JP3724299B2 - Vending machine product storage equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product storage device of a vending machine for canned beverages and bottled beverages, and more particularly to a product storage device of an easy access type vending machine having a product outlet at a middle position in front of the vending machine. Is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In vending machines for canned beverages and bottled beverages, the vending machine with the product outlet changed from the lower position to the middle position so that the purchaser can easily take out the products from the vending machine. Known as a vending machine, examples of this type of vending machine include those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-189899 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 8-9830.
[0003]
In addition, in vending machines for canned beverages and bottled beverages, one end (the front side of the chassis) is used as the product input end and the other end (the rear side of the chassis) in order to cope with the variety and diversification of the products sold. Is a product take-out end, and has a plurality of upper and lower slan tracks for placing products inclined downward from the product input end toward the product take-out end, so that a first-in first-out product can be loaded. Has been developed for a long time, and this type of vending machine is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-42235.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional vending machine using a slan track type product storage device as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-42235, a product from the product take-off end of each stage slan track is provided on the rear side of the housing. The vertical serpentine passage allows gravity to drop to the vicinity of the lowermost end, and the shooter connected to the lower end of the vertical serpentine passage causes the product to be discharged to the rear side of the housing. However, it is difficult to change the vending machine having such a configuration to an easy access type vending machine having a product outlet in the middle position because of the merchandise transport mechanism.
[0005]
For this reason, conventionally, it was not possible to accommodate a large amount of various products in a first-in first-out manner by adopting a slan track-type commodity accommodating device, and an easy access-type commodity take-out.
[0006]
The present invention was made to solve the above-described problems, and in a vending machine adopting a slan track type product storage device capable of storing a large number of products in a first-in first-out manner, without complicating the structure. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine product storage device improved so that easy-access-type product take-out can be performed without complicating the structure of the product take-out transport unit.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to claim 1 is partitioned in parallel on an inclined surface inclined downward from the front side to the back side of the vending machine housing. Commodity placement lanes are configured in a plurality of rows, and each product placement lane has product placement slan tracks on top and bottom in multiple stages, and each of the product placement lanes has a front end of the slan track. The product input end and the rear end side are the product takeout end, and a bend mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the product takeout end to take out one product for each product placement lane. The product take-out end of the product is provided with a flip-up type movable shooter plate having a length substantially equal to the lane width, and the movable shooter plate is substantially along the product placement surface of the product placement lane in a steady state. Keep the horizontal posture, The product is tilted by placing the product to be taken out from the product placement lane, and is configured to drop the product to be taken down on the movable shooter plate obliquely below, on the side of the casing on the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate, From the rear side of the chassis to the front side of the chassis, the forward / backward feed shooter that inclines downward and sends the product from the rear side of the chassis to the product outlet formed in the middle position of the front of the chassis, and from the most downstream end of the movable shooter plate A lifter that can be moved up and down is provided for receiving the product and passing it to the front-rear feed shooter.
[0008]
According to the above-described configuration, the product can be placed and accommodated for each product placement lane of the slan track of each stage, and the product from the product take-out end of each product placement lane is a movable shooter for each product placement lane. The product is guided to the plate and dropped diagonally downward, placed on the lifter from the movable shooter plate on the most downstream end side, and moved up and down to the forward and backward feed shooter. Sent to the exit.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a commodity storage device for a vending machine having a commodity transport conveyor for laterally feeding products to the lifter side at the rear end side of the lowermost slan track.
[0010]
According to the above-described configuration, the product that has fallen to the rear end side of the lowermost slan track without reaching the most downstream side movable shooter plate is laterally fed to the lifter side by the product transport conveyor, It is placed and transported up and down to the forward and backward feed shooter, and sent to the product take-out port formed at the middle position on the front of the housing by the forward and backward feed shooter.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the movable shooter plate is biased by a spring in a jumping direction that maintains a substantially horizontal posture along the commodity placement surface of the commodity placement lane. Is.
[0012]
According to the above-described configuration, the movable shooter plate is biased by the spring in a jumping direction that maintains a substantially horizontal posture along the product placement surface of the product placement lane, and maintains a substantially horizontal posture in a steady state to place the product. As a result, it is inclined obliquely downward depending on the weight of the product.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a product storage device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a commodity storage device of a vending machine according to the present invention.
[0014]
The product storage device 1 is provided in a housing (inner box) 50 of a vending machine, and has a plurality of slan tracks 2 for placing products of the same shape and configuration at equal intervals in the vertical direction. . Note that the slan track 2 at the lower position can be configured to be able to be pulled out forward of the housing 50.
[0015]
The slan track 2 has a plurality of lane dividers 4 on the inclined plate 3 inclined downward from the front side (front side of the machine) to the rear side (back side of the machine) of the case 50, and the longitudinal direction of the case 50 is determined. The product placement lanes 5 extending in a plurality of rows are configured, and in each product placement lane 5, the products G such as canned beverages are placed in a horizontal row. The width dimension of the commodity placement lane 5 can be set according to the dimension of the commodity G to be accommodated.
[0016]
The product placement lanes 5 each have a front end side of the slan track 2 as a product input end 6 and a rear end side as a product take-out end 7. A bend mechanism 8 is provided for picking up products one by one.
[0017]
Each product take-out end 7 of the product placement lane 5 is provided with a flip-up movable shooter plate 9 having a length substantially equal to the lane width. Each of the movable shooter plates 9 is supported by a hinge 10 so that the edge of the movable shooter plate 9 is pivotable in the vertical direction, and in a jumping direction that maintains a substantially horizontal posture along the product placement surface of the product placement lane 5 by a spring 11. It is energized. As a result, the movable shooter plate 9 maintains a substantially horizontal posture in a steady state, and the product G is placed on the movable shooter plate 9 in a diagonally downward direction according to the weight of the product G (see FIG. 2). Inclined to the right as viewed in 2.
[0018]
There is no need to provide the movable shooter plate 9 for the product placement lane 5 of the lowermost slan track 2, and the product G is laterally fed to the rear end side of the lowermost slan track 2 (rightward as viewed in FIG. 2). The goods conveyance conveyor 12 to be provided is provided substantially horizontally.
[0019]
The downstream side of the movable shooter plate 9 (the rightmost side in FIG. 2) is inclined downwardly from the rear side of the casing 50 toward the front side of the casing 50, and the rear side of the casing 50 Further, a forward / backward feed shooter 13 is provided for sending the product G to a product outlet 51 formed in the middle position on the front surface of the housing 50. Further, a lifter (condra) 14 that receives the product G from the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate 9 and passes the product G to the longitudinal feed shooter 13 is provided on the same side as the longitudinal feed shooter 13 so as to be lifted and lowered. It has been.
[0020]
Although the lifter 14 is not shown, the lifter 14 is moved up and down by being guided by the upper and lower guide rails, and is driven up and down by a general lifting drive mechanism such as a timing belt mechanism, an electric motor or the like. It moves up and down between the height position on the most downstream end side or the height position (most lowered position) of the product conveyor 12 and the height position on the inlet side of the front and rear feed shooter 13. In order to use the space, the cooling / heating unit 52 can be arranged in the vertical space of the forward / rearward feed shooter 14.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the product storage device of the vending machine configured as described above will be described. The rotation (replenishment) of the product G with respect to each product placement lane 5 of the slan track 2 of each stage is performed from the front side of the housing 50 to the product input end 6.
[0022]
In the sales operation, when coin insertion and product selection are performed, the bend mechanism 8 of the product placement lane 5 that stores the product G to be sold is operated. As a result, the commodity G to be sold falls from the commodity take-out end 7 of the commodity placement lane 5 onto the movable shooter plate 9 in front of it (on the rear side of the housing). When the product G falls on the movable shooter plate 9, the movable shooter plate 9 is inclined obliquely downward (downwardly as viewed in FIG. 2) due to the weight of the product G.
[0023]
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the product G slides on the inclined movable shooter plate 9 and falls onto the oblique lower movable shooter plate 9, and the movable shooter plate 9 is inclined one after another. It falls on the lower movable shooter 9 and reaches the most downstream end side (right end side as viewed in FIG. 2) of the movable shooter plate 9. At this time, since the lifter 14 has already moved up and down to the height position corresponding to the height position where the product G falls on the lifter 14 from the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate 9, the most downstream side of the movable shooter plate 9. The product G is mounted on the lifter 14 from the end side.
[0024]
The lifter 14 moves up and down to a height position on the inlet side of the front / rear feed shooter 13 with the product G mounted thereon, and passes the product G to the front / rear feed shooter 13. As a result, the product G rolls on the front-rear feed shooter 13, travels to the product take-out port 51, and is taken out from the product take-out port 51. Since the product outlet 51 is formed at the middle position on the front surface of the housing, easy-access-type product extraction is performed.
[0025]
As shown in the lower side of FIG. 2, the movable shooter plate 9, as shown in the lower side of FIG. 2, regarding the product take-off from the product placement lane 5 at a position farther from the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate 9. Alone, the product G cannot be shoot-feeded to the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate 9, and therefore, the product G dropped to the rear end side of the lowermost slan track 2 and the lowermost slan track 2 The product G from the product placement lane 5 is placed on the feed conveyor 12, is laterally fed to the position where the lifter 14 is disposed by the lateral feed conveyor 12, and is delivered to the lifter 14 from the lateral feed conveyor 12.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As will be understood from the above description, according to the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention (claim 1), the commodity can be placed and accommodated for each commodity placement lane of the slan track of each stage. Products from the product take-out end of the loading lane are guided to the movable shooter plate of each loading lane in order and fall diagonally downward, and are placed on the lifter from the movable shooter plate on the most downstream end side and forward and backward A vending machine adopting a slan track type product storage device that can store a large amount of various products in a first-in first-out manner because it is transported up and down to the shooter and sent to the product take-out port formed in the middle position in front of the housing by the forward and backward feed shooter. In this case, easy-access-type product takeout is performed without complicating the structure.
[0027]
Further, according to the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention (Claim 2), the commodity that has fallen to the rear end side of the lowermost slan track without reaching the movable shooter plate on the most downstream end side is The product is transported to the lifter side by the product conveyor, placed on the lifter, moved up and down to the forward and backward feed shooter, and sent to the product outlet formed at the middle position on the front of the housing by the forward and backward feed shooter. Products from the product loading lane of the slang truck will also be picked up with easy access.
[0028]
Further, according to the commodity storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention (Claim 3), the movable shooter plate is kept in a substantially horizontal posture by a spring in a steady state, and the product is placed diagonally downward by the weight of the commodity. Since it tilts in the direction, it operates without the need for a special power mechanism or control device, and the vending machine adopts a slan track type product storage device that can store a large number of products in a first-in first-out manner. This makes it possible to take out products with easy access.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front perspective view showing the entirety of an embodiment of a product storage device for a vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear view showing one embodiment of the commodity storage / extraction apparatus of the vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing one embodiment of the product storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view showing the main part of one embodiment of the product storage device of the vending machine according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity accommodation apparatus 2 Slan track 5 Commodity placement lane 6 Commodity introduction end 7 Commodity extraction end 8 Bend mechanism 9 Movable shooter plate 11 Spring 12 Commodity conveyer 13 Front / rear feed shooter 14 Lifter 50 Housing

Claims (3)

Products in which a plurality of product placement lanes are arranged in parallel on an inclined surface inclined downward from the front side to the back side of the vending machine housing, and products are placed on each product placement lane It has a slang track for mounting in upper and lower stages,
Each of the product placement lanes has a front end side of the slan track as a product input end and a rear end side as a product takeout end, and each product placement lane has one product in the vicinity of the product takeout end. A bend mechanism to take out is provided,
A jump-up type movable shooter plate having a length substantially equal to the lane width is provided at each of the product loading lanes of the product placement lane, and the movable shooter plate is in a steady state the product of the product placement lane. It is configured to maintain a substantially horizontal posture along the placement surface, tilt by placing the takeout product from the product placement lane, and drop the takeout product on the movable shooter plate obliquely below,
The product side of the movable shooter plate on the most downstream end side of the housing is inclined to a downward slope from the housing back side toward the housing front side, and the product is taken from the housing back side to the product outlet formed at the middle position of the housing front side. An article storage device for a vending machine, comprising: a forward / backward feeding shooter; and a lifter that can be moved up and down to receive the commodity from the most downstream end side of the movable shooter plate and pass it to the forward / backward feeding shooter. 2. The product storage device for a vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a product transport conveyor for laterally feeding products to the lifter side at the rear end side of the lowermost slan track. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable shooter plate is biased by a spring in a jumping direction that maintains a substantially horizontal posture along a product placement surface of the product placement lane. Goods storage device.

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