JP5267313B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vending machine that can store a merchandize having a hook in a drinking spout portion by having the merchandize slide by weight of the same and supported by hanging and maintains the merchandize with an earlier selling order at a suitable temperature for sale. <P>SOLUTION: The vending machine includes a merchandize storage rack 20 having a framework of the merchandize storing rack 20 constructed from vertical and horizontal frame material and provided with tornado shape merchandize supporting units 30 in an embodiment of extending spirally in the vertical direction as well as hanging and storing by supporting the hook (flange 105) of the merchandize (for example, a pouch merchandize 0) and having the merchandize slide by the weight of the same and having a merchandize taking out mechanism 40 on a taking out end. In this case, the merchandize can be supported and stored by being hung by the weight of the same by the tornado shape merchandize supporting unit 30, and the merchandize with earlier selling order can be positioned in a bottom of a chamber, thereby the merchandise with the earlier selling order can be maintained at the suitable temperature for sale. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a vending machine that sells a product having a hook portion at a drinking mouth portion, and supports the product by suspending the product and slidingly stores the product by its own weight, and at the carry-out end. The present invention relates to a vending machine equipped with a carry-out mechanism.

Products handled by vending machines are diversified, and containers filled with beverages are hard in flexible pouch-shaped containers filled with jelly-like food and drink in addition to hard canned products and plastic bottled products There is a demand for a vending machine which can sell a product (hereinafter also referred to as a pouch product) in which a spout as a spout portion made of a synthetic resin is fixed as a drinking mouth and which has a cap attached to the spout. There is known a vending machine that uses a product as a sale target product (for example, Patent Document 1).
The vending machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes product storage racks arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages in the cabinet of the main body cabinet, and the left and right direction with a predetermined interval on the product placement surface of each product storage rack A plurality of partition walls are provided, and a product storage passage is provided between adjacent partition walls to store products side by side in the front-rear (depth) direction, and a pusher member that pushes the product forward is provided in each product storage passage, and a product selection button Is operated to drive the pusher member to extrude the product.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-228058

  In the vending machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, a product storage rack is arranged horizontally, and is configured to place and store products in a product storage passage of the product storage rack. If a pouch product with a soft container configuration is stored in such a product storage rack, the storage posture of the pouch product may be disturbed, and if the pouch product is pressed from behind with a pusher member, the pouch product may be crushed and cannot be sold. is there. For this reason, in the product storage rack disclosed in Patent Document 1, paying attention to the fact that the product stands up if the flange provided on the spout of the pouch product is supported as a hook portion, a gap is formed so as to sandwich the spout of the pouch product. The product chain is disposed between the front and rear sprockets in close proximity to the product support member, and the product support member is disposed in the product support member so that the flange is hooked on the product support member. A plurality of product partition pins for pressing the spout (or cap) of the pouch product from the rear are arranged, and the pouch product is pushed out by the product partition pin by driving the transport chain during the selling operation. According to the vending machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to sell a pouch product having a soft container form, but there is a problem that the configuration of the product storage rack is complicated and the cost is increased.

  Therefore, the inventors support the flange of the pouch product, and slidably accommodate the product by its own weight, and include a product support unit having a product carry-out mechanism, and construct the product storage rack with the product support unit. A slant-type product storage rack constructed by laying a plurality of stages in the vertical direction on a frame material was invented and applied (Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-258022). According to the present invention, a product storage rack for storing a pouch product having a soft container form can be configured simply, and a serpentine product storage rack mounted on a vending machine that sells canned beverages and the like. It is excellent in that it has compatibility. By the way, a vending machine equipped with a serpentine-type product storage rack that stores products such as canned beverages cools / heats the products in the store by a cooling / heating unit provided in the store. In this case, power consumption increases if the entire interior is cooled / heated uniformly, so that products with a higher sales order are maintained at a suitable temperature. In other words, products with a higher sales order are located at the lower part of the interior. Energy saving is achieved by zone cooling / zone heating in the lower region. For this reason, when the slant type product storage rack according to the previous application is replaced with a serpentine type product storage rack, in the slant type product storage rack in which the product support unit is arranged in the vertical direction, each of the product support units A temperature difference will occur in the stage. Therefore, when the slant type commodity storage rack is mounted, there is a problem that the entire interior must be uniformly cooled / heated from the zone cooling / zone heating.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to store and support a product having a hook part on a drinking mouth part by sliding it by its own weight. The object is to provide a vending machine capable of maintaining a product with a high priority at an appropriate sales temperature.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a vending machine that sells a product having a hook part on a drinking mouth part, and constructs a frame of a product storage rack with upper, lower, left and right frame materials, A tornado-type product support unit having a product delivery mechanism at the delivery end is provided in such a manner that the product is hung in the vertical direction and supports the product hooking part, and the product is slid and accommodated by its own weight. The product storage rack is provided.
The invention according to claim 2 is the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the tornado-type product support unit is provided with rails made of two wire rods that run spirally at a predetermined interval. To do.
Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the upper end of the rail composed of two wires running in a spiral is inclined forwardly toward the front side (product replenishment side). It is characterized by connecting the extending loading parts.

  According to the vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention, it is a vending machine that sells a product having a hook part at a drinking part, and constructs a frame of a product storage rack with upper, lower, left and right frame materials, A tornado-type product support unit having a product delivery mechanism at the delivery end is provided in such a manner that the product is hung in the vertical direction and supports the product hooking part, and the product is slid and accommodated by its own weight. By providing the product storage rack, a product (pouch product) with a high sales order stored in the tornado-type product support unit can be positioned in the lower part of the warehouse, thereby cooling / disposing the product in the warehouse. A product (pouch product) with a high sales order can be maintained at an appropriate sales temperature while zone-cooling / zone-heating the lower region in the cabinet by the heating unit to save energy. Therefore, a tornado-type product support unit is provided in a vending machine equipped with a serpentine product storage rack configured to zone-cool / zone-heat the lower region of the interior by the cooling / heating unit provided in the interior. Even when a product storage rack is mounted, products with a high sales order stored in a plurality of tornado-type product support units can be uniformly cooled / heated and maintained at an appropriate sales temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, the tornado-type product support unit includes a rail made of two strips that run spirally at a predetermined interval. Thus, the tornado type product support unit can be configured easily.
Moreover, according to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, in the vending machine of Claim 2, it rises ahead toward the front side (goods replenishment side) at the upper end of the rail which consists of two strips which run spirally. By connecting the loading portions extending in an inclined manner, the product (pouch product) can be easily loaded into the tornado product support unit.

It is a perspective view of the outside door open state which shows the whole structure of the vending machine which is embodiment of this invention. It is principal part side surface sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the goods storage rack provided with the tornado type goods support unit which concerns on this invention. The loading part of the tornado-type product support unit of FIG. 3 is shown, (a) is a perspective view seen from the front, and (b) is a perspective view seen from the rear. The goods carrying mechanism mounted in the tornado goods support unit of FIG. 3 is shown, (a) And (b) is a perspective view of the goods carrying mechanism which shows a sales standby state and a sales operation state, respectively. A container form shows a soft pouch product, and (a) and (b) are front views of different types of pouch products. It is the schematic diagram which showed the state which loads a goods into the tornado goods support unit of FIG.

Hereinafter, a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the overall structure of the vending machine will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body cabinet having an open front surface. The main body cabinet 1 is configured as a heat insulating casing by disposing heat insulating boards made of urethane foam on the inner side of the outer box made of steel plate, that is, on the upper wall, the left and right side walls, the back wall, and the bottom wall 1a. The interior of the product storage box surrounded by the heat insulation board of the main body cabinet 1 is divided into a plurality of product storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 in the left-right direction by a heat insulating partition wall 11, in this embodiment. The left and right product storage chambers 12 and 14 are serpentine-type product storages configured by meandering product storage passages, which are arranged in a front-rear direction and arranged in a vertical direction by connecting segment segments that are well known in the vertical direction. Each of the racks 121 and 141 is accommodated in two rows on the left and right. In the central product storage chamber 13, a product storage rack 20 provided with a tornado product support unit (to be described later) provided by the present invention is stored. A chute 2 is disposed below the commodity storage racks 121, 141, and 20 and is inclined downward and has numerous holes. Below the chute 2 is a cooling unit or cooling / heating unit that cools or heats the respective product storage chambers 12, 13, and 14 and stores the products stored in the product storage racks 121, 141, and 20 in a cold hot state. A unit is provided. The lower part of the bottom wall 1a of the main body cabinet 1 is formed as a machine room. The machine room has a compressor 3 (see FIG. 2) and a condenser 4 constituting a refrigeration cycle with the cooling unit of the cooling / heating unit. An expansion mechanism (not visible in the figure) and an outside fan 5 for blowing air to the condenser 4 are disposed. The product storage room in which only the cooling unit is disposed is a cold dedicated room, and the product storage room in which the cooling / heating unit is disposed is a hot / cold combined room. In the example shown in the figure, the product storage room 12 is dedicated to cold. The product storage chambers 13 and 14 are hot / cold combined chambers. In this case, the product storage chamber 12 which is a cold exclusive chamber is compressed and condensed by the compressor 3 and the condenser 4 in the machine room. The evaporator 6 and the internal fan 7 in which the refrigerant is circulated are installed as a cooling unit, and the evaporator 6 and the internal fan 7 are disposed in the lower part of the product storage chambers 13 and 14 serving as hot / cold combined rooms. In addition, a heater 8 for heating the product is installed as a heating unit. A circulation duct 9 is provided in communication with the cooling unit or the cooling / heating unit at the back of each of the product storage chambers 12, 13, and 14, and the upper end 9a of the circulation duct 9 is positioned at a substantially middle position of the product storage. Is open. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 122 and 142 denote fixing brackets for fixing the product storage racks 121 and 141.

  As is well known, a display chamber for a product sample placed on a display stand is formed on the front surface of the outer door 10 (see FIG. 1) that is attached to the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. The transparent plate covering the front of the display room is provided with a product selection button unit having a product selection button provided corresponding to each product sample, and in addition to the product outlet 10a, a coin slot and a banknote slot , Change return port, return lever, handle lock device with cylinder lock, etc. are assembled. The inner door 15 that closes the front surface of the product storage in the main body cabinet 1 is divided into upper and lower parts in this example, and the lower inner door 15 is opposed to the chute 2 of each product storage chamber 12, 13, 14. A product exit opening that is always closed by the exit door 15a is provided at a position where the exit is performed. The exit door 15a of the product exit is pivotally supported at its upper end to always close the product exit to prevent outflow of cold air or warm air, and is formed to be pushed open by the product delivered through the chute 2. Has been.

  Now, the configuration of the product storage rack 20 provided with the tornado product support unit will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the pair of left and right upper support frame members 21 and 21 and the lower support frame members 22 and 22 have a plurality of vertical frame members 23, 23 and 23 formed in a gate shape in the front-rear direction, in this case. Three rows of vertical frame members 23, 23, 23 are fixed by screws. The upper support frame materials 21 and 21, the lower support frame materials 22 and 22, and the vertical frame materials 23, 23, and 23 constitute a frame material for constructing a product storage rack. The rear sides of the upper support frame members 21 and 21 and the lower support frame members 22 and 22 are connected by a connecting plate 211 and a side plate 221. Also, a substantially U-shaped (opening upward) delivery member 27 is attached below the lower support frame members 22 and 22 so as to be inclined downward as it goes higher toward the rear side. Each member constituting the product storage rack 20 is formed of a thick steel plate, and the product storage rack 20 is a main body side hook metal fitting (not attached) laid on the ceiling of the product storage of the main body cabinet 1 (see FIG. 1). Are attached to the upper and lower vertical frame members 23, 23 via rack-side hook fittings 25, 25.

  Tornado-type product support units 30 are attached to the longitudinal frame members 23, 23, 23 in the front-rear direction fixed to the upper support frame members 21, 21 and the lower support frame members 22, 22, respectively (hereinafter referred to as the tornado product support units 30). Also simply referred to as product support unit 30). In order to hold the product support unit 30, a holding frame member 26 formed in a gate shape narrower than the vertical frame members 23, 23, 23 is provided. These holding frame members 26 are overlapped with the respective vertical frame members 23, 23, 23 inside the respective vertical frame members 23, 23, 23 in a state of being shifted to one side (right end side in the figure). It is arranged. The product support unit 30 includes a loading portion 31, a rail portion 32 composed of two wire rods that are connected to the loading portion 31 and fixed to the rear end thereof and spirally run in a vertical direction at a predetermined interval. The product carrying mechanism 40 is provided at the carry-out end of the rail portion 32. The product carry-out mechanism 40 is attached to the lower support frame member 22 on the left side in FIG. 3, and between the leg pieces of the holding frame member 26 provided to overlap the front vertical frame member 23 in the vertical direction. A plurality of beam members 24 are fixed to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the loading portion 31 of the commodity support unit 30 includes a pair of left and right holding members 311 and 311, front and rear connecting members 312 and 313 that connect the holding members 311 and 311, and a pair of left and right holding members 311. Mounting brackets 314 and 314 fixed to the left and right clamping members 311 and 311 are provided so as to protrude outward from 311. The pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 is a long member formed in an L shape by a thin coated steel plate (hereinafter also simply referred to as a thin steel plate) having a lubricating coating applied to one surface, They are arranged opposite each other with a predetermined gap t. The leg end portions of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 forming the gap t are double-held by bending so that one surface (coating surface) is outside, and the leg end portions forming the gap t The upper and lower surfaces are coated surfaces (that is, surfaces having good lubricity). The pouch product is loaded (supplemented) via the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 and supported in a suspended manner. The loading of the pouch product will be described later. The connecting members 312 and 313 are configured as a frame so as to surround the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311 leaving a gap t. The pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 are firmly fixed to the connecting members 312 and 313 by screws, respectively, so that the gap t between the leg ends of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 is kept constant. I'm leaning. A front-side connecting member 312 is integrally formed with a T-shaped attachment piece 3121 in front view. This attachment piece 3121 is engaged with the beam member 24 of the product storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 3, and its upper end is bent into a bowl shape, and a screw hole 3122 is formed in the vicinity of the center of the leg piece. Yes. The mounting bracket 314 is formed of a thick steel plate in a hat shape in cross section, and the flanges are screwed to the clamping members 311 and 311. A female screw is formed on the head of the mounting bracket 314 so that a screw 315 is screwed. The vertical frame members 23 and 23 or the holding frame member before and after the commodity storage rack 20 shown in FIG. 26 is screwed. Reference numeral 36 denotes a pair of width regulating members implanted at the leg end portions of the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the rail portion 32 connected to the rear end of the loading portion 31 spirals in the vertical direction at a predetermined interval (gap t) at the rear end of the loading portion 31. It consists of two wire rods 321 and 321 running in The upper ends of the two wire rods 321 and 321 are fixed to the rear edges of the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311 by welding, and the product unloading mechanism 40 is disposed at the lower ends (unloading end portions) of the two wire rods 321 and 321. (See FIG. 3) are arranged side by side. Here, a round bar-like mounting bracket (not shown) is planted in an intermediate portion that runs spirally in the vertical direction of the two wire rods 321 and 321, and this mounting bracket is attached to the vertical frame. The rail portion 32 is fixed to the material 23 and the holding frame material 26 so that the rail portion 32 does not extend, that is, the spiral interval extending in the vertical direction is kept constant. In FIG. 4B, the example in which the upper ends of the two wire rods 321 and 321 are fixed to the rear edges of the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 has been described. The pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 in 31 can be fixed along the leg end edges.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the product carry-out mechanism 40 disposed behind the two wires 321 and 321 has a carry-out mechanism built into a stepped base 41 having a step at a substantially central position. . (A) of FIG. 5 has shown the sales standby state of the goods carrying-out mechanism 40, and (b) has shown the sales operation state. In the figure, reference numeral 42 denotes a solenoid as a drive source, and a link member 44 is connected to a plunger 43 of the solenoid 42. The link member 44 is held by a pair of pins 45 and 46 loosely fitted in a pair of upper and lower elongated holes 411 and 411 parallel to the moving direction of the plunger 43 formed at the step portion and one edge portion of the base 41. A return spring 47 is mounted on the side opposite to the plunger 43 and is slidably disposed in the moving direction of the plunger 43. Of the pair of pins 45, 46 that hold the link member 44, the lower pin 46 is engaged with the first stopper 48, and the upper pin 45 is connected to the second stopper 49. The first stopper 48 and the second stopper 49 are formed as actuating members.

  The first stopper 48 is pivotally supported by a bearing member 412 formed on the base 41, and is pivoted about a shaft 50 provided on the bearing member 412 so as to be suspended from two wires 321 and 321. The pouch product 100 is supported so as to move between a protruding position (FIG. 5 (a)) protruding into the product storage passage and a retracted position (FIG. 5 (b)) retracted from the product storage passage. Has been. The first stopper 48 is always urged in a direction protruding into the product storage passage by a coil spring 51 wound around the shaft 50, and stops at the protruding position into the product storage passage shown in FIG. For this purpose, a stopper (not shown) is provided. Further, the first stopper 48 is provided with an engaging portion 481 that engages with the pin 46, and the head of the engaging portion 481 is in contact with the pin 46 in the state shown in FIG. It is formed as an inclined surface inclined downward toward the contact surface 4811. On the other hand, the second stopper 49 is disposed at a position away from the first stopper 48 by a predetermined distance (a distance corresponding to the width of the pouch product 100), and is screwed onto the mounting piece 413 extending from the base 41. And one end of which is connected to the pin 45 and the other end extends to the product storage passage side. In the sales standby state (non-excited state of the solenoid 42), the first stopper 48 is positioned facing the product storage passage of the pouch product 100 that is suspended and supported by the two wires 321 and 321, and the second stopper 49 is retracted to a position moved in the vertical direction (upper space not in contact with the pouch product 100) from the product storage passage, and the first stopper 48 is moved from the product storage passage during the sales operation when the solenoid 42 is excited. The second stopper 49 is retracted and moves so as to face the commodity storage passage. Reference numeral 52 denotes a product detection switch (sold out switch) comprising a micro switch, which is arranged so that an operation lever (not shown) of the micro switch faces the product passage, and detects the presence or absence of the pouch product having the highest sales order. It is configured as follows.

  The mounting of the product support unit 30 configured as described above to the product storage rack 20 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Note that FIG. 3 illustrates the case where the product support unit 30 is installed in three stages, and the case where the uppermost product support unit 30 is mounted will be described as a representative. First, the product support unit 30 is inserted between the front vertical frame member 23 and the holding frame member 26 that construct the product storage rack 20, and is formed on the connecting member 312 (see FIG. 4) on the front side of the product support unit 30. The T-shaped attachment piece 3121 is engaged with the beam member 24 and temporarily fixed. Next, the female screw (hole) formed in the mounting bracket 314, 314 (see FIG. 4) of the product support unit 30 is inserted into the screw insertion hole formed in one leg piece of the vertical frame member 23 and the holding frame member 26 on the rear side. Screws 315 and 315 are screwed together while facing each other. In this state, a T-shaped attachment piece 3121 formed on the connecting member 312 on the front side of the product support unit 30 is engaged with the beam member 24 and screwed. In this way, the loading portion 31 of the product support unit 30 mounted on the product storage rack 20 is inclined so that the front side (product replenishment side) is high and the rear side (side to which the rail portion 32 is fixed) is low. It becomes a state. Then, a round bar-shaped mounting bracket (not shown) planted so as to extend outwardly in the intermediate portion of the two wire rods 321 and 321 in the rail portion 32 extending spirally in the vertical direction is attached to the vertical frame. The rail portion 32 is attached to the material 23. The length of the leg piece extending downward in the holding frame material 26 is determined to be a length necessary to hold the loading portion 31 of the product support unit 30, that is, the length to the loading portion 31. Thereby, the leg piece of the holding frame member 26 does not interfere with the rail portion 32 extending spirally in the vertical direction.

A pouch product loaded in the product support unit 30 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6A, the pouch product 100 is formed by fixing a spout 104 as a spout portion made of a hard synthetic resin to a flexible bag-like container 102 and attaching a cap 106 to the spout 104. The spout 104 is formed with a flange 105. In the example of FIG. 6A, the pouch product 100 having one flange 105 is shown, and in the example of FIG. 6B, the pouch product 200 having two flanges 105 is shown. Yes. A jelly-like food or drink is injected from the spout 104 into the flexible bag-like container 102, and it is difficult to stand up because the flexible bag-like container 102 is soft. Reference numeral 107 denotes a joining flange provided on the spout 104.
Next, the loading (replenishment) of the pouch product into the product support unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The figure shows a case where the pouch product 100 is loaded, and the space between the pair of left and right holding members 311 and 311 of the product support unit 30 as indicated by a white arrow from the product replenishment port in front of the loading portion 31 in the product support unit 30. The pouch product 100 is loaded in the gap t (see FIG. 4) as follows. That is, the spout 104 is inserted into the gap t while the flange 105 of the pouch product 100 is positioned above the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 of the loading portion 31 and the joint flange 107 is positioned below the pouch product 100. The flange 105 is hooked on the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311. Here, the gap t formed between the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 is set to a predetermined dimension that is larger than the width of the spout 104 of the pouch product 100 and shorter than the length of the flange 105. The pouch product 100 suspended by hanging the flange 105 on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 of the loading portion 31 slides on the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 and moves rearward. The pouch product 100 moved to the rear of the loading portion 31 is transferred to the two wire rods 321 and 321 (see FIG. 4B) constituting the rail portion 32 and spirals along the two wire rods 321 and 321. It moves downward while drawing and is locked by a first stopper 48 (see FIG. 5) of the product carry-out mechanism 40, and suspended in the state where it is stopped at that position as the product with the highest sales order (hereinafter also referred to as sales product). Housed down. The first stopper 48 of the product carry-out mechanism 40 is prevented from rotating by the pin 46 engaged with the engaging portion 481 and protrudes into the product passage in the standby state. Next, the loaded pouch product 100 comes into contact with the sales product locked by the first stopper 48 and stops as the product with the second sales order (hereinafter also referred to as the next sales product). FIG. 2 shows an outline of the state in which the product support unit 30 is sequentially replenished and accommodated in the product support unit 30 in this manner, and the product support unit is arranged in an orderly manner along a substantially vertical line by gravity. 30 is suspended and accommodated.

  Here, the pouch product 100 is hung and accommodated by hooking the flange 105 on the product support unit 30, but the pouch product 100 includes a lower portion of the cap 106 in addition to the flange 105, as shown in FIG. Exists as a hook. Therefore, when the pouch product 100 is loaded into the loading portion 31 of the product support unit 30, the cap 106 (lower end) is hooked on the pair of left and right clamping members 311, 311 of the loading portion 31 and loaded (erroneous loading). There is a fear. If there is such erroneous loading, the lower end of the cap 106 may be fitted between the gaps t between the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311, resulting in product clogging or dropping in the worst case. As a solution to this problem, the fact that the thickness dimension tb between the cap 106 and the flange 105 is formed smaller than the thickness dimension ta between the flange 105 and the joining flange 107 (ta> tb), It is conceivable that the steel plates constituting the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311 are made thick so that the lower end of the cap 106 cannot be hooked. However, if a thick steel plate is used as the material for the pair of left and right clamping members 31, the weight increases and the cost increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if a thin steel plate is used, erroneous loading can be prevented. Therefore, the leg end portions of the sandwiching members 311 and 311 that are arranged to face each other with a gap t are bent and double-held. Therefore, it is a thickness regulating member. In this way, it is possible to hook the lower part of the flange 105 by double-holding the thin steel plate, but it is possible to prevent the lower part of the cap 106 from being hooked. The

In addition, even in the pouch product 200 having two flanges 105 shown in FIG. 6B, the lower flange 105 must be hooked and loaded, but the upper flange 105 exists as a hook portion. There is a risk of erroneous loading such as hooking the upper flange 105 from the top. However, since the dimension td between the two flanges 105 is formed smaller than the dimension tc between the lower flange 105 and the joining flange 107 (tc> td), the pair of left and right clamping members 311 Incorrect loading can be prevented by bending and holding the leg end portion of 311 double.
Further, in the pouch product as shown in FIG. 6, the width dimensions L 1 and L 2 of the flange 105 (for example, depending on the content of the food or drink filled in the flexible bag-like container 102, depending on the content of the food or drink , L1 <L2) are different. In particular, in the case of pouch products having the same food and drink filled in the flexible bag-like container 102 and different contents, there is a possibility that they are erroneously loaded because their outer shapes are similar. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in the drawing, a pair of width regulating members 36 are provided that are planted in the vicinity of the leg ends of the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311. The width dimension L0 between the pair of width regulating members 36 is defined as L1 <L0 <L2 (provided that L1 <L2) with respect to the width dimensions L1 and L2 (see FIG. 6) of the flange 105 of the pouch product. It has been. Accordingly, the pouch product having the flange 105 dimension L0 or less is allowed to be inserted and loaded between the pair of left and right sandwiching members 311 and 311. The pouch product having the flange 105 dimension L0 or more is the width regulating member. 36 prevents loading, thereby preventing erroneous loading of different types of pouch products. In FIG. 7, a description has been given of an example in which a dedicated member is implanted as the width regulating member 36, but a screw that fixes the pair of left and right clamping members 311 and 311 and the connecting member 32 that couples the clamping members 311 and 311 to each other. In this case, the number of parts can be reduced.

Next, the sales operation in the vending machine according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the sales standby state, the solenoid 42 is in a non-excited state, and the first stopper 48 protrudes into the product storage passage of the pouch product supported by the two wire rods 321 and 321 to lock the sales product. A second stopper 49 positioned between the product and the next sale product is retracted upward from the product storage passage. In this state, an operation lever (not shown) of a product detection switch (sold-out switch) 52 formed of a micro switch comes into contact with the sales product and outputs a product detection signal. Now, when a product selection button provided on the outer door 10 (see FIG. 1) is operated, an excitation signal having a predetermined time width is supplied from a control unit (not shown) to the corresponding product delivery mechanism 40 (solenoid 42). As a result, when the solenoid 42 is excited, the link member 44 moves upward through the plunger 43. As a result, the pin 46 engaged with the engaging portion 481 of the first stopper 48 and preventing the rotation of the first stopper 48 is raised, and the rotation of the first stopper 48 is allowed. The first stopper 48 receives the load of the product and rotates clockwise about the shaft 50 to retract from the product storage passage. On the other hand, the second stopper 49 rotates clockwise around the screw as the pin 45 rises and enters the front of the next sale product (cap). By the operation of the first stopper 48 and the second stopper 49 as described above, the sold product is carried out from the product support unit 30, while the products after the next sale product are sequentially carried out by the carry-out end of the product support unit 30. On the way to the part, it is locked by the second stopper 49 and temporarily held.

  As described above, when the sold product is carried out, the first stopper 48 rotates counterclockwise by the urging force of the coil spring 51 wound around the shaft 50 and protrudes into the product storage passage to return to the sales standby position. . Next, when the excitation signal to the solenoid 42 is cut off, the link member 44 is lowered by the urging force of the return spring 47 and the plunger 43 is returned to the original position (state shown in FIG. 5). The second stopper 49 is retracted from the commodity storage passage by the pin 45 that descends as the link member 44 descends. The product after the next sale product that has been locked to the second stopper 49 by the retraction of the second stopper 49 from the product storage passage slides toward the carry-out end portion of the product support unit 30 and enters the product storage passage. The first stopper 48, which protrudes and returns to the sales standby position, is engaged with the sales standby state. Here, even if the timing when the first stopper 48 returns to the sales standby state is delayed by the urging force of the coil spring 51 after the sale product is taken out, the product after the next sale product is surely secured by the first stopper 48. It is comprised so that it can lock. That is, when the solenoid 42 is released in the process of returning the first stopper 48, the pin 46 descends and comes into contact with the engaging portion 481 of the first stopper 48. In this case, the pin 46 is engaged with the engagement. The first stopper 48 is forcibly returned to the sales standby position by the descending pin 46 because it comes into contact with the inclined surface (inclined surface inclined downward toward the contact surface 4811) formed in the joint portion 481. . Therefore, even if the timing for returning the first stopper 48 to the sales standby state is delayed, the first and subsequent products can be reliably locked by the first stopper 48. In addition, the product which is carried out by the product carry-out mechanism 40 and falls from the carry-out end portion of the product support unit 30 is sent to the chute 2 via the feed member 27 of the product storage rack 20 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a vending machine in which a product storage rack 20 according to the present invention is arranged side by side with serpentine product storage racks 121 and 141. This is a vending machine that can sell a wide variety of products (such as products with hard containers such as canned beverages and products with relatively soft containers such as pouch products). However, in order to be able to sell a wide variety of products, it is desirable that the present invention can be applied to existing vending machines without significantly changing the configuration. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the product storage rack 20 that can store the pouch products is made compatible with the serpentine product storage rack (mounted with the serpentine product storage rack). The product storage rack 20 according to the present invention can be mounted. In this case, there are the following two types of methods for arranging a known serpentine-type product storage rack in the product storage of the vending machine. The first method is a hooking method in which main body side hook fittings extending in the front-rear direction are laid on the ceiling surface of the vending machine, and the product storage racks 121 and 141 are hooked on the main body side hook fittings, and the second method is This is a fixing method in which main body side hook fittings extending in the left-right direction are laid on the ceiling surface of the vending machine, and the product storage racks 121 and 141 are fixed to the main body side hook fittings. As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-122596, for example, the hooking method is the rack side that engages the hooks of the main body side hook metal fittings at the upper ends of a pair of left and right rack side plates constituting the product storage racks 121 and 141. A hook is provided, and the rack side hook is engaged with the hook of the main body side hook metal fitting. In this hooking method, the product storage racks 121 and 141 are slid by using the main body side hook metal fitting as a guide to enter into the cabinet. Can be stored or withdrawn from the warehouse. On the other hand, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-288768, the fixing method is such that rack-side hook metal fittings are installed on a pair of left and right rack side plates constituting the product storage racks 121, 141, and the rack-side hook metal fittings are attached. It is engaged with the hook of the main body side hook metal fitting and screwed to both.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the latter fixing method is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, rack-side hook fittings 25, 25 are provided at the upper ends of the front and rear vertical frame members 23, 23 in the product storage rack 20. The rack side hook metal fittings 25, 25 are configured to be engaged with and screwed to the main body side hook metal fittings laid on the ceiling of the commodity storage of the main body cabinet 1 (see FIG. 1). . For the vending machine adopting the former hooking method, rack-side hook metal fittings extending in the front-rear direction can be attached instead of the rack-side hook metal fittings 25, 25 shown in FIG. An adapter member can also be interposed.
Next, the cooling / heating operation of the product storage rooms 12, 13, and 14 in the vending machine according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the product storage chambers 13 and 14 (hot / cold chamber) are used as cold chambers, the heater 8 is turned off, and the refrigerant compressed and condensed by the compressor 3 and the condenser 4 is sent to the evaporator 6. The cool air exchanged in the evaporator 6 is blown out from the lower side of the shooter 2 into the warehouse by the internal fan 7, passes through the lower area of the product storage racks 20, 141, and passes through the circulation duct 9 to the evaporator 6. Cool air circulation is performed so as to circulate through the paths of arrows A, B, and C indicated by the one-dot chain line to be returned. By such zone cooling, the products with high sales order stored in the product storage racks 20 and 141 are uniformly cooled. On the other hand, when the product storage chambers 13 and 14 are used as hot chambers, the refrigerant to the evaporator 6 is stopped and the heater 8 is turned on, and the product is heated by circulating warm air in the same manner as described above. The product storage rooms 13 and 14 are switched to hot / cold rooms at the turn of the season. Further, the product storage room 12 which is a cold exclusive room cools the product in the product storage rack 121 by blowing out the cold air exchanged by the evaporator 6 from the lower side of the shooter 2 by the internal fan 7 to cool the product. Cold air circulation is circulated through the return path to the evaporator 6 via the duct 9. Note that the product storage room 13 in which the product storage rack 20 is stored is used as a hot / cold room, but this is provided in the event that a product to be sold as a hot product appears as a pouch product.

  As described above, the product storage rack 20 according to the present invention is structurally compatible with the serpentine product storage rack, and can be replaced with a serpentine product storage rack mounted on an existing vending machine. However, in addition to structural compatibility, it is also electrically compatible. That is, in the merchandise unloading mechanism of the serpentine merchandise storage rack, the lower stopper and the upper stopper are driven by a solenoid as a drive source by driving a lower stopper that latches the sale merchandise and an upper stopper that latches the next sale merchandise. It is comprised so that it may protrude alternately to a goods storage channel. In view of the product carry-out mechanism of such a serpentine-type product storage rack, the product storage rack 20 according to this embodiment also uses a solenoid 42 as a drive source of the product carry-out mechanism 40, and the solenoid 42 passes through a link member 44. The first stopper 48 that locks the sale merchandise and the second stopper 49 that locks the next sale merchandise are driven so that the first stopper 48 and the second stopper 49 alternately appear and disappear in the merchandise storage passage. It is configured. In addition, the product carry-out mechanism of the serpentine-type product storage rack includes a sold-out detection switch. The product carry-out mechanism 40 according to this embodiment also detects a sold-out product that is stored in the product storage rack 20. 52 (see FIG. 5), and the product detection switch 52 is configured to detect sold-out products. By using such a product carry-out mechanism 40 and the product detection switch 52, the product carry-out mechanism 40 executes a product carry-out operation by a power supply or control signal supplied to the product carry-out mechanism of the serpentine type product storage rack, and the product detection switch 52 Sends out a sold-out signal to the control unit of the vending machine. In other words, the product storage rack 20 according to the present invention is replaced with a serpentine product storage rack and wiring connection is made immediately without changing the control program of an existing vending machine equipped with a serpentine product storage rack. The vending machine can be operated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a product storage rack of a vending machine that sells products (pouch products 100 and 200) having hook portions (flange 105) at the mouth portion, The frame body of the product storage rack 20 is constructed by the support frame materials 21 and 21, the lower support frame materials 22 and 22, and the vertical frame materials 23, 23, and 23, and the product (pouch product) extends spirally in the vertical direction. 100, 200) and a tornado-type product having a product delivery mechanism 40 at the delivery end in such a manner that the product (pouch product 100, 200) is slid and accommodated by its own weight while supporting the hook portion (flange 105). By providing the product storage rack 20 provided with the support unit 30, the sales order stored in the tornado product support unit 30 can be improved. Products (pouch products) can be positioned in the lower part of the warehouse, and by this, the cooling / heating unit installed in the warehouse is used for zone cooling / zone heating of the lower area in the warehouse to save energy and promote sales at an early stage. (Pouch product) can be maintained at an appropriate sales temperature. Therefore, a tornado-type product support unit is provided in a vending machine equipped with a serpentine product storage rack configured to zone-cool / zone-heat the lower region of the interior by the cooling / heating unit provided in the interior. Even when a product storage rack is mounted, products with a high sales order stored in a plurality of tornado-type product support units can be uniformly cooled / heated and maintained at an appropriate sales temperature.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the loading unit 31 is provided in the tornado product support unit 30 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tornado-type product support unit 30 can be configured by only the rail portion 32, that is, only the two wire rods 321 and 321 and is not limited to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body cabinet, 2 ... Chute, 3 ... Compressor, 4 ... Condenser, 6 ... Evaporator, 9 ... Wind tunnel, 10 ... Outer door, 12, 13, 14 ... Merchandise storage, 15 ... Inner door, 20 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Product storage rack 21 ... Upper support frame material 22 ... Lower support frame material 23 ... Vertical frame material 24 ... Beam member 25 ... Rack side hook metal fitting 26 ... Holding frame material 30 ... Tornado type product support unit , 31 ... loading section, 32, rail section, 40 ... merchandise unloading mechanism, 36 ... width regulating member, 42 ... solenoid (drive source), 43 ... plunger, 44 ... link member, 45, 46 ... pin, 47 ... return Spring, 48 ... 1st stopper, 49 ... 2nd stopper, 52 ... Product detection switch (sold-out switch), 100, 200 ... Pouch product, 102 ... Flexible container, 104 ... Spout, 105 ... F Lung, 106 ... cap, 107 ... fixing ring, 311 ... clamping member, 312,313 ... connection member, 321 ... wire.

Claims (3)

A vending machine that sells a product having a hook part at a drinking part, and constructs a frame of a product storage rack from upper, lower, left and right frame members, and extends in a spiral shape in the vertical direction, and also hooks the product A product storage rack comprising a tornado-type product support unit having a product delivery mechanism at the carry-out end portion in a manner of suspending and housing the product by its own weight while supporting the product. Machine. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the tornado-type product support unit is provided with a rail made of two strips that run spirally at a predetermined interval. 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein a loading portion extending obliquely upwardly toward the front side (product replenishment side) is linked to the upper end of a rail made of two strips that run in a spiral shape. A vending machine characterized by