JP3157296B2 - Vending machine product storage shelf device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise storage shelf for a vending machine for storing cylindrical products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a current vending machine, along with the diversification of products to be sold, one product storage shelf has to store a variety of products, and therefore, an exit size in a product unloading unit is determined according to the product size. Can be changed and set to be sold.

An example of such a vending machine is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-27768. Here, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of serpentine structure product passages 4 formed by arranging a plurality of guide members 3 curved in an arc in the vertical direction between opposed side plates 2 (the other side plate is not shown) are arranged in a plurality of rows in the front-rear direction. It is provided.

[0004] In these product passages 4, a cylindrical product inserted from the product insertion port 6 is transferred between the entrance 5 and a product insertion port 6 provided on the front of the product storage shelf 1. A product guide plate 7 is provided for moving and guiding the product to the product path 4.

[0005] When a product is loaded sideways so as to roll in the product loading direction above the entrance portion 5, the product comes into contact with the product and swings, thereby causing the product to pass through.
If the product is loaded in a direction that does not roll in the product loading direction while being stored in the product, it will not be able to swing because it is caught on this product, and the storage regulation will prevent this product from entering further. The member 8 is provided swingably.

[0006] At the lower end of the product passage 4, fixed wall portions 9a provided with product discharge devices 9 for sequentially discharging stored products one by one are provided.

The product guide plate 7 has, for example, a front shaft 10 projecting laterally from the lower surface of the front end of the side plate 2 like the upper two product guide plates 7a shown in FIG. A guide shaft 14 protruding from the side plate 2 is inserted into the front guide groove 11 and is retained by a rear guide portion 12 protruding rearward from the lower surface of the rear end so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Have been.

According to the diameter of the product to be put in, for example, when putting in a normal product 14a, the product guide plate 7,
7a is retracted to reduce the distance between the rear ends of the product guide plates 7, 7a and the front end of the storage restricting member 8.
As a result, even when the thick product 14b is mistakenly input, the product 14b is caught by the storage regulating member 8,
It did not fall into the product passage 4.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the commodity discharging device 9 at the lower end of the commodity passage 4 has two locking arms 15 provided vertically and an outlet disposed opposite to the fixed wall 9a. Commodity 1 that holds commodities 14a and 14b by regulating plate 16 and locks by rotating locking arm 15 downward according to a sales command
4a and 14b are carried out one by one.

The outlet restricting plate 16 has an upper end shaft 17 protruding at the upper end thereof and a lower end shaft 18 protruding at the lower end thereof. The upper end shaft 17 and the lower end shaft 18 are formed on the side wall 2. By being inserted into the upper guide groove 19 and the lower guide groove 20, it is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction,
The width of the product outlet 21 formed together with the width a is regulated.

[0011] When a normal product 14a is to be stored in the product passage 4, the user puts his hand into the product passage 4 from the product carry-out port 21 and once pushes the outlet regulating plate 16 upward. The width of the product outlet 21 is restricted so as to be narrowed by moving in the direction of approaching, so that the product 14a can be securely locked to the locking arm 15.

When storing the thick product 14b,
After the outlet regulating plate 16 is once pushed upward, the fixed wall 9
the product exit 2 by moving in the direction away from
The width of the product 14a is restricted so that the width of the product 1a becomes wider, so that the product 14a can be securely locked to the locking arm 15.

The outlet regulating plate 16 has an upper end shaft 17
And the lower guide groove 20 is supported by the upper guide groove 19 and the lower guide groove 20 by its own weight via the lower shaft 18.
It is formed in an inverted U shape having two locking portions.

[0014]

However, in such a conventional merchandise storage shelf device of a vending machine, if a thick product is erroneously stored instead of a normal product, a product guide plate and a storage regulating member are required. Although it is possible to prevent the product from falling by sandwiching the product between them, the problem is that it takes time and effort to insert the hand into the back of the column to take out the wrongly put product, which is troublesome. There was a point.

Further, even if the product guide plate is moved according to the diameter of the product, if the movement of the exit regulating plate is forgotten, the inserted product is caught on the upper end of the exit regulating plate and the product is placed above the product carrying port. There is a problem that the product is clogged or the product is not locked on the locking arm, and the inserted product falls from the product outlet.

An object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise storage rack device of a vending machine which can prevent erroneous insertion of merchandise and prevent clogging or unnecessary dropping of merchandise. .

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a product can be moved back and forth between a product slot provided in the front of a product storage shelf and an entrance of a product passage having a serpentine structure formed inside the product storage shelf. And the front end on the side of the product insertion port can be moved up and down so as to be able to regulate the width of the product insertion port in accordance with the diameter of a cylindrical product to be inserted between the product and the upper regulating pin. A product guide plate freely supported, and disposed opposite to a fixed wall portion provided with a product unloading device provided at a lower end portion of the product passage to form a product outlet with the fixed wall portion, and An outlet regulating plate which is provided movably forward and backward along the guide groove with respect to the fixed wall portion and regulates a width of the product outlet; and an upper end connected to a rear end of the product guide plate. The lower end is connected to the upper end of the exit restriction plate, and the front end of the product guide plate In conjunction with the width regulating the operation of the product inlet along the guide groove width regulating operation of the goods carry-out port to the outlet regulating plate
The guide groove is provided with
It has a locking portion for locking the mouth regulating plate at each width regulating position .

[0018]

According to this structure, a product guide plate is disposed so as to be movable back and forth between a product insertion port provided on the front surface of the product storage shelf and an entrance of a product passage having a serpentine structure formed inside the product storage shelf. In addition, the front end on the side of the product slot is swingably supported so that it can move up and down, and the width of the product slot is regulated according to the diameter of the cylindrical product to be thrown between the pin and the upper regulating pin. Can be possible.

Further, an outlet regulating plate, which is disposed opposite to a fixed wall provided with a product discharging device provided at a lower end portion of the product passage and forms a product outlet with the fixed wall, is attached to the fixed wall. In this manner, the width of the product outlet can be regulated by providing the front and rear movement.

Further, a connecting member having an upper end connected to the rear end of the product guide plate and a lower end connected to the upper end of the outlet control plate, the outlet control plate interlocking with the width control operation of the product insertion port of the product guide plate. Can perform the operation of regulating the width of the product outlet.

[0021]

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

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a product storage shelf device of a vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of an upper portion thereof, and FIG. 1, 2, and 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 denote the same or corresponding parts.

1 and 2, reference numeral 22 denotes a product guide plate 7,
This is a central guide groove projecting from the lower end surface slightly before the center of 7A. The center guide groove portion 22 is capable of moving the product guide plates 7 and 7A in the front-rear direction by inserting a swing shaft 23 protruding from the side plate 2 substantially at the center between the product insertion port 6 and the entrance portion 5. In addition, the swing shaft 23 is used as a fulcrum so as to be swingable.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a front shaft 10 of the product guide plates 7, 7A.
The front guide groove 24 includes front and rear locking portions 24a and 24b and a guide portion 24.
c, and the rear locking portion 24b is formed in a U-shape higher than the front locking portion 24a.

A rear shaft 25 projects laterally from the lower surface of the rear end of the product guide plate 7, 7A. The rear shaft 25 is inserted through and supported by a rear guide groove 26 formed in the side wall 2. ing. Here, the rear guide groove 26 includes front and rear locking portions 26a and 26b and a guide portion 26c, and the rear locking portion 26b is lower in position than the front locking portion 26a. Is formed in an inverted U-shape.

The swing shaft 23 and the front guide groove 2
4 and the rear guide groove 26, the product guide plate 7 is placed in a first storage position for storing a thick product 14b as described later or a second storage position as described later for storing a normal product 14a. It is held at any position.

Since the center of gravity of the product guide plates 7 and 7A is located behind the pivot shaft 23, the product guide plates 7 and 7A
7A, the rear portion is supported in a state of being inclined downward by its own weight, and a link member to be described later is connected to the rear portion. At 25, the force to descend is working.

When the product guide plates 7 and 7A are pulled forward (to the left in FIG. 1) by these forces, the front shaft 10 is moved to the front locking portion 24a of the front guide groove 24. ,
The rear shaft 25 is locked by the locking portions 26a at the front of the rear guide groove 26, and the first end of the product guide plate 7 is lowered.
It is designed to be held in the storage position.

When the product guide plate 7 held at the first storage position is pushed backward by these forces,
The front shaft 10 is locked to the rear locking portion 24b via the guide portion 24c of the front guide groove 24, and the rear shaft 25 is locked to the rear locking portion 26b via the guide portion 26c of the rear guide groove 26, respectively. The leading end of the guide plate 7 is held at the second storage position where it rises.

On the other hand, if the thick product 14b is erroneously inserted from the product slot 6 when the product guide plates 7, 7B are in the second storage position, the product 14b is located above the leading ends of the product guide plates 7, 7B. An insertion-port regulating pin 27, which is a regulating pin for preventing the product 14b from entering into the back by contacting the product 14b, is provided.

Therefore, when storing the thick product 14b, the product guide plate 7 is set as the first storage position.
Is lowered to increase the distance between the tip and the insertion port regulating pin 27, and to restrict the width so that the diameter of the product insertion port 6 is increased.

When the product guide plate 7 is in the first storage position, the rear end of the product guide plate 7 moves obliquely upward and forward, so that the width of the entrance 5 is widened and the product 14b passes through the entrance 5. I can do it.

When a normal product 14a is stored, the product guide plate 7 in the first storage position is moved to the second storage position while swinging, and the distance between the tip end of the product guide plate 7 and the input port regulating pin 27 is changed. And the width is regulated so that the diameter of the product insertion port 6 is reduced.

As a result, the product 14 can be
a are supplied one by one, so that it is possible to prevent the product 14a from being clogged between the entrance 5 and the product input port 6.

When the product guide plate 7 is in the second storage position, the rear end of the product guide plate 7 moves obliquely downward and rearward, so that the width of the entrance 5 is reduced, and only the normal product 14a is placed at the entrance. 5 can be passed.

By the way, as for the uppermost product guide plate 7A, when a thick product 14b is accidentally inserted from the product slot 6, the product 14b is brought into contact with the tip of the top plate 1a. Therefore, the input port regulating pin 27 is not provided. In addition, since the lowest product guide plate 7B has a short length, the center guide groove 22 is not provided.

On the other hand, at the rear end of the product guide plates 7, 7A, 7B, a link member 28, which is a connecting member whose lower end is connected to the upper end shaft 17 of the outlet regulating plate 16, as shown in FIG. It is connected to the shaft 25.

Here, the link member 28 is driven by the product guide plates 7, 7A, 7B swinging in the front-rear direction to the first or the second.
If you move to the storage position and regulate the width of the product input port 6,
By moving the outlet regulating plate 16 forward and backward and vertically in conjunction with the product guide plates 7, 7A and 7B by moving the product guide plate 7, 7A and 7B, the width of the product outlet 21 is regulated. It is.

The lower guide groove 20 is composed of two upper and lower locking portions 20a and 20b and a guide portion 20c to guide the front and rear and vertical movement of the outlet regulating plate 16.

When the thick product 14b is carried out, the exit regulating plate 16 is linked to the product guide plates 7, 7A, 7B which are moved to the first storage position by the link member 28 so as to be fixed to the fixed wall portion 9a. The upper shaft 17 is moved obliquely upward so as to move away from the fixed wall portion 9a in a substantially parallel state with respect to the upper wall. It is located at a first discharge position which is locked to 20a.

As a result, the width of the product outlet 21 is widened so that the thick product 14b does not catch on the upper end of the outlet regulating plate 16.

On the other hand, when unloading a normal product 14a, the exit regulating plate 16 is linked by the link member 28 to the fixed wall portion 9a in conjunction with the product guide plates 7, 7A, 7B moving to the second storage position. And moves obliquely downward so as to approach the fixed wall portion 9a in a substantially parallel state with respect to the upper guide groove 19.
And the lower end shaft 18 to the lower guide groove 2.
0 and is located at a second discharge position where it is locked to the lower locking portion 20b.

As a result, the width of the product outlet 21 can be adjusted so that the normal product 14a does not fall unnecessarily.
It becomes narrow to the width that is locked to.

Next, a description will be given of a product storage operation of the product storage shelf device of the vending machine thus configured.

For example, as shown in the third product passage 4a from the front shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the product guide plate 7 is held at a second storage position as shown by a broken line so as to store a normal product 14a. When the thick product 14b is stored in the product path 4a, the product guide plate 7 is pulled out forward, and the product guide plate 7 located at the second storage position is moved to the first storage position.

As a result, the tip of the product guide plate 7 is lowered, the tip of the product guide plate 7 is separated from the slot regulating pin 27, and the diameter of the product slot 6 is widened. The thick product 14b is fed from the product input port 6 that has been set.

When the product guide plate 7 is moved to the first storage position, the outlet regulating plate 16 moves to the first discharge position via the link member 28, so that the width of the product outlet 21 is increased, and the product is first loaded. The dropped product 14b falls on the upper end of the exit regulating plate 16 without being caught and is locked by the lower locking arm 15.

Thereafter, when a sales command is issued, the locking arm 15 rotates downward, and the product 14b is carried out.

On the other hand, the product passage 4a in a state where the product guide plate 7 is held at the first storage position so as to store the thick product 14b.
When the normal product 14a is stored in the first storage position, the product guide plate 7 is moved from the first storage position to the second storage position by pushing the product guide plate 7 backward.

As a result, the tip of the product guide plate 7 is raised, and the tip of the product guide plate 7 approaches the insertion port regulating pin 27, and the diameter of the product insertion port 6 is reduced. A normal product 14a is supplied from the product input port 6.

When the product guide plate 7 is moved to the second storage position, the outlet regulating plate 16 moves to the second discharge position via the link member 28, so that the width of the product carry-out port 21 is reduced, and the product is first loaded. The product 14a is locked at the lower locking arm 1 for locking the next product for sale without falling from the product exit 21.
5a.

Thereafter, when a sales command is issued, the locking arm 15 rotates downward, and the product 14a is carried out.

When the product guide plate 7 is in the second storage position, even if the thick product 14b is erroneously inserted from the product slot 6, the slot regulating pin 27 is provided on the upper surface of the front part of the product 14b. Because of the contact, the product 14b cannot be put into the product slot 6.

The operation of the link member 28 when the products 14a and 14b are put into the fourth product path 4b from the front is the reverse of the operation of the third product path 4a.

In this way, by holding the product guide plate 7 movably in the up and down direction and swingably, the product guide plate 7 and the input port regulating pin 27 according to the diameter of the products 14a and 14b to be put in. And the diameter of the product input port 6 can be changed.

Further, by linking the product guide plate 7 and the exit regulating plate 16 via the link member 28, when the product guide plate 7 is moved to the second storage position, the exit regulation plate 16 is moved to the second discharge position. The product guide plate 7 can be moved
When moving to the storage position, the outlet regulating plate 16 can be moved to the first discharge position.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention, the diameter of the product slot is changed according to the diameter of the product to be loaded by holding the product guide plate so as to be movable vertically and swingably. Erroneous insertion of the product can be prevented.

Further, by linking the product guide plate and the exit regulating plate, the width of the product outlet can be changed in accordance with the diameter of the product to be put in. The product can be prevented from falling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a product storage shelf device of a vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of the upper part of the product storage shelf device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view of a lower part of the commodity storage shelf device.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a conventional product storage shelf device of a vending machine.

FIG. 5 is an upper side sectional view of a conventional product storage shelf device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a lower part of a conventional product storage shelf device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity storage shelf 4 Commodity passage 5 Entrance part 6 Commodity entrance 7 Commodity guide plate 9 Commodity carry-out device 14a, 14b Commodity 16 Outlet regulation plate 19 Oscillating shaft 27 Inlet regulation pin 28 Link member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Muramoto 2-18 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-212894 (JP, A) Kaihei 2-80884 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 11/00-11/72

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A merchandise insertion opening provided on a front surface of a merchandise storage shelf and a serpentine-structured merchandise passage formed inside the merchandise storage shelf so as to be movable back and forth.
In addition, the front end of the product insertion port side is vertically movable, and is swingably supported so as to be able to regulate the width of the product insertion port in accordance with the diameter of a cylindrical product to be input between the upper regulation pin. Product guide plate, and a fixed product wall provided with a product discharge device provided at a lower end portion of the product passage. Along the guide groove
An outlet regulating plate provided so as to be movable forward and backward to regulate the width of the product outlet; and an upper end connected to a rear end of the product guide plate and a lower end connected to an upper end of the outlet regulating plate. A coupling member for causing the exit regulating plate to perform a width regulating operation of the commodity carrying-out port along a guide groove in conjunction with a width regulating operation of the commodity insertion port of the guide plate , wherein the guide groove comprises the exit regulating member. Lock the plate at each width regulation position
A product storage shelf device for a vending machine, comprising a locking portion .