JP3700371B2 - Vending machine product storage device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product storage device for a vending machine that stores a large number of products side by side in a storage.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, what is shown in FIG. 5 is known as a goods storage device of this kind of vending machine. In the commodity storage device 70, a storage box 72 having heat insulation is provided in the vending machine body 71a of the vending machine 71. The storage box 72 includes eight pieces arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction. The product shelf 73 is accommodated. Each product shelf 73 extends in the front-rear direction and is screwed to the wall of the storage 72 in a horizontal posture, and a product rack 74 is attached to the upper surface thereof. The product rack 74 stores a large number of products (not shown) in the front-rear direction, and a delivery mechanism 75 for delivering the stored products forward one by one is provided at the front end thereof.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the conventional product storage device 70, the product shelves 73, 73 are equally spaced and each product shelf 73 is screwed to the wall of the storage 72. The height cannot be changed easily. For this reason, for example, when a product with a low height is stored in the product rack 74, there is a problem that a wasteful space is generated between the product and the product shelf 73 above the product and the storage efficiency is poor. On the other hand, when storing a high product such as a plastic bottle, it cannot be stored as it is. For this reason, one product shelf 73 is removed from the storage 72 by removing the screws. In addition, a storage space having a height capable of storing a plastic bottle must be secured. The operation of removing the product shelf 73 is cumbersome and time-consuming, and is a burden on the operator. In addition, since the height of the storage space to be secured by removing the product shelf 73 is constant, even when the PET bottle is stored in this space, depending on the height of the PET bottle, A wasteful space may occur between the product shelf 73 and the product shelf 73.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a product storage device for a vending machine capable of easily adjusting the height of a storage space of a product shelf and appropriately storing products of various heights. The purpose is to do.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Product storage device for a vending machine according to claim 1, a shelf, mounted to the shelves, and products rack rack mounted side multiple products in the longitudinal direction, provided in the vending machine main body, the shelf A storage having a plurality of mounting portions arranged in a vertical direction that can be mounted, and one of the left and right end portions of the product shelf and the left and right walls of the storage, a protrusion protruding to the other side, Each having a fitting protrusion protruding in a state of being biased to the other side, and an operation portion for projecting and retracting the fitting protrusion, and the other guides the protrusion in the vertical direction and includes a plurality of vertical protrusions. has a lockable guiding groove at the position, the fitting protrusion and fittable, said plurality of positions to a plurality of fitting holes arranged to correspond to the vertical direction, respectively, the shelves are the It is configured to be movable between a plurality of mounting portions.
[0006]
According to the product storage device of this vending machine, the height of the storage space above the product shelf can be adjusted by selecting one from a plurality of mounting parts and mounting the product shelf. . Thereby, when the product to be stored is changed, the height of the storage space above the product shelf can be easily adjusted to an appropriate one without excess or deficiency according to the change in the product height. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately store products having various heights by effectively using the storage space.
[0008]
Further , the left and right two protrusions formed on one of the product shelf and the storage wall are respectively guided in the other two left and right guide grooves to move in the vertical direction and are locked at a plurality of positions. Thus, by simply forming the left and right protrusions on one of the product shelf and the storage and the left and right guide grooves on the other, the mounting position can be changed vertically without removing the product shelf from the storage, and A structure for adjusting the height of the storage space above the product shelf can be realized at low cost. Therefore, for example, even when a product rack storing products is attached to the product shelf, the mounting position of the product shelf can be changed by only partially supporting these weights by moving the protrusion along the guide groove. That makes it easier.
[0010]
Further , the left and right fitting protrusions can be removed by applying a force in the counter-biasing direction by the operating portion , and then released to fit into the left and right holes using the biasing force. Accordingly, as described above, the product shelf whose mounting position has been changed can be positioned, fixed to the storage at the mounting position, and the operation of changing the fixing position can be easily performed. For the same reason, a structure for fixing the product shelf to the storage and changing the fixing position can be realized at low cost.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a product storage device for a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show a vending machine 1a provided with a product storage device 1 of the present embodiment. The vending machine 1a is of a so-called see-through type in which a product S to be actually sold such as a can beverage such as can coffee or a plastic bottle beverage can be visually recognized from the outside. The vending machine 1 a includes a vending machine body 2 and a main door 3 that opens and closes the front surface of the vending machine body 2. A transparent heat insulating glass 3a and a control panel 3b are attached to the main door 3, and a product purchaser refers to the product S stored in the vending machine 1a through the heat insulating glass 3a when purchasing the product. it can. In addition, the control panel 3b includes a cash input unit 3c and a product selection button 3d.
[0012]
A storage 4 is arranged in the vending machine main body 2. The wall 4a of the storage 4 is filled with a heat insulating material (not shown), whereby the storage 4 has a heat insulating property (heat retaining property). The storage 4 is partitioned into two upper and lower storage chambers 6 a and 6 b by a partition plate 5. The upper storage chamber 6a is a heating chamber for storing the product S while heating it, and a heating mechanism 7 including a heater and a fan is disposed near the ceiling. The lower storage chamber 6b is a cooling chamber for storing the product S while cooling, and a cooling mechanism 8 including an evaporator, a compressor, a fan, and the like is disposed below the lower storage chamber 6b.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper storage chamber 6a accommodates a total of twelve product racks (hereinafter referred to as “rack”) 9 in three stages in the vertical direction, with four in the left-right direction as one level. In the lower storage chamber 6b, a total of 16 racks 9 are accommodated, with four in the left-right direction being one level and four in the vertical direction. Each rack 9 stores a large number of products S in two lines in the front-rear direction, and these products S are 1 by a delivery mechanism 9a provided at a delivery outlet at the front end of the rack 9 when the products are sold. It is paid out diagonally forward and downward. A carry-out path 10 extending in the vertical direction is formed between the front end portion of the rack 9 and the heat insulating glass 3a, and the product S paid out from the payout opening is raised and lowered in the carry-out path 10 as will be described later. The elevator 14 is carried out downward. The product delivery mechanism 9a includes a transparent opening / closing plate 9b, and the frontmost product (sales product) S among the products S stored in the rack 9 is moved forward through the opening / closing plate 9b and the heat insulating glass 3a. It is possible to visually recognize the state in which the sale product S is paid out into the carry-out path 10 and carried out downward.
[0014]
Each of the four racks 9 in each stage is attached to a product shelf 11. The product shelf 11 is manufactured by bending a steel plate, and is partitioned into four storage portions 11a in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. These storage portions 11a are formed to extend in the front-rear direction in parallel to each other, and the rack 9 is stored in each storage portion 11a. The left and right ends of the product shelf 11 are attached to the left and right walls 4 a and 4 a of the storage 4. On both the left and right sides of the front end portion of the commodity shelf 11, there are formed mounting portions 11b and 11b that are notched and obliquely bent outward. Each mounting portion 11b includes a columnar fitting protrusion 11c protruding outward and a finger contact portion (operation portion) 11d extending in front thereof, and is elastically deformed by pressing the finger contact portion 11d. It has become. Further, on the left and right sides of the rear end portion of the commodity shelf 11, projections 11e and 11e (only one is shown) similar to the fitting projection 11c are formed symmetrically.
[0015]
On the other hand, two upper and lower round holes (a plurality of fitting holes) 4b and 4b are formed in front portions of the left and right walls 4a and 4a of the storage case 4, respectively. The upper round holes 4b of each wall 4a are arranged symmetrically as a set of left and right, and the lower round holes 4b are similarly arranged symmetrically as a set of left and right. Each round hole 4b has a diameter that can be fitted to each fitting projection 11c of the product shelf 11. In addition, two U-shaped guide grooves 4c and 4c are formed symmetrically with respect to each other at the rear part of the left and right walls 4a and 4a of the storage case 4, respectively. The distance between the upper and lower horizontal portions is set substantially the same as the distance between the upper and lower round holes 4b, 4b. Each protrusion 11e of the product shelf 11 is formed to be slidable along each guide groove 4c.
[0016]
The product shelf 11 configured as described above has a lower mounting position where each fitting projection 11c is fitted in each lower round hole 4b and each projection 11e engages a lower horizontal portion of each guide groove 4c (see FIG. 3 (b)) and the upper mounting position where each fitting projection 11c is fitted in each upper round hole 4b and each projection 11e engages the upper horizontal portion of each guide groove 4c. To be selectively attached. That is, the fitting protrusion 11 c and the round hole 4 b, and the protrusion 11 e and the guide groove 4 c constitute a mounting portion for mounting the product shelf 11 to the storage 4.
[0017]
The partition plate 5 that partitions the storage 4 is made of steel filled with a heat insulating material such as foamed polyurethane, and has high heat insulating properties. As shown in FIG. 2, the partition plate 5 has an opening 5b constituting a part of the carry-out path 10 between the partition plate 5 and the heat insulating glass 3a, and includes a flat shutter 12 for opening and closing the opening 5b. Yes. The shutter 12 is movably attached to the lower surface front end portion of the partition plate 5, and is driven in the front-rear direction by a drive mechanism 13 attached to the lower surface of the partition plate 5. The shutter 12 is made of steel and filled with a heat insulating material such as foamed polyurethane, and has heat insulating properties.
[0018]
An elevator 14 is disposed in the carry-out path 10, and a sales port 15 for selling the product S and a sales port shutter 16 for opening and closing the upper opening of the sales port 15 are provided below the elevator 14. ing. The elevator 14 has a mounting table 14a, and when the product is sold, the product S paid out from the paying mechanism 9a of each rack 9 is received by the mounting table 14a and conveyed to the vicinity of the sales port 15, and then downward. It comes to pay out. When this product is sold, the shutters 12 and 16 are opened and closed as necessary.
[0019]
Next, an operation for changing the mounting position of the product shelf 11 in accordance with the height change of the product S stored in the rack 9 will be described. As described above, the product shelf 11 can be selectively attached to two upper and lower attachment positions. For example, when changing the position of the product shelf 11 from the lower attachment position to the upper attachment position, By pushing the contact part 11d inward with a finger, the space | interval between the attaching parts 11b and 11b is narrowed, and each fitting protrusion 11c is removed from each lower round hole 4b. Next, the product shelf 11 is first pulled forward so that each projection 11e slides along each guide groove 4c, the rear end of the rack 9 is moved upward, and then pushed backward to guide the projection 11e. The groove 4c is moved from the lower horizontal portion to the upper horizontal portion. Thereafter, the finger is released from the finger rest 11d, and the fitting protrusion 11c is snapped into the upper round hole 4b using the elasticity of the mounting portion 11b. With the above operation, the attachment position of the commodity shelf 11 can be changed from the lower attachment position to the upper attachment position. The same can be done when changing from the upper mounting position to the lower mounting position.
[0020]
As described above in detail, according to the product storage device 1 of the present embodiment, the product shelf 11 is configured to be attached to the upper and lower two attachment positions of the storage 4, so that the product S stored in the rack 9 can be stored. According to the height change, the interval between the product shelves 11 and 11 can be easily adjusted to an appropriate one without excess or deficiency, and products of various heights can be appropriately stored. Also, as described above, the mounting position can be changed only by changing the position where the fitting protrusion 11c is fitted into the round hole 4b and the position where the protrusion 11e is locked to the guide groove 4c up and down. This can be done easily without removing the product shelf 11. Thus, for example, even when the product S is fully stored in the rack 9 of the product shelf 11, the protrusion 11e is moved along the guide groove 4c, so that only the weights are partially supported. The mounting position can be easily changed.
[0021]
Furthermore, the structure which changes the attachment position of the merchandise shelf 11 also forms the fitting protrusion 11c and the protrusion 11e in the right and left both ends of the merchandise shelf 11, and forms the round hole 4b and the guide groove 4c in the wall 4a of the storage 4. Just do it. Therefore, the structure which adjusts the space | interval between the merchandise shelves 11 and 11 to an appropriate thing without excess and deficiency is realizable at low cost.
[0022]
In the above embodiment, the mounting portion for mounting the product shelf 11 in the storage 4 has a structure in which the protrusion 11e moves in the guide groove 4c and the fitting protrusion 11c fits in the round hole 4b. but was, FIG. 4 shows the other embodiment, the left and right are formed to extend in the front-rear direction to the right and left walls of the storage case 4 a pair of grooves 4d, and 4d vertically multiple sets, and arranged This was with a guide channel is obtained by a structure in which insertion of the shelves 11 of the flat plate each set of grooves 4d, the 4d. If it does in this way, according to the height change of the goods S stored in the rack 9 of the goods shelf 11, by changing the position which inserts the goods shelf 11 in one set of groove | channels 4d and 4d, it is the same as that of the said embodiment. The interval between the product shelves 11, 11 can be adjusted to an appropriate one without excess or deficiency. For example, depending on the height of the product S to be stored, as shown in FIG. 4A, the product shelves 11 are arranged in eight upper and lower stages to store the product S, or as shown in FIG. The product shelf 11 can be arranged in seven upper and lower stages to store the product S.
[0023]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the vending machine which stores the goods S side by side in the rack 9 arrange | positioned in the substantially horizontal direction was demonstrated, the vending machine which accommodates the goods S in the rack arrange | positioned diagonally downward is demonstrated. You may apply the goods storage apparatus 1 of this invention to. Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the position of the merchandise shelf 11 was changed into two upper and lower attachment positions, the shape which has many round holes 4b up and down, and has many horizontal parts in the guide groove 4c By doing so, the position of the product shelf 11 may be changed to a large number of mounting positions on the top and bottom. In addition to this, the fitting protrusion 11c and the protrusion 11e may be formed on the wall 4a of the storage case 4, and the round hole 4b and the guide groove 4c may be formed on the commodity shelf 11.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the product storage device of the vending machine of the present invention, the height of the storage space above the product shelf can be easily adjusted to an appropriate one without excess or shortage according to the change in the product height. It is possible to appropriately store products of various heights.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A is a cross-sectional view of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the product storage device.
3A is a perspective view and FIG. 3B is a front view illustrating a configuration of a product shelf. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a vending machine provided with another product storage device.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the structure of a conventional product storage device of a vending machine.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise storage apparatus 1a Vending machine 2 Vending machine main body 4 Storage 4a Storage wall 4b Mounting part, hole 4c Mounting part, Guide groove 4d Mounting part, Groove 9 Product rack 11 Product shelf 11c Fitting protrusion 11e Projection S Product

Claims (1)

And shelves, wherein attached to shelves, and products rack rack mounted side multiple products in the longitudinal direction, provided in the vending machine main body, wherein the shelf plurality of mounting portions arranged in wearable vertical direction And a storage with
One of the left and right end portions of the product shelf and the left and right walls of the storage is a protrusion protruding to the other side, a fitting protrusion protruding in a state of being biased to the other side, and a protrusion and a protrusion of the fitting protrusion Each of the plurality of operating portions to be guided, the other guides the projection in the vertical direction, and can be engaged with the fitting projection. And a plurality of fitting holes arranged in the vertical direction at the position, and the product shelf is configured to be movable between the plurality of mounting portions. Product storage device.

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