JP4797746B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine.

  For example, in a vending machine that sells products such as canned beverages and bottled beverages, when a selection button is pressed after coins are inserted, the product dispensing device provided in the product storage rack is driven and stored at the lowest level. The product will be paid out only. The product delivered from the product storage rack is guided along the shooter, then delivered to the product delivery chamber, and delivered to the user's hand through the product outlet opening in the product delivery chamber. Normally, in this type of vending machine, a door is provided at the product outlet serving as a contact port to the outside so as to prevent the inside of the product dispensing chamber from being soiled by rainwater or dust. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-303200 A

  By the way, when a product is paid out from the product storage rack in a state where a hand is inserted into the product discharge chamber from the product take-out port, the product may collide with the hand. As described above, although a vending machine having a door at the product outlet is common, as long as the product must be taken out through the product outlet, opening the door itself is limited. It is difficult to prevent the product from colliding with the hand.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of reliably preventing a product from colliding with a hand in a product passage area.

In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to the present invention includes a plurality of product storage racks, and a plurality of product delivery chambers for receiving products delivered from each product storage rack through the respective product storage racks. Are disposed inside the main body cabinet, and an outer door is disposed on the front surface of the main body cabinet. A door body that forms an outlet and opens and closes the commodity outlet is provided, and the open / closed state of the door body is monitored, and when the door is opened, restrictions are placed on the dispensing of products from the commodity storage rack. In the vending machine provided with the control means , the door body is swingably supported on the outer door via a hinge device, and the hinge device is mounted on the inner surface of the door body and the outer door. Hinge shaft The hinge plate is provided with an extending portion extending radially outward from the hinge shaft toward the rear side of the main body cabinet in a state in which the door body is closed, and the extending portion of the extending portion. An arcuate portion curved in a manner surrounding the periphery of the hinge shaft from the end toward the door body, and is activated when the hinge plate comes into contact with the operating state of the hinge device. A detection sensor for detecting is provided, and the control means determines whether or not the door is opened according to a detection result of the detection sensor .

The vending machine according to the present invention further comprises a commodity dispensing device for performing commodity dispensing control in the above-described invention, and the control means stops the operation of the commodity dispensing device when the door body is opened. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, since the sales operation is limited when the door is opened, the product is not paid out in a state where a hand is inserted into the product passage area, for example, the product outlet. It is possible to reliably prevent the product from colliding with the hand.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a vending machine according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as appropriate.

  1 to 3 show a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine exemplified here is particularly suitable for selling a bottled beverage as a product W in a cooled state, and includes a main body cabinet 10. The main body cabinet 10 is configured by combining a plurality of steel plates, and has a box shape with an open front surface. The main body cabinet 10 is provided with a storage box 11, an inner door 12, and a dispensing chamber unit 20.

  The storage 11 is configured in a box shape having an open front by combining a plurality of heat insulating materials, and is disposed inside the main body cabinet 10 in a manner that secures a unit mounting area 10a on one side of the main body cabinet 10. It is. In the storage 11, a cooling unit 13 is disposed in the inner lower region, and a plurality of product storage racks 14 are disposed in the upper upper region.

  The cooling unit 13 is for cooling the inside of the storage 11 to a desired temperature, and is configured by arranging an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, for example. The other components of the refrigeration cycle, such as a condenser, are disposed in the machine room 15 below the storage 11 inside the main body cabinet 10.

  The product storage rack 14 individually stores a plurality of products W in the storage 11, and pays out the products W when a sales instruction is given. In the present embodiment, a plurality of product storage racks 14, which are so-called slan tracks, in which rack plates 14 a are arranged so as to be gradually inclined downward toward the unit mounting area 10 a are provided along the vertical direction of the storage 11. It is installed side by side. In the commodity storage rack 14, the commodity W placed on the upper surface of the rack plate 14a is always accumulated on the downstream end side according to the inclination. Each product storage rack 14 includes a bend mech (product delivery device) 16 at each downstream end. The bend mech 16 is provided with a pedal 16b and an auxiliary pedal 16c that can be moved in and out of the base plate 16a. The pedal 16c is appropriately driven, and the products W placed on the upper surface of the rack plate 14a are discharged one by one downstream.

  Discharge outlets 11b are respectively formed in walls (hereinafter referred to as “partition walls 11a”) located in the extended areas of the respective product storage racks 14 in the storage 11. The discharge outlet 11b is a passage hole for transferring the product W discharged from the product storage rack 14 by driving the bend mech 16 to a product discharge chamber 21 of the discharge chamber unit 20 described later. A flapper 17 is provided at the discharge outlet 11b. The flapper 17 is disposed so as to be swingable with the horizontal axis at the upper edge as an axis, and holds the outlet 11b in a normal state while the product W comes into contact with the container 11 side. In this case, the delivery outlet 11b is opened to allow the product W to pass. After the commodity W has passed, the flapper 17 is closed and moved by its own weight, and the state where the discharge outlet 11b is closed again is maintained. Although not explicitly shown in the drawing, the flapper 17 is laid with a heat insulating material such as a heat insulating sheet that is light enough not to affect the above-described swing movement.

  The inner door 12 is for opening and closing the front opening of the storage 11 and is supported on one side edge of the storage 11 so as to be swingable. The inner door 12 is configured to have a heat insulating function such as filling a hollow steel plate panel with a heat insulating material, and defines a heat insulating space in the interior when the front opening of the storage 11 is closed. It is.

  The dispensing chamber unit 20 includes a plurality of commodity dispensing chambers 21 arranged in the vertical direction, and is disposed in the unit mounting area 10 a of the main body cabinet 10. The product dispensing chamber 21 is a space provided individually corresponding to the above-described dispensing outlet 11b, and can accommodate the articles W that have passed through the respective dispensing outlets 11b. On the other hand, the product dispensing chamber 21 has a take-out opening 21a that is always open on the front surface, and the product W can be taken out through the take-out opening 21a.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each product dispensing chamber 21 is configured such that the length in the front-rear direction of each product is larger than the length in the front-rear direction of the product storage rack 14, and the front edge of the bottom wall 21 b is formed. It almost coincides with the front surface of the inner door 12 that closes the front opening of the storage 11. Each of the commodity dispensing chambers 21 is inclined in such a manner that the bottom wall 21b gradually becomes lower toward the front side, has a stopper wall 21c at the front end portion of the bottom wall 21b, and takes out into each interior. A wall 22 is provided.

  The stopper wall 21c holds the product W in a state where it is placed on the bottom wall 21b of the product delivery chamber 21 by contacting the front end of the product W delivered to the product delivery chamber 21, and the bottom wall 21b. It is comprised by making the front-end part of this bend upward. In particular, in the present embodiment, the front end portion of the product dispensing chamber 21 is bent upward and gradually inclined upward, and then the bent end portion is further bent upward to thereby form the stopper wall 21c. I am trying to configure it. The take-out guide wall 22 is a flat plate member that continues between the side wall 21d and the back wall 21e facing the payout opening 11b, and is arranged in such a manner that the distance from the partition wall 11a gradually increases toward the front side. It is.

  On the other hand, the vending machine includes an outer door 30 on the front surface of the main body cabinet 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer door 30 includes an outer wall plate 31 that is a front surface and an inner wall plate 32 that covers the inner side surface of the outer wall plate 31. It is supported so as to be able to swing, and can be displaced between an open state in which the storage 11 and the dispensing chamber unit 20 are exposed to the outside, and a closed state that covers the front surfaces of the storage 11 and the dispensing chamber unit 20. It is. The outer door 30 is provided with a selection button 33, a coin insertion slot 34, a bill insertion slot 35, a return lever 36, a coin return slot 37, an integrated display 38, and a bottle opener 39 on the front surface of the outer wall plate 31.

  The selection button 33 is a push button switch for selecting the product W, and a plurality of selection buttons 33 are arranged in parallel along the vertical direction at a portion that is substantially the center of the outer door 30. The selection signal of the product W by the operation of the selection button 33 is given to the vending machine main control unit 100 described later. In the present embodiment, a product guide plate 40 is provided corresponding to each selection button 33. The merchandise guide plate 40 clearly indicates the information of the merchandise W associated with each selection button 33 by characters or images. The coin insertion slot 34 and the banknote insertion slot 35 are used to insert coins as a consideration for the product W, and are provided on one side of the outer door 30. Although not explicitly shown in the figure, the money inserted from the coin insertion slot 34 and the bill insertion slot 35 is a coin processing provided on the inner surface of the outer wall plate 31 in the outer door 30 and a money processing called bill validator. Processing is appropriately performed by the apparatus 41 (see FIG. 9). From this money handling apparatus 41, a deposit signal is given to the vending machine main control unit 100 described later. The return lever 36 is operated when returning the inserted money, and is disposed in the vicinity of the coin insertion slot 34. The coin return port 37 is an opening for returning coins to the user, and is provided in a lower area of the coin insertion port 34. The integrated display 38 is a display means for displaying various information necessary for selling the product W, such as the input amount, whether or not the sales operation is in progress, and the like. The bottle opener 39 is an instrument for opening the crown of the sold product W, and is provided at a position that is substantially at the center of the outer door 30.

  Further, the outer door 30 is provided with a product outlet 50 at a portion facing the dispensing chamber unit 20. The product outlet 50 is a vertically long opening extending in the vertical direction, is formed in a manner penetrating the outer door 30, and has openings 51 a and 51 b in the outer wall plate 31 and the inner wall plate 32, respectively. The opening 51b of the inner wall plate 32 is formed so as to include all the product dispensing chambers 21 in the dispensing chamber unit 20, and the opening 51a of the outer wall plate 31 has a slightly smaller vertical and horizontal dimension than the opening 51b of the inner wall plate 32, respectively. It is formed to be large.

  A peripheral wall plate 52 is provided at a portion of the commodity outlet 50 located between the opening 51 a of the outer wall plate 31 and the opening 51 b of the inner wall plate 32. The peripheral wall plate 52 includes an outer peripheral portion 52a extending in the front-rear direction from the peripheral portion of the opening 51a formed in the outer wall plate 31 and a front-rear side from the peripheral portion of the opening 51b formed in the inner wall plate 32 toward the front side. Extending along the extending direction of the outer wall plate 31 in such a manner as to connect the inner peripheral portion 52b extending in the direction and the extending end portions of the outer peripheral portion 52a and the extending end portion of the inner peripheral portion 52b. And a stepped portion 52c that closes the gap between the outer wall plate 31 and the inner wall plate 32.

  The product outlet 50 is provided with an outlet door body 60. The outlet door body 60 is configured by fitting a glass body 62 inside the frame body 61, and is accommodated in a part surrounded by the outer peripheral portion 52 a of the peripheral wall plate 52 in the commodity outlet 50, while The circumference is configured to be large enough to contact the stepped portion 52 c of the peripheral wall plate 52. In addition, the code | symbol 63 in a figure is the gasket provided in the frame 61 of the extraction door body 60. FIG. This gasket 63 is interposed between the frame body 61 of the outlet door body 60 and the stepped portion 52c of the peripheral wall plate 52, and is configured to form an endless rectangular frame shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the outlet door body 60 is swingably supported by the outer door 30 via a pair of upper and lower hinge devices 70, and can be opened and moved outward. Is possible. The hinge device 70 is provided with a hinge plate 72 that rotatably supports a hinge shaft 71 at one end, and the hinge device 71 is mounted on the inner surface of the outer wall plate 31 of the outer door 30 in a manner along the vertical direction. The other end portion of the hinge plate 72 is attached to the frame body 61 of the outlet door body 60, thereby supporting the outlet door body 60 in a manner that swings around the axis of the hinge shaft 71 with respect to the outer door 30. is doing.

  As is clear from the figure, the hinge plate 72 extends radially outwardly from the hinge shaft 71 toward the rear side when the outlet door body 60 is closed with respect to the outer door 30. 72a, an arcuate portion 72b that is curved in such a manner as to surround the periphery of the hinge shaft 71 from the extending end of the radiation extending portion 72a toward the direction close to the outlet door body 60, and the end of the arcuate portion 72b And a mounting portion 72c extending in the radially outward direction of the hinge shaft 71, and is exposed to the outside through an insertion opening 52d provided in the outer peripheral portion 52a of the peripheral wall plate 52, via the mounting portion 72c. Screwed to the frame body 61 of the outlet door body 60.

  The insertion opening 52d of the peripheral wall plate 52 has a moving region of the hinge plate 72 to prevent interference between the hinge plate 72 and the peripheral wall plate 52 that are displaced when the outlet door body 60 is swung with respect to the outer door 30. It is the rectangular-shaped opening formed in the aspect containing this. A shutter plate 80 is disposed in the insertion opening 52d.

  The shutter plate 80 is a rectangular plate-like member having a size sufficient to cover the insertion opening 52d, and the guide rail portion 52e formed on the outer peripheral portion 52a of the peripheral wall plate 52 is used as a guide, and the outer peripheral portion of the peripheral wall plate 52 is used as a guide. It is possible to slide back and forth along 52a. The rear side edge of the shutter plate 80 is inserted into an accommodation groove 52f formed in the stepped portion 52c of the peripheral wall plate 52 in a state where the insertion opening 52d is completely covered.

  The shutter plate 80 has an engagement groove 81. The engaging groove 81 is an opening for engaging the hinge plate 72 and the shutter plate 80 with each other by inserting the hinge plate 72 of the hinge device 70 so as to be slidable, and is an edge located on the front side of the shutter plate 80. Is formed along the vertical direction.

  Further, the vending machine is provided with a detection sensor 90 at a site around the hinge device 70. The detection sensor 90 is for detecting whether or not the outlet door body 60 is opened through the operating state of the hinge device 70. Specifically, when the outlet door body 60 is closed with respect to the commodity outlet 50 of the outer door 30, the detection sensor 90 is turned ON when the hinge plate 72 comes into contact with and outputs a detection signal. When the outlet door body 60 is opened, the detection plate 90 is turned off by separating the hinge plate 72.

  In the vending machine configured as described above, after the products W are stored in the respective product storage racks 14, the front opening of the storage 11 is closed by the inner door 12 and the front opening of the main body cabinet 10 is removed. The state that is closed and locked by the door 30 becomes the sales standby state. The product W stored in the product storage rack 14 of the storage 11 is cooled by driving the cooling unit 13 and is maintained at a desired cooling temperature (for example, 5 ° C.). In the vending machine of the present embodiment, the product W is stored in the product storage rack 14 in such a manner that the crown of the product W is arranged on the front side.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the product sales control system of the vending machine described above. When the vending machine main control unit 100 shown in FIG. 9 receives signals from the selection button 33, the money handling apparatus 41, and the detection sensor 90, the vending machine 16 and the bend mech 16 of the product storage rack 14 according to programs and data stored in the memory 101 in advance. The product W is sold by driving the integrated display 38 as appropriate.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a sales operation process repeatedly executed by the vending machine main control unit 100 shown in FIG. 9 at a predetermined cycle time. Hereinafter, the operation in the case of selling the product W in the vending machine will be described with reference to this flowchart as appropriate.

  In the above-described sales standby state, the vending machine main control unit 100 of the vending machine constantly monitors the detection signal from the detection sensor 90 (step S201), and the outlet door body 60 is opened through the detection signal of the detection sensor 90. Judging whether or not.

  When the detection sensor 90 is turned on, that is, when the product outlet 50 is closed by the outlet door 60, the vending machine main control unit 100 indicates that the integrated display 38 is “on sale”. Display is performed (step S202), and the money handling apparatus 41 is held in the deposit waiting state (step S203), and thereafter, waiting for input of a deposit signal from the money handling apparatus 41 and a selection signal from the selection button 33 (step S203). S204 to step S206).

  When a deposit signal is given from the money handling apparatus 41 in step S204 (step S204: YES), the amount to be inserted is displayed on the integrated display 38 (step S205), and when a selection signal is given from the selection button 33 (step S206). : YES), the bend mech 16 of the product storage rack 14 corresponding to the selection signal is driven on condition that the deposit amount specified by the payment signal is equal to or higher than the sales price of the product W associated with the selection button 33. (Step S207). As a result, the product W delivered from the product storage rack 14 is transferred to the product delivery chamber 21 through the delivery outlet 11b of the partition wall 11a and waits there.

  Here, according to this vending machine, the bottom wall 21b of the product dispensing chamber 21 is inclined so as to gradually become lower toward the front side, and the take-out guide wall 22 is disposed at the back of the product dispensing chamber 21. Therefore, the product W transferred to the product delivery chamber 21 by the action of each inclined surface is arranged on the near side in the bottom wall 21b. Therefore, if the outlet door body 60 is opened and the product outlet 50 is opened, the product W arranged on the front side can be easily taken out. In this case, since the crown of the bottled beverage as the product W comes into contact with the stopper wall 21c, there is no possibility of colliding with the outlet door body 60.

  Even during the processing described above, the vending machine main control unit 100 monitors the detection signal from the detection sensor 90 every cycle time, and when the detection signal is given, the procedure proceeds to step S208, and the integrated display 38 is displayed to the effect that “sale is stopped”, the money processing apparatus 41 is stopped (step S209), and the bend mech 16 is stopped (step S210).

  That is, when the outlet door 60 is opened, the money processing device 41 is stopped, so that when the coin is inserted from the coin insertion port 34, it is returned as it is from the coin return port 37, and the bill is inserted. A bill cannot be inserted from the mouth 35, and the condition for driving the bend mech 16 cannot be established.

  Further, when the outlet door body 60 is opened, the drive of the bend mech 16 is stopped even after a deposit signal is input and a selection signal is given.

  As a result, when a hand is inserted into the product discharge chamber 21 from the product outlet 50, the product W is not discharged because the outlet door body 60 is opened. It is possible to reliably prevent the situation of collision.

  On the other hand, according to the vending machine, the insertion opening 52d is formed in the peripheral wall plate 52 in a manner including the moving region of the hinge plate 72, and the shutter plate 80 is slidably disposed in a manner covering the insertion opening 52d. At the same time, the hinge plate 72 is inserted into the engagement groove 81 of the shutter plate 80. Therefore, when the hinge plate 72 is displaced by the swing of the outlet door body 60 with respect to the outer door 30, the shutter plate 80 appropriately slides in the front-rear direction along the outer peripheral portion 52 a of the peripheral wall plate 52 due to the displacement of the hinge plate 72. In other words, the insertion opening 52d can be always closed without any loss of swinging of the outlet door body 60. For this reason, even when the outlet door body 60 is opened, foreign matter is not inserted into the insertion opening 52d, and it is possible to prevent a situation in which the hinge device 70 and the peripheral wall plate 52 are damaged. It becomes. In this case, since the hinge shaft 71 of the hinge device 70 is not located at the position exposed from the outside, the consciousness of destroying the hinge shaft 71 can be reduced, which is advantageous in terms of antitheft performance.

It is a front view of the vending machine which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows notionally the goods delivery room where goods are paid out in the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the state which opened the goods outlet provided in the outer door in the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the hinge apparatus applied to the door body for opening and closing the goods extraction opening shown in FIG. It is a principal part cross-sectional view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a principal part cross-sectional view of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the goods sales control system of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the sales operation process which the vending machine main control part shown in FIG. 9 performs.

Explanation of symbols

14 Commodity storage rack 16 Bendmek 21 Commodity dispensing chamber 50 Commodity exit 60 Discharge door body 70 Hinge device 90 Detection sensor 100 Vending machine main controller

Claims (2)

A plurality of product storage racks and a plurality of product delivery chambers for receiving the products delivered from each product storage rack through the individual product storage racks are arranged inside the main body cabinet and are arranged outside the front of the main body cabinet. A door,
The outer door is provided with a door body that forms a product outlet facing each product outlet chamber in a mode of taking out the product from the product outlet chamber to the outside of the main body cabinet, and opens and closes the product outlet port,
In the vending machine provided with a control means for monitoring the open / closed state of the door body and, when the door is opened, for restricting the delivery of the product from the product storage rack ,
The door body is swingably supported on the outer door via a hinge device,
The hinge device includes a hinge plate between a door body and a hinge shaft attached to the inner surface of the outer door, and the hinge plate is directed from the hinge shaft toward the rear side of the main body cabinet when the door body is closed. An extending portion extending in the radially outward direction, and an arcuate portion curved in a manner surrounding the periphery of the hinge shaft from the extending end portion of the extending portion toward the door body. ,
Provided with a detection sensor that operates when the hinge plate comes into contact and detects the operating state of the hinge device;
The control means determines whether or not the door has been opened according to the detection result of the detection sensor . It has a product delivery device that controls product delivery,
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means stops the operation of the commodity dispensing device when the door is opened .

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