JP3146833B2 - Serpentine-type product storage shelf for 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 serpentine type product storage shelf mounted on a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Serpentine-type product storage shelves mentioned above are known as product storage shelves for vending machines that sell can and bottle products. The structure of this serpentine product storage shelf is
As is well known, a merchandise passage meandering in the vertical direction, a bend mechanism installed at the lower discharge end of the meandering merchandise passage to control the merchandise discharge, and an opening at the front of the shelf connected to the upper end of the merchandise passage. And a rolling guide passage plate for a loaded product called a top tray, which is laid in a gentle backward tilting posture between the product loading port and the product loading port.

[0003] When a product to be replenished in the shelf is placed in a sideways posture from a product insertion port, the product rolls on the top tray and proceeds, and falls from the rear end into a meandering product passage. It is stored in a stackable manner. Further, at the time of sale, the products stored in the serpentine-type product passage are dropped and carried out one by one from the lowest order and sent to the product take-out port by the operation of the bend mechanism.

[0004] By the way, when products are loaded into the above-mentioned top tray from the product loading port when refilling products in the shelf, the product loading attitude is inclined to the left or right with respect to the direction of the rolling path. In the process of rolling on the inclined surface of the top tray, the product advances diagonally and comes into contact with the side wall of the top tray, so the left and right inclination of the rolling posture of the product gradually increases, and finally the product moves from horizontal to vertical. In some cases, the transfer position may be changed, and the transfer tray may stop halfway on the top tray, or may be caught at the entrance of the meandering product passage, causing a transport trouble such as the product being clogged. In addition, when such a transport trouble occurs at a deep position in the shelf, even if the hand is inserted through the product insertion port, the product caught in the middle of the passage cannot be taken out.

Therefore, as a countermeasure to prevent such a transport trouble, a device provided with a product guiding device at a position not so deep in the middle of the top tray is proposed by the same inventor as the present invention as Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-81380. Have been.
This product guide device is provided with a stepped portion having an arc surface in the middle of the top tray, and at the rear side of the stepped portion at an interval corresponding to the product diameter size (slightly larger than the product diameter size). A pin serving as a regulating member is erected at right angles to the product passage in parallel with the surface.

[0006] With this configuration, the product put in a correct posture without left and right inclination passes through the space between the arc surface of the height difference portion and the pin without being restrained by the regulating pin, and rolls backward. From the end, it falls into the meandering product passage and is properly stored. In addition, the rolling posture is corrected so that the product is oriented right beside in the process of rolling the product on the arc surface of the step with a slight inclination of the throwing posture. On the other hand, when the loading posture of the product is greatly inclined, the tip of the product, which has become vertically oriented during the rolling process on the top tray, hits the regulating pin and stops at that position. You will not be able to proceed. Therefore, in this case, the product stopped before the step can be easily taken out by inserting a hand through the product insertion port.

[0007]

However, the structure of the product guide apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-81380 still has the following problems in terms of product attitude control. In other words, if the container of the product to be sold is short or small, even if the product placed in the top tray from the product input port has a slightly large tilting posture, the height of the stepped portion is maintained in the same position from the front side without being restrained by the regulating pin. It rolls down on the arc surface and slips through the regulating pin and moves forward with almost no inclination posture being corrected. As a result, the product that has rolled down the arc surface of the step and rubbed between the regulating pins remains inclined in its rolling posture.
In the process of traveling in the latter half of the top tray, the inclination posture is amplified, and eventually, there is a possibility that a transport trouble occurs in which the rolling posture becomes vertical and stops. In other words, the product guide device having the above-described configuration cannot cope with short and small-sized products, and the effect of correcting the rolling posture cannot be sufficiently exhibited.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problems. Therefore, regardless of the size of the product, the product can be placed in the middle of the top tray regardless of the length of the product. Serpentine-type product storage shelves for vending machines that automatically correct the rolling posture of the vending machine to the correct posture and can be fed into the meandering product path behind without any transport trouble, especially the top tray incorporated in the shelf It is to provide the structure of.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, a step portion having a high product insertion port side is formed at an intermediate position between front and rear of a top tray, and a step portion is provided at a rear side of the step portion. Is a tilting type in which a stopper also serving as a rolling posture correcting member for the product is arranged at a distance corresponding to the product diameter size between the upper edge of the step portion and the rear portion from the upper edge of the step portion. Shall be provided.

[0010] In the above construction, the damper plate is urged upward by a spring force such that it receives the load of one product and tilts downward.

[0011]

In the above configuration, if the posture of the product put on the top tray from the product insertion port is correctly oriented right beside the direction of the rolling path, the product goes straight ahead of the height difference portion and moves to the damper. While moving on the board, the damper board tilts to the rearwardly inclined posture due to the product load. As a result, the product freely passes through the gap between the stopper and the roller, rolls out from the damper plate to the lower side of the top tray, travels straight, and is stored in the meandering product passage. In addition, since the product is accelerated in the process of rolling down the damper plate, the straightness is improved.

In the case where the product is displaced and tilted slightly to the left or right, the product that has rolled obliquely on the top tray from the near side toward the height step is Before the full length is transferred to the damper plate, and before the damper plate tilts downward due to the product load, the tip of the product hits the stopper, and the product turns on the damper plate with the corner of the tip hitting the stopper as the fulcrum. Then, the posture is automatically corrected so that it faces directly beside the stopper. Then, when the product is in a state of being directly sideways parallel to the stopper and the entire length thereof is on the damper plate, the damper plate is tilted to the rearwardly inclined position by the product load for the first time, and the product is in the above case. In the same manner as described above, the roller rolls through the gap between the stopper and rolls out of the damper plate and proceeds straight toward the meandering product passage.

On the other hand, when the product is placed in an extremely inclined attitude, the rolling attitude of the product becomes almost vertical before reaching the height difference portion of the top tray. And the leading end hits the stopper and stops at this position while leaving the rear part on the upper side of the height difference part. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to easily take out the product stopped in front of the height difference portion by inserting a hand through the product insertion port.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), reference numeral 1 denotes a meandering product passage defined in a shelf of a product storage shelf by combining arc-shaped rail segments 1a arranged in front and rear, and 2 denotes a product passage 1. The top tray 3 laid between the upper end and a product insertion port opened in front of the shelf is a product.

Here, a height difference portion 2a (one step higher on the side of the product insertion port) is formed at the front and rear middle point of the top tray 2 within a reach of the product insertion port.
In addition, a tilting damper plate 2b projecting rearward from an upper edge thereof is incorporated in the height difference portion 2a. The damper plate 2b is supported at its rear end by a support pin 4 as shown in FIG. 2B, and is shown by the spring force of an urging spring 5 provided as a torsion coil spring provided on the support pin 4. Is pushed up to the position indicated by the solid line. Further, the spring force of the urging spring 5 is set such that the load applied to one product on the damper plate 2b causes the damper plate to tilt to the position indicated by the dashed line.

Further, at an obliquely upper portion on the downstream side as viewed from the height step portion 2, a distance A (A = A) slightly larger than the diameter D of the product 3 from the upper edge of the step portion and the upper surface of the lower portion of the top tray. A stopper pin 2c also serving as a rolling posture correcting member of the product 3 is provided at a position separated by D + α, where α is a margin. The stopper pin 2c is provided between the left and right side walls so as to be parallel to the edge of the stepped portion 2 and to cross the path of the top tray 2 at a right angle.

Next, a description will be given of the operation of guiding the put-in product with the above configuration. First, when the product 3 is put into the top tray 2 from the product insertion port in a sideways posture, the product 3 is placed as shown in FIG.
Are rolled on the top tray 2 along the course of I to V shown in FIG. That is, when the product 3 inserted at the position I rolls and goes straight to the height step 2a, and at the position II, the product 3 rides on the damper plate 2b, the product load causes the damper plate 2b to tilt backward. I do. As a result, the product 3 rolls down the slope of the damper plate 2c as shown in III and slips through the gap between the stopper pin 2c, goes straight down the lower side of the top tray 2 and advances to its end position IV. It is rolled down and stored in the meandering product path 1. Moreover, the rolling of the product 3 is accelerated in the process of rolling down the inclined surface of the damper plate 2b,
Straightness in the subsequent rolling process is further enhanced. In addition,
The damper plate 2b returns to the standby position indicated by the solid line by the spring force of the urging spring 5 after the commodity 3 has passed through.

On the other hand, when the posture of the product 3 inserted into the entrance end of the top tray 2 is slightly inclined right and left from a direction right beside the passage of the top tray 2 due to the disorder of the insertion posture. Operates as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). That is, when the inclination of the rolling posture of the product 3 is relatively small, the product 3 that has rolled on the top tray from the near side toward the height step 2a as shown in FIG. Before the full length of the product is transferred to the damper plate 2b, and therefore before the damper plate 2b is tilted downward by the product load II.
At the position, the tip corner of the product 3 abuts against the stopper pin 2c, and the product 3 changes its direction on the damper plate 2b with the tip corner abutting the stopper pin 2c as a fulcrum, and the product 3 is represented by III. Then, it is automatically corrected to the sideways position parallel to the stopper pin 2b. The operation of correcting the rolling posture is appropriately performed regardless of the size of the product 3. When the direction of the product 3 is parallel to the stopper pin 2b and the entire length thereof is on the damper plate 2b, the damper plate 2b is tilted to the rearward tilt position by the product load for the first time. As a result, the product 3 slips through between the stopper pin 2c and the damper plate 2 in the same manner as the operation described in FIG.
b, and goes straight on the surface on the rear side of the top tray 2.

On the other hand, when the product 3 is put in an extremely inclined attitude, as shown in FIG.
In the position II, the rolling posture of the product 3 is almost vertical, so that the entire length of the product 3 cannot be transferred on the damper plate 2b, and the tip is a stopper with the rear part left on the upper step part 2a. It stops at this position by hitting the pin 2c.
Therefore, in this case, it is possible to easily take out the product stopped in front of the height difference portion 2a by inserting a hand through the product insertion port, and then reload the product in a correct posture.

[0020]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, in addition to the height step and the stopper provided at the intermediate position between the front and rear on the top tray, the projection further projects rearward from the upper edge of the height step. By providing a tilting damper plate, regardless of the length of the product, even if the input product is short or small, it automatically corrects the rolling position of the product to the correct position in the middle of the top tray and goes straight. The product can be fed into the meandering product path at the rear while being rolled, so that transport troubles such as product clogging in the shelf, which has been a problem in the past, can be eliminated and reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a side view of a top tray, and FIG. 1B is a detailed assembly view of a damper plate in FIG.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views showing a guiding operation of a put-in product by the configuration of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a process diagram in a case where the tilt of the put-in attitude is relatively small, and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Meandering goods passage 2 Top tray 2a High-low step part 2b Damper plate 2c Stopper pin 3 Product 5 Urging spring

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A serpentine type product storage shelf of a vending machine for selling cans and bottles, wherein a space between an upper end of a meandering product passage defined in the shelf and a product input port opened in front of the shelf is provided. In the case where a top tray which is connected to serve as a rolling guide path for the product is installed, a high and low step portion having a high product input port side is formed at a front and rear intermediate position of the top tray, and a step portion is provided on the rear side of the step portion. A stopper that also serves as a rolling posture correcting member for the product is arranged at a distance corresponding to the product diameter size between the upper edge and a tilting damper plate that projects rearward from the upper edge of the step portion. A serpentine-type product storage shelf for a vending machine. 2. The product storage shelf according to claim 1, wherein the damper plate is spring-biased upward by a spring force such that the damper plate receives a load for one product and tilts downward. Serpentine-type product storage shelf for vending machines.