JP4044247B2 - Self-closing door and article storage using it - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a self-closing door that is kept closed by its own weight, and an article storage such as a vending machine using the door, and is particularly excellent in sealing performance and opened with a light force. It relates to a door that can be used and an article storage that uses it.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In vending machines for juices, colas, drinks such as drinks, and other various foods, it is necessary to refrigerate or keep the items contained in the vending machine, and appropriate temperature control is required. . Therefore, in this kind of article storage, the whole storage is a heat insulating container using a heat insulating material, and a door is provided at an opening for taking out the article, and the door is sealed except when the article is taken out. As a result, the temperature inside the container is ensured to be constant.
[0003]
On the other hand, a general vending machine is provided with a device for automatically discharging internal items when a fee is charged. Although there are various types of this apparatus, a conveyor or a press rod using a motor as a drive source is often used.
[0004]
FIG. 9 shows an example of the prior art of such a vending machine. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 50 denotes a container in which an article M is built, which has a box shape with the entire front surface opened, and its wall surface is made of a heat insulating material. A front door 51 is provided on the front surface of the storage 50 to be used when the article M is stored inside the storage. This front door 51 is normally opened in either the left or right direction by a hinge (not shown) provided on one side edge, and the contact portion between the front door 51 and the storage 50 is airtight. Packing 52 is provided to ensure. An opening 53 for discharging the articles M one by one is provided in the lower part of the front door 51, and a small door (hereinafter referred to as a small door) for sealing the opening 53 is provided outside the opening 53. 54) is provided. The small door 54 is rotatably attached to the front door 51 by a support shaft 55 provided at an upper portion thereof, and is always attached to the front surface side of the front door 51 by a helical coil spring 56 attached to the support shaft 55. The opening 53 is sealed by the force of the spring 56. A packing 57 is also provided around the opening 53 to ensure airtightness between the small door 54 and the opening 53.
[0005]
Inside the storage 50, articles M are stacked and stored in multiple stages. Below the lowermost article, a belt conveyor 58 for discharging the article M to the opening 53 side and a motor 59 as a driving source thereof. Is provided. A chute 60 is provided between the front end of the belt conveyor 58 and the opening 53 to drop articles sent from the belt conveyor 58 toward the opening 53.
[0006]
In such a conventional article storage, when the article M is sent to the opening 53 side by the belt conveyor 58, the small door 54 is pushed from the inside by the weight of the article M that has slipped down the chute 60, and the spring 56. Open against the power of. After the article passes through the opening 53, the small door 54 is again pressed against the surface of the front door 51 by the force of the spring 56, and the opening 53 is sealed.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, since the prior art as described above opens the small door 54 by the weight of the article M, the strength of the spring 56 cannot be increased so as to prevent the article from being clogged. . Therefore, the biasing force of the spring 56 is insufficient, so that the small door 54 cannot be strongly pressed against the packing 57 of the opening 53, and the airtightness is impaired.
[0008]
In addition, because of the nature of the spring, the force to close the door increases as the opening angle of the small door 54 increases, so that the force of the spring can be maximized when closing the small door that requires the most airtightness. could not.
[0009]
The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to make the door closely contact the opening with maximum force when the door is closed, Furthermore, it is to provide a self-closing door that can be opened and closed with a light force.
[0010]
Another object of the present invention is to use the door as described above, and to open and close the door by means for carrying out the article so that the article can be unloaded and the door can be opened and closed reliably and smoothly. Is to provide.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided in a door that is rotatably supported by an upper portion of an opening provided on a vertical wall surface and closes the opening by its own weight. An arm that protrudes from the surface of the door is provided on the outside of the door, and this arm is located on the tip side of the arm when the door is closed, and a weight that moves to the base side of the arm is movably supported when the door is opened and closed. It is characterized by being.
[0012]
According to the invention of claim 1 having such a configuration, since the weight is located on the arm tip side when the door is closed, the distance between the weight and the support shaft of the door becomes long, and the moment applied to the door increases. The door can be brought into contact with the opening with a strong force. On the other hand, to open the door, just push the lower part of the vertically closed door and tilt it slightly, the arm tip rotates upward, and the weight supported so as to be movable on the arm is on the base side of the arm. Moving. As a result, the distance between the weight and the support shaft of the door is shortened, and the moment applied in the closing direction of the door is reduced, so that the door can be opened with a light force.
[0013]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the arm includes a hollow guide portion extending from a base portion to a tip end, and a spherical or cylindrical weight is accommodated in the guide portion so as to be able to roll. It is characterized by.
[0014]
In the invention of claim 2 having such a configuration, the spherical or cylindrical weight rolls in the hollow arm, so that the weight moves between the tip and the base of the arm. The weight can be easily moved, and the inconvenience that the weight is caught on a part of the arm can be solved.
[0015]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article accommodating portion, an article carrying opening provided on a vertical wall surface of the accommodating portion, a door for closing the opening from the outside, and an article accommodating portion. In the article storage provided with unloading means for feeding the article toward the opening,
The door is rotatably supported at the top of the opening so as to close the opening by its own weight, and an arm protruding from the surface of the door is provided on the outside of the door. When the door is closed, it is positioned on the arm tip side, and when the door is opened and closed, a weight that moves to the base side of the arm is movably supported.
The article carry-out means is configured to open the opening by pressing the door from the inside through the article.
[0016]
In invention of Claim 3 which has such a structure, a door can be closely_contact | adhered to an opening part, without using a spring by the dead weight of the door and the weight provided in the arm. Also, when the door is opened, the door can be opened with a light force by moving the weight from the tip of the arm to the base. Moreover, since the door is opened by being pressed by the article transport means, the door can be opened more reliably than when the weight of the article is used, and clogging of the article at the door portion can be eliminated. it can. Furthermore, since no spring is used as described above, there is little resistance applied to the conveying means when the door is opened, and the conveying means can be downsized.
[0017]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the third aspect, the article carrying-out means includes a belt conveyor that moves from the article accommodating portion toward the opening, a drive source of the belt conveyor, and the belt conveyor. A pressing portion that is provided and engages with an article, wherein the pressing portion of the belt conveyor presses the door from the inside through the article to open an opening.
[0018]
In the invention of claim 4 having such a configuration, since the pressing portion provided on the belt conveyor engages with the article, even if resistance is applied to the article when the door is opened, the article and the belt conveyor are displaced. Therefore, it is possible to reliably carry out the article and open the door.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the self-closing door and article storage of the present invention are applied to a vending machine for beverages filled in glass bottles or PET bottles.
[0020]
(1) Typical Embodiment (1-1) Configuration As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, a container 20 for keeping cold or keeping warm is built in the outer case 1 of the vending machine. Has been. The outer case 1 is provided with an outer door 2 on the front surface thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the outer case 2 has an article outlet 3, a product sample 4, and a push button 5 for selection thereof. A coin insertion slot 6, a return lever 7, a bill insertion slot 8, and a change return slot 9 are provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the article outlet 3 is provided with a cover plate 10 and a chute 11 for guiding the article carried out of the storage in the outer case to the outlet 3. Further, a refrigerant cooling device 12 is provided inside the outer case 1, and a pipe 13 extending from the cooling device 12 is connected to a cooling plate 14 provided inside the storage 20 and circulates through the cooling plate 14. The inside of the container 20 is maintained at a predetermined temperature by the refrigerant that is being used.
[0021]
The storage 20 is a heat insulating chamber formed of a heat insulating material, and a front door 21 that is largely opened to carry articles into the interior is provided on the front surface thereof. A packing portion 22 is provided at the contact portion between the front door 21 and the storage 20 to ensure airtightness when the door is closed. Within the storage 20, articles M are stacked and stored in multiple stages. In this embodiment, as shown in the product sample 4 of FIG. 3, three types of articles M are arranged in parallel along the width direction of the vending machine. Below the lowermost article M in each row, a belt conveyor 23 serving as an article carry-out means is provided, and the lowermost article M is placed on the belt conveyor 23. The belt conveyor 23 is disposed so as to run from the back of the storage 20 toward the front surface, and is driven by a motor 24 as shown in the enlarged views of FIGS. 4 and 5. A plurality (two in this embodiment) of protrusions 25 are provided on the surface of the belt conveyor 23 at regular intervals. The protrusion 25 engages with the rear end portion of the article M placed on the belt conveyor 23, and corresponds to the pressing portion described in the claims.
[0022]
The front door 21 of the storage 20 is provided with an opening 26 according to the position of the lowermost article M. In the present embodiment, three openings are provided in accordance with the articles in each row, and the small doors 28 that open and close around the support shafts 27 provided on the upper portions thereof are provided outside the openings 26 in each row. Is provided. The small door 28 corresponds to a self-closing door described in claims. A packing 29 is provided around the openings 26 in each row to ensure airtightness when the small doors 28 are closed. The small door 28 is also made of a heat insulating material in order to keep cold or warm as in the case 20.
[0023]
An arm 30 protruding in the horizontal direction from the surface of the small door 28 is provided on the upper portion of the small door 28 (in the vicinity of the support shaft 27). As shown in the enlarged views of FIGS. 6 and 7, the arm 30 is a hollow member whose inside is a guide portion 32 of a weight 31, and two spherical weights 31 on the left and right sides are arms. It is incorporated so as to be movable between the tip and base of 30. Further, the bottom surface of the guide portion 32 in the arm 30 is an inclined surface in which the tip side of the arm is lowered so that the weight 31 moves to the tip side of the arm 30 when the small door 28 is closed vertically.
[0024]
Although not shown in the present embodiment, a guide protrusion, a guide groove, a partition plate, or the like may be provided in the arm 30 to define the movement path of the weight 31. In addition, although two weights 31 are provided in the present embodiment, one may be used depending on the degree of adhesion of the small door 28 to the opening 26, and conversely three or more may be used. A member may be used.
[0025]
(1-2) Operation The operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration is as follows.
First, in the heat insulation or cold insulation state, as shown in FIG. 4, the small door 28 hangs vertically from the support shaft 27 in parallel with the surface of the front door 21 due to its own weight. Since the weight 31 is positioned on the distal end side of the arm 30 due to the inclination of the bottom surface of the guide portion 32, a large moment acts on the small door 28 around the support shaft 27 toward the front door side. The opening 29 is tightly pressed against the packing 29 and sealed.
[0026]
Next, when the article M is taken out, when the belt conveyor 23 which is a carry-out device for the selected article is driven with the insertion of coins or the like, the protrusions 25 provided on the belt conveyor 23 are moved to the article M. In order to press the rear end portion, the article moves to the opening side and presses the small door 28 from the inside. As shown in FIG. 5, the pressed small door 28 starts to rotate upward about the upper support shaft 27, but when it is rotated to some extent, the tip of the arm 30 is lifted from the horizontal position. On the contrary, the bottom inclined surface becomes higher on the tip side. Then, the spherical weight 31 inside the arm 30 rolls to the base side of the arm, the distance between the support shaft 27 and the weight is shortened, and the moment applied in the closing direction of the small door 28 is reduced. As a result, the small door 28 can be easily turned upward by being pushed by the article M moving by the belt conveyor 23, and the article M passes through the opening 26 and is carried out of the storage 20. Thereafter, the article M slides down the chute 11 to be sent out to the outlet 3 provided in the outer door 2 of the outer case 1, and is taken out of the vending machine therefrom.
[0027]
After the article M has passed, the small door 28 is again rotated in the vertical direction by its own weight, and the weight 31 inside the arm 30 is also moved to the arm tip side accordingly. The door 28 seals the opening 26.
[0028]
(2) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the specific configuration of the arm and weight can be freely selected. For example, the arm and weight shown in FIG. 8 are used. can do. That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, a groove-shaped guide portion 40 extending in the length direction is formed on the arm 30, a pin 41 is slidably inserted therein, and weights 42 are attached to both ends of the pin 41. It is fixed. In this case, the groove-shaped guide portion 40 is also inclined so that the tip end side of the arm is lowered. In the embodiment of FIG. 8 as well, since the weight 42 moves along the guide portion 40 during the opening / closing operation of the small door 28 and the moment applied to the small door 28 changes, the opening operation can be performed with a light force. At the same time, the small door and the packing can be securely adhered when closed.
Moreover, the door of this invention can be used not only for the vending machine which has a heat insulation or a cold insulation function but for the whole storage in which the door is closed by its own weight.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a self-closing door that can be opened and closed with a light force and has high sealing performance. In addition, when this is used in a storage such as a vending machine, the article can be reliably discharged without clogging the article at the door part by combining with a technique for opening the door by means of carrying out the article. effective.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line PP in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an outer door portion in a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a small door in a closed state according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the representative embodiment of the present invention when the small door is opened.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of an arm portion of a small door according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of an arm portion of a small door in a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of an arm portion of a small door according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a small door used in a conventional vending machine.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer case 2 ... Outer door 3 ... Outlet 4 ... Product sample 5 ... Button 6 ... Coin insertion slot 7 ... Return lever 8 ... Bill insertion slot 9 ... Return slot 10 ... Cover plate 11 ... Chute 12 ... Cooling device 13 ... Piping 14 ... Cooling plate 20 ... Storage 21 ... Front door 22 ... Packing 23 ... Belt conveyor 24 ... Motor 25 ... Protrusion 26 ... Opening 27 ... Spindle 28 ... Small door 29 ... Packing 30 ... Arms 31, 42 ... Weight 32 ... Guide part 40 ... Guide part 41 ... Pin 50 ... Container M ... Goods

Claims (4)

A door that is rotatably supported on an upper portion of an opening provided on a vertical wall surface and closes the opening by its own weight,
An arm that protrudes from the surface of the door is provided outside the door,
A self-closing door is characterized in that a weight that moves to the arm front side when the door is closed and moves to the base side of the arm when the door is opened and closed is movably supported. The self-closing door according to claim 1, wherein the arm includes a hollow guide portion extending from a base portion to a tip thereof, and a spherical or columnar weight is accommodated in the guide portion so as to be able to roll. An article accommodating portion, an opening for article removal provided on a vertical wall surface of the accommodating portion, a door for closing the opening from the outside, and an opening provided in the article accommodating portion toward the opening. In the article storage provided with unloading means for sending the article
The door is rotatably supported on the upper part of the opening so as to close the opening by its own weight,
An arm that protrudes from the surface of the door is provided on the outside of the door, and this arm is located on the arm tip side when the door is closed, and a weight that moves to the base side of the arm can be moved when the door is opened and closed. Supported,
The article storage unit, wherein the article carrying means presses the door from the inside through the article to open the opening. The article carry-out means includes a belt conveyor that moves from the article accommodating portion toward the opening, a drive source of the belt conveyor, and a pressing portion that is provided on the belt conveyor and engages with the article.
The article storage case according to claim 3, wherein the pressing portion of the belt conveyor presses the door from the inside through the article to open the opening.

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