JP3146725B2 - Spiral type product rack assembly structure of 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 an assembly structure for a spiral type product rack mounted on a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, a schematic configuration of a vending machine equipped with a spiral product rack to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIG.
Shown in In the figure, 1 is a vending machine cabinet,
2 is a front door, 3 is a product outlet provided on the front door 2, 4
Is a spiral-type product rack which is housed in the cabinet 1 in the cabinet 1 in a vertical manner.
Comprises an assembly of a shelf 5, a spiral 6 for carrying out a product placed on the shelf 5 and laid in the front-rear direction, and a bend motor 7 connected to the spiral 6.

[0003] The operation of unloading a product from such a spiral type product rack is well known, and the products 8 are stored one by one between the respective pitches of the spiral 6 during standby for sale. Here, the product rack 4 selected by the sales order
When the bend motor 7 starts and rotates the spiral 6, the product 8 is pitch-fed forward along the spiral 6 during one rotation of the spiral 6, and the product 8 in the front row is lined up.
Is carried out forward of the shelf 4 as shown by the dashed arrow, falls down the product passage in the machine, and is dropped into the product outlet 3. Then, when the product 8 is dropped into the product outlet 3, the customer can push open the outlet flapper 3a to take out the product 8 freely.

Next, FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show a conventional concrete assembling structure of the spiral type product rack 4. FIG. In the illustrated configuration, a pair of left and right spirals 6 is provided for each column defined on the shelf plate 5, and the product 8 is stored between the left and right spirals 6 and between pitches. The bend motor 7 is mounted on the back surface of the rear wall 5a of the shelf 5 standing up in an L-shape, and at this position, the motor drive shaft penetrates the rear wall 5a and protrudes forward. In addition, 5b is a partition wall between columns. on the other hand,
A disk-shaped coupling 9 is connected to the rear end of the spiral 6, and the coupling 9 is fitted to and connected to the shaft end of the bend motor 7. Further, the spiral 6 is held in place by a belt-like support guide 10 laid on the shelf 5 through a spiral wire. Note that the shelf 5 is supported so as to be able to be pulled out to the front of the cabinet 1 via a draw-out rail mechanism 11 for each stage.

When replenishing the commodity rack 4 with the commodity 8, the front door 2 (see FIG. 4) is opened and the shelf 5
Is pulled out to the front of the cabinet 1, and in this state, the goods 8 are loaded between the pitches of the spiral 6.

[0006]

However, the assembly structure of the spiral type product rack described above has the following drawbacks in terms of handling. (1) Since the bend motor 7 is fixedly incorporated in the shelf 5 for each stage, when the shelf 5 in each stage is pulled forward at the time of product replenishment or the like, the bend motor 7 is relatively moved together with the product rack 4. Since the heavy bend motor 7 also moves forward, the center of gravity of the entire vending machine shifts forward, the installation posture becomes unstable, and the cabinet 1 may fall.

(2) Since the bend motor 7 also moves with the operation of pulling out the product rack 4, the harness wired between the bend motor and the electrical box in the machine is provided with a sufficient margin to cope with this movement. In addition to the necessity of wiring, it is also necessary to take protective measures to prevent the hanging harness from getting tangled when the shelf board 5 is taken in and out, so that the wiring process is troublesome.

(3) When the bend motor 7 is separated from the shelf plate 5 at the time of maintenance inspection of the product rack 4 or the like, the connection between the bend motor 7 and the coupling 9 is released, so that the spiral 6 is in a free state and easily. Spin idle. As a result, the rotational phase angle of the spiral 6 deviates from the normal position, and when connecting with the bend motor 7 at the time of reassembly, a cumbersome adjustment operation for returning the rotational phase angle of the spiral 6 to the initial setting position is required. In particular, when two spirals are used side by side for each column as shown in FIG. 5, if the rotation phase angles of the spirals do not match each other between the spirals 6, pitch feed between the spirals is performed. , The product 8 cannot be loaded correctly, and the unloading operation is hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to prevent the installation posture of a vending machine from becoming unstable due to the movement of the center of gravity caused by pulling out a product rack. Another object of the present invention is to provide a spiral-type merchandise rack assembling structure of a vending machine with excellent handleability, in which even when the bend motor is separated from the shelf plate, the rotational phase angle of the spiral does not shift.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a shelf provided by connecting a shelf board housed in a cabinet of a cabinet via a drawer rail mechanism to a front and a coupling to a rear end. A vending machine comprising an assembly of a spiral for carrying out a product placed on a plate, a support guide for holding the spiral in a fixed position, and a bend motor arranged behind a shelf plate and connected to the coupling. In a spiral product rack, the bend motor is fixed to the inner wall of the cabinet so that the shelf can be separated from the bend motor and pulled out together with the spiral, and the spiral is stopped when the bend motor is disconnected, preventing the spiral from rotating. Locking means for restraining at the position of the rotational phase angle, the locking means is provided with a positioning key groove formed on the rear wall of the shelf. A guide key which is provided on the coupling opposite to the keyway, the coupling is characterized by comprising a spring member for pressing urged towards the rear wall of the shelf plate (claim 1).

As the spring member in the preceding paragraph, the rear end of a spiral support guide made of an elastic metal plate is bent into an L-shape to form a leaf spring, and the leaf spring presses and biases the coupling. (Claim 2).

[0012]

In the above configuration, when the shelf of the product rack is pulled out to the front of the cabinet at the time of refilling the product, the spiral is disconnected from the spiral while the heavy bend motor is left inside the machine. Therefore, since the movement of the center of gravity due to the pulling out of the product rack is reduced, there is no possibility that the cabinet of the vending machine falls.

When the spiral and the bend motor are disconnected from each other, the spiral is simultaneously prevented from idling by the function of the locking means, and held at a predetermined rotational phase angle.
When the shelf is pushed in, the spiral reproduces the rotational phase angle before separation and is connected to the bend motor. In addition,
Since the bend motor is fixedly supported in the cabinet, it is easy to dispose of the harness wired between the bend motor and the electrical box, and it is possible to prevent the harness from being entangled or caught in the shelf when the shelf is taken in and out.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same members corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bend motor 7 is separated from the shelf plate 5 and fixedly mounted on the wall surface of the back wall of the cabinet 1 via a mounting bracket described later. It is supported so as to be able to be pulled out to the front of the cabinet 1 via a draw-out rail mechanism (see FIG. 5).

Further, a rear wall 5a of the shelf 5 standing up in an L-shape.
A shaft hole 5b having a hole diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the boss 9a of the disc-shaped coupling 9 connected to the rear end of the spiral 6 is formed, and a keyway is formed around the shaft hole 5b. A notch 5c is formed, and a guide key 9b that fits into the key groove 5c is provided on the peripheral surface of the boss 9a of the coupling 9 so as to face the key groove 5c. Further, the spiral support guide 10 laid on the shelf 5 is made of a band-shaped elastic metal plate, and its front end is fixed to the shelf 5 and the rear end is L-shaped so as to stand up. To form a leaf spring portion 10a. The leaf spring portion 10a urges the coupling 9 toward the rear wall 5a of the shelf plate 5, and the leaf spring portion 10a and the shelf plate 5
The key groove 5c and the guide key 9b of the coupling 9 constitute a locking means for restraining the spiral 6 at a predetermined rotational phase angle position. Reference numeral 12 denotes a thrust collar attached to the front surface of the coupling 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Mounting bracket 1 for fixing to the back wall of the cabinet
3 and a flange 7c on the axis of a drive shaft 7b protruding forward from a gear box 7a of the motor.
Is provided. A self-propelled cam 15 is connected to the drive shaft 7b via a gear mechanism, and a switch 14 for detecting the rotational position of the motor is built in opposition to the self-propelled cam 15.

With such a configuration, as shown in FIG.
In a state in which the spiral plate 6 placed on the shelf plate by pushing the shelf plate 5 into the refrigerator is connected to the bend motor 7, the drive shaft 7 b protruding forward from the gear box 7 a of the bend motor 7 is attached to the rear wall 5 a of the shelf plate 5. The flange 7 provided on the shaft of the drive shaft 7b fits into the shaft hole 9c of the coupling 9 which penetrates the opened shaft hole 5b and is connected to the rear end of the spiral 6.
c pushes out the coupling 9 from behind, and the support guide 1
The coupling 9 is held so as to float above the rear wall 5a of the shelf 5 against the spring force of the leaf spring portion 10a. Therefore, when the bend motor 7 is started in this state, the spiral 6 rotates via the drive shaft 7b and the coupling 9. When the spiral 6 makes one rotation, the rotation position detection switch 14 incorporated in the motor operates to stop the bend motor 7, and during this time, the products stored between the pitches of the spiral 6 are fed forward by pitch and carried out. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the shelf 5 is pulled forward in the direction of the arrow P when refilling the product rack or the like, only the shelf 5 remains with the bend motor 7 inside the machine. Moves to disconnect the coupling 9 coupled to the spiral 6 from the drive shaft 7b of the bend motor 7. Moreover, at the same time as the separation between the bend motor 7 and the leaf spring portion 1 formed at the rear end of the support guide 10,
The coupling 9 connected to the spiral 6 is pressed and urged toward the rear wall 5a of the shelf plate 5 by the spring force f of 0a, and the boss 9a of the coupling 9 as shown in FIG. To the guide key 9 at this position.
b fits into the key groove 5c. Thereby, spiral 6
Is locked and restrained to the shelf 5 while maintaining the rotation phase angle immediately before disconnection from the bend motor 7. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the spiral 6 from running idle and the rotational phase angle from being shifted from the initial setting position when the shelf 5 is pulled out. When the shelves 5 are pushed into the refrigerator after the supply of the goods to the goods rack, the state shown in FIG. 1A is restored, and the coupling 9 of the spiral 6 and the bend motor 7 maintain the correct rotation phase angle. It is connected as it is.

[0019]

As described above, according to the rack assembly structure of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) When the shelf plate of the product rack is pulled out to the front of the cabinet, the heavy bend motor is separated from the spiral of the product rack while the heavy bend motor is left inside, so that there is no significant movement of the center of gravity. Therefore, the vending machine maintains a stable installation posture, and there is no possibility that the cabinet falls.

(2) When the spiral between the spiral of the product rack and the bend motor is cut off, the spiral is simultaneously held by the shelf plate while keeping the rotational phase angle before the cut off by the function of the spiral locking means, and the idling is prevented. Along with
When the shelf is pushed into the machine and the spiral is reconnected to the bend motor, an initial rotation phase angle is reproduced between the spiral and the bend motor. Therefore, the troublesome spiral adjustment work conventionally performed is unnecessary.

(3) Since the bend motor is fixedly mounted on the cabinet, it is easy to dispose of the harness wired between the motor and the electrical box in the machine, and the harness is entangled when the shelf board is taken in and out, and a disconnection accident is caused. Can be easily prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an assembling structure of a spiral type product rack and an operation thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) shows a state where a bend motor and a spiral of the product rack are connected, and (b) shows a shelf of the product rack. Diagram showing the board pulled out forward and separated from the bend motor

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of main parts shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a bend motor in FIG. 1;
Is a front view, (b) is a side view

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with a spiral type product rack.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are assembly structure diagrams of a conventional spiral-type product rack, wherein FIG. 5A is a front view and FIG. 5B is a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine cabinet 4 Spiral goods rack 5 Shelf 5a Rear wall 5c Keyway 6 Spiral 7 Bend motor 7b Drive shaft 9 Coupling 9b Guide key 10 Support guide 10a Leaf spring part 11 Pull-out rail mechanism 13 Bend motor mounting bracket

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shelf board housed in a cabinet of a cabinet via a pull-out rail mechanism for forward, a coupling for coupling a rear end and a spiral for carrying out goods placed on the shelf board; In a spiral-type merchandise rack of a vending machine comprising an assembly of a support guide for holding a spiral in a fixed position and a bend motor disposed behind a shelf and connected to the coupling, the shelf is separated from the bend motor together with the spiral. The bend motor is fixedly attached to the inner wall of the cabinet so that the spiral can be pulled out forward, and locking means is provided to prevent the spiral from running idle when the bend motor is disconnected and restrain the spiral at a position at a predetermined rotation phase angle. The locking means includes a positioning key groove formed in the rear wall of the shelf, and a guide key provided on the coupling opposed to the key groove. If, spiral product rack assembly structure of the vending machine, characterized by comprising a spring member for pressing urged toward the coupling to the rear wall of the shelves. 2. The rack assembly structure according to claim 1, wherein
The rear end portion of a spiral support guide made of an elastic metal plate is bent into an L-shape to form a leaf spring portion, and the coupling is pressed and urged by the leaf spring portion. Spiral type product rack assembly structure of vending machine.