JP3508900B2 - Vending machine product unloading 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 so-called slant shelf type product in which product racks inclined downward and rearward are arranged in the vertical direction and the products are stored in a product passage formed by the product racks. The present invention relates to a product unloading device of a vending machine that unloads a product from a rack.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a device shown in FIG. 6 is known as this type of product unloading device. The product unloading device 50 includes a plurality of movable flaps 52 rotatably attached to the rear end of each product rack 51, and a corrugated plate 54 attached to a back wall 53 a of the vending machine body 53. , These movable flaps 52 and corrugated plates 54
Between them, a meandering delivery passage 55 extending in the up-down direction is formed. The movable flap 52 is urged upward by a spring (not shown).

[0006] Further, at the time of sale, the commodity S stored in the commodity passage 56 in the commodity rack 51 in a laid-down posture is ejected rearward by the operation of the ejection mechanism 57, and the movable flap is moved by its own weight. Press down 52. At this time, the product S is decelerated by receiving the elastic reaction force of the spring from the movable flap 52, is guided to the corrugated plate 54 side by the movable flap 52, and after hitting the corrugated plate 54, the next movable flap 52 side. Be led to. The product S descends in the delivery passage 55 while performing such a meandering motion, and after passing through the delivery passage 55, falls on the chute 58, is guided forward along the inclined surface thereof, and is discharged. It is dropped into the product sales port 60 via 59.

As described above, when the product S passes through the delivery passage 55, the elastic reaction force of each movable flap 52 acts on the product S, and the product S performs a meandering motion to accelerate the product S to some extent. By this, the impact when the product S collides with the chute 57 and the bottom surface of the product sales port 59 is softened, and the noise resulting from this impact is reduced.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional product unloading device 50, the product S is loaded from the upper sloping shelf 51 in particular.
When the product S is discharged, the product S cannot be sufficiently decelerated because the distance to the lower end of the delivery passage 55 becomes long and acceleration tends to occur. As a result, the product S collides with the chute 57 and the product sales outlet 59. As a result, the impact becomes large, and it becomes difficult to prevent noise caused by this impact. If the falling speed to the chute 57 is increased, the product S
Is difficult to maintain in a sideways posture. For example, when the product S has a vertical orientation, the bottom surface of the product rack 51 at the bottom and the chute 5 are difficult to maintain.
Product S is clogged between 8 surface (shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure), is arising troubles such as can not be unloaded.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and when carrying out a product dispensed from a slant shelf type product rack, noise can be reduced and product clogging can be prevented. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product discharge device for a vending machine that can be used.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems] article conveying device for the automatic vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the product sales merchandise that is paid out from the commodity passage of a plurality of product racks inclined rearwardly downwards are arranged in the vertical direction A product discharging device for a vending machine for discharging to a mouth , which is formed between a product rack and a back wall behind the product rack, and has a delivery passage extending continuously in the up-down direction and a rear end of a plurality of product racks. A plurality of movable flaps that are rotatably attached to the portion and face the inside of the delivery passage, springs that urge each of the plurality of movable flaps upward, and a slanted bottom portion of the passage.
It is installed so that it extends downward and falls in the delivery passage.
And a chute to guide the
Attached to the lower end of the back wall above the room, facing the delivery passage and
The receiving position where it can be received and the upper surface is almost on the chute
Sending position where products that are continuous and received are sent to the chute
And a position to receive the damper
Urging means for urging the side .

According to this product unloading device, the product discharged from the product passage descends while sequentially pushing down the movable flap due to its own weight. At that time, the product is decelerated to some extent by the reaction force of the spring that urges each movable flap. After that, the product is placed in the damper at the receiving position.
Reached and once received this, the damper was sent
Rotate to the place. At that time, the damper is
While decelerating, gently rotate to the delivery position and then
The surface is almost continuous with the shoot and the product received
Send to the shoot. This allows you to pay from the product passage
The released product will be surely slowed down
Will be guided to the product sales outlet side. Thus, the quotient of the present invention
In the product unloading device, the products dropped in the delivery passage can be moved individually.
Sufficiently slowed down not only by flaps but also by dampers
In the state, the chute that is almost continuous with the upper surface of the damper
Will be sent to the customer
Due to this impact by being able to reduce the strike sufficiently
Noise can be reduced.

In the above, it is preferable that a plurality of other movable flaps facing the inside of the delivery passage are attached to the back wall, and that each of the plurality of other movable flaps has another spring for biasing them upward.

According to this structure, when the product passes through the delivery passage, it is further surely decelerated by another movable flap and another spring attached to the back wall, so that the product can be decelerated more effectively. Can be done.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for unloading goods of an automatic vending machine, which is an automatic vending machine for carrying out a product dispensed from a product passage of a plurality of product racks which are inclined downward and are arranged vertically and horizontally. And a plurality of delivery passages that are formed independently between each other in the left-right direction between a plurality of product racks and a back wall behind the product rack and that extend continuously in the up-down direction. Diagonally below and below each of
The quotient that is provided so as to extend to the beam
A chute and a shoe to guide the product to the product sales outlet side
The product is attached to the lower end of the back wall above the package and faces the inside of each delivery passage, and
The receiving position where it can be received and the upper surface is almost on the chute
Sending position where products that are continuous and received are sent to the chute
Position receiving the rotatable damper, da damper between location
Biasing means for biasing the side, the rotation of the delivery position of the da damper
It includes a detecting means for detect the.

According to this product unloading device, from the product passage
The delivered products will be moved in each delivery passage by their own weight.
It drops, reaches the damper at the receiving position, and
After being received by the husband, rotate the damper to the delivery position.
It At that time, the damper is not decelerated by the urging means.
Gently rotate to the delivery position and the top surface shoots.
It is almost continuous with and shoots the received products
Send out. As a result, the product dispensed from the product passage
After surely slowing down, the product sales outlet through the chute
Be guided to the side. In this way, the product unloading device of the present invention
The product that has dropped in each delivery passage is reduced by the damper.
A chute that is almost continuous with the top surface of the damper in the accelerated state
Will be sent slowly to the product, so a collision between the product and the shoot
It is possible to reduce the impact due to
Noise can be reduced. Further, since the detection means detects the rotation of the damper to the delivery position for each delivery passage, the product delivered from the product passage to the delivery passage and passed through the delivery passage is carried out to the chute side through the damper. Is
It can detect that it has been sold. As a result, in the product unloading device having a plurality of delivery passages, the sale of the product can be detected for each delivery passage. Therefore, if the product is not sold for some reason, which delivery passage can be accurately and easily specified. . Therefore, it is possible to stop the sale through the specified delivery passage and continue the sale of the product for another delivery passage.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a product discharge device for an automatic vending machine to which the present invention is applied will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this vending machine 2
Stores products with a circular cross section, such as canned drinks and bottled drinks,
It is for sale, and includes a vending machine body 3 and a main door 4 that opens and closes the front surface thereof. A front window 4a that constitutes a product display is provided on the front surface of the main door 4, and each product S is visible through the front window 4a and the transparent heat insulating door 5 (FIG. 2). . Further, a product selection button B is provided on the front surface of the main door 4, and the user inserts cash at the time of purchasing the product and presses the product selection button B while visually confirming the desired product S. Thus, the commodity S is selected and the conveyed commodity S is taken out from the commodity sales port C.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, four vertically long product storage boxes 6 are provided inside the vending machine body 3 (see FIG. 1). The thirteen product racks 8 arranged in the direction are fixed to the storage case main body 7 in a state in which they are inclined rearward, thereby forming a so-called slant shelf type. Each product rack 8 is formed with a product passage 9 for accommodating the products S in a sideways posture in a line, and is provided at the rear end of the product rack 8 to dispense the products S one by one at the time of sale. 10 and 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the rear of the product rack 8, the products S paid out from the product passage 9 are
A product carry-out device 1 for carrying out the product to the product sales port C is provided via the chute 14 and the payout opening 15 below, and the product carry-out device 1 is arranged for each of the four product storage boxes 6 described above. There is. Further, in the product unloading device 1, a delivery passage 11 extending continuously in the vertical direction is formed between the rear end of the product rack 8 and the back wall 7a of the storage case body 7. At the rear end of the
Is attached. The movable flap 12 is made of a steel plate or the like whose central portion is convexly curved upward, and is biased upward by a spring (not shown) in a state of being biased upwards. It is rotatably attached to the rear end portion of 8 and faces the inside of the delivery passage 11. A large number of other movable flaps 12a having the same structure are attached to the back wall 7a so as to face the delivery passage 11, and the movable flaps 12a of the back wall 7a are the movable flaps 12 of the respective product racks 8. They are arranged so that they do not overlap with each other and are staggered.

At the lower end of the back wall 7a, the delivery passage 1 is provided.
The damper 13 is rotatably attached so as to face 1. This damper 13, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
It is a plate made of, for example, a steel plate having a curved surface that is convexly curved downward, and is biased upward by a torsion coil spring 16 that is a biasing means. As a result, the damper 13 is normally held at the original position ( receiving position; position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5) capable of receiving the product S, and at the time of receiving the product S, the damper 13 is in the rotation position ( delivery position; Gently rotate to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line). Further, a chute 14 is provided below the damper 13, and when the damper 13 is rotated to the above rotation position, the upper surface of the damper 13 and the upper surface of the chute 14 are substantially flush with each other and are continuous. It is like this. This causes the damper 13 to shoot 1.
When the product S is delivered to the 4 side, the product S gently rolls from the upper surface of the damper 13 to the upper surface of the chute 14,
Almost no impact occurs.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A detection mechanism 17 is provided as detection means for detecting the rotation of the. The detection mechanism 17 includes a rotary plate 18 that is rotatably provided, a limit switch 19 that engages with one end 18a of the rotary plate 18 and is turned on when the one end 18a is separated, and the rotary plate 18 And a spring 20 for urging one end 18a thereof toward the limit switch 19 side. When the damper 13 is rotated to the above-mentioned rotation position, the rotation plate 18 is pushed by the damper 13 and rotates to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line.
However, limit switch 1 against the biasing force of spring 20
Leave 9 As a result, the limit switch 19 is turned on, and the detection mechanism 17 detects that the damper 13 has rotated to the rotation position.

Next, the unloading operation of the product unloading device 1 configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. At the time of sale, when the delivery mechanism 10 operates to deliver the product S from one of the product racks 8, for example, the highest product rack 8, the product S sequentially pushes down the movable flaps 12 and 12a by its own weight. While, and due to the spring force of the springs (not shown) of the movable flaps 12 and 12a, the movable flaps 12 and 12a descend in the delivery passage 11 while being decelerated to some extent. By being decelerated by the movable flaps 12 and 12a, the product S descends in the delivery passage 11 in a substantially sideways posture.

Thereafter, the product S reaches the lower end of the delivery passage 11 and is temporarily received by the damper 13 located at the original position. At this time, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 16 is acting on the damper 13, and this urging force causes
Since the damper 13 rotates very gently, the received product S is greatly decelerated. Also, this damper 13
Has a curved surface that is convexly curved downward, and therefore, when the product S is received, even if the product S falls in an oblique posture, the gentle rotation and the curved surface shape of the product S S is corrected horizontally, that is, it is laid down, and is temporarily held.

After that, when the damper 13 is rotated to the rotating position, the product S slowly rolls on the damper 13 and moves on the chute 14. At this time, the damper 13
Since the upper surface of the product and the upper surface of the chute 14 are almost flush with each other, no impact occurs when the product S moves from the damper 13 onto the chute 14. As a result, the product S
Is rolled or slid on the inclined surface of the chute 14, is dropped into the commodity sales outlet C through the payout outlet 15, and is provided to the consumer. Further, when the damper 13 is rotated to the rotation position, the rotation plate 18 of the detection mechanism 17 is pushed by the damper 13 and resists the biasing force of the spring 20.
Rotate to the position shown by the dashed line. As a result, the limit switch 19 is turned on, and it is detected that the product S has been carried out through the delivery passage 11. After that, the damper 13 is rotated to the original position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 16, and accordingly, the rotating plate 18 is also rotated to turn off the limit switch 19 and wait for the next product S to be sold. It will be in a standby state.

As described above, according to the product unloading device 1 of this embodiment, the product S falling in the delivery passage 11 is provided not only on the movable flaps 12 and 12a but also on the lower end portion of the delivery passage 11. After slowing down sufficiently with the damper 13,
It can be moved onto the chute 14. Therefore, the shock caused by the collision with the chute 14 or the commodity sales outlet C can be sufficiently buffered, and the noise caused by the shock can be reduced. Further, by sufficiently decelerating the product S and maintaining the horizontal posture of the product S by the curved surface shape of the damper 13, it is possible to maintain the product S in a horizontal posture, so that the product S in the delivery passage can be maintained. The product S can be smoothly transported to the product sales port C without causing a jam.

Furthermore, the rotation of the damper 13 is controlled by the delivery passage 1
By detecting with the detection mechanism 17 provided at the lower end of 1, the sale of the product S can be detected for each delivery passage 11, so that even if the consumer inserts cash and presses the product selection button B, Regardless, if the product S is not sold for some reason, it is possible to accurately and easily specify which delivery passage 11 it is. As a result, it is possible to stop the sales operation using the specified delivery passage 11 and continue the sale of the product S for another delivery passage 11, and also to perform the maintenance of the identified delivery passage. It will be easier.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and can be implemented in various modes.
For example, in the embodiment, the torsion coil spring 16 is used as the urging unit that urges the damper 13 upward, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an oil bumper, an air cylinder type or an air diaphragm type air spring, or the like may be used. Damper 13
It suffices to reduce the rotation speed to the rotation position of and to return the damper 13 to the original position after the sale of the product S. Further, the movable flap 12 is provided at the rear end of the product rack 8, and another movable flap 12a is provided at the back wall 7a of the delivery passage 11.
Alternatively, the movable flap 12 alone may be attached to the rear end of the product rack 8 so that the product S descends while being decelerated between the movable flap 12 and the back wall 7a. Further, as the detection mechanism 17 for detecting the rotation of the damper 13, the one provided with the limit switch 19 is used, but not limited to this, various sensors such as a photo sensor may be used.

[0024]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, in the product unloading device of the vending machine according to the present invention, when the product delivered from the slant shelf type product rack is carried out, noise can be reduced and the product can be prevented from being jammed. Further, in the product discharge device of the vending machine according to claim 3, when the product is not sold for some reason, which delivery passage can be accurately and easily specified. Therefore, the sale by the identified delivery passage is stopped. , It becomes possible to continue to sell products for other delivery passages.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an automatic vending machine to which a product unloading device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an automatic vending machine equipped with a product unloading device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a product unloading device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a damper and a chute of the product unloading device.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the operation of the detection mechanism of the product unloading device.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a conventional product unloading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Product unloading device 2 vending machines 7a Back wall 8 product racks 9 product passages 11 Delivery passage 12 Movable flap 12a Another movable flap 13 damper 16 Torsion coil spring (biasing means) 17 Detection mechanism (detection means) S product

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hideki Fujimoto Inventor Hideki Fujimoto 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-55-80100 (JP, A) JP Hei 5-189654 (JP, A) Actual development Sho 58-28368 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 9/10-11/60

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product that is dispensed from a product passage of a plurality of product racks that are inclined rearward and are arranged vertically.
A commodity discharge apparatus for a vending machine for carrying out the merchandise sales outlet, is formed between the product rack and rear wall of the rear, upper
A delivery passage that extends continuously in the downward direction , a plurality of movable flaps that are rotatably attached to the rear ends of the plurality of product racks, and that face the delivery passage, and the plurality of movable flaps are set upward. A biasing spring and a spring provided below the delivery passage so as to extend obliquely downward to the front.
The product that has been dropped through the delivery passage
Attached to the lower end of the back wall above the chute for guiding
To face the inside of the delivery passage,
The receiving position where you can catch the dropped product,
Product whose surface is almost continuous to the chute and which is received
An automatic vending machine, comprising: a damper that is rotatable between a sending position that sends the dump to the chute; and a biasing unit that biases the damper toward the receiving position. Goods unloading device. 2. A plurality of other movable flaps facing the inside of the delivery passage are attached to the back wall, and each of the plurality of other movable flaps has another spring for biasing upward. The article unloading device for an automatic vending machine according to claim 1. 3. A product unloading device of an automatic vending machine for carrying out a product delivered from a product passage of a plurality of product racks, which are inclined rearward and downward and arranged vertically and horizontally, to a product sales outlet. A plurality of delivery passages that are formed independently of each other in the left-right direction between the plurality of product racks and a back wall behind the product racks, and extend continuously in the up-down direction , and below each of the plurality of delivery passages. Extending diagonally to the front
Are installed so that the products that fall through the respective delivery passages are
Attached to the chute for guiding to the product sales port side and the lower end of the back wall above the chute.
Are, together with facing the respective delivery passage, wherein each delivery passage
Received and stopper position capable of receiving the goods that have dropped the road
And the upper surface is almost continuous with the chute and the receiving
Rotate between the product and the delivery position where the product is delivered to the chute.
And freely damper, those 該Da biasing means for biasing the position side receiving said damper, detecting means for detect the rotation to the delivery position prior Kida damper
If, product unloading device for an automatic vending machine characterized in that it comprises.