JP3267805B2 - Vending machine storage frame opening and closing 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 vending machine, and more particularly, to a storage frame opening / closing device which can load a product into the storage frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a vending machine for cigarettes, the number of brands of cigarettes to be stored, that is, a storage frame for cigarettes, tends to increase with diversification of consumers' preferences. As storage frames increase, individual storage frames become shorter,
The number of stored cigarettes is reduced, and it is necessary to frequently refill the storage frames.

Conventionally, replenishment of tobacco into the storage frame has been possible by opening a guide on the front of the storage frame. However, since it is necessary to open and close the guide for each storage frame, the refilling operation of tobacco is difficult. It's not easy. For this reason, for example, JP-A-64-58080 and JP-A-4-8439.
The product storage device of the vending machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-26106 enables the guides of the individual storage frames arranged in a horizontal direction to be opened and closed at a time, thereby facilitating the operation of loading the products.

More specifically, in the case of the former product storage device, each guide of the storage frame row is fixedly mounted on a guide mounting member, and the guide mounting member is rotatable on a housing of the vending machine. Supported. on the other hand,
The latter product storage device includes a pair of fixing plates disposed on both sides of the guide mounting member, and a pair of shafts respectively protruding from both ends of the guide mounting member, and a pair of fixing plates corresponding to these shafts. The pair of fixing plates support both ends of the guide attaching member by being inserted into the holes. In the case of such a product storage device, by lifting the guide mounting member, one shaft can be moved along the hole of the fixing plate, whereby the guide mounting member can be rotated.

[0005]

In the former product storage device, it is necessary to provide engagement pins at both ends of the guide mounting member in order to hold the guides of the storage frame row in the closed position. If the engaging pins are not operated at the same time, the guide mounting member cannot be rotated, and the collective opening operation of the guides is not easy.

The latter product storage device does not require the engaging pin as in the former, but when the guide mounting member is rotated, one shaft of the guide mounting member moves outward from the opening end of the hole of the fixing plate. The guide mounting member may fall out. In this case, when closing each guide of the guide mounting member, the guide mounting member must be lifted again, and the shaft removed from the fixing plate must be aligned with the opening end of the hole on the fixing plate side. Is not easy.

Further, in the case of the latter product storage device, if the stacking of the products in the storage frame is disturbed and the products are jammed, the stored products themselves lift the guide attaching member via the guide, and in this case, In addition, there is a possibility that the guide mounting member may rotate to cause an undesired opening operation. The present invention has been made based on the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable easy opening and closing operations of the respective guides in the storage frame row, and furthermore, the products in the storage frame. It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage frame opening / closing device for a vending machine which can prevent an undesired opening operation due to clogging.

[0008]

The above object is achieved by a storage frame opening / closing device for a vending machine according to the present invention. The storage frame opening / closing device according to claim 1 is provided at a lower portion on the front side of a storage frame row. A guide mounting member extending horizontally along the storage frame row, a plurality of guides mounted on the guide mounting member, located at the front openings of the individual storage frames, and guiding the lowering of products in the storage frames; A pair of support means for supporting both ends of the guide mounting member on the housing side of the machine, wherein each support means is fixed to the housing side and protrudes toward one end surface of the guide mounting member. A pair of upper and lower fixed shafts, formed on the end surface of the guide mounting member, receive the pair of fixed shafts relatively up and down, and support the guide mounting member on these fixed shafts, An elevating hole that allows the guide mounting member to be lifted, and one of the fixed shafts is slidably guided when the guide mounting member is at the lifting position, extending from the elevating hole, and rotating the guide mounting member. In a predetermined range.

In the case of the first aspect, the lifting hole comprises upper and lower lifting holes independently provided for each of a pair of fixed shafts, and the rotating hole is formed in an arc shape from the lower end of the upper lifting hole. Extending. Furthermore, in the case of the storage frame opening / closing device of claim 2 ,
The lower lifting hole has its upper end bent in the direction of rotation of the guide mounting member.

[0010]

According to the storage frame opening / closing device of the first aspect, when each guide of the guide mounting member closes the corresponding storage frame, both ends of the guide mounting member are supported by the fixed shaft via the lifting holes. I have. When the guide mounting member is lifted from this state, at each end of the guide mounting member, a pair of fixed shafts on the housing side of the vending machine relatively move within the lifting hole at that end, and one of the fixed shafts is fixed. The shaft is located at a connection between the lifting hole and the rotation hole. At this time, if the guide mounting member is pulled down to the front, the one fixed shaft is guided from the elevating hole to the rotating hole, whereby the guide mounting member is rotated, whereby the guides are opened collectively. . When one of the fixed shafts reaches the end of the rotation hole, the rotation of the guide mounting member is prevented, and each guide of the guide mounting member is held in the open state. When closing the guide from such an open state, the guide mounting member is rotated in the opposite direction to cause the guide mounting member, and at each end of the guide mounting member, the one fixed shaft is connected to the lifting hole and the rotation hole. When positioned at the portion, the pair of fixed shafts can relatively move up and down in the lifting hole, so that the guide mounting member descends by its own weight, is supported by the pair of fixed shafts, and each guide is closed in a lump.

[0011] Then, according to the housing frame opening and closing device according to claim 1, since the lifting holes is made from a separate upper and lower lifting holes for each pair of fixed axis, when in the state in which the guide is closed, Both ends of the guide mounting member are supported by a pair of fixed shafts via upper and lower holes. In this case, when the guide attachment member is rotated, one fixed shaft relatively moves while being guided by the arc-shaped rotation hole.

According to the storage frame opening / closing device of the second aspect, when the guide is in the closed state, even if the guide mounting member receives an upward force from the product in the storage frame, the fixing member is located in the upper lifting hole. The upper end of the upper elevating hole engages with the shaft from below, and the lifting of the guide mounting member is prevented.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, the interior of a vending machine for cigarettes is schematically shown. The vending machine includes a housing 2, and storage frame rows 4 and 6 are arranged in the housing 2 in two vertical stages. Storage frame row 4
Is formed by arranging a plurality of long storage frames 8 in a horizontal direction. Each of the storage frames 8 has an open front surface, while a bottom surface thereof is configured by an upper surface of a commodity payout unit 10. has become can be rack mounted heavy <br/> sleep stacked in the front and rear two rows of tobacco as a commodity in the interior. Each storage frame 8 has a guide rod 12 disposed on the front surface thereof. These guide rods 12 extend vertically in the center of the front surface of the corresponding storage frame 8, and their upper and lower ends are once bent in the horizontal direction.
It is rotatably attached to the housing 2 and the lower end of each storage frame 8. Therefore, if each guide rod 12 is rotated rightward as viewed in FIG. 1 around its upper and lower ends, the front surface of the storage frame 8 can be greatly opened.
Tobacco can be loaded and refilled in the storage frame 8.

Each payout unit 10 operates independently in response to the sales order, and pays out the lowest-order tobacco in the storage frame 8 from the storage frame 8. The dispensed tobacco is guided to a chute (not shown) and guided to a product outlet of a vending machine. The storage frame row 6 is arranged below the storage frame row 4, that is, the payout unit 10. The storage frame row 6 also includes a plurality of storage frames 14 arranged in a horizontal direction. These storage frames 14 have the same depth as the storage frame 8 but have a vertical length. The payout units 16 forming the bottom surface are arranged below the storage frames 14, respectively. These payout units 16 are similar to the payout unit 10 described above. Therefore, each storage frame 14 is also capable of stacking and storing tobacco in two front and rear rows.

A guide mounting member 18 is arranged at the lower part of the front surface of the storage frame row 6. This guide mounting member 18
Extend in the horizontal direction, and both ends thereof are formed as a pair of support legs 20 bent downward at positions deviating from the storage frame row 6. A tobacco guide 22 is mounted on the upper surface of the guide mounting member 18 for each storage frame 14,
These tobacco guides 22 are located at the front openings of the corresponding storage frames 14 and guide the tobacco descent in the storage frames 14. That is, as the tobacco is sequentially dispensed from the storage frame 14, the tobacco guide 22 guides the lowering of the front row of cigarettes in the storage frame 14.

In this regard, referring to FIG. 2, the function of the tobacco guide 22 can be more clearly understood. The lower part of each tobacco guide 22 is formed as a vertical guide portion 24 located closer to the storage frame 14 than the guide mounting member 18. The vertical guide portion 24 is located at a lower position in the front row of the cigarette T in the storage frame 14. Is positioned at a level capable of engaging with the second cigarette T.

The portion of the tobacco guide 22 above the vertical guide 22 is formed as an inclined guide 26,
The inclined guide 26 is inclined such that its upper part is separated from the storage frame 14. In addition, each tobacco guide 2
2 is fixed to a guide mounting member 18 via an adjustment plate 19, and the adjustment plate 19
The position of each tobacco guide 22 in the front-rear direction with respect to the front surface of the front 4 can be adjusted collectively.

Each support leg 20 of the guide mounting member 18 is
It is rotatably connected to the housing 2 via a similar support mechanism, and one of the support mechanisms will be described below. The support mechanism is configured to support the support legs 20 from the housing 2 side.
And a pair of fixed shafts 28, 30 protruding toward the right side, and these fixed shafts 28, 30 are arranged at a predetermined interval on the same vertical line. On the other hand, a vertically extending hole 32 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the support leg 20, and a pair of fixed shafts 28 and 30 are fitted into the vertically moved hole 32 so as to be relatively slidable. Therefore, when the guide mounting member 18 is in the first rotation position shown in FIG. 2, that is, when each tobacco guide 22 is in the closed position, the upper fixed shaft 2
The upper end of the elevating hole 32 of the support leg 20 abuts on the guide leg 8, whereby the guide mounting member 18 is supported by the fixed shaft 28 via the support leg 20. At this time, the lower fixed shaft 30 is positioned at the center of the lifting hole 32.

Further, a pivot hole 34 is formed in the support leg 20 separately from the elevating hole 32. When the guide mounting member 18 is at the first pivot position, the pivot hole 34 is located on the lower side. And extends horizontally from the lifting hole 32 in the direction opposite to the storage frame 14. At the opening end of the turning hole 34 facing the elevating hole 32, the lower inner wall has an arc shape so as to be smoothly connected to the elevating hole 32.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the mechanism of the above-described commodity dispensing unit 16. The dispensing unit 16 includes a pair of sprockets 36 and 38 which are separated from each other in a unit casing thereof. An endless drive chain 40 is wound around these sprockets 36 and 38. A plurality of pushers 42 are attached to the drive chain 40 at a predetermined interval, and these pushers 42 enter the lower part of the storage frame 14 from the rear as the drive chain 40 runs, and The lowermost tobacco T in 14 is pushed forward.

More specifically, assuming that the tobacco T in the storage frame 14 is in the state shown in FIG. 2, the lowermost tobacco TR in the rear row of cigarettes is pressed by the pusher 42, and the tobacco TR is placed in the front row of tobacco. , The lowermost tobacco TF is pushed out and paid out from the storage frame 14. When the pusher 42 goes under the tobacco front row together with the tobacco TR, the tobacco rear row lowers by one cigarette, and at this time, the advance of the pusher 42 is stopped. When the tobacco TF is dispensed, the tobacco on the tobacco TF is at a level in contact with the vertical guide 24 of the tobacco guide 22, so that the tobacco TF is not dragged and dispensed.

Thereafter, when the pusher 42 further advances in the storage frame 14, at this time, the tobacco TR sunk into the lower part of the front row of cigarettes is dispensed from the storage frame 14, and the front row of the tobacco is only for one cigarette. Descend. When the dispensing of the cigarette T described above is repeated, the tobacco T in the storage frame 14 decreases as shown in FIG. 3, and after that, it is necessary to replenish the tobacco T in the storage frame 14. The replenishment procedure will be described below.

First, the administrator opens the front door (not shown) of the vending machine, and then opens the guide mounting member 18 of the storage frame 14.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of fixed shafts 28, 30 in the lifting holes 32 of the support legs 20 are relatively slid toward the other end to support the lower fixed shaft 30. Leg 2
It is positioned at the level of the 0 rotation hole 34. Thereafter, if the guide mounting member 18 is tilted forward, the guide mounting member 18 is fixed to the fixed shaft 28 as shown in FIG. , And each tobacco guide 22 is stored in its storage frame 14.
Away from the front opening. At this time, the fixed shaft 28 further moves relatively toward the other end of the lifting hole 32.

When the guide mounting member 18 is further rotated, the guide mounting member 18 rotates through a horizontal posture as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 to a second rotation position shown in FIG. . In the second rotation position, the fixed shaft 28 relatively reaches the other end of the elevating hole 32, and the guide mounting member 18 does not further rotate, and the guide mounting member 18 is inclined downward. Held in state.

In the second rotation position of the guide mounting member 18, each of the tobacco guides 22 is put together and its storage frame 14
The front opening of the storage frame row 6 is completely opened, and the administrator enters the storage frame 14 to be refilled in the storage frame row 6 from the front opening thereof.
Supplementation of tobacco T can be easily performed. Storage frame row 6
When the refilling operation of the cigarette is completed, the administrator rotates the guide mounting member 18 in the opposite direction so as to lift it, returns it to the posture of FIG. 3, and then lowers it. After returning to the first rotation position, the tobacco guides 22 collectively close the front surface of the storage frame 14.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a storage frame opening / closing device according to a second embodiment. In the case of the second embodiment, only the shapes of the elevating hole 32 and the pivot hole 34 of the support leg 20 are different, and the other configuration is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment. Second
In the case of the embodiment, an upper lift hole 44 and a lower lift hole 46 independent of the pair of fixed shafts 28 and 30 are provided. The upper and lower lift holes 44 and 46 have upper and lower ends respectively located on the same vertical line as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. The portion connecting the upper and lower ends of the semicircle is curved in an arc shape. That is, when viewed from the middle part of the lower elevating hole 46, the upper end is bent.

A turning hole 48 extends from the lower end of the upper elevating hole 44 to the storage frame 14 side. The turning hole 48 has an arc shape with a radius R from the center of the semicircular lower end of the lower elevating hole 46. Is formed. When the guide mounting member 18 is in the first rotation position described above, the pair of fixed shafts 28, 30 are located at the upper ends of the upper and lower lifting holes 44, 46. In this case,
Each support leg 20 of the guide mounting member 18 is supported by a pair of fixed shafts 28 and 30, respectively. That is,
The distance between the upper ends of the upper and lower lifting holes 44 and 46 is the same as the distance between the pair of fixed shafts 28 and 30. The lower fixed shaft 30 is in a state where the inner edge of the upper end of the lower elevating hole 46 is engaged from below.

Therefore, when the guide mounting member 18 is in the first rotation position, that is, when each of the tobacco guides 22 is in the closed position, the tobacco row in the storage frame 14 is disturbed, and the tobacco guide 22 is moved by these tobacco. Even if a force such as pushing upward is applied, the lifting of the guide mounting member 18 is reliably prevented by the upper end of the lower lifting hole 46 engaging the fixed shaft 30. As a result, the guide mounting member 18 is not undesirably lifted.

Even in the case of the storage frame opening / closing device of the second embodiment, the respective tobacco guides 22 can be easily and collectively opened. In this case, the fixed shaft 30 and the lower lifting hole 46
In order to release the engagement with the upper end of the guide mounting member 18, the administrator pushes the lower part of the guide mounting member 18 obliquely upward to pull out the fixed shaft 30 from the upper end of the lower lifting hole 46. After releasing the engagement, the guide mounting member 18 is similarly lifted as shown in FIG. At this time, the fixed shafts 28, 30 are connected to the upper and lower lifting holes 44, 4 respectively.
6 at the lower end.

In this state, if the guide mounting member 18 is pulled down to the front side, the guide mounting member 18 is moved to the fixed shaft 28 while the fixed shaft 28 is guided into the rotation hole 48 as shown in FIG. It rotates around 30. When the fixed shaft 28 reaches the end of the rotation hole 48 as shown in FIG. 10, the rotation of the guide mounting member 18 is prevented, and the guide mounting member 18 is held at the second rotation position. Each of the tobacco guides 22 is collectively stored in the storage frame 14.
Front opening can be greatly opened.

In this state, after refilling the tobacco in the storage frame 14 in the same manner, the guide attaching member 18 is moved to the second position.
Returning from the rotation position to the first rotation position shown in FIG. 6, the tobacco guides 22 can collectively close the front opening of the storage frame 14. When the guide mounting member 18 is returned to the first rotation position, the guide mounting member 18 cannot be directly lowered from the state shown in FIG. 8, and in this case, the lower portion of the guide mounting member 18 is once tilted upward. After being pushed up, it is necessary to lower the guide mounting member 18.

In FIG. 6, members indicated by reference numeral 50 indicate sold-out switches of the cigarettes provided in the respective storage frames 14.
When the number of cigarettes becomes one, it protrudes into the storage frame 14 as indicated by a two-dot chain line, outputs an ON signal, and turns on a sold-out lamp (not shown) of the vending machine. The tobacco guide 22 of the above-described first and second embodiments has an upper portion formed as an inclined guide portion 26. However, as shown in FIG. When in the first rotation position, the storage frame 14 side may be a flat surface that is vertical.

[0033]

As described above, according to the storage frame opening / closing device of the first aspect, the guide mounting members are lifted and the guide mounting members are pivoted to the front side, and the respective guides are collectively and simply assembled. In this case, since one of the fixed shafts is guided into the rotation hole, the rotation of the guide mounting member does not become unstable, and thereafter, the guides are closed collectively. In such a case, it is only necessary to rotate the guide attaching member in the opposite direction. Then, according to the housing frame opening and closing device according to claim 1, when the guide is in the closed position, it means that both ends of the guide attaching member is supported by a pair of the fixed shaft, and that the support is stabilized. According to the storage frame opening / closing device of the second aspect , even if an upward force acts on the guide mounting member from the product in the storage frame via the guide, the inner edge of the upper end of the lower elevating hole is formed on the lower fixed shaft from below. Because of the engagement, there is an advantage that undesired lifting of the guide attaching member can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the inside of a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a storage frame row.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which a guide attaching member is lifted to replenish cigarettes in a storage frame.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the guide attaching member has been rotated from the state of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state where the guide mounting member is rotated from the state of FIG. 4 to an allowable position thereof.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a storage frame opening / closing device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a part of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a lifted state of a guide attaching member according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which the guide attaching member has been rotated from the state shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state in which the guide mounting member has been rotated from its state in FIG. 9 to its allowable position.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a modification of the tobacco guide.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Housing 4, 6 Storage frame row 10, 16 Payout unit 18 Guide mounting member 20 Support leg 22 Tobacco guide 28, 30 Fixed shaft 32 Lifting hole 34 Rotating hole 44 Upper lifting hole 46 Lower lifting hole 48 Rotating hole

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vending machine having a storage frame row, in which commodities are loaded from a front opening of each storage frame, and these commodities are stacked and stored in each storage frame, provided at a lower portion on the front side of the storage frame row. A guide mounting member extending horizontally along the storage frame row; and a plurality of guides mounted on the guide mounting member, located at front openings of the individual storage frames, and for guiding a product in the storage frames to descend. A pair of support means for supporting both ends of the guide mounting member on the housing side of the vending machine, wherein each of the support means is fixed to the housing side and faces one end face of the guide mounting member; A pair of upper and lower fixed shafts that protrude, formed on the end surface of the guide mounting member, and relatively acceptably receive the pair of fixed shafts vertically,
A lift hole that allows the fixed shaft to support the guide mounting member and allows the guide mounting member to be lifted, and extends from the lift hole to slide one of the fixed shafts when the guide mounting member is at the lifting position. moving freely guided placed, said a guide attachment member rotating holes to permit rotation within a predetermined range of, the lifting holes are provided independently for each of said pair of fixed axis
Upper and lower elevating holes, wherein the pivot hole extends in an arc shape from a lower end of the upper elevating hole.
Storage frame closing device for an automatic vending machine, characterized in that is. The upper end of claim 2 wherein said lower lifting holes, said guide attachment member accommodating frame opening and closing device for the automatic vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that bent in the rotational direction of the.