JP4940811B2 - Vending machine product unloading device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that includes a plurality of spirals arranged on a product shelf in a main body, and carries out and dispenses products stored between spiral pitches driven by rotating the spirals from the product shelf. The present invention relates to a product carrying device.

  As a conventional product carry-out device for this type of vending machine, a device as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-222752 (Patent Document 1) filed and published by the applicant of the present application is known. As shown in FIG. 8, the spiral-type product unloading device 4 of this vending machine has a configuration in which two metal spirals 26A and 26B are arranged in the longitudinal direction of a column case 24 formed of sheet metal or the like. One end of each of 26A and 26B is fixed to the spiral shaft 28 by a spiral mounting flange 26a, and the other end is placed in an open state on the front side of the column case 24. The spirals 26A and 26B are held in the column case 24 by a chevron-shaped guide member 51 provided on the bottom surface of the column case 24 and a rail member 52 formed in a strip shape through the spirals 26A and 26B. Yes. The chevron-shaped guide member 51 guides and holds the spirals 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B in the recesses formed between the protrusions on both sides, and one end of the rail member 52 is fixed to the front end edge of the column case 24. Since the other end is fixed to a disk 52a provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the spiral shaft 28, the spirals 26A and 26B are rotatably held without interference between the spirals 26A and 26B and the rail member 52. . In addition, a product detection switch 57 having a hinge lever 56 is disposed at the front of the column case 24, and a gate-shaped guide 53 for smoothly delivering products is provided on the front surface of the column case 24. Yes.

  A spur gear 60 is fixed to each spiral shaft 28, and one spur gear 60 and the other spur gear 60 are connected via two intermediate gears 61. One of the intermediate gears 61 is engaged with a gear 62 of a drive motor 27 that serves as a power source, and the rotation of the drive motor 27 causes both spur gears 60 to rotate in opposite directions. The drive motor 27, the intermediate gear 61 and the spur gear 60 are accommodated in a power box 65 provided on the back side of the column case 24.

In such a configuration, the merchandise is guided and placed between the pitches of the two spirals 26A and 26B facing each other. Then, when the two spirals 26A and 26B on which the product is placed based on the sales command are simultaneously rotated once by the drive motor 27, the product between the spiral pitches is sent to the front side of the column case 24, and is started from the front end. It is carried out one by one.
JP 2001-222752 A

  By the way, in the vending machine provided with such a product carry-out device 4, the two spirals 26A, 26B are released from the interlock, for example, each spiral 26A, 26B is driven independently, and each spiral 26A, 26B is separately driven. When the product is to be sold, the other intermediate gear 61 that is not engaged with the gear 62 of the drive motor 27 is placed in a position that does not mesh with the one intermediate gear 61 that is engaged with the gear 62 of the drive motor 27. Further, it is necessary to change the configuration so that the other intermediate gear 61 is engaged with the gear 62 of the driving motor 27 serving as a power source and can be driven independently. However, the operation of moving and rearranging one of the intermediate gears 61 in this way is considerably complicated. Moreover, since it is necessary to provide the movement space of the other intermediate gear 61 in the power box 65, the column case 24 must be formed wide from the beginning, and the width of the vending machine including the column case 24 cannot be reduced. There's a problem.

  In order to cope with such a problem, the present invention facilitates the change when the drive form of the spirals 26A and 26B is changed in accordance with the change of the sales form of the product, and such spirals 26A and 26B. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product unloading device for a vending machine including the product unloading device 4 that does not require the column case 24 to be formed wide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a plurality of spirals placed side by side on a product shelf and a connection for connecting the spirals and rotatably holding the spirals on the product shelf. A shaft, a transmission gear attached to each of the connecting shafts and meshing with each other to transmit the driving force of one adjacent connecting shaft to the other connecting shaft, and driving one of the connecting shafts Vending machine for rotating the spiral to which the signal is transmitted, and rotating the spiral by the driving means to carry out a product placed between the pitches of the spiral from the tip side thereof. In the commodity carrying-out apparatus, the transmission gear is provided so as to be attachable to the connecting shaft at two positions shifted along the axis thereof, and the transmission gear is mounted when the adjacent connecting shafts are shifted in position relative to each other. Car meshing is canceled and each said spiral being connected to the connecting shaft adjacent constitutes a separate rotatably driven.

According to this, whether the spirals adjacent to each other are driven simultaneously by mounting the mounting position of the transmission gear mounted for each spiral on any one of two locations along the axis of the connecting shaft. It can be easily set to either separately drive.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission gear is mounted at one of the two positions shifted by reversing the mounting direction with respect to the connecting shaft. It is to be mounted at a different position.

According to this, it is possible to set the spirals adjacent to each other to be driven simultaneously or separately by a simple operation of reversing the mounting direction of the transmission gear.
In addition, the shape of the transmission gear can be the same, and the types of parts can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the mounting positions of the transmission gears mounted for each spiral are mounted at any one of two locations along the axis of the connecting shaft, so that the spirals adjacent to each other are mounted. Can be easily set to drive simultaneously or separately, so the combination of spirals that are driven simultaneously to sell products can be easily changed according to the form of the products sold, etc. Can do. In addition, such a change can be made by performing the mounting position of the transmission gear along the axis of the connecting shaft of the spiral, so there is no need to change the setting such as increasing the interval between the spirals adjacent to each other, and the product can be taken out. There is no need to make the device wide.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the spirals adjacent to each other can be driven simultaneously or separately by a simple operation of reversing the mounting direction of the transmission gear. Therefore, it is possible to provide a merchandise carry-out device that is very easy to set.
In addition, since the shape of the transmission gear can be made the same and the types of parts can be reduced, it is possible to provide a product unloading device for a vending machine with low cost and good serviceability.

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine equipped with a product carry-out device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a vending machine equipped with a product carry-out device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer door is opened in the vending machine equipped with the commodity carry-out device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Components having the same or similar functions as those of the conventional example shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, a vending machine equipped with the commodity carry-out apparatus of the present invention includes a main body 1 having an open front surface and an outer door 2 that covers the opening on the front surface of the main body 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. The main body 1 is provided with a storage 3 having an opening at the front and surrounded by a heat insulating member. A product storage column 5 for storing products in a line in the front-rear direction is provided in the storage 3. Product racks (product carry-out devices) 4 arranged side by side are provided vertically. The product storage column 5 is partitioned by a column partition plate 25 on a plurality of shelves 6 (product shelves) provided in the storage 3 and partitioned for each stored product. In addition, spirals 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B are arranged in the interior in two rows in the front-rear direction and are simultaneously driven to rotate based on a sales command and carry out stored goods forward.

A product received from each product storage column 5 is received between the outer door 2 and the front surface of the product rack 4 arranged in the storage 3 in the main body 1, and sent to a product outlet 8 described later. A transport device 10 is provided. The operation of the commodity transport device 10 is controlled by a control means (not shown).
The outer door 2 is configured so that a product stored in the product storage column 5 and a product purchased by a customer at the time of product sales are transported from the product storage column 5 to the product transport device 10 and sent to the product outlet 8. A transparent window portion 7 in which a transparent plate is disposed is provided in a region corresponding thereto so that it can be visually observed. In addition, an operation part is formed on the side of the transparent window part 7, and a numeric keypad 17 for designating a commodity to be stored in the warehouse by a combination of numeric keys, a bill insertion slot 18a of the bill processing device, and a coin processing device. A coin insertion slot 18b, a money return lever 19, a display 20 for displaying sales information, a coin return slot 21 for returning change coins, a key portion 22, and the like are arranged. Further, a product outlet 8 is provided at the lower part of the outer door 2 so as to be positioned below the product conveying device 10, and an outlet door for taking out the sales products sent to the product outlet 8 on the front side thereof. 9 is provided. Further, an input keyboard 31 for inputting various settings such as sales settings is provided on the back surface of the outer door 2.

  The product conveying device 10 includes a bucket portion 11 that receives a product delivered from the product storage column 5, a bucket support portion 12 that cantilever-supports the bucket portion 11 at one end thereof, and a bucket support portion 12 that guides the bucket support portion 12. A guide rail 13 that moves the portion 11 in the vertical direction and a driving means 15 that acts on the bucket support portion 12 and moves the bucket portion 11 in the vertical direction along the guide rail 13 are provided. Here, the guide rail 13 that guides the movement of the bucket portion 11 is such that when the bucket portion 11 moves downward and reaches the lower limit position, the posture of the bucket portion 11 is inclined such that the tip (front end) faces downward from the horizontal state. Guide you to change. Moreover, the bucket part 11 is hold | maintained in the upper limit position (refer FIG. 2) above the uppermost goods storage column 5 in the normal standby state.

Next, an operation for selling a product in the vending machine according to the embodiment will be described.
Here, FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which the product S dispensed from the product storage column 5 is delivered to the bucket portion 11 located in front of it in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is.
First, when a customer selects and inputs a product for sale by using the numeric keypad 17, the bucket unit 11 is moved downward from the upper limit position by the driving means 15 of the product transporting apparatus 10, and enters the product storage column 5 in which the product for sale is stored. It moves to a corresponding height position (for example, 11a indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2) and stops. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the spiral members 26A and 26B (only 26A shown) disposed in the product storage column 5 are rotationally driven by the spiral drive means (drive means) 27, and the products stored in the spiral members 26A and 26B are shown. S is sent out from the carry-out port 25a at the front end of the product storage column 5, and is received by the bucket portion 11 stopped at the front position thereof.

  Thus, the bucket part 11 which received the goods S moves downward again. When the bucket portion 11 reaches the lower limit position, the bucket portion 11 is guided by the guide rail 13 and changes its posture to a posture (11b indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2) with the tip facing downward. Thereby, the product placed on the bucket unit 11 is sent to the product outlet 8 below and sold. And if it is detected by the goods carry-out sensor 34 provided in the upper direction that the goods were sent to the goods outlet 8, the bucket part 11 will move upwards again. When the bucket unit 11 reaches the upper limit position, the movement is stopped and held at the upper limit position. In this way, the merchandise selected by the customer is taken out to the merchandise outlet 8 and sold.

  By the way, the products stored in the product storage column 5 of such a vending machine need to change the types of the sales products in accordance with the customer's preference that changes depending on the installation location, the season, and the like. Therefore, the spirals 26A and 26B for storing the products are replaced with ones having a pitch suitable for the products to be sold according to the shape of the products to be sold, or the spirals 26A and 26B rotating at the same time are eliminated, and each is rotated independently. There are cases where it is necessary to change settings such as driving and selling products separately.

  Here, the connection structure of the spiral 26A and the spiral drive means 27 will be described. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a connection structure of the spiral 26A and the spiral driving means 27 in the commodity storage column 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the spiral drive means 27 includes a gear head portion 27a provided with an output shaft (connection shaft) 28 for rotating the spiral 26A, and a drive motor portion 27b for driving them, and is provided in the gear head portion 27a. A gear adapter 36 is attached to the output shaft 28 for attaching a connecting gear 29 described later. The gear adapter 36 is fixed to the output shaft 28 by a snap pin 37 that is attached to the base side of the output shaft 28 so as to penetrate both of the gear adapter 36 and the output shaft 28. Further, at the back of the gear adapter 36, when the connecting gear 29 is mounted, a flange portion 36a is formed which contacts the rear end thereof and guides it to a predetermined position. A slot 36b is formed to engage with the stopper claw 29c of the connecting gear 29 and fix it at a predetermined position. Here, the connecting gear 29 is arranged and formed on one side of the mounting portion 29b formed in a cylindrical shape, and is mounted by reversing the mounting direction with respect to the gear adapter 36 mounted on the output shaft 28. By doing so, the position of the gear portion 29a can be shifted in the direction along the axis of the output shaft 28 (at a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure). Then, by connecting the connecting gears 29 related to the adjacent spirals 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B while being shifted from each other in the direction along the axis of the output shaft 28, the meshing between them can be eliminated.

Further, a connecting hole 28a for connecting the spiral 26A is formed on the distal end side of the output shaft 28 so as to be orthogonal to the rotational axis. The gear adapter 36 that covers the output shaft 28 is formed with a guide hole 36c that guides the mounting of the spiral 26A concentrically with the connecting hole 28a.
The spiral 26A connected to the front end side of the output shaft 28 is formed from a single rod-like wire rod, and a connecting end portion 26Aa extending linearly from the spiral periphery toward the center thereof is formed at the rear end. Is provided. The connecting end portion 26Aa can be inserted into and removed from the connecting hole 28a of the output shaft 28. The spiral 26 </ b> A is connected to the spiral driving means 27 by inserting the connection end 26 </ b> Aa into the connection hole 28 a of the output shaft 28, and the connection is held by the connection holder 30.

The connection holder 30 is fitted to the tip of the output shaft 28 and engages with the shaft engagement portion 30a, a peripheral contact portion 30b that contacts the inner periphery of the spiral portion 26A, and a connection end portion 26Aa of the spiral 26A. And a connection end engaging portion 30c fitted to the rotation end, and these hold the connection so that the rotation axis of the spiral 26A coincides with the rotation axis of the output shaft 28.
In the product storage column 5 configured as described above, when removing the spiral 26 </ b> A, first, the connecting holder 30 is pulled in the distal direction (forward) of the output shaft 28, and the shaft engaging portion 30 a is removed from the output shaft 28. The peripheral contact portion 30b and the connecting end engaging portion 30c are removed from the spiral 26A, respectively. Then, the connecting end 26 </ b> Aa of the spiral 26 </ b> A is removed from the connecting hole 28 a of the output shaft 28, and the spiral 26 </ b> A is removed from the product storage column 5. Further, when attaching the spiral 26A to the commodity storage column 5, this procedure is reversed. It should be noted that the spiral 26B can be attached and detached in the same manner by adopting the same attachment structure even on the spiral 26B adjacent to the spiral 26A. In this way, it is possible to easily exchange the spirals 26A and 26B.

  Further, the output shaft 28 is fitted with a connecting gear 29 that meshes with a connecting gear 29 provided on a drive shaft (not shown) of adjacent spirals 26B and rotates these two spirals 26A and 26B simultaneously. However, by reversing the mounting direction, the position of the gear portion 29a can be shifted in the direction along the axis of the output shaft 28, and the meshing with the adjacent connecting gear 29 can be eliminated. Accordingly, the spirals 26A and 26B can be individually driven to rotate, and different products can be sold for each of the spirals 26A and 26B.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the product rack 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the two spirals 26A and 26B on the left side are normally driven to rotate at the same time to form one product column 5. In this case, the connecting gear 29 associated with each spiral 26A and 26B is connected to the output shaft 28. The gear portions 29a are mounted such that their gear portions 29a are displaced from each other along the axis of the output shaft 28 and their meshing is eliminated. A partition plate 25 is provided between the spirals 26A and 26B, and an output shaft 28 to which the spirals 26A and 26B are connected is driven by separate spiral driving means 27. ing. That is, with such a configuration, the spirals 26A and 26B can be individually driven to rotate, and different products can be sold for each of the spirals 26A and 26B.

  In addition, the two spirals 26A and 26B arranged in the center in FIG. 6 are mounted with the connecting gears 29 related to the spirals 26A and 26B being mounted on the output shaft 28 in the same mounting direction. 29a is arranged to mesh with each other. The spirals 26A and 26B are simultaneously driven to rotate based on a sales command from a control means (not shown), and the product stored across the two spirals 26A and 26B is carried forward (upward in the figure). Has been. In this case, one spiral 26B is connected to the output shaft 28 of the gear head portion 27a not provided with the drive motor portion 27b, and the connected gear is connected by the spiral drive means 27 that drives the output shaft 28 to which the other spiral 26A is connected. 29 are simultaneously driven to rotate.

  Further, in FIG. 6, the two spirals 26A and 26B on the right side are configured to be driven to rotate at the same time as the two spirals 26A and 26B arranged at the center. The pitch and the manner in which the connecting gear 29 is attached to the output shaft 28 are different from those arranged in the center. According to this, it is possible to appropriately sell a product whose product thickness is smaller than that of the product column 25 arranged in the center. Further, even when the spiral 26A arranged at the center and the spiral 26B arranged on the right side thereof are arranged close to each other, these connecting gears 29 do not interfere with each other. Can be reduced as a whole.

  As described above, in the product rack 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the mounting position of the connecting gear 29 attached to each of the spirals 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B is mounted at any one of two locations along the axis of the output shaft 28. Thus, the spirals 26A and 26B adjacent to each other can be easily set to be driven simultaneously or separately. Accordingly, the spirals 26A and 26B can be easily changed to be driven simultaneously or separately according to the change in the sales form of the product. Further, such a change can be made by moving the mounting position of the connecting gear 29 along the axis of the output shaft 28 of the spirals 26A and 26B, so that the interval between the adjacent spirals 26A and 26B is increased. It is not necessary to make the product rack 4 wide. In the embodiment of the present invention, the spirals 26A and 26B adjacent to each other are driven simultaneously or separately by a simple operation of reversing the mounting direction of the connecting gear 29 with respect to the output shaft 28. Since it can be set to either of these, the product rack 4 can be provided with an extremely simple setting operation.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a product rack 41 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The merchandise rack 41 is configured such that six spirals 26 for carrying merchandise can be arranged in parallel at equal intervals. Further, as described above, these spirals 26 are detachably provided on the output shaft 28 to which the spirals 26 are connected, and the connection gear 29 related to the spiral 26 is reversed and attached to the output shaft 28, The meshing with the adjacent connecting gear 29 can be eliminated. In the embodiment shown in this figure, the left three rows of output shafts 28 are connected by connecting gears 29, and spirals 26 formed at the same pitch are connected to the output shafts 28 on both sides thereof. The output shaft 28 located at the center where the spiral 26 is not connected is driven by the spiral driving means 27, and the spirals 26 connected to the connecting shafts 28 on both sides thereof are simultaneously rotated in the same direction. ing. In this way, a product storage column 5 for selling one product is configured. The product storage column 5 can sell a horizontally long product S1 that is stored between the pitches 26 on both sides and that is stored between the pitches.

  Next, the mounting direction of the connecting gear 29 mounted on the left output shaft 28 is reversed to the output shaft 28 located next to the left three output shafts 28 (that is, the fourth column from the left in the figure). A connecting gear 29 is attached. Further, a connecting gear 29 is attached to the output shaft 28 on the right side (that is, the fifth column from the left side) in the same direction so as to mesh with the connecting gear 29 on the left side. The two rows of output shafts 28 are connected to spirals 27 having different winding directions at the same pitch. The two rows of spirals 26 configured in this way are simultaneously driven by the spiral drive means 27 that drives one output shaft 28, and the product S2 stored between the pitches across the two rows of spirals 26 is placed at the tip thereof. One commodity storage column 5 that can be carried out and sold from (upper side of the figure) is configured.

  Further, the output shaft 28 at the right end in the figure is reversely connected to the connecting gear 29 attached to the output shafts 28 in the left two rows (that is, the connecting gear attached to the output shafts 28 in the left three rows in the figure). 29 is attached in the same mounting direction). A spiral 26 is connected to the output shaft 28, and is independently driven to rotate by the spiral driving means 27, and the product S 3 stored between the pitches is carried out from the tip side. In this way, one commodity storage column 5 is constituted by one spiral 26. Note that these commodity storage columns 5 are partitioned by partition plates 25, respectively.

  As described above, according to the product rack 41 of another embodiment of the present invention, various product columns 5 can be configured by combining and driving any one of the spirals 26 arranged in parallel to each other. It is possible to provide a highly versatile product rack 41 that can sell various products. In addition, since the shape of the component parts such as the connecting gear 29 can be made the same and the types of parts can be reduced, it is possible to provide a vending machine product carry-out device with low cost and good serviceability.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the apparatus shown in this embodiment mode, and application changes can be made within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

It is a front view which shows the vending machine carrying the goods carrying-out apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the vending machine carrying the goods carrying-out apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the outer door in the vending machine carrying the goods carrying-out apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In the vending machine concerning an embodiment of the invention, it is a side sectional view showing typically the state where the goods paid out from a goods storage column are sent out to the bucket part located in the front. It is side sectional drawing which shows the connection structure of the spiral and spiral drive means in the goods storage column which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the goods rack which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the goods rack which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the goods carrying-out apparatus of the vending machine which concerns on the conventional embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Body
2 Outer door 3 Storage 4 Product rack (product unloading device)
5 Product storage column 6 Shelf (product shelf)
26 spiral 26A spiral 26B spiral 27 spiral drive means (drive means)
28 Output shaft (connection shaft)
29 Connection gear 30 Connection holder 36 Gear adapter

Claims (2)

A plurality of spirals placed side by side on the product shelf, a connecting shaft that connects the spirals and rotatably holds the spiral on the product shelf, and is attached to the connecting shaft and meshes with each other. A transmission gear that transmits the driving force of one of the adjacent connecting shafts to the other connecting shaft, and a driving means that drives one of the connecting shafts and rotationally drives the spiral to which the driving force is transmitted. In the product unloading device of the vending machine for rotating and driving the spiral by the driving means, and unloading the product placed between the pitches of the spiral from the tip side thereof,
The transmission gear is provided so that it can be attached to the connecting shaft at two positions shifted along the axis thereof, and the meshing of the transmission gear is eliminated when the adjacent connecting shaft is attached with a shifted position, A merchandise carry-out apparatus for a vending machine, wherein the spirals connected to the adjacent connecting shafts are configured to be individually rotatable.   2. The transmission gear according to claim 1, wherein the transmission gear is mounted with its position changed to one of the two positions shifted by reversing the mounting direction with respect to the connecting shaft. Product vending machine for vending machines as described.

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