JP2867746B2 - 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 vending machine for storing goods in a goods storage section inside a rack, and more particularly to an improved vending machine capable of reliably closing a rack door.

[0002]

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a vending machine according to the prior art. 4A and 4B are configuration diagrams showing a detailed configuration of the rack in FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan sectional view, and FIG. 4B is a partially cutaway front view. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the rack in FIG. 4 with the rack door opened and viewed from the front with the rack door closed. 3 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a rack for storing a product therein, and 2 denotes a rack case having an opening 2a on the front surface, an opening 2b on the lower surface, and a product storage portion 2c inside. Reference numeral 3 denotes a guide body which supports the product 4 and is formed spirally in the same relationship as, for example, a right-handed screw. The upper end of the guide body starts from the upper portion of the rack case 2 and spirals downward in the product storage portion 2c. The lower end reaches the lower part of the rack case 2. The guide body 3 is supported by spokes 6 on a drive shaft 5, and the drive shaft 5 is rotated by a drive motor 7, for example, in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above. Numeral 8 is formed in a U-shape, and is disposed below the opening 2a side of the rack case 2 so that the lower end of the rack case 2 and the lower end thereof substantially coincide with each other. It is a support plate to be done. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rack door, and a rack case 2
A gap H is provided between the rack case 2 and the upper plate when the rack case 2 is mounted on the rack case 2, so that the front opening 2a of the rack case 2 is closed. 9a, and the rack case 2 is provided with the hinge holes 9a.
And is mounted by an upper hinge 10 and a lower hinge 11 as supports.

Reference numeral 9b denotes a handle provided on the front of the door 9.
The upper hinge 10 has a shaft having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the hinge hole 9a, and is attached to the front end of the upper surface of the rack case 2. The lower hinge 11 is a molded product of a thin plate, and the thin plate is curled at the upper end thereof to form a shaft portion 11a having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the hinge hole 9a. It is fixed. The rack door 9 is supported by the upper hinge 10 and the lower hinge 11 so as to be rotatable about the center of the hinge hole 9a as a center of rotation and to be movable vertically in the range of the gap H. 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes a vending machine that accommodates a plurality of the racks 1. The vending machine 20 includes a main body case 21 and an outer door 26 that covers a front opening of the main body case 21. The rack 1 is disposed in a space surrounded by a heat insulating layer 22 provided in the main body case 21, and a loading door 23 having a heat insulating layer is provided on a front surface where the rack 1 is installed. At the lower part of the rack 1, a shooter 24 for sending the product 4 dropped from the rack 1 to a product outlet is installed, and a take-out door 25 is provided between the shooter 24 and the product outlet as necessary. A product outlet 27 for receiving the product 4 sent from the chute 24 is provided at a lower part of the shooter 24.

When the operator replenishes the vending machine with the commodity 4, the outer door 26, the loading door 23 is first opened, and the rack door 9 of the rack 1 is finally opened. To open the rack door 9, first, the rack door 9 is lifted using the handle 9 b within the range of the gap H so that the lower end thereof is positioned higher than the upper end of the support plate 8, and then the upper hinge 10
The rack door 9 is opened by rotating about the rotation center of the lower hinge 11. Subsequently, the product 4 is placed on the guide body 3,
refill. When the replenishment of the product 4 is completed, the rack door 9 is closed, and then moved downward by being guided by the upper hinge 10 and the lower hinge 11, and is fixed at a position where it is fitted into the support plate 8. 8 keeps the rack door 9 from opening. Subsequently, the loading door 23 and finally the outer door 26 are closed. When selling the product 4, the drive motor 7 of the rack in which the product 4 specified by the sales command is stored is rotated, and the products 4 placed on the guide body 3 are sequentially moved downward and placed below. The dropped pieces are dropped on the shooter 24 by the specified quantity. At this time, the product 4 moves downward while receiving a force in the lateral direction due to the friction existing between the product 4 and the guide body 3, so that the side plate of the rack case 2 and the rack door 9 receive the force from the inside by the product 4. However, since the front end of the door 9 is held by the support plate 8, the rack door 9 is not opened by this. In the description so far, the spiral type as the product support mechanism has been described. As another product support mechanism, there is a direct stacking method which is adopted for a case where the product is a paper pack product or the like. The direct stacking method is a method for sequentially stacking the products 4 in the product storage unit. If the stacking method is inappropriate, the products collapse and the rack door 9 receives the force from the inside from the inside, for example. However, also in this case, the door 9 is held by the support plate 8 at the front end thereof, so that the rack door 9 is not opened by this.

[0005]

In the vending machine according to the prior art described above, when the vending machine is refilled with commodities, the operator does not confirm that the rack door is closed, and the rack door is incompletely closed. If the loading door and the outer door are accidentally closed as it is, in the spiral method, when selling the product, the rack generated by the force generated due to the friction existing between the product and the guide body as described above. The door is forced by the product from the inside, and becomes half-open. In addition, even in the direct stacking method, when the stacking of the products is broken, the rack door is also subjected to the force from the inside by the products, and becomes a half-open state similarly to the spiral method. In such a state, the product moves to the rack door side and is caught in the middle, cannot fall on the shooter, and causes a so-called product jam or the like, which causes a problem that the product cannot be sold.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to improve a structure in which a rack door cannot be half-opened and to close a loading door and an outer door. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine in which a rack door is properly closed, thereby preventing a product from being jammed.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned objects are provided as follows.

[0008] 1) A rectangular parallelepiped rack case having openings on the front and lower surfaces and having a product storage portion therein, and a U-shaped rack case which is disposed at the lower part of the front surface of the rack case and has side surfaces. A support plate fixed to the side surface thereof, and a rectangular shape covering the front opening of the rack case, the upper portion and the upper portion of each of the rack case and the support plate being rotatable and vertically movable by a support on one side surface; A rack door supported at a lower portion, and when the rack door is closed, the rack door is first rotated around the center of rotation of the support, and when the rack door reaches the closed position, the rack door is moved to the support. A rack that guides and moves the rack door downward to be fixed at a position where the rack door fits into the support plate, and that holds the rack door at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate; In a vending machine in which a rack is housed in a main body case having an outer door on the front side, a door suspension body having a lower end protruding downward from the lower end of the rack door is provided at a lower front part of the rack door. The distance from one side of the door suspension to the center of rotation of the support is slightly longer than the distance between the center of rotation of the support and the front surface of the support plate, and the door suspension when the rack door is closed. Position of the front of the support plate is slightly inside the position of the front back of the support plate,

(2) In the means described in the item (1), this is achieved by forming a slope on the lower surface of the lower end portion of the door suspension at a position closer to the center of rotation of the support so as to be located lower.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a door suspension having a lower end protruding below the lower end of the rack door is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the rack door. The distance from one side of the support to the center of rotation of the support is slightly longer than the distance between the center of rotation of the support and the front surface of the support plate, and the position of the front surface of the door suspension when the rack door is closed is the support plate. When the rack door is moved to the closed position, the rack door is guided by the upper hinge and the lower hinge, moves downward, and fits on the support plate. The support plate is fixed at the front end and is not opened at the front end by the support plate. When the rack door is opened by 90 ° and moved to the fully open position, the rack door is lifted such that the lower end of the door suspension is higher than the upper end of the support plate. When the rack door moves to the fully open position, the rack door is no longer restricted by the door suspension, and the lower end of the rack door is lowered to a position where it is placed on the upper end of the support plate. At this position, the rack door is restricted by the door suspension, so that the rack door cannot be closed at the same height position. Therefore, the loading door and the outer door cannot be closed. In order to close the rack door, it is necessary to raise the lower end of the door suspension to a position higher than the upper end of the support, thereby closing the loading door and outer door with the rack door incompletely closed. Incorrect operation is prevented.

Further, in the present invention, as the above-described second configuration, a slope is formed on the lower surface of the lower end portion of the door suspension body such that the slope becomes lower as the position is closer to the center of rotation of the support. In addition to the operation of the first configuration, when the rack door is half open and the lower end of the door suspension is placed on the upper end of the support, the weight of the rack door is reduced by the lower end of the door suspension. Acting on the lower surface of the portion, the lower surface forms a slope under the above condition, a component force acts in the direction in which the rack door closes, closes the rack door, and after the rack door moves to the closed position, the rack door is Due to its own weight, it moves downward by being guided by the upper hinge and the lower hinge, moves to a position where it fits into the support plate, and is held at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate. The action is made automatically. As a result, an erroneous operation of closing the loading door or the outer door with the rack door incompletely closed is more reliably prevented.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are configuration diagrams showing a configuration of a rack of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a partial perspective view of a lower portion viewed from the front side, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a partial plan cross-sectional view of the front part in the case, and FIG. 10C is a partial plan cross-sectional view of the front part when the rack door is opened by 90 °. 3 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 denotes a door suspension provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the rack door 9, and a lower end 12 a thereof is disposed so as to project below a lower end 9 c of the rack door 9. The distance between the one side surface 12b and the center of rotation of each of the upper hinge 10 and the lower hinge 11 (the center of the circular hinge hole 9a of the rack door 9 is also the same). The upper hinge 10 and the lower hinge 11 are formed so as to be slightly longer than the distance between the respective rotation centers and the front surface of the support plate 8. Further, the door suspension body 12 is formed such that the position of the front surface 12c is slightly inside the front rear surface position of the support plate 8 when the rack door 9 is closed.

In the present invention, since the rack door 9 is moved to the closing position, the rack door 9 is moved to the upper hinge 10 and the lower hinge 11 as in the conventional example.
The support plate 8 moves downward and is fixed at a position where it is fitted into the support plate 8, and is held at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate 8. When the rack door 9 is opened by 90 ° and moved to the fully open position, the rack door 9 must be lifted so that the lower end 12 a of the door suspension 12 is higher than the upper end of the support plate 8. When the rack door 9 moves to the fully open position, the rack door 9 is
2, the lower end 9 of the rack door 9 is removed.
C is lowered to a position where it is placed on the upper end of the support plate 8. At this position, the rack door 9 is restricted by the door suspension 12, so that the rack door cannot be closed at the same height position. In order to close the rack door, it is necessary to raise the lower end of the door suspension to a position higher than the upper end of the support.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are configuration diagrams showing a configuration of a rack door of a vending machine according to a different embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a partial front view of a lower portion, and FIG. It is. The same parts as those in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and the conventional examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes a door suspension provided at a lower front portion of the rack door 9, and a lower end 13 a of the lower end 13 a protrudes below a lower end 9 c of the rack door 9. The difference from the door suspension body 12 of FIG. 1 is that the door suspension body 13 has a lower surface 13d formed with a slope 13d at the lower end 13a such that the closer to the center of the circular hinge hole 9a of the rack door 9, the lower the position is. The one side surface 13b, the front surface 13c, and the like are the same as the door suspension body 12b, 12c, and the like. With such a configuration, when the rack door 9 is closed and the rack door 9 is half-open and the lower end of the door suspension 13 is placed on the upper end of the support, the weight of the rack door is reduced. Acts on the lower surface of the lower end of the suspension, and the lower surface forms a slope under the above condition, so that a component force acts in the direction in which the rack door 9 closes, closes the rack door 9, and moves the rack door 9 to the closed position. After moving, the rack door 9 is moved by its own weight to the upper hinge 1.
0 and the lower hinge 11, move downward to a position where it fits into the support plate 8, and are held at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate 8. Is done automatically.

[0015]

According to the present invention, a door suspension having a lower end protruding below the lower end of the rack door is provided at the lower front part of the rack door, and one side of the door suspension is provided. The distance from the center of rotation of the support is slightly longer than the distance between the center of rotation of the support and the front surface of the support plate, and the position of the front surface of the door suspension when the rack door is closed is the position of the front back surface of the support plate. It was decided to be slightly inside. In addition, a slope is formed on the lower surface of the lower end of the door suspension, the lower the position is, the closer the position is to the center of rotation of the support. With this configuration, when the rack door is moved to the closed position, the rack door is guided downward by the upper hinge and the lower hinge, moves downward, and is fixed at a position where it fits into the support plate, and its front end is fixed. Is held so as not to be opened by the support plate. When the rack door is opened by 90 ° and moved to the fully open position, the rack door is lifted such that the lower end of the door suspension is higher than the upper end of the support plate. When the rack door moves to the fully open position, the rack door is no longer restricted by the door suspension, so that the lower end of the rack door is lowered to a position where it is placed on the upper end of the support plate. At this position, the rack door is restricted by the door suspension, so that the rack door cannot be closed at the same height position. Therefore, the loading door and the outer door cannot be closed. In order to close the rack door, an operation of lifting the lower end of the door suspension to a position higher than the upper end of the support is required. Further, in addition to these necessary operations, when the rack door is half-open and the lower end of the door suspension is placed on the upper end of the support, the weight of the rack door is reduced by the weight of the door suspension. Acts on the lower surface of the lower end of the rack, and the lower surface forms a slope under the above conditions, so that a component force acts in the direction in which the rack door closes, closes the rack door, and moves the rack door to the closed position. Under its own weight, the door is guided by the upper hinge and the lower hinge, moves downward, moves to a position where it fits on the support plate, and is held at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate. A series of operations are automatically performed. Thus, an erroneous operation of closing the loading door or the outer door while the rack door is incompletely closed can be reliably prevented, and the effect of preventing the product from being jammed due to the half opening of the rack door can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a rack of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a rack door of a rack of a vending machine according to a different embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of a vending machine according to the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a detailed configuration of a rack in FIG. 3;

5 is a perspective view showing the rack in FIG. 4 with the rack door opened and viewed from the front with the rack door closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 rack 2 rack case 8 support plate 9 rack door 9a hinge hole 9c lower end 12 door suspension body 12a lower end 12b one side surface 12c front surface 13 door suspension body 13d slope

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rectangular parallelepiped rack case having openings on the front and lower surfaces and having a product storage portion therein, and a U-shaped rack case which is disposed at a lower portion of the front of the rack case and has a side surface. A support plate fixed to the side surface thereof, and a rectangular shape covering the front opening of the rack case, the upper portion and the upper portion of each of the rack case and the support plate being rotatable and vertically movable by a support on one side surface; A rack door supported at a lower portion, and when the rack door is closed, the rack door is first rotated around the rotation center of the support, and guided to the support when the rack door reaches the closed position. A rack for moving the rack door downward and fixing it at a position where it fits into the support plate, and holding the rack door at its front end so as not to be opened by the support plate. In a vending machine housed in a main body case having an outer door on a front side, a door suspension having a lower end protruding downward from a lower end of the rack door is provided at a lower front part of the rack door. The distance from one side of the stopper to the center of rotation of the support is slightly longer than the distance between the center of rotation of the support and the front surface of the support plate, and the front surface of the door suspension when the rack door is closed. Characterized in that the position of the vending machine is slightly inside the position of the front and back of the support plate. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the lower end portion of the door suspension is formed with a slope that is lower as the position is closer to the center of rotation of the support. Vending machine