JP4123688B2 - Pusher-type product unloading device for vending machines - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pusher-type product carry-out device provided in a box-type product vending machine for cigarette vending machines.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Taking the cigarette vending machine mentioned above as an example, the configuration of a conventional pusher-type product carry-out apparatus and the product carry-out operation will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the figure, 1 is a pusher-type product carry-out device, 2 is a product storage column, 3 is a box-type product (cigarette), and is directly stacked on the product carry-out device 1 and stored in the product storage column 2 as shown in FIG. The products 3 are sequentially carried out from the products arranged in the lowest order when the product carry-out device 1 operates based on the sales command. The illustrated example shows an example in which the products 3 are stored in the product storage column 2 in two rows in the front and rear, but there are also products in which the products 3 are stored in one row and sold.
[0003]
Here, the pusher-type product carry-out device 1 moves the pusher 5 forward and backward in the front-rear direction along the retractable pusher 5 and the stage surface on the housing 4 having the upper surface as a product delivery stage as shown in FIG. A push-type pusher drive mechanism 6, a position detection slider 7 that follows the movement of the pusher 5, a rear end standby position and an intermediate standby position of the pusher 5 in response to the movement of the slider 7, and the pusher drive mechanism 6 The position detection switch 8 for stop control and the product sold out detection switch 9 are incorporated.
[0004]
The screw-type pusher drive mechanism 6 includes a screw (napier screw) 6a laid in the housing along the movement path of the pusher 5, and a drive motor 6c connected to the screw 6a through a gear 6b. A base supporting the pusher 5 is fitted on the shaft of the screw 6a and meshed with the thread groove of the napier screw, and the rotation of the screw 6a driven by the drive motor 6c is transmitted to the pusher 5 to reciprocate back and forth. I try to let them.
[0005]
On the other hand, the position detection slider 7 is slidably laid on the lower surface side of the pusher 5 with the protrusion (dog) formed on the side edge facing the position detection switch 8, and the length of the position detection slider 7 is the movement stroke of the pusher 5. A concave groove having a substantially half length and having the front and rear ends closed along the longitudinal direction is formed on the plate surface, and a convex portion protruding downward from the base of the pusher 5 is loosely fitted into the concave groove. The two are linked together.
[0006]
Next, the product carry-out operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 (a) to (d). First, (a) The figure shows the initial standby state, and products (cigarettes) 3 denoted by reference numerals # 1 to # 6 are directly stacked on the stage of the product carry-out device 1 in two front and rear rows, and the pusher 5 Stops at the standby position at the rear end. Here, when the first sales signal is input, the drive motor 6c described in FIG. 6 starts and the pusher 5 advances from the rear end standby position. As a result, the products # 1 and # 2 arranged in the lowest order are continuously pushed forward, and the product # 1 in the front row is paid out from the outlet of the product storage column 2 as shown in FIG. Further, when the pusher 5 further advances from the position shown in FIG. 5B, the position detection slider 7 described above moves forward with the movement of the pusher 5, and when the pusher 5 reaches a predetermined intermediate standby position, the position detection switch 8 Is operated to stop the drive motor 6c, and the pusher 5 is stopped at the intermediate position to be on standby for sale.
[0007]
Subsequently, when the second sales signal is input, the drive motor 6c restarts, and (c) the pusher 5 starts moving forward from the intermediate standby position as shown in the figure and pushes the product # 2 to pay from the product storage column 2. At the same time, when the pusher itself reaches the stroke end of the screw 6c, the pusher itself 5 is guided by the Napier screw groove, reverses from the forward movement, and retracts as shown in FIG. In the backward movement stroke, when the pusher 5 passes the intermediate position, the position detection slider 7 moves backward with the movement of the pusher, and the position detection switch 8 operates when the pusher 5 returns to the rear end standby position as the home position. Then, the drive motor 6c is stopped by the signal, and (a) the original standby state shown in FIG. (D) In the backward movement stroke of the pusher 5 shown in the figure, the retractable pusher 5 is folded from the standing posture to the forward leaning posture, passes through the lower surfaces of the products # 3 and # 4 arranged on the stage, and is rear end. The robot moves to the standby position, and returns to the standing posture by the spring bias at this position.
[0008]
In addition, as a pusher-type product carry-out device for cigarette vending machines, a chain-type drive mechanism is adopted as the pusher drive mechanism, and a combination of a retractable pusher and a position detection slider is used to store products stacked directly in the front and rear rows. A system that pays out in order is known, and its configuration and operation are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-333147.
[0009]
On the other hand, in the sales standby state of the above-described cigarette vending machine, as shown in FIG. 7A, the lowest-order stored product # 1 faces the outlet of the product storage column 2 and waits on the stage of the product carry-out device 1. ing. To do this, insert a wire or the like from the product outlet of the vending machine to pull out the product waiting at the outlet of the product storage column, or intentionally shake the vending machine to remove the product from the product storage column. It is almost defenseless against thefts such as swinging off the exit.
[0010]
Therefore, as a measure against theft of goods against the illegal acts as described above, on the outlet side of the pusher-type product carry-out device so as to prevent the next sale product waiting at the outlet of the product storage column in the standby state of sale. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-315240 has already been disclosed in which a drop-off preventing member that protrudes and protrudes is provided, and the drop-off prevention member is controlled to appear and disappear in accordance with a sales operation.
[0011]
That is, in this proposal, in a pusher type product delivery device having a product delivery pusher dispersed in two places on the circumference of an endless drive belt that circulates based on a sales command, the product can be moved freely at the product delivery end side. A drop-off prevention member (stopper) is provided, and when the drive belt stops (standby for sale), the pusher itself is used as an actuator to protrude the drop-off prevention member in front of the outlet of the product storage column and when the belt is running (sales operation state) The drop prevention member is retracted to the immersive position.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when it is going to give the anti-theft function mentioned above to the screw drive type pusher type goods carrying-out apparatus described in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, the anti-theft mechanism of the said proposal (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 8-315240) remains as it is. It cannot be applied.
That is, in the pusher-type product carry-out device of FIG. 6, the pusher 5 is reciprocated on the stage of the housing 4 by the screw-type pusher drive mechanism 6 without using a drive belt, and the pusher 5 moves to the front end. Then, it is guided by the screw 6a (Napier screw) and reversed to return to the rear end standby position. Therefore, the drop-off prevention member (stopper) arranged facing the exit end of the stage cannot be directly operated to the protruding position by the pusher. Further, in the sales method in which the products 3 are stacked and stored in two front and rear rows as in the illustrated example, in order to stop the pusher 5 at the intermediate standby position, a function is required to protrude the stopper at this intermediate standby position. is there.
[0013]
Therefore, in order to give the pusher-type product carry-out device using the screw drive system shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 an anti-theft function, it is necessary to newly develop an anti-theft mechanism corresponding to the structure unique to the drive system. .
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a pusher is waiting on the stage as a countermeasure against theft of goods for a pusher-type product carry-out device that reciprocates on the product delivery stage and delivers the product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pusher-type product carry-out device equipped with a novel anti-theft mechanism that prevents the product from dropping off.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a pusher that moves forward from a standby position and pushes products lined up on the stage toward a column outlet to a housing having an upper surface as a product discharge stage, and the pusher Equipped with a pusher drive mechanism that reciprocates back and forth along the stage, and automatically sells box-type products that are stacked directly on the housing stage and stored in the product storage column in order from the lowest order based on the sales order. In the pusher type product carry-out device of the machine,
A stopper that faces the exit end of the stage so that it can freely come and go and prevents the product waiting at the sales position on the stage from dropping off, and the stopper and the pusher are linked together, and the pusher stops at the standby position. It is assumed that an interlock mechanism is provided that projects the stopper onto the stage in the sales standby state and is immersed during the sales operation. Specifically, the stopper and the interlock mechanism can be configured in the following manner.
[0015]
(1) The interlock mechanism consists of a combination of a detect lever that reverses by detecting a pusher stopped at the pusher reverse standby position, and a link that connects the detect lever and the stopper, and the detect lever is a seesaw. As a mold lever, one end is aligned with the standby position at the rear end of the pusher, and the spring is urged from the side toward the movement path of the pusher base, and the stopper is moved in and out by the swinging movement of the detect lever via the link connected to the other end. Operate (Claim 1 ).
[0016]
(2) Further , in the sales method in which the products are stored in the product storage column in two front and rear rows, a position detection slider that detects the arrival of the intermediate position in conjunction with the pusher is provided, and the position detection slider is used as an interlock mechanism. cooperative with the pusher via interlock mechanism sales standby state of stopping in an intermediate waiting position to protrude the stopper on the stage (claim 2).
(3) Further, the stopper is a tilting lever that pivots in the vertical direction about the support shaft so that the tip of the arm protrudes and retracts on the stage.
[0017]
As described above, the stopper disposed on the outlet end side of the product delivery stage and the pusher that reciprocates on the stage are linked via an interlock mechanism, and the stopper is placed on the stage in the state of waiting for sale when the pusher is stopped. In the state of sales operation where the pusher moves and prevents the product from dropping out, the stopper is retracted from the stage to the immersive position, which prevents unauthorized product extraction without hindering the product removal operation. Effective anti-theft function can be demonstrated.
[0018]
In addition, the stopper has a lever structure that rotates upward from the forward-facing posture and protrudes from the front onto the stage, so that even if the position of the next sale product waiting on the stage is slightly shifted, the stopper protrudes. There is no possibility that the operation interferes with the product and is hindered. That is, even if the product waiting on the exit side on the stage in the sales standby state protrudes slightly forward from the fixed position, for example, the stopper that rotates from the front is on the stage without being disturbed by the product. Protruding to prevent the product from dropping out.
[0019]
In addition, the interlock mechanism can be applied to a system in which products are directly stacked and stored in one row, and also in a system in which products are directly stacked and stored in two front and back rows, the pusher-type product unloading device. By linking the position detection slider equipped to the interlock mechanism, the stopper can be projected onto the stage at each of the pusher rear end standby position and the intermediate standby position.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the examples shown in FIGS. In addition, in the figure of an Example, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member corresponding to FIG. 6, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
First, FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show the overall structure of the product carry-out apparatus. The embodiment shown in the figure is applied to the sales method described in FIG. 7, and the structure thereof is basically the same as that in FIG. 6. The retractable pusher 5 is attached to the housing 4 whose upper surface is a product delivery stage. A pusher drive mechanism including a screw (napier screw) 6a, a gear 6b, and a drive motor 6c for reciprocating the pusher 5 along the stage surface, a position detection slider 7 driven by passing the intermediate position of the pusher 5, and a position detection switch 8 are provided. Equipped with a stopper 10 that protrudes and protrudes toward the exit end of the stage as a product anti-theft mechanism, and a link-type interlock mechanism 11 that connects the stopper 10 and the pusher 5 additionally. In the sales standby state in which the pusher 5 is stopped at the standby position in accordance with the product delivery operation, the stopper 10 is placed on the product storage column 2 (see FIG. 7). Prevents the discharge of product protruding mouth forward waiting on the stage, sale operation is to retract the stopper 10 to the retracted position.
[0021]
Here, the stopper 10 is a lever that pivots up and down around the support shaft so that the tip of the bowl shape protrudes and appears on the stage surface. The shaft end of the support shaft is connected to the interlock mechanism 11. A crank arm 10a is provided.
On the other hand, the interlock mechanism 11 has a long link 12 with its tip abutted against the crank arm 10a of the stopper 10 and slidably guided back and forth in the housing, and a detect lever 13 pin-coupled to the rear end. And a combination. Here, the detect lever 13 is a seesaw type lever having a support shaft 13a as a swing fulcrum, and is spring-biased clockwise by a torsion spring (not shown) (the direction in which the link 12 is pulled to the left side of the drawing). In addition, the lever end is set so as to protrude from the side to the movement path of the pusher base 5a in accordance with the rear end standby position of the pusher 5. Further, a pin 13 b is implanted in the middle of the support shaft 13 a and the tip of the lever in the detect lever 13, and this pin 13 is opposed to the convex cam portion 7 a formed on the side edge of the position detection slider 7. ing. An enlarged view of the detect lever 13 and its surroundings is shown in FIG.
[0022]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the position detecting slider 7 has a length approximately half of the reciprocating stroke of the pusher 5 and is arranged side by side with the screw 6a so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. A concave groove 7b is formed which is supported and closed at the front and rear ends along the longitudinal direction thereof, and a protrusion or a pin protruding downward from the pusher base 5a is loosely fitted into the concave groove 7b so as to be between the pusher and the slider. Are linked.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the anti-theft mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show a sales standby state corresponding to FIG. 7 (a). In this standby state, the pusher base 5a in which the tip of the detect lever 13 is stopped at the rear end standby position. The link 12 connected to the detect lever 13 is pushed in the arrow B direction, and the stopper 10 is pushed up in the arrow C direction. Thereby, the front-end | tip of the stopper 10 protrudes ahead of the front row goods 3 waiting on a stage, and discharge | emission of goods is prevented.
[0024]
On the other hand, a sales signal is received from the standby state and the sales operation starts. As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the pusher 5 moves along the screw 6a (see FIG. 1) of the pusher drive mechanism. When moving forward from the standby position, the detect lever 13 is disengaged from the pusher base 5a and rotated in the direction of the arrow D with the support shaft 13a as a fulcrum by the spring bias. Pulled in the direction, the link tip moves backward from the crank arm 10 a coupled to the end of the support shaft of the stopper 10. As a result, the stopper 10 rotates by its own weight in the direction of arrow F, and retracts into the case from above the stage to open the outlet end of the stage. As a result, the carry-out operation of the product proceeds without the stopper 10 interfering with the front row product 3 being paid out. When the pusher 4 further advances from the payout position of the front row product 3 shown in FIG. 4 and engages with the front end of the concave groove 7 b of the position detection slider 7, the position detection slider 7 moves forward in conjunction with the pusher 5. To come.
[0025]
When the pusher 5 reaches the predetermined intermediate standby position shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the position detection switch 8 shown in FIG. 1 reacts to stop the drive motor 8 of the pusher drive mechanism, and At this position, the convex cam portion 7 a formed on the position detection slider 7 pushes the pin 13 b provided on the detect lever 13. As a result, the detect lever 13 rotates in the direction of arrow A around the support shaft 13a to push the link 12 in the direction of arrow B, and pushes the stopper 10 in the direction of arrow C to stand by on the exit side on the stage. Stop the discharge of product 3.
[0026]
Further, when a sales signal is received from the standby state of FIG. 5 and the pusher 5 starts to move forward from the intermediate standby position shown in the figure, the position detecting slider 7 also moves forward along with this movement, and its convex cam portion. 7 a is disengaged from the pin 13 b of the detect lever 13. As a result, the detect lever 13 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (arrow D in FIG. 4) by a spring bias and pulls the link 12 to the left side. As a result, the stopper 10 rotates in the clockwise direction and retracts from the stage. To open the exit end of the stage.
[0027]
Then, after the pusher 5 moves forward and pushes out the product 3, it is further guided by the napier screw groove of the screw 6a (see FIG. 1) to reverse the direction of movement from the tip, and then the pusher is moved in the middle of the backward stroke. 5 and the rear end (left side end) of the position detection slider 7 are engaged, and the pusher 5 and the position detection slider 7 together return to the rear end standby position (home position) in FIG. Further, at this position, the position detection switch 8 responds to stop the drive motor 6c of the pusher drive mechanism by the signal, and the pusher base 5a pushes the tip of the detect lever 13 protruding into the moving path to the side, In the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 3, the detect lever 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the stopper 10 is projected on the stage.
[0028]
The illustrated embodiment is a pusher-type product carry-out device applied to a sales method (see FIG. 7) in which the products 3 are divided into two front and rear rows and stacked on the stage, and the rear end standby position and the intermediate standby position of the pusher 5 In order to project the stopper 10 on the stage, the detect lever 13 of the interlock mechanism 11 is connected to both the pusher 5 and the position detection slider 7, but the products 3 are stacked and sold in a row. The interlock mechanism 11 in which the stopper 10, the link 12, and the detect lever 13 are combined and linked to the pusher 5 can also be applied to the pusher-type product carry-out device.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention is directed to a pusher-type product unloading device for a pusher-type product unloading device that pays off a stacked and stored product by reciprocating the pusher on a stage by a screw drive system using a napier screw. By connecting the stopper for preventing product dropout, which faces the outlet end of the product, to be able to move in and out, linked to the pusher through the interlock mechanism, the stopper is projected onto the stage at the pusher standby position. Without hindering the merchandise sales operation, an anti-theft function effective against illegal merchandise extraction can be exhibited during standby.
[0030]
Moreover, the lever structure is designed so that the stopper is rotated upward from the forward-facing posture and protrudes from the front onto the stage, so that even if the position of the next sale product waiting on the stage is slightly shifted, There is no possibility that the protruding operation of the stopper is hindered by interference.
In addition, the interlock mechanism can be applied to a sales system in which products are directly stacked in one row, and a pusher system that is applicable to the sales method in which products are directly stacked in two rows before and after. A unique drive system that reciprocates the pusher on the stage, for example, by using the position detection slider provided in the product carry-out device and linking with the interlock mechanism so that the stopper can be pushed out even at the intermediate standby position of the pusher. It is possible to provide a pusher-type product carry-out device with an anti-theft function that complies with the above.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a pusher-type product carry-out apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) and (b) are a transverse plan view and a longitudinal side view, respectively. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation of the anti-theft mechanism in a standby state in which the pusher is stopped at the rear end standby position in FIG. 1, and (a) and (b) are a plan view and a side view, respectively. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the operation of the anti-theft mechanism while the pusher starts moving forward from the rear end standby position, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are a plan view and a side view, respectively. FIGS. It is a figure showing operation | movement of the anti-theft mechanism in the stand-by state stopped in the intermediate stand-by position, (a), (b) are a plan view and a side view, respectively. [Fig. 6] Screw-driven pusher-type product unloading device FIG. 7 is an explanatory explanatory view of a merchandise selling operation by the pusher-type merchandise unloading device of FIG. (d) is a diagram showing the operating state during standby, sales of front row products, sales of back row products, and return of pushers.
1 Pusher-type product delivery device 2 Product storage column 3 Box-type product (cigarette)
4 Housing 5 Pusher 5a Pusher Base 6 Screw-type Pusher Drive Mechanism 6a Screw (Napier Screw)
6c Drive motor 7 Position detection slider 8 Position detection switch 10 Stopper 11 Interlock mechanism 12 Link 13 Detect lever 13a Support shaft 13b Pin

Claims (3)

A pusher that moves forward from the standby position and pushes the products lined up on the stage toward the column outlet in a housing whose upper surface is a product discharge stage, and a pusher drive mechanism that reciprocates the pusher in the front-rear direction along the stage In the pusher-type product unloading device of a vending machine that pays out the box-type products that are directly stacked on the stage of the housing and stored in the product storage column in order from the lowest order based on the sales order, the outlet end of the stage In a stand-by state where the pusher is stopped at the standby position, the stopper is connected to the pusher and the stopper that prevents the dropout of the product waiting at the sales position on the stage. projecting the stopper on the stage, equipped with an interlock mechanism for immersion at the time of sale operation, the interlock mechanism is, of the pusher It consists of a combination of a detect lever that detects the pusher stopped at the retracting standby position and reverses it, and a link that connects the detect lever and the stopper, and the detect lever is a seesaw-type lever with one end at the rear end of the pusher. The spring is biased from the side toward the movement path of the pusher base in accordance with the standby position, and the stopper is moved in and out by the swinging motion of the detect lever via the link connected to the other end. Pusher-type product unloading device for vending machines. A pusher that moves forward from the standby position and pushes the products lined up on the stage toward the column outlet in a housing whose upper surface is a product discharge stage, and a pusher drive mechanism that reciprocates the pusher in the front-rear direction along the stage In the pusher-type product unloading device of a vending machine that pays out the box-type products that are directly stacked on the stage of the housing and stored in the product storage column in order from the lowest order based on the sales order, the outlet end of the stage In a stand-by state where the pusher is stopped at the standby position, the stopper is connected to the pusher and the stopper that prevents the dropout of the product waiting at the sales position on the stage. Equipped with an interlock mechanism that pushes the stopper onto the stage and immerses it during sales operations. Corresponding to the sales method to store, a position detection slider that detects the arrival of the intermediate position in conjunction with the pusher is provided, and the position detection slider is linked to the interlock mechanism, and the pusher stops at the intermediate standby position. A pusher-type product unloading device for a vending machine, wherein a stopper is projected onto a stage via an interlock mechanism in a standby state . In article conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the vending of the stopper, the arm tip to pivot in the vertical direction about the supporting shaft, characterized in Rukoto such as tilting lever infested on the stage Pusher-type product unloading device.

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