JP3801053B2 - Vending machine product storage rack and product information board - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product storage rack and a product guide plate of a vending machine, and more particularly to the shape of a product guide plate that defines a meandering product passage and its mounting structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 8 shows a general vending machine that sells products such as bottled drinks, canned drinks, and plastic bottled drinks. In this vending machine, an outer door 2 and an inner door 3 are provided to be openable and closable at the front opening of the main body case 1, and a product storage rack 4 and a product discharge shooter 5 are provided inside the main body case 1. . As shown in FIG. 9, the product storage rack 4 is provided with a plurality of product passages 8 extending along the vertical direction. Each merchandise passage 8 has a merchandise loading tray 7 disposed at each upper end portion, and a merchandise carry-out mechanism 9 disposed at each lower end portion. Note that reference numeral 6 in FIG. 8 denotes a product outlet provided in the outer door 2.
[0003]
In this vending machine, products such as bottled beverages, canned beverages, and plastic bottled beverages are loaded from the product loading tray 7 in a landscape orientation. The introduced product is stored so as to overlap the product passage 8 corresponding to the product input tray 7. From this state, for example, when a charge is put into a vending machine and a purchase button for a desired product is pressed, the pedal 9a is appropriately driven in the product unloading mechanism 9 of the product passage 8 for storing the designated product. The products stored in the lowermost stage are paid out to the product outlet 6 through the shooter 5 one by one.
[0004]
As is clear from FIG. 9, the merchandise passage 8 of the vending machine is configured in a meandering manner by appropriately arranging a plurality of merchandise guide plates 10 between the pair of side plates 12. That is, each of the product guide plates 10 has a curved shape that protrudes outward, and is arranged in a vertical direction with the height positions shifted from each other, thereby defining a meandering product passage 8. Will come to life.
[0005]
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the mounting structure of the product guide plate 10. In this mounting structure, curled shaft-like portions 10a and 10b projecting sideways are provided at both upper and lower end portions of the product guide plate 10, and both end portions of the respective shaft-like portions 10a and 10b are inserted into the side plate 12. After being inserted into the holes 12a and 12b, the product guide plate 10 is attached between the pair of side plates 12 by caulking or expanding the diameter, for example.
[0006]
According to the product storage rack configured as described above, the products that are introduced into the product passage 8 in a manner of dropping from the product input tray 7 come into contact with the meandering product guide plate 10 in sequence, It becomes possible to reduce the drop impact.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the product storage rack of such a vending machine, the product guide plate 10 described above is applied to a single curved shape, and the shaft-like portions 10a and 10b provided at both upper and lower ends thereof are respectively used. It is made to attach to the side plate 12. Accordingly, even when a product to be thrown in contact with the product falls and a product load acts on the product guide plate 10, it can be sufficiently supported.
[0008]
However, it is not necessarily preferable for the work for assembling the product storage rack. That is, when the product guide plate 10 formed in a single curved shape is applied, a large number of product guide plates 10 are required to define one product passage 8 and the assembly work is complicated. become.
[0009]
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a product storage rack and a product guide plate of a vending machine that can sufficiently support a product load and can facilitate an assembly operation.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A product storage rack of a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present application is a vending machine configured to define a meandering product passage by disposing a curved product guide plate between a pair of side plates. In the product storage rack, a plurality of curved portions are continuously provided on the product guide plate, and an operation surface and a receiving surface that can be contacted in a tangential relationship with each other between the product guide plate and the side plate. provided, it characterized by supporting the product load applied to the product guide plate by contacting these working surface and the receiving surface to each other.
[0011]
Further, the product storage rack of the vending machine according to claim 2 of the present application is characterized in that, in claim 1 described above, a support piece projects from the side edge of the product guide plate, and the action is applied to the outer surface of the support piece. While forming a surface, the side plate is formed with an insertion hole through which the support piece can be inserted, and the receiving surface is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole.
[0012]
The product storage rack of the vending machine according to claim 3 of the present application projects from the side edge portion of the product guide plate in the above-described aspect of 2 so as to be able to be inserted into the insertion hole together with the support piece. In addition, a stopper piece is provided that prevents the product guide plate and the side plate from moving apart when the tip portion is bent after being inserted into the insertion hole.
[0013]
Also, product guide plate of the automatic vending machine according to claim 4 of the present application, a curved shape, Product information vending machine defining a tortuous commodity passage by facing disposed between the pair of side plates In the case where a plurality of curved portions are continuously provided in the plate, and a support piece that can be inserted into an insertion hole formed in the side plate is protruded from a side edge portion facing the side plate, and a product load acts. it characterized in that the outer surface of the support pieces so as to tangent to the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Exemplary embodiments of a product storage rack and a product guide plate of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 shows a product guide plate of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The product guide plate (so-called segment 20) illustrated here is similar to the one shown in FIG. 8, and is stored in a vending machine for products such as bottled beverages, canned beverages, and plastic bottled beverages. In the rack, the product passage 8 is formed between the pair of side plates 30 and is configured to have a plurality of curved portions 21 by a single plate-like member, for example, a steel plate. More specifically, three curved curved portions 21 that are concave toward the product passage 8 are provided, and a curved connecting portion 22 that is convex toward the product passage 8 is provided between the curved portions 21. Thus, three continuous curved portions 21 are formed in one segment 20. As is clear from FIG. 1A, the curved portions 21 are configured to have the same radius of curvature, and the connecting portions 22 are identical to each other and are more flexible than the curved portion 21. Is also configured to have a small radius of curvature.
[0016]
The segment 20 is provided with shaft-like portions 23 at both upper and lower end portions thereof, and support pieces 24 and stopper pieces 25 are provided at both left and right side edge portions thereof.
[0017]
The shaft-like portion 23 is configured by forming both upper and lower end portions of the segment 20 in a curled shape, and each end portion protrudes outward from the side edge of the segment 20.
[0018]
The support piece 24 is a tongue-like portion protruding outward from a portion corresponding to the connecting portion 22 at the side edge of the segment 20. Each support piece 24 has the same radius of curvature as the connecting portion 22 of the segment 20 and is curved so as to be convex in the same direction. The surface constitutes the working surface 24a. The stopper piece 25 is a tongue-like member that protrudes outward from a portion that is on both sides of each support piece 24 at the side edge of the segment 20. As is clear from FIG. 1B, the support piece 24 is formed to have a sufficient width and a larger width than the outer diameter of the shaft-like portion 23 described above, while the stopper piece 25 The width of the shaft-shaped portion 23 is narrow. Further, the protruding amount of the support piece 24 and the stopper piece 25 is substantially equal to the protruding amount of the shaft-like portion 23 and larger than the plate thickness of the side plate 30.
[0019]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the side plate 30 to which the segment 20 is attached is provided with a mounting hole 31 at a portion corresponding to the shaft-like portion 23 of the segment 20, and the support piece 24 and the stopper piece 25 of the segment 20. An insertion hole 32 is formed at a portion corresponding to. The mounting hole 31 is a circular hole having a slightly larger diameter than the shaft-like portion 23 of the segment 20. On the other hand, the insertion hole 32 is an arcuate hole curved in a direction along the connecting portion 22 of the segment 20. The inner peripheral surface located on the curved inward side of the insertion hole 32 is a portion that becomes the receiving surface 32a with respect to the action surface 24a of the segment 20 described above, and the radius of curvature is smaller than that of the action surface 24a. It is formed (see FIG. 4).
[0020]
When assembling a product storage rack with the segment 20 and the side plate 30 having the above-described configuration, first, both end portions of the shaft-like portion 23 provided in the segment 20 are inserted into the mounting holes 31 of the side plate 30 respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the support piece 24 and the stopper piece 25 are inserted through the insertion holes 32, respectively.
[0021]
From this state, if the portion protruding from the mounting hole 31 of the side plate 30 in the shaft-shaped portion 23 is caulked or the diameter thereof is increased, the shaft-shaped portion 23 is prevented from falling out of the mounting hole 31. The segment 20 is attached between the side plates 30. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, if the portion protruding from the insertion hole 32 of the side plate 30 in the stopper piece 25 is bent, the bent end portion of the stopper piece 25 is engaged with the outer surface of the side plate 30. Accordingly, the segment 20 and the side plate 30 are prevented from moving apart from each other.
[0022]
If the segments 20 are attached so as to face each other between the pair of side plates 30 as described above, they extend in a meandering manner along the vertical direction between the pair of side plates 30 and the mutually opposing segments 20. A merchandise passage 8 is defined.
[0023]
Here, according to the present embodiment, as described above, one continuous segment 21 is formed in one segment 20. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the number of handling parts compared to the case where the segment 20 formed in a single curved shape is used, and the assembling work can be remarkably facilitated.
[0024]
Further, in each segment 20, the action surface 24 a of the support piece 24 protruding from the portion corresponding to the connecting portion 22 at the side edge is in a state of facing the receiving surface 32 a in the insertion hole 32 of the side plate 30. The stopper pieces 25 provided on both sides of the support piece 24 are in a state of being prevented from moving away from each other with the side plate 30. Accordingly, when a product to be thrown in contact with the segment 20 comes into contact with the segment 20, the working surface 24a of the support piece 24 comes into contact with the receiving surface 32a of the insertion hole 32 with certainty. The product load acting on the segment 20 can be sufficiently supported by mutual contact with the receiving surface 32a.
[0025]
In addition, since the radius of curvature of the receiving surface 32a provided on the side plate 30 is smaller than that of the working surface 24a provided on the segment 20, the two come into contact with each other in a tangent relationship. Therefore, there is no possibility of causing a situation in which the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 32 is scraped by the edge of the support piece 24, and conversely, as the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 32 wears, the contact area between the both becomes larger. Even when used over a long period of time, it is possible to support the product load sufficiently and reliably.
[0026]
In the above-described embodiment, the support piece 24 is provided at a portion corresponding to the connecting portion 22 at the side edge of the segment 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a similar effect can be expected even if a support piece is provided at a portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the curved portion 21 at the side edge of the segment 20. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the curved outer side outer surface of the support piece 24 ′ becomes the working surface 24 a ′, and the inner peripheral surface located on the curved outer side of the insertion hole 32 ′ provided in the side plate 30. Becomes the receiving surface 32a '. Therefore, in order to bring the two into contact with each other in a tangent relationship, it is necessary to make the radius of curvature of the receiving surface 32a 'larger than the action surface 24a' of the support piece 24 '. In this case, the receiving surface 32a 'does not necessarily have to be curved, and may have an infinite curvature radius, that is, a flat surface.
[0027]
Further, the support piece 24 provided in the segment 20 does not necessarily have to be curved, and as shown in FIG. 6, a flat plate-like support piece 24 ″ may be provided. Also in the modification shown in FIG. If the inner peripheral surface located on the curved inner side of the insertion hole 32 ″ is the receiving surface 32a ″, both can be brought into contact with each other in a tangent relationship.
[0028]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the stopper piece 25 is provided integrally with the segment 20, and the stopper piece 25 is engaged with the side plate 30 to prevent the segment 20 and the side plate 30 from moving apart from each other. Therefore, the above-described operation and effect can be achieved without inviting an increase in the number of parts, but the stopper piece 25 is not necessarily provided integrally with the segment 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, a pipe 40 is installed between a pair of side plates 30, or a bar member 41 is installed between a pair of side plates 30 as shown in FIG. If the pair of side plates 30 is prevented from moving away from each other by the pipe 40 or the bar member 41, even when a product load acts on the segment 20, the receiving surface 24 a of the support piece 24 and the insertion hole 32 are received. The product load can be supported by reliably contacting the surface 32a.
[0029]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, three curved portions are formed in one segment. However, if there are a plurality of curved portions, the number is not necessarily three.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the product guide plate is provided with a plurality of curved portions in succession, and the working surface that can contact each other between the product guide plate and the side plate and Since the receiving surface is provided and the product load acting on the product guide plate is supported by bringing the working surface and the receiving surface into contact with each other, the product load is sufficiently supported and the assembly work is facilitated. It becomes possible to plan.
[0031]
In addition, since the working surface and the receiving surface are brought into contact with each other in a tangential relationship, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the working surface and the receiving surface are scraped away from each other. Conversely, as the wear of the two progresses, the contact area with each other increases, and even when used over a long period of time, the product load can be supported sufficiently and reliably.
[0032]
Moreover, according to the invention which concerns on Claim 2 , while providing a support piece in the side edge part of a product guide plate and comprising an action surface in the outer surface of this support piece, the said support piece can be inserted in a side plate. Since an insertion hole is formed and a receiving surface is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole, the support piece may be inserted into the insertion hole when defining the product passage. Can be facilitated.
[0033]
According to the invention of claim 3 , when the protrusion is provided on the side edge portion of the product guide plate in such a manner that it can be inserted into the insertion hole together with the support piece, and the tip end portion is bent after being inserted into the insertion hole. Since the stopper piece for preventing the product guide plate and the side plate from moving apart from each other is provided, the working surface and the receiving surface can be reliably brought into contact without increasing the number of parts.
[0034]
According to the invention according to claim 4 , in the product guide plate of the vending machine that forms a meandering shape and forms a meandering product passage by opposingly arranging between a pair of side plates, a plurality of curved portions A support piece that can be inserted into an insertion hole formed in the side plate at the side edge facing the side plate, and when the product load is applied, the outer surface of the support piece is inserted. Since it is made to be tangent to the inner peripheral surface of the hole, it is possible to sufficiently support the product load and to facilitate the assembling work. Moreover, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the outer surface of the support piece and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole are scraped away from each other. Conversely, as the wear of the two progresses, the contact area with each other increases, and even when used over a long period of time, the product load can be supported sufficiently and reliably.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a side view showing a product storage rack of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B shows a product guide plate of the vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing how the product guide plate and the side plate shown in FIG. 1 are attached.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a support mode of the support piece and stopper piece of the product guide plate and the insertion hole of the side plate.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a modification of the support mode of the support piece and the insertion hole.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a modified example of the support mode of the support piece and the insertion hole.
FIGS. 7A and 7B show a structure for preventing a pair of side plates from moving apart from each other. FIG. 7A shows an example in which a pipe is installed, and FIG. 7B shows an example in which a bar member is installed. is there.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view conceptually showing a general vending machine.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a product storage rack.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure for attaching a conventional product guide plate to a side plate.
[Explanation of symbols]
8 Product passage 20 Segment 21 Bending portion 22 Connecting portion 23 Shaft-shaped portion 24 Supporting piece 24a Working surface 25 Stopper piece 30 Side plate 31 Mounting hole 32 Insertion hole 32a Receiving surface 40 Pipe 41 Bar member

Claims (4)

In the product storage rack of the vending machine configured to define a meandering product passage by disposing a curved product guide plate between a pair of side plates,
A plurality of curved portions are continuously provided on the product guide plate, and an operation surface and a receiving surface are provided between the product guide plate and the side plate so as to be in contact with each other in a tangential relationship with each other. A merchandise storage rack of a vending machine, wherein a merchandise load acting on the merchandise guide plate is supported by bringing the receiving surfaces into contact with each other.   A support piece projects from the side edge of the product guide plate, and the working surface is formed on the outer surface of the support piece, while an insertion hole is formed in the side plate to allow the support piece to be inserted. The commodity storage rack of the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the receiving surface is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the hole.   The product guide plate and the side plate when projecting from the side edge portion of the product guide plate in a manner that can be inserted into the insertion hole together with the support piece, and bending the tip after being inserted through the insertion hole, The product storage rack of the vending machine according to claim 2, further comprising a stopper piece for preventing the mutual movement of the vending machines. In the product guide plate of the vending machine that forms a meandering product passage by forming a curved shape and opposingly arranged between a pair of side plates,
A plurality of curved portions are continuously provided, and a support piece that can be inserted into an insertion hole formed in the side plate is protruded from a side edge portion that faces the side plate, and the support piece is activated when a product load is applied. A product guide plate of a vending machine, wherein the outer surface of the vending machine is tangent to the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole.

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