locus of the tray mounting portion of the external storage transport device. 6. A bottom wall for storing food in a temperature zone such as room temperature, refrigeration, and freezing, having a plurality of bend racks therein, and having a product outlet at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product outlet. , A storage having a loading door, an in-compartment transfer device for collecting foods falling on various places of the bottom wall at the product outlet, and a tray rack located below the storage and provided on an inner surface of the door. A food heating range, a tray on which the food is placed, a commodity outlet position, an external transport device for moving the tray between a position of the tray rack, and a discharge position, and the discharge position A food heating vending machine provided with an unloading device for extruding the goods on the tray to an unloading port between them. 7. A bottom wall for storing food at a temperature range of room temperature, refrigeration, freezing, etc., having a plurality of bend racks inside, and having a product outlet at a predetermined location and a door for opening and closing the product outlet. , A storage having loading doors, an in-conveyor for collecting foods falling on various places on the bottom wall at the commodity outlet, and a door inner surface located below the storage and opening the tray rack to the left. And a tray for loading the food, a tray on which the food is placed, a commodity outlet, a tray rack, and a carry-out device for moving the tray between a position of the tray rack and a carry-out position. A food heating vending machine, wherein the tray is placed on the tray rack when heated.