JP4221312B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mechanical vending machine that generates a movement for paying out merchandise using an operator's operation.

  As this type of vending machine, there is known a vending machine that mainly pays for a child such as a toy or the like in a plastic capsule in exchange for the insertion of a predetermined amount of coins. Such vending machines are installed in places where the power supply cannot be secured or difficult to secure, such as the eaves of a store or the landing of a staircase, so there is no need to use an electric drive device or sensor. Using the purchaser's operations, coin processing and merchandise payout operations are realized. For example, such vending machines are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-9898, Utility Model Registration No. 3014387, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-212438, and the like. In these vending machines, when a purchaser inserts a predetermined amount of coins and rotates the handle on the front surface of the housing, a rotating plate coaxial with the handle rotates integrally with the handle while holding the coin, If the diameter of the held coin is correct, the lock that restricts the amount of rotation of the handle is released and the handle rotates once, and the product selection drum provided at the bottom of the product storage chamber is accompanied by one rotation of the handle. The product rotated by a predetermined angle and the product taken in on the drum is discharged to a predetermined product discharge port.

  The conventional vending machine described above holds a coin on a rotating plate coaxial with the handle, and rotates the rotating plate in conjunction with the rotation of the handle to guide the coin to a predetermined coin accumulating unit. The handle is provided on the front surface of the housing with its axis of rotation directed in the front-rear direction, and the rotating plate is disposed immediately behind the front surface of the housing. Therefore, the falling range of coins released from the rotating plate is limited to a narrow range on the front side of the housing, and the accumulation range of coins is also limited to the narrow range. If the number of products stored in the housing is increased or the sales price of the products is increased, the number of coins to be inserted increases, so it is necessary to improve the coin storage part so that more coins can be stored. It is conceivable to effectively use the space near the rear surface inside the housing. However, as long as the conventional rotating plate is used as a coin holding member, it is difficult to send coins to the back of the housing by the movement of the rotating plate. Overflow from coin storage.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the vending machine which can utilize effectively the space of the rear surface side (back side) in a housing | casing as a storage space of a coin.

  The present invention will be described below. In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are appended in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

The present invention provides a coin slot (12) on the front surface (2a) of a vending machine (1) that generates a payout operation for a product (5) by using an operation of an operation member (11) by a product purchaser. Housing (2), holding member (30) provided with a recess (30b) for receiving coins (C), and the holding member, coins inserted from the coin slot into the recess A support member (21) which is set on the rear side of the housing with respect to the receiving position and which is linearly movable between the receiving position and a position where the coin is transferred from the concave portion to a predetermined coin accumulating portion. And the movement given to the operation member (11) between the receiving position and the delivery position of the holding member with the movement given to the operating member interposed between the operating member and the holding member Linear luck in different directions Comprising motion transmission mechanism for converting the (20A), the commodity storage chamber (3) a number of the commodities stored in (5) product sorting member driven in order to select one of the items (6), to the The movement transmission mechanism transmits the movement of the operation member also to the product selection member, and the holding member has a coin removing member (32) capable of protruding into and out of the recessed portion and removing the coin from the recessed portion. When the holding member is in the receiving position, an exclusion drive member (25) that engages with the coin exclusion member and can drive the coin exclusion member into the recess can be operated from outside the housing. The recess of the holding member is provided with an opening serving as a coin inlet toward the coin insertion slot and an opening serving as a coin outlet toward the side facing the support member. In the support member, Holes (21d, 21e) that allow the coins to be removed from the recesses are provided continuously with the opening on the outlet side of the recesses when the holding member moves to the receiving position and the transfer position, respectively. In addition, the recess is closed by the support member between the holes, and a lid (25a) for closing the recess is provided in the exclusion drive member, and the lid is moved along with the driving of the coin exclusion member. The coins that move so as to open the recesses and are eliminated by the coin exclusion member from the recesses at the receiving position are transferred to the coin return port (13) on the front surface of the housing via the predetermined guide means (18). By being guided , the above-described problems are solved.

  According to the present invention, when the purchaser of the product inserts coins into the concave portion of the holding member from the coin insertion port and operates the operation member, the holding member holds the coin in conjunction with the operation member and the rear of the housing. Moves straight to the position where the coins on the side are handed over. For this reason, the space on the rear side in the housing can be effectively used as a coin storage unit, and the capacity of the storage unit can be expanded relatively easily.

According to the present invention, the coin can be paid back to the coin return port based on an operation from outside the casing before the coin is carried to the rear side in the casing by the holding member, The coins carried to the side can be collected into the coin storage unit. Thus, since the position where the coins are paid back and the position where the coins are collected in the accumulating unit are shifted in the front-rear direction, the coin destinations can be easily and reliably distinguished. The supporting member can reliably prevent the coin from dropping from the recess while the holding member moves between the position for receiving the coin and the position for receiving the coin. In addition, as viewed from the support member side, the coin outlet at each of the position where the coin is received and the position where the coin is transferred opens at a distance in the front-rear direction, so that the coin that returns to the coin return port and the coin that is collected in the coin storage part There is no risk of accidentally heading in the other direction. Unless the exclusion driving member is operated, the exit of the recess is closed at the position where the coin is received, so that there is no possibility that the coin will fall into the coin return port by mistake. By operating the common operation member, the product selection member and the holding member can be driven, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  When the holding member is in the delivery position, the coin exclusion member may be driven in the direction of entering the recess to exclude the coin from the recess to the coin storage unit. If it does in this way, a coin can be reliably delivered to a coin storage part using a coin exclusion member for realizing a coin return operation.

In the vending machine of the present invention, the operation of the commodity sorting member and the operation of the holding member can be easily associated with each other. As an example, in the middle of the movement path of the holding member, a lock position that prevents the holding member from moving toward the delivery position according to the amount of protrusion of the coin from the recess, and the movement of the holding member In the case of providing a lock member (28) that is displaceable with respect to a release position that allows the movement, the product selection is performed while the operation transmission mechanism is operated from the operation start position to a predetermined drive start position. The movement transmission to the member is suspended, and the operation position of the operation member when the movement of the holding member is blocked by the lock member is set closer to the operation start position than the drive start position can do. In this case, since the product sorting member starts to operate after the lock of the holding member by the lock member is released, the product sorting member operates even when an illegal coin with a small diameter is inserted, The possibility that the product will be paid out by mistake can be surely eliminated.

  The motion transmission mechanism includes a main drive member (40) that is connected to the operation member and generates a rotation motion about an axis in a horizontal direction of the housing by the operation of the operation member, and a rotation motion of the main drive member A sorting member driving unit that converts the movement into a predetermined movement of the commodity sorting member, and a coin conveyance driving unit that converts the rotational movement of the main driving member into the linear movement of the holding member. Good. In this way, since the operation of the operation lever is first taken in as the rotational movement of the main drive member, the rotational movement is easily transmitted to a desired location using various transmission mechanisms such as a gear train, a belt, and a link mechanism. can do. The coin transport driving unit includes, for example, a rack (47) provided in the holding member and extending in the front-rear direction, and a pinion (46) that meshes with the rack and rotates in conjunction with the operation member. be able to. According to this, the linear motion of the holding member can be easily created from the rotational motion. In the vending machine of the present invention, the operation member can be operated in the vertical direction of the housing, for example. When the operation member is operated in the vertical direction, it is necessary to operate the operation member by ensuring a sufficient amount of movement (stroke) of the operation member while suppressing an increase in space to be secured on the front surface of the housing in preparation for the operation. Power can be reduced. Then, by sufficiently securing the operation amount of the operation member, the ratio of the movement amount of the holding member to the operation amount of the operation member (the operation amount of the operation member is used as a denominator) is reduced, and the holding member is moved with a small force. It is possible to clearly distinguish the position where the coins are sent out after being sufficiently moved.

  The coin according to the present invention is not only a currency circulating as a currency, but also a variety of alternative coins such as medals and tokens used as a symbol of economic value at a place where a vending machine is installed, and other various disk-shaped coins. Includes members.

  As described above, in the present invention, when a purchaser of a product inserts coins into the concave portion of the holding member from the coin insertion slot and operates the operation member, the holding member holds the coin in conjunction with the operation member. However, since it moves linearly to the position where the coin on the rear side of the housing is handed over, the space on the rear side in the housing can be used effectively as a storage unit for coins. It can be enlarged relatively easily.

  An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a toy vending machine will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 show the overall configuration of the vending machine 1, FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a left side view, and FIG. 3 is a right side view. In these drawings, some internal mechanisms are indicated by solid lines. 2 and 3 correspond to the front-rear direction of the vending machine 1, and the right side of FIG. 2 and the left side of FIG. 3 correspond to the front of the vending machine 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the appearance of the vending machine 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the vending machine 1 has a vertical casing 2 that is long in the vertical direction, and a product storage chamber 3 is formed in the upper part of the casing 2. A door 4 is provided on the front side of the product storage chamber 3. When the product is sold, the door 4 is closed with a lock 4a. The lock by the lock 4a is released, and the door 4 is rotated forward with the support shafts 4b, 4b on both sides of the lower end thereof as fulcrums, whereby the product storage chamber 3 is opened to the outside and the product 5 inside (FIG. 2) Can be replenished. In FIG. 2, as an example of the product, the capsule product 5 in which toys are accommodated in a plastic capsule is shown, but other products may be used. A drum 6 as a disc-shaped product selection member is provided at the bottom of the product storage chamber 3. As shown in FIG. 7, the drum 6 is formed with a plurality of (in the illustrated example, five) hole portions 6a... 6a for taking in goods at equal pitches in the circumferential direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a suitable number of product stirring rods 7 are attached to the upper surface of the drum 6. When the drum 6 rotates around its center line X, the product is stirred in the product storage chamber 3 by the rod 7, and one product 5 is taken into each hole 6a. A drop restricting member 8 for restricting the drop of the product 5 from the hole 6a is provided at the lower portion of the drum 6. However, the drop regulating member 8 is provided with a drop opening (not shown) that allows the product 5 to drop from the hole 6a at only one place. When the drum 6 rotates and any one of the holes 6a is fed out of the drop opening, the product 5 held in the hole 6a falls from the drum 6 and is connected to the casing 2 via the chute 9. Is paid out to a product outlet 10 provided on the left side of the front surface 2a.

  As described above, the vending machine 1 rotates any of the many products 5 stored in the product storage chamber 3 by rotating the drum 6 by an angle (72 ° in the illustrated example) provided with the hole 6a. Are paid out selectively. In the present invention, the internal configuration of the product storage chamber 3 and the configuration related to the portion for taking out the product 5 from the drum 6 and leading it to the product discharge outlet 10 may be the same as those of conventional vending machines of the same type. Detailed description is omitted. The vending machine 1 according to the present embodiment is characterized by portions related to the processing of the inserted coins and the rotational drive of the drum 6, and will be described below focusing on the features.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation lever 11 is provided at the right end of the front surface 2 a of the housing 2. The front surface 2a of the housing 2 is curved so as to draw an arc that swells forward along the vertical direction (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and the operation lever 11 can be operated in the vertical direction along the curved front surface 2a. ing. A coin insertion slot 12 and a coin return slot 13 are provided on the left side of the operation range of the operation lever 11. The coin insertion slot 12 is a portion where the purchaser inserts the number of coins C (for example, two 100 yen coins) corresponding to the sales amount of the product 5. The coin insertion slot 12 is formed in a size including a minimum margin through which regular coins C to be inserted can pass. Therefore, other coins having a diameter or thickness larger than that of the regular coin C cannot pass through the coin slot 12.

  A coin collection port 14 is formed below the coin return port 13, and a coin collection box 15 is inserted there. The coin collection box 15 is a container for storing regular coins C inserted from the coin slot 12, and is disposed inside the casing 2 in a state of extending straight toward the back of the casing 2 as shown in FIG. The A lock 15a is attached to the front surface of the coin recovery box 15, and the coin recovery box 15 is fixed inside the housing 2 when the lock 15a is hooked. When the lock 15a is released, the coin recovery box 15 is It can be pulled out in front of the body 2.

  A payout control mechanism 20 is provided above the coin collection box 15 disposed in the housing 2. When viewed from the front side of the housing 2, the payout control mechanism 20 is arranged so as to be biased to the same side (right side) as the operation lever 11 with respect to the center line X of the drum 6. A chute 9 is arranged on the side opposite to the operation lever 11 with respect to the center line X inside the housing 2.

  The payout control mechanism 20 further includes a motion transmission mechanism 20A and a coin processing mechanism 20B. The motion transmission mechanism 20A is provided to transmit the operation of the operation lever 11 to the drum 6 and the coin processing mechanism 20B, and the coin processing mechanism 20B is provided to process the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 12. However, both mechanisms 20A and 20B are mutually related in their operation. Details of the payout control mechanism 20 will be described below.

  5 to 7 show the main part of the payout control mechanism 20, FIG. 5 is a view showing the state seen from the direction of arrow V in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a view showing the state seen from the left side of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state seen from the upper side of FIG. 5. As is apparent from these drawings, the payout control mechanism 20 includes a sub chassis 21 and a slider 30 provided along the sub chassis 21. The subchassis 21 and the slider 30 are both manufactured by sheet-metal processing, and details thereof are as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, respectively. The plate thickness of the slider 30 is slightly larger than the thickness of the regular coin C. The sub-chassis 21 is fixed to the main chassis 16 (FIG. 1) inside the housing 2 by using fixing means 21a... 21a provided on the outer periphery of the sub-chassis 21 using fixing means such as a small screw 22 (FIG. 6). By this, it is held in a posture that stands vertically and extends in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 3). The main chassis 16 is fixed at a fixed position in the housing 2.

  The sub-chassis 21 is formed with three elongated slide grooves 21b... 21b extending in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, the cam followers 31 ... 31 are attached to the slider 30 corresponding to the slide grooves 21b in a 1: 1 ratio. When each cam follower 31 is fitted in the slide groove 21b, the slider 30 is assembled to the sub chassis 21 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. A coil spring 23 is stretched between the hook 21c at the front end of the sub chassis 21 and the hook 30a at the rear end of the slider 30, and the slider 30 is urged forward by the restoring force. .

  As is clear from FIG. 14, the slider 30 is formed with a recess 30 b for taking in coins. The recess 30 b opens at the upper end of the slider 30. The width W (see FIG. 14) of the recess 30b is set to a size obtained by adding a minimum margin for receiving the coin to the diameter of the regular coin C, and the depth D of the recess 30b (see also FIG. 14). ) Is set such that when two regular coins C are lined up and down, the upper end of the upper coin C protrudes above the slider 30 by a predetermined amount. In other words, the depth D of the recess 30b is smaller than the diameter of the regular coin C by a predetermined amount.

  As apparent from FIG. 5, when the slider 30 is positioned at the front end of the moving range, the upper end of the recess 30 b is positioned immediately below the chute 17. Coins thrown from the coin slot 12 (see FIG. 1) are dropped into the recess 30b through the chute 17. As shown in detail in FIGS. 8 to 10, a stopper is provided on one side of the slider 30 (the surface not in close contact with the subchassis 21) so that coins guided to the recess 30 b do not fall to the side of the recess 30 b. 32 is attached. The stopper 32 is also manufactured by processing a steel plate.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 8, the stopper 32 is rotatably attached to the lower portion of the slider 30 via a predetermined support shaft 33, and can move back and forth integrally with the slider 30. A protrusion 32a is formed on the surface of the slider 30 that faces the recess 30b. A lever-like operation part 32b is formed at the lower end of the stopper 32, and when the operation part 32b is operated to the solid line position in FIG. 8, the protrusion 32a enters the recess 30b (see FIG. 10). In this case, the protrusion 32a obstructs and no coin enters the lower stage of the recess 30b. In other words, when the stopper 32 is switched to the solid line position in FIG. 8, only one coin enters the recess 30b. On the other hand, when the operation portion 32b is operated to the position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 8, the protrusion 32a enters the escape groove 30c provided continuously to the recess 30b. In this case, two coins C enter the concave portion 30b in the vertical direction.

  When the protrusion 32a is drawn out into the recess 30b (solid line position in FIG. 8), the upper end of the protrusion 32a coincides with the upper end of the coin C when it is assumed that the regular coin C is accommodated in the lower stage of the recess 30b. . As a result, the position of the upper end of the coin C accommodated in the upper stage of the recess 30b is changed whether the stopper 32 is switched and only one regular coin C is inserted into the recess 30b. Match.

  In order to hold the stopper 32 at the two positions described above, the slider 30 is provided with a stopper (not shown) for limiting the rotation range of the stopper 32 between the solid line position and the imaginary line position in FIG. A coil spring 34 is attached between the hook 32 c of the stopper 32 and the hook 30 d of the slider 30. When the stopper 32 is rotated around the support shaft 33, the coil spring 34 is stretched to the maximum at a predetermined position during the rotation, and after that position, the displacement of the coil spring 34 decreases. Thereby, even if the stopper 32 is switched to either the solid line position or the imaginary line position in FIG. 8, the restoring force of the coil spring 34 works as a force for pressing the stopper 32 against the stopper.

  As is clear from FIG. 13, the sub chassis 21 is provided with two punched holes 21d and 21e at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 5, when the slider 30 is located at the front end of the moving range, the concave portion 30b of the slider 30 overlaps the punched hole 21d. An eject plate 25 is attached to the sub chassis 21 in order to prevent coins from falling from the punched holes 21d. As is apparent from FIG. 6, the eject plate 25 is attached between a pair of upper and lower supports 21f and 21f provided on the subchassis 21 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction around the support shaft 26. When the eject plate 25 is at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, the lid 25a provided on the eject plate 25 is fitted into the punching hole 21d, whereby the recess 30b is closed from the sub chassis 21 side. The eject plate 25 is biased to a position for closing the recess 30b by a spring means (not shown).

  An arm 25b is integrally provided at the upper end of the eject plate 25, and a protruding shaft 25c is provided at the tip of the arm 25b. The projecting shaft 25 c is fitted into a hole 27 a provided at the rear end of the eject pin 27. The eject pin 27 is supported by the housing 2 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and the operation portion 27b at the tip (left end in FIGS. 8 and 9) projects forward from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 (see FIG. 4). ).

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a lever portion 25d is formed in the lower portion of the eject plate 25, and a hole 30e is formed in the slider 30 corresponding to the lever portion 25d. An eject lever 35 is attached to the slider 30 so as to cover the stopper 32 from the outside. The eject lever 35 is rotatable in the horizontal direction around the support shaft 35a, and a receiving portion at the front end thereof by a force of a coil spring 36 (see FIG. 5) hung between the hook 35b and the hook 30e of the slider 30. 35 c approaches the slider 30, and the ejecting portion 35 d at the rear end is urged away from the slider 30.

  When the slider 30 is positioned at the front end of the moving range, the receiving portion 35c of the eject lever 35 and the lever portion 25d of the eject plate 25 face each other with the punch hole 30e interposed therebetween. In this state, when the operation portion 27b of the eject pin 27 is pushed toward the inside of the housing 2, the eject plate 25 engaged with the eject pin 27 rotates about the support shaft 26 in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 9, the lid 25a is separated from the hole 21d of the subchassis 21 and a gap is formed between the lid 25a and the subchassis 21 so that coins can pass through. At the same time, the lever portion 25d of the eject plate 25 is pushed toward the receiving portion 35c of the eject lever 35, both the portions 25d and 35c come into contact with each other, and the eject lever 35 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9 about the support shaft 35a. To do.

  As a result, the eject portion 35d of the eject lever 35 passes through the slit 32d of the stopper 32 and enters the recess 30b. As a result, if a coin is taken into the recess 30b, the coin is pushed by the ejecting portion 35d and discharged into the punched hole 21d of the subchassis 21, and a gap formed between the subchassis 21 and the lid 25a. It will fall from the bottom. At this time, a chute 18 is provided in the coin fall range (see FIG. 6), and the coin that falls there is discharged to the coin return port 13. The stopper 32 is formed with two slits 32d and 32d so that the ejecting portion 35d can enter the recess 30b when the stopper 32 is switched to any of the two positions described above.

  A protrusion 30 f is provided at the upper front end of the slider 30. On the other hand, a lock lever 28 that is rotatable about a pin 28a is attached to the sub chassis 21. The rear end side of the lock lever 28 is pulled up by the coil spring 29, and the lock portion 28 b at the front end is urged to be pressed against the upper end of the slider 30. When the slider 30 is positioned at the front end of the moving range, there is some clearance between the lock lever 28 and the protrusion 30f of the slider 30. When the regular coin C is accommodated in the upper part of the recess 30b of the slider 30, the lock lever 28 is pushed up at the upper end of the coin C as the slider 30 moves backward, as shown in FIG. The lock portion 28b moves to a position above the projecting portion 30f, and the slider 30 is allowed to further retract.

  As is clear from FIG. 5, when the slider 30 is further retracted, the recess 30b overlaps the punched hole 21e of the subchassis 21, and the recess 30b opens to the subchassis 21 side. In addition, since the eject plate 25 is attached to the sub chassis 21, it does not move backward. When the recess 30b is retracted to a position where it overlaps the punch hole 21e, the eject lever 35 engages with a not-shown projection provided on the subchassis 21 and rotates in the same direction as when the eject pin 27 is pushed. Thereby, the coin C accommodated in the recessed part 30b of the slider 30 is pushed out to the punching hole 21e side. The chute 18 leading to the coin return port 13 ends on the front side of the punching hole 21e, and the coin C discharged from the punching hole 21e falls into the coin recovery box 15 disposed below the punching hole 21e.

  On the other hand, when the regular coin C is not accommodated in the upper stage of the recess 30b of the slider 30, for example, when a small diameter coin C ′ is accommodated in the upper stage of the recess 30b as shown in FIG. Even if the slider 30 is retracted, the lock lever 28 is not sufficiently pushed up, and the lock portion 28b comes into contact with the protruding portion 30f, thereby preventing the slider 30 from further retracting. Thereby, the coin C ′ having a small diameter cannot reach the position of the punch hole 21e. As described above, the amount of backward movement of the slider 30 changes depending on whether or not the diameter of the coin C is appropriate, and the coin C having an incorrect diameter can only be returned to the coin return port 13 from the punched hole 21d via the chute 18. Disappear.

  The sliding operation of the slider 30 described above is realized by operating the operation lever 11. Hereinafter, a mechanism for sliding the slider 30 and rotating the drum 6 using the operation of the operation lever 11 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a fan-shaped main gear 40 is provided inside the housing 2. The main gear 40 is attached to the housing 2 so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 41, and is urged to rotate clockwise in FIG. 5 by a torsion coil spring 42 attached to the outer periphery of the support shaft 41. The main gear 40 is manufactured by processing a steel plate into a sheet metal, and a tooth portion 40a is formed on the outer periphery thereof. A lever mounting portion 40 b is formed at the front end of the outer periphery of the main gear 40. The lever mounting portion 40b protrudes forward from a slit 2b (see FIG. 4) provided on the front surface 2a of the housing 2, and the operation lever 11 described above is fixed to the protruding portion. Accordingly, the operation lever 11 is biased toward the upper end side of the operation range by the force of the torsion coil spring 42. Therefore, when the operation lever 11 is pushed down against the force of the torsion coil spring 42, the main gear 40 rotates about the support shaft 41 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. As is clear from this, the operation of pushing down the operation lever 11 is essentially an operation of rotating the main gear 40 around the support shaft 41 against the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 42.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the support shafts 43 and 44 are fixed to the upper portion of the sub chassis 21, the intermediate gear 45 is mounted on the support shaft 43, and the pinion 46 is mounted on the support shaft 44. Has been. The gears 45 and 46 are rotatable with respect to the support shafts 43 and 44. The tooth portion 40 a of the main gear 40 meshes with the intermediate gear 45, and the intermediate gear 45 meshes with the pinion 46. A rack 47 is fixed to the slider 30 along the front-rear direction, and the pinion 46 meshes with the rack 47. Accordingly, when the main gear 40 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5 as the operation lever 11 is pushed down, the intermediate gear 45 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 and the pinion 46 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. The rotation of the pinion 46 is converted into a backward linear motion by the rack 47, and the backward motion of the slider 30 is generated. When the hand is released from the operation lever 11, the main gear 40 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 by the force of the torsion coil spring 42, and the operation lever 11 returns to the upper end of the operation range.

  As described with reference to FIG. 11, when the regular coin C is not accommodated in the upper part of the recess 30b of the slider 30, the backward movement of the slider 30 is restricted by the lock lever 28. In this case, The operation lever 11 can be pushed down only halfway through the operation range. On the contrary, when the regular coin C is accommodated in the upper stage of the concave portion 30b of the slider 30, the backward movement of the slider 30 is allowed, and the operation lever 11 can be pushed down to the lower end of the operation range.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a drum drive gear 48 is rotatably attached to the support shaft 43. The drum drive gear 48 meshes with teeth 6b... 6b formed on the outer periphery of the lower surface side of the drum 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a gear drive claw 50 is attached to the side surface of the intermediate gear 45 that faces the drum drive gear 48. On the other hand, a boss 48a is integrally formed on the side surface of the drum drive gear 48 facing the intermediate gear 45, and a protrusion 48b is formed at one location on the outer periphery of the boss 48a. The side continuous in the clockwise direction from the apex of the protrusion 48b is formed on a gentle slope, and the opposite side is formed on a wall surface that rises substantially straight in the radial direction. Accordingly, when the intermediate gear 45 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5, the gear driving claw 50 and the protrusion 48b mesh with each other as shown in FIG. 11A, and the drum driving gear 48 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. As a result, the drum 6 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 7 as the operation lever 11 is pushed down. On the other hand, when the intermediate gear 45 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 5, the gear drive pawl 50 gets over the protrusion 48b as shown in FIG. No rotation is transmitted to.

  The reduction ratio between the drum drive gear 48 and the tooth portion 6b of the drum 6 is set so that the drum 6 rotates by the angular pitch of the holes 6a when the drum drive gear 48 makes one rotation. That is, every time the operation lever 11 is pushed down and the drum 6 is rotated by the angular pitch of the holes 6a, the drum drive gear 48 rotates clockwise in FIG. 5 and stops at the position shown in FIG. When the slider 30 is at the front end of the movement range, that is, when the operation lever 11 is at the upper end of the movement range, the gear drive claw 50 and the protrusion 48b are separated by a predetermined angle α (see FIG. 5). When the lever 11 is pushed down by an angle corresponding to the angle α, the gear drive claw 50 and the projection 48b mesh with each other, and the drum drive gear 48 starts to rotate. When the operation lever 11 is further pushed down from the rotation start position to the lower end of the movement range, the intermediate gear 45 and the drum drive gear 48 make one rotation. Thereafter, when the operating lever 11 is returned to the upper end by the force of the torsion coil spring 42, the intermediate gear 45 rotates 360 ° in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 5 so that the gear driving pawl 50 is positioned before the drum is driven. Return to. During this time, since the gear driving claw 50 slides on the outer periphery of the boss 48a, the drum driving gear 48 does not rotate.

  Thus, in the payout control mechanism 20 of the present embodiment, even if the operation lever 11 is pushed down, the rotation of the drum 6 is suspended until the intermediate gear 45 rotates by the angle α. When the operation lever 11 is held at the upper end as a base point, the operation amount until the drum 6 starts rotating is that the lock lever 28 is engaged with the protrusion 30f (see FIG. 11) of the slider 30. The amount of operation of the operation lever 11 until the backward movement of the slider 30 is prevented is set. Accordingly, the regular coin C is accommodated in the recess 30b of the slider 30, and the drum 6 starts to rotate after the prevention of the backward movement of the slider 30 by the lock lever 28 is released. When a coin with a small diameter is inserted, the lock lever 28 engages with the slider 30 before the drum 6 rotates, and the operation lever 11 cannot be pushed down any more.

  The operations relating to the product dispensing of the vending machine 1 described above are summarized as follows. The administrator of the vending machine 1 needs to replenish the product storage room 3 with the product 5 as preparation for sales and switch the position of the stopper 32 according to the sales amount of the product 5.

  When the purchaser of the product 5 inserts the number of coins (one or two) according to the sales amount of the product 5 from the coin insertion slot 12, the coin is accommodated in the recess 30 b of the slider 30 through the chute 17. The When it is desired to stop the purchase of the product 5 or when coins are mistakenly inserted, by pushing the eject pin 27, the lid 25a of the eject plate 25 is opened, and the eject portion 35d of the eject lever 35 enters the recess 30b and the coin Is returned from the slider 30 to the coin return port 13 through the hole 21d of the sub chassis 21 and the chute 18.

  When the operation lever 11 is pushed down after the coin is inserted, the movement is transmitted to the rack 47 through the main gear 40, the intermediate gear 45 and the pinion 46, and the slider 30 starts to move backward. If the regular coin C is stored in the upper part of the recess 30b, the lock lever 28 is pushed up with the retreat of the slider 30, and the restriction of the retreat of the slider 30 by the lock 28b is released. On the other hand, when the regular coin C is not accommodated in the upper portion of the recess 30b, the lock lever 28 is not sufficiently pushed up, and the lock portion 28b and the protruding portion 30f of the slider 30 interfere with each other to restrict the backward movement of the slider 30. The

  When the slider 30 moves backward beyond the backward limit position of the slider 30 by the lock lever 28, the gear driving claw 50 of the intermediate gear 45 engages with the protrusion 48b of the drum driving gear 48, and the drum 6 via the drum driving gear 48 is engaged. Is started. When the operation lever 11 is further pushed down and the coin C in the recess 30b is conveyed to the position of the punching hole 21e in the subchassis 21, the eject lever 35 is driven so that the eject portion 35d enters the recess 30b, and the coin C in the recess 30b is moved. It falls into the coin recovery box 15 through the punch hole 21e. At this time, the operation lever 11 is in the middle of the operation range. When the operation lever 11 is operated to the lower end of the operation range, the drum 6 rotates by an angle corresponding to the pitch of the holes 6a, and a single product 5 randomly selected from the product storage chamber 3 is obtained. It is paid out through the chute 9 to the product payout exit 10.

  When the purchaser releases the operation lever 11 after paying out the product 5, the main gear 40 returns to the position before the operation by the force of the torsion coil spring 42, and the operation lever 11 returns to the upper end of the operation range accordingly. To do.

  In the above embodiment, the drum 6 corresponds to the product selection member, the main gear 40 corresponds to the main drive member, the drum drive gear 48 corresponds to the drive gear, and the intermediate gear 45 and the gear drive pawl 50 correspond to the transmission member.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the operation lever 11 is moved in the vertical direction so as to draw an arc centered on the support shaft 41. However, the front surface 2a of the housing is formed in a plane, and the operation lever 11 is moved in the vertical direction. It may be linearly moved. In this case, the linear motion of the operation lever 11 may be converted into a rotational motion using a rack and pinion mechanism, a link mechanism, or the like, and the rotational motion may be transmitted to the outer periphery of the drum 6. The transmission of the rotational motion to the drum 6 is not limited to that using a gear, but may use other power transmission means such as friction transmission.

  In the above-described embodiment, the motion transmission mechanism 20 </ b> A transmits the motion input to the operation lever 11 as the operation member to the drum 6 via the main gear 40, the intermediate gear 45, the gear drive claw 50 and the drum drive gear 48. It includes a drum driving unit (selection member driving unit) for transmitting, and a coin transport driving unit for transmitting the movement of the operation lever 11 to the slider 30 via the main gear 40, the intermediate gear 45, the pinion 46 and the rack 47. However, the specific configuration of each unit may be variously changed.

  Further, the coin processing mechanism 20B includes a slider (holding member) 30 having a recess 30b as a coin receiving portion, and a sub member serving as a support member that supports the slider 30 in a predetermined transport direction (the front-rear direction in the illustrated example). The chassis 21, the cam follower 31 and the slide groove 21b as means for guiding the slider 30, and the number limit for restricting the number of coins fixed to the slider 30 and restricting the number of coins accommodated in the recess 30b. A stopper 32 as a member, an eject lever 35 as a coin removing member for removing coins from the recess 30b, and an eject lever 35 when the slider 30 is in the initial position (standby position when the operating lever 11 is not operated). Eject plate 25 as an exclusion drive member that removes coins from the recess by operating and a recess It includes a lock lever 28 as a lock member that is displaced between a lock position that restricts the backward movement of the slider 30 in accordance with the amount of coin protrusion from 0b and a release position that releases the lock. You may change suitably also about one part or all. For example, the holding member may hold two or more coins stacked in the thickness direction. Moreover, in said embodiment, although the coin collection | recovery box 15 was provided as a coin storage part, the shape and magnitude | size can be variously changed. Although one or two coins are selectively accommodated in the concave portion 30b of the slider 30, for example, by changing the depth D of the concave portion 30b, a predetermined number of three or more and a smaller number It may be possible to switch the number of coins received between the two.

  In the above embodiment, the position where the concave portion 30b of the slider 30 as the holding member is directly below the chute 17 is a position where the coin inserted from the coin insertion port is received in the concave portion, and the concave portion 30b of the slider 30 and the sub-chassis 21 The position where the punch hole 21e overlaps corresponds to the position where the coins in the recesses are delivered to a predetermined coin storage part. With respect to the lock lever 28 as a lock member, the position (the position shown in FIG. 11B) where the lock portion 28b engages with the protrusion 30f is in the lock position, and the lock portion 28b escapes to the upper end of the protrusion 30f Each position (position shown in FIG. 11A) corresponds to a release position. Regarding the stopper 32 as the number limit member, the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 8 corresponds to the limit position, and the position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 8 corresponds to the release position.

The figure which showed the structure of the front side of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with a part of internal mechanism. The figure which showed the structure of the left side surface side of the vending machine of FIG. 1 with some internal mechanisms. The figure which showed the structure by the side of the right side of the vending machine of FIG. 1 with some internal mechanisms. The perspective view of the vending machine of FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the internal mechanism of the vending machine from the arrow V direction of FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the internal mechanism of the vending machine from the left side of FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the internal mechanism of the vending machine from the upper side of FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the principal part of the coin processing mechanism from the same direction as FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the principal part of the coin processing mechanism from the upper side of FIG. The figure which shows the state which looked at the principal part of the coin processing mechanism from the left side of FIG. The figure which shows the authenticity determination operation | movement of a coin in a coin processing mechanism. The figure which shows operation | movement of a motion transmission mechanism. The figure which shows the detail of a subchassis. The figure which shows the detail of a slider.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine 2 Case 2a Front of case 3 Product storage room 5 Product 6 Drum (product selection member)
6b Drum teeth 9 Chute 10 Product outlet 11 Operation lever (operation member)
12 Coin insertion port 13 Coin return port 14 Coin collection port 15 Coin collection box (coin storage unit)
16 Main chassis 17 Chute 18 Chute (guide means)
20 Dispensing control mechanism 20A Motion transmission mechanism 20B Coin processing mechanism 21 Subchassis (supporting member)
21d, 21e Punching hole (hole)
25 Eject plate (exclusion drive member)
25a lid 27 eject pin 28 lock lever (lock member)
30 Slider (holding member)
30b Recessed portion 30c Escape groove 31 Cam follower 32 Stopper (number switching member)
32a Stopper protrusion 32d Slit (hole)
35 Eject lever (coin exclusion member)
40 Main gear (main drive member)
45 Intermediate gear 46 Pinion 47 Rack 48 Drum drive gear C Regular coin X Drum center line

Claims (6)

In a vending machine that generates a payout operation of a product using operation of an operation member by a product purchaser,
A housing with a coin slot on the front;
A holding member having a recess for receiving coins;
The holding member is set in a position where the coins inserted from the coin insertion slot are received in the recess, and on the rear side of the housing with respect to the receiving position, and the coins are transferred from the recess to a predetermined coin storage unit. A support member that is linearly movable between positions;
A direction that is interposed between the operation member and the holding member, and that is different from a direction of movement given to the operation member between the receiving position and the delivery position of the holding member for the movement given to the operation member. A motion transmission mechanism that converts the linear motion of
A product sorting member that is driven to sort any product from a number of products stored in the product storage room ,
The motion transmission mechanism transmits the motion of the operation member to the product selection member,
The holding member is provided with a coin removing member that can appear and disappear in the recessed portion and exclude the coin from the recessed portion,
When the holding member is in the receiving position, an exclusion drive member that can engage with the coin exclusion member and drive the coin exclusion member in the direction of entering the recess is provided to be operable from the outside of the housing.
The recesses of the holding member are each provided with an opening that serves as an entrance for coins toward the coin insertion slot side, and an opening that serves as an exit for the coins toward the side facing the support member.
The support member is provided with a hole portion that is continuous with the opening on the outlet side of the concave portion and allows the coin to be removed from the concave portion when the holding member moves to the receiving position and the delivering position, respectively. And the recess is closed by the support member between the holes,
The exclusion drive member is provided with a lid that closes the recess, and the lid moves to open the recess as the coin exclusion member is driven.
The coins excluded by the coin exclusion member from the recess at the receiving position are guided to a coin return port on the front surface of the housing through a predetermined guide means.
Vending machine characterized by that. According to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining member is removed from the recess of the coin removing member is driven in a direction entering into the recess when in the receiving pass position wherein said coin to said coin accumulating unit vending machine. In the middle of the movement path of the holding member, a lock position that prevents the holding member from moving toward the delivery position according to the amount of protrusion of the coin from the recess, and the movement of the holding member are allowed. A locking member is provided that can be displaced between the release position and
The motion transmission mechanism is configured to hold motion transmission to the product selection member while the operation member is operated from its operation start position to a predetermined drive start position,
Claim 1 or 2 operating position of said operating member when the movement of the holding member is prevented by the locking member, characterized in that it is set to the operation start position side than the drive start position Vending machine as described in. The motion transmission mechanism is connected to the operation member, and a main drive member that generates a rotational motion about a horizontal axis of the housing by operating the operation member, and the rotational motion of the main drive member is the product. A sorting member driving unit that converts the movement of the sorting member into a predetermined motion; and a coin transport driving unit that converts the rotational motion of the main driving member into the linear motion of the holding member. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The coin conveying drive unit includes a rack extending in a longitudinal direction provided on the holding member, in claim 4, characterized in that it contains a pinion that rotates in conjunction with the operation member meshes with the rack The vending machine described. The vending machine according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein the operation member is operable in a vertical direction of the casing.

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