JP3198813B2 - Vending machine serpentine product rack - 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 rack of a vending machine for selling canned products such as soft drinks and beer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a vending machine equipped with a serpentine type product rack to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, 1 is a vending machine cabinet, 2 is an outer door, 3 is a product outlet, 4 is a serpentine type product rack housed in the cabinet 1 of the cabinet 1, 5 is a product unloading shooter, and 6 is a product rack 4. It is a stored can product. Here, inside the product rack 4, product passages 4a meandering in the vertical direction are defined in a line in front and rear, and a top tray 7 for product introduction is provided on the upper side of each product passage 4a. Further, a bend mechanism 8 for controlling the product discharge is provided on the lower side. Reference numeral 8a denotes an opening / closing lever type gate plate incorporated in the bend mechanism 8, and the gate plate 8a is connected to an opening / closing drive solenoid via a link mechanism, and protrudes and retracts toward the product passage 4a every sales operation. It is well known that the opening / closing operation is performed to control the carry-out of the product 6. Although not shown, the bend mechanism 8 is provided with a product sold-out detection lever (in conjunction with the product sold-out detection switch) in parallel with the gate plate 8a, and when the product 6 stored in the product passage 4a is exhausted, the product sold out. The detection lever operates and outputs a product sold-out signal through a sold-out detection switch).

On the other hand, in order to sell various products having different contents in the product rack 4, a movable side plate for regulating the width of the product passage 4 a (width in the left-right direction) according to the length of the product 6 to be sold is provided. A built-in product rack has been conventionally implemented, and the specific structure thereof is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-87787. The movable side plate regulates the width of the merchandise passage in the rack according to the size of the merchandise, and conveys the merchandise in a stable posture when the merchandise is sold in short size cans shorter than the width of the merchandise passage 4a. It plays a role.

FIG. 5 shows an assembly structure (for one column) of a commodity rack 4 equipped with the movable side plate. Here, the product passage 4a is defined between arc-shaped rail segments 4b which are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and the top tray 7 on the upper side along the longitudinal direction of the passage is provided in the side of the product passage. A movable side plate 9 is incorporated between the lower side bend mechanism 8 and a link type connecting member 10. The rail segment 4b, the top tray 7, and the bend mechanism 8 are individually provided between left and right rack side plates via support pins.

[0005] In this configuration, when selling a product of a long size can having a large content, the movable side plate 9 is set at a solid line position. In this state, the width of the product passage 4a is L1 corresponding to a long-sized can having a long passage width. On the other hand, when changing the product for sale to a short short can having a small content, the movable side plate 9 is moved to the chain line position via the connecting member 10. Thereby, the product passage 4a is restricted to the reduced passage width L2 corresponding to the short-sized can.

[0006]

The conventional product rack structure shown in FIG. 5 has the following problems in structure and handling. That is, recently, there is a tendency to diversify in terms of the content of sold products, and half-size cans, such as canned beer, whose half-sized cans are half those of long-sized cans are also available depending on the products. In this case, if the width of the product passage 4a in the configuration of FIG. 5 is set according to the half-size can (in FIG. 5, the width L2 of the product is adjusted to half of L1), the left half of the product passage 4a is used. Half-size cans can be stored, but the product passage 4a
Is a dead space (the connecting member 10 hinders the storage of the product) and cannot be used for storing and selling the product. The problem is that if the movable side plate can be moved without using the connecting member 10, cans can be sorted and stored on both left and right sides of the product passage 4a with the movable side plate as a boundary. However, the bend mechanism 8 has only one gate plate 8.
Since a is only provided, there is a problem that simply distributing and storing cans on both sides of the movable side plate cannot sell the cans on both sides of the movable side plate individually.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a single-row sale in which goods are stored in a line in a goods passage or a product is sorted and stored on both sides of a goods passage with a movable side plate as a boundary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a serpentine type product rack of a vending machine capable of selling in two rows.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a meandering product passage defined in a rack, which is connected to a top tray on the upper side of the product and a product tray on the lower side. In a serpentine-type merchandise rack of a vending machine having a bend mechanism, and further including a movable side plate that regulates the width of the passage between the top tray and the bend mechanism along the merchandise path in accordance with the length of the sold product, The bend mechanism has two sets of gate mechanisms divided into right and left, and has control means for determining the position of the movable side plate and switching the gate mechanism to a synchronous operation or an individual operation. In the single-row sales mode in which
In a two-row selling mode in which the sets of gate mechanisms are operated synchronously to sort and store the goods on both sides of the movable side plate, the two sets of gate mechanisms are individually operated to carry out the goods.

[0009]

According to the present invention described above, the bend mechanism has two sets of gate mechanisms divided into right and left, and has control means for determining the position of the movable side plate and switching the gate mechanism between a synchronous operation and an individual operation. In a single-row sales mode in which the products are stored in a single row in the product passage, the two sets of gate mechanisms are operated synchronously, and in a two-row sales mode in which the products are sorted and stored on both sides of the movable side plate. Since two sets of gate mechanisms are operated individually to carry out goods,
The gate operation of the bend mechanism is automatically switched according to the sales mode of single-row sales or two-row sales. In the case of single-row sales, the two sets of gate mechanisms are operated synchronously for each sales operation, so that the goods can be sold. In the case of two-row sales, two sets of gate mechanisms are alternately operated for each sales operation, and the goods are output one by one.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings of the embodiment, the same members corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, in FIG. 1, a top tray 7 incorporated in a serpentine type product rack 4, a rail segment 4b defining a meandering product passage 4a (see FIG. 4), and a bend mechanism 8 are respectively connected to a rack side plate 11 through through pins 12. A movable side plate 9 which is arranged along the product path 4a and extends between the top tray 7 and the bend mechanism 8 and has an inverted L-shape as a whole is locked and fixed as follows. .

That is, locking claws 9a and 9b are provided at the upper and lower ends of the movable side plate 9, respectively. On the other hand, a long-sized can 6A (can length L1 or L2) and a half-sized can 6B (can length L3, L3 Are formed in parallel with each other, and a plurality of adjustment holes 7a respectively corresponding to about 1/2 of L1 are bored side by side, and the adjustment holes are formed on the front surface of the case of the bend mechanism 8 so as to face the engaging claws 9b. Comb-shaped multi-stage adjustment grooves 8b are arranged in the left-right direction in accordance with 7a. Then, the engagement claws 9a and 9b of the movable side plate 9 are selectively inserted into the adjustment holes 7a of the top tray 7 and the adjustment grooves 8b of the bend mechanism 8, respectively, and are locked and fixed at the positions.

On the other hand, the bend mechanism 8 has two pairs of open / close lever type gate plates 8a (each gate plate is #
1, # 2), as shown in FIG.
Each gate plate 8a is individually connected to a driving solenoid 8c to form a gate mechanism. In the adjustment groove 8b, a detection switch 8d that responds when the engaging claw 9b of the movable side plate 9 is inserted is incorporated in a groove portion of the adjustment step corresponding to the half-size can 6B of the can length L3. I have.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, two sets of left and right product out-of-stock detection levers 8e are provided on the upper side of the two sets of gate plates 8a. Reference numeral 13 denotes a control unit for switching the two sets of gate plates 8a to a synchronous operation or an individual operation based on the signal of the detection switch 8d.

In this configuration, when a long-sized product 6A (can length L1 or L2) is sold, an adjustment step corresponding to the can length is selected, and the engaging claws 9a and 9b of the movable side plate 9 are set to the aforementioned positions. An adjusting hole 7a of the top tray 7 corresponding to the adjusting step L1 or L2, and an adjusting groove 8b of the bend mechanism 8
And lock it in that position. The selling mode in this case is single-row sales in which the products are arranged in a single row in the product passage 4, and the detection switch 8d is OFF.
Thus, at the time of sale, the two sets of solenoids 8c are operated simultaneously by a command from the control unit 13, and the left and right gate plates 8a indicated by # 1 and # 2 are synchronously opened and closed to control the carry-out of the product. FIG. 3A shows a flowchart of the selling operation in the single-row selling mode.

On the other hand, when the product to be sold is changed to a short half-size can 6B having a can length of L3, the adjustment hole 7a of the top tray 7 and the adjustment groove 8b of the bend mechanism 8 correspond to the half size L3. Select the adjustment stage and move the side plate 9
Replace As a result, the product passage 4a is divided into two equal parts by using the movable side plate 9 as a center partition plate. In this state, the half-size can 6
B is distributed to the left and right and is put into the product passage 4a in the rack. In this setting state, the detection switch 8 d incorporated in the bend mechanism 8 detects the engagement claw 9 b of the movable side plate 9 and turns on, and gives a signal to the control unit 13. As a result, the bend mechanism 8 switches to the two-row sales mode,
The solenoid 8c is individually operated so that the # 1 and # 2 gate plates 8a are alternately operated by a command from the control unit 13 for each selling operation. As a result, the merchandise is alternately carried out one by one from the merchandise row stored in the merchandise passage 4a while being sorted left and right for each selling operation. Also, bend mechanism 8
By providing two sets of left and right product sold-out detection levers 8e, it is possible to accurately detect the sold-out state of the products sorted and stored left and right. FIG. 3B shows a flowchart of the selling operation in the two-row selling mode.

[0015]

The merchandise rack of the present invention is constructed as described above, and has the following effects. (1) Single-row sales in which products are stored in a single row in a product passage or products which are sorted and stored on both sides of a movable side plate 2
In line sales, the product in the product aisle is sold once per sales operation
Individual merchandise can be unloaded, and in single-row sales, merchandise storage efficiency is doubled.

(2) The operation of the bend mechanism in response to single-row sales in which goods are stored in a single row in a product passage or two-row sales in which goods are sorted and stored on both sides of a movable side plate, ie, two sets. Automatic switching control of the synchronous operation or individual operation of the gate mechanism can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part assembling structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bend mechanism in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sales operation diagram of the embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a),
(B) is a flowchart of the single-row sales mode and the two-row sales mode, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a basic configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with a serpentine product rack.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional serpentine type product rack, where (a) is a schematic side view of an internal structure,
(B) is a schematic front view

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Commodity rack 4a Commodity passage 6 Can commodities 6A Long size can 6B Half size can 7 Top tray 7a Adjustment hole 8 Bend mechanism 8a Gate mechanism 8b Adjustment groove 8d Adjustment groove 9 Movable side plate 9a Engagement claw 9b Engagement claw 13 Control unit

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A merchandise-shaped merchandise passage defined in a rack, a top tray for merchandise introduction on an upper side thereof, a bend mechanism for merchandise discharge on a lower side, and a top along the merchandise passage. In a serpentine type product rack of a vending machine having a movable side plate that regulates a passage width between a tray and a bend mechanism according to the length of a product for sale, the bend mechanism includes two sets of gate mechanisms divided into right and left. Have
In the single-row sales mode, in which the products are stored in a single row in the product path, the two sets of gate mechanisms are provided with control means for determining the position of the movable side plate and switching the gate mechanism to a synchronous operation or an individual operation. In a two-row sales mode in which goods are sorted and stored on both sides of the movable side plate, the two sets of gate mechanisms are individually operated to carry out the goods, and the goods are carried out. rack.