JP3826643B2 - Vending machine product storage and product retrieval equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product storage and product take-out device for a vending machine, and in particular, in an automatic vending machine for canned beverages and bottled beverages, an easy access type in which a product take-out port is located at a middle position in front of the vending machine. The present invention relates to a product storage and product take-out device of a vending machine.
[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 has been impossible to combine a large number of products in a first-in first-out manner with the adoption of a slan track-type product storage device and an easy-access-type product take-out that is friendly to people.
[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 / product take-out device which is improved so that easy-access-type product take-out can be performed without complicating the structure of the product take-out conveyance unit.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, a product storage / product take-out device for a vending machine according to claim 1 is inclined downward from the front side to the back side of the vending machine case, and the vending machine case is provided. A plurality of product placement lanes extending in the front-rear direction of the vending machine housing on an inclined surface that is vertically inclined in the horizontal width direction of the product, and for placing products on each product placement lane There are multiple slan tracks in the upper and lower stages. The slan track has a front end as a product input end, a rear end as a product take-out end, and one product for each product placement lane in the vicinity of the product take-out end. A bend mechanism is provided to take out each, and rear lateral feed shooters extending along the lateral width direction of the slan track and inclined in the same direction as the slant direction of the slan track in the lateral direction of the chassis are provided on the rear side of the chassis. Corrugated slant It is provided for each rack or each multi-stage slan track, and on the lower end side of the rear lateral feed shooter, the product is inclined downward from the rear side of the chassis toward the front side of the chassis, and the product is placed on the front side of the chassis. A side front / rear feed shooter that is sent to a product take-out port formed at a middle position, and a liftable lifter that receives a product from the rear lateral feed shooter and passes it to the side front / rear feed shooter are provided. .
[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 fed to the rear lateral feed by the rear lateral feed shooter. It moves to the lower end side of the shuta, and is thereby placed on the lifter and conveyed up and down to the side front / rear feed shooter, and sent by the side front / rear feed shooter to the product outlet formed at the middle position on the front of the housing. In this case, the product placement surface of the product placement lane is inclined in the lateral width direction of the housing, and the product can be placed on one side by gravity.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a product storage / removal device for a vending machine, wherein the side front / rear feed shooter and the lifter have a unit structure that can be pulled out forward of the housing. According to the above-described configuration, the side forward / backward feed shooter and the lifter can be pulled out to the front of the housing by the unit structure, and the maintainability is improved.
[0012]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus for storing and taking out goods of the vending machine, wherein the slan track at the lower position can be pulled out forward of the housing. According to the above-described configuration, the slan track at the lower stage can be pulled out forward of the housing, and the product loading workability, the slan track cleaning workability, and the maintenance workability with respect to the lower stage slan track are improved.
[0013]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine for storing and extracting merchandise, in which a partition plate that divides the hot zone from the cool zone is detachably attached to a slan track at any stage. According to the above-described configuration, the partition plate can be set so as to be able to be inserted / removed with respect to the slan track of an arbitrary stage, that is, changeable, and the volume ratio between the hot zone and the cool zone can be changed.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a product storage / product extraction device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a commodity storage / extraction apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention.
[0015]
The product storage / product take-out 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 ( For example, 12 stages).
[0016]
The slan track 2 is inclined downward (α degree with respect to the horizontal plane) from the front side of the chassis 50 toward the back side, and vertically (in the horizontal direction when viewed from the chassis front side) in the horizontal width direction of the chassis 50. A plurality of product placement lanes 5 extending in the front-rear direction of the housing 50 are formed by a plurality of lane dividers 4 on the inclined plate 3 inclined downward (θ degrees). Products G such as canned beverages are placed in a horizontal row. The width dimension of the commodity placement lane 5 can be set in accordance with the dimension of the commodity G to be accommodated.
The slan track 2 has a front end as a product input end 6 and a rear end as a product take-out end 7. In the vicinity of the product take-out end 7 , as shown in FIG. A bend mechanism 8 is provided for picking up products one by one. In FIG. 3, the bend mechanism 8 is shown only for the uppermost slan track 2, and the bend mechanism 8 of the other slan track 2 is not shown. The slan track 2 at the lower position can be pulled out forward of the housing 50 as shown in FIG.
[0018]
On the rear side of the casing 50, a rear lateral feed shooter 9 extending along the casing width direction of the slan track 2 and inclined in the same direction as the inclination direction of the slan track 2 in the casing width direction is provided in a plurality of stages (for example, It is provided for every three-stage slan track 2. The rear lateral feed shooter 9 may be provided for each slan track 2 as required.
[0019]
On the lower end side of the rear lateral feed shooter 9 (on the right side when viewed from the front side of the housing), a drawer-type product transport unit 10 is provided. The product transport unit 10 can be pulled out in front of the housing 50 and is inclined downwardly from the rear surface side of the housing 50 toward the front surface of the housing 50 to form the product G at the middle position on the front surface of the housing. A side front / rear feed shooter 12 to be sent to the product take-out port 11, and a lifter 14 that can be moved up and down to receive the product G from the rear lateral feed shooter 9 from the window 13 and pass it to the inlet of the side front / rear feed shooter 12. is doing.
[0020]
Although the lifter 14 is not shown, the lifter 14 is lifted and lowered by a general lifting drive mechanism such as a timing belt mechanism, an electric motor or the like while being guided by the upper and lower guide rails. It moves up and down between the vertical position and the height position of the entrance of the side front / rear feed shooter 12.
[0021]
A partition plate (free wall) 15 that separates the hot zone and the cool zone is detachably attached to the slan track 2 at an arbitrary stage. Although not shown in the drawing, a cooling device (evaporator) is provided at the bottom of the housing 50 and a heating device (heater) is provided at the top of the housing 50, so that the upper side of the partition plate 15 is the hot zone and the lower side is Become a cool zone.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the product storage / extraction device of the vending machine having the above-described configuration 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. In this case, since the slan track 2 at the lower stage can be pulled out forward of the housing, the loading operability of the product G with respect to the slan track 2 at the lower stage, the cleaning operability of the slan track, and the maintenance operability are improved.
[0023]
Since the product placement surface of each product placement lane 5 is inclined in the lateral width direction of the housing 50, the product G can be brought to one side in each product placement lane 5 and placed neatly by gravity.
[0024]
In the selling operation, when a coin is inserted and a product is selected, the lifter 14 moves up and down to the height position of the slang track 2 including the product placement lane 5 that stores the product G to be sold. The bend mechanism 8 of the product placement lane 5 containing the product G is operated. As a result, the product G to be sold falls onto the rear lateral feed shooter 9 from the product take-out end 7 of the product placement lane 5, and slides on the rear lateral feed shooter 9 in the lateral width direction of the rear lateral feed shooter 9. It goes to the window 13 on the descending end side, and is mounted on the lifter 14 through the window 13.
[0025]
When the product G is placed on the lifter 14, the lifter 14 moves up and down to the height position of the entrance of the side front / rear feed shooter 12, and the product G on the lifter 14 is sent out to the side front / rear feed shooter 12. As a result, the product G slides on the side forward / rearward feed shooter 12 in the longitudinal direction of the housing toward the product outlet 11 and is taken out from the product outlet 11. Since the product take-out port 11 is formed at the middle position on the front surface of the housing, the easy-access type product take-out is performed.
[0026]
Moreover, since the side part back-and-forth feed shooter 12 and the lifter 14 are unit-structured by the commodity transport unit 10 and can be pulled out to the front of the housing 50, their maintainability is improved.
[0027]
FIG. 6 shows an excerpt of the essential part of another embodiment of the product storage / extraction device of the vending machine according to the present invention. In FIG. 6, the same or similar components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0028]
In this embodiment, a plurality of product placement lanes 5 of each slang track 2 are provided in a stepwise shape in the lateral width direction of the chassis, in other words, in a stepped field shape. Also in this case, the slan track 2 (product placement lane 5) is inclined downward (α degrees with respect to the horizontal plane) from the front side to the back side of the housing, and vertically (in front of the housing 50). Commodity placement lanes 5 are present in a staircase pattern along an inclination line that is inclined to the right by θ degrees downward from the horizontal plane when viewed from the side.
[0029]
Other than the above-described configuration, the configuration is the same as that of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, this embodiment can provide the same operations and effects as those of the above-described embodiment. However, in this embodiment, product placement surface of the product placement lane 5 becomes horizontal, the ones with an inclination facing the housing of the ward commodity G is placed.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As can be understood from the above description, according to the product storage / product take-out device (claim 1) of the vending machine according to the present invention, the product can be placed and housed for each product placement lane of the slan track of each stage. The product from the product take-out end of each product placement lane is moved to the lower end side of the rear lateral feed shooter by the rear lateral feed shooter, and is thereby moved up and down to the side front and rear feed shooter by being placed on the lifter. Since it is sent to the product outlet formed in the middle position on the front of the housing by the side front / rear feed shooter, the structure of the vending machine adopting the slan track type product storage device that can store a large amount of products in a first-in first-out manner. Easy access-type product take-out is performed without making it complicated, and in particular, without making the structure of the product take-out conveyance unit complicated.
[0031]
In addition, according to the product storage and product take-out device of the vending machine according to the present invention (Claim 2 ), the side front / rear feed shooter and the lifter can be pulled out to the front of the housing by the unit structure. Improved.
[0032]
In addition, according to the product storage and product take-out device of the vending machine according to the present invention (claim 3 ), the slan track at the lower stage can be pulled out to the front of the housing. Performance, slan track cleaning workability, and maintenance workability are improved.
[0033]
In addition, according to the product storage and product take-out device of the vending machine according to the present invention (Claim 4 ), the partition plate can be inserted into and removed from an arbitrary stage of the slan track, that is, changeable, Since the volume ratio of the cool zone can be changed, it is highly versatile and flexible in terms of sales form.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment of a product storage / extraction device of a vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment (a state in which the product transport unit is pulled out) of the product storage and product take-out device of the vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing one embodiment of a commodity storage / extraction apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment (slan track pull-out state) of the product storage / removal device of the vending machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment (partition plate withdrawn state) of the product storage / removal device of the vending machine according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an essential part of another embodiment of the product storage / extraction device of the vending machine according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity accommodation / product taking-out apparatus 2 Slunk truck 5 Commodity loading lane 6 Commodity introduction end 7 Commodity extraction end 8 Bend mechanism 9 Rear lateral feed shooter 10 Commodity conveyance unit 11 Commodity exit 12 Side front / rear feed shooter 14 Lifter 15 Partition plate 50 body

Claims (4)

Product placement that inclines in a downward slope from the front side to the back side of the vending machine housing and extends in the front-rear direction of the vending machine housing on an inclined surface that is inclined up and down in the width direction of the vending machine housing. The lanes are arranged in multiple rows, and each product placement lane has product loading slan tracks on top and bottom in multiple stages.
The slan track has a front end as a product input end and a rear end as a product take-out end, and a bend mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the product take-out end to take out one product for each product placement lane.
A rear lateral feed shooter extending along the lateral width direction of the slan track and inclined in the same direction as the slant direction of the lateral width direction of the slan track is provided on the rear surface side of the slan track. Provided for each slang track,
On the descending end side of the rear lateral feed shooter, the front and rear sides of the rear side feed shooter are inclined downwardly from the rear side of the chassis toward the front side of the chassis, and the product is sent from the rear side of the chassis to the product outlet formed in the middle position of the front of the chassis A product storage and product take-out device for a vending machine, comprising: a feed shooter; and a lifter that can receive and lift a product from the rear lateral feed shooter and pass it to the side front / rear feed shooter. 2. The product storage and product take-out device for a vending machine according to claim 1 , wherein the side front / rear feed shooter and the lifter have a unit structure that can be pulled out forward of the housing. 3. The apparatus for storing and taking out goods of a vending machine according to claim 1 , wherein the slan track at the lower stage can be pulled out forward of the housing. The product storage of the vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a partition plate that divides the hot zone and the cool zone is detachably attached to a slan track at an arbitrary stage. -Product take-out device.

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