JP6998411B2 - Goods supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article supply device capable of supplying an article.

Regarding the above-mentioned article supply device, Patent Document 1 described later includes a vending machine capable of sending capsule products contained in an article storage space to a product outlet by turning a handle to rotate a drum after inserting coins. It has been disclosed.

When the article supply device (including the above-mentioned vending machine) replaces the article (for example, the capsule product mentioned above) contained in the article storage space with another article, the article storage space is opened and the remaining article is manually left. It is necessary to replace the goods because it is necessary to take out the goods or operate the goods supply unit (for example, the drum mentioned above) to send the remaining goods to the goods outlet in the same way as when the consumer purchases the goods. There is a concern that the work required for this is relatively troublesome and time-consuming.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-178612

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide an article supply device capable of easily and accurately exchanging articles.

The article supply device according to the present invention is an article supply device capable of supplying an article, and is provided at an article accommodating portion capable of accommodating the article and allowing the article to be seen through from the outside, and a bottom portion of the article accommodating portion. , An article supply unit capable of supplying the article housed in the article accommodating unit, an article outlet and an article discharge port to which the article supplied by the article supply unit is delivered, and an article supply unit. The article is provided with a delivery direction changing unit capable of delivering the article to the article outlet and the article discharge port , and the delivery direction changing unit is supplied by the article supply unit by changing the inclination in the side view. A guide portion capable of delivering the article to the article outlet and the article discharge port is included, and the guide portion has a first state in which the vertical position of the other end is higher than the vertical position of one end and the vertical direction of one end. It is configured to be able to take a second state in which the vertical position of the other end is lower than the position and a third state in which the vertical position of one end and the vertical position of the other end are equivalent.

According to the article supply device according to the present invention, articles can be exchanged easily and accurately.

1 (A) is a front view of an article supply device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 1 (A) is a left side view, FIG. 1 (C) is a rear view, and FIG. 1 (D) is a top view. 2 (A) is an enlarged sectional view taken along line S1-S1 of FIG. 1 (A), FIG. 2 (B) is a diagram in which the load reduction portion is excluded from FIG. 2 (A), and FIG. 2 (C) is FIG. 2 (B). ) Excludes the fall prevention section and the article supply section. 3 (A) is a front view of the load reducing portion shown in FIG. 2 (A), FIG. 3 (B) is a left side view of the same, FIG. 3 (B) is a top view of the same, and FIGS. 3 (D) and FIGS. 3 (E) is a corresponding diagram of FIG. 3 (A) showing an example in which the shape of a part of the load reducing portion is changed. 4 (A) to 4 (C) are configuration explanatory views (front view, left side view, and top view) of the first modification of the load reducing portion shown in FIG. 5 (A) to 5 (C) are configuration explanatory views (front view, left side view, and top view) of the second modification of the load reducing portion shown in FIG. 6 (A) is a sectional view taken along line S2-S2 (partially omitted) of FIG. 2 (C), FIG. 6 (B) is an enlarged view of the delivery direction changing portion shown in FIG. 6 (A), and FIG. 6 (C). ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line S3-S3 of FIG. 6 (B). 7 (A) and 7 (B) are explanatory views of how to use the delivery direction changing unit shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration and a usage method of a modified example of the delivery direction changing portion shown in FIG. 9 (A) is an enlarged top view of the coin storage unit shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 9 (B) is a sectional view taken along line S4-S4 of FIG. 9 (A), and FIG. 9 (C) is the use of the coin storage unit. It is a method explanatory drawing. FIG. 10 is a configuration explanatory diagram of the control system of the article supply device shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a configuration explanatory view of a counting unit built in the article supply device shown in FIG.

In the following description, for convenience, the front side of FIG. 1A is referred to as front, the back side is referred to as rear, the right side is referred to as left, the left side is referred to as right, the upper side is referred to as upper, and the lower side is referred to as lower. The orientation is indicated accordingly.

First, a configuration visible from the outside of the article supply device 10 to which the present invention is applied will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The article supply device 10 includes a main body portion 11, a pedestal portion 12 existing under the main body portion 11, an article accommodating portion 13 existing on the main body portion 11, and a top plate portion 14 existing on the article accommodating unit 13. To prepare for. The main body portion 11, the article accommodating portion 13, and the top plate portion 14 each have an oval shape having substantially the same cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the pedestal portion 12 has a larger oval shape.

Although only one article AR is drawn in FIGS. 1A and 1C for convenience of illustration, a maximum of 400 article ARs can be accommodated in the article storage unit 13. Of course, when the outer size of the article AR is small or the outer size of the article accommodating portion 13 is large, it is possible to accommodate more than 100 article ARs.

By the way, the article AR is a toy or the like stored in a separable spherical case, a transparent or near-transparent translucent film covering the toy, or the toy itself is spherical and covered with a similar film. It is a toy. The outer shape of the article AR does not necessarily have to be spherical as long as it can be expected to roll, and there are no particular restrictions on the type of toy.

A first opening 11a, a second opening 11b, and an article outlet 11c are provided on the front surface of the main body 11 in order from the top, and an article discharge port 11d is provided on the lower part of the rear surface of the main body 11. ing.

A sample display unit 15 is detachably arranged in the first opening 11a. The sample display unit 15 corresponds to the article AR housed in the article storage unit 13 in the exhibition room (reference numeral omitted) provided inside the fluoroscopic unit (transparent or nearly transparent translucent member, reference numeral omitted). The sample is placed. The sample display section 15 is replaced with another sample display section when the article AR housed in the article storage section 13 is changed to another article.

The first opening / closing portion 16 is provided in the second opening portion 11b so as to be openable / closable. Further, a supply operation unit 17 having a circular front view is provided in the center of the first opening / closing unit 16 so as to be pushable, and a coin insertion unit 18 and a coin return button 19 are provided around the supply operation unit 17. A lock portion 16a for maintaining the first opening / closing portion 16 in a closed state is provided.

The supply operation unit 17 is provided with a light emitting unit 17a (see FIG. 10) for arousing a supplyable state by light emission. Specifically, the supply operation unit 17 is composed of at least a part of a translucent member that is transparent or nearly transparent, and light (including lighting or blinking) from a light emitting unit 17a composed of a multicolor LED, a monochromatic LED, or the like. Can be visually recognized from the outside. Further, an operation detection unit 17b (see FIG. 10) capable of detecting the pushing of the supply operation unit 17 is provided on the rear side or the inside of the supply operation unit 17. The operation detection unit 17b preferably includes an on / off switch.

The article outlet 11c is a portion for taking out the supplied article AR to the outside, and an article holding portion 11c1 (see FIG. 6A) for holding the article AR is provided inside the portion. FIG. 6A shows an article holding portion 11c1 having an L-shaped vertical cross-sectional shape, but the vertical cross-sectional shape is not particularly limited as long as the article AR can be held.

The article discharge port 11d is provided with a second opening / closing portion 20 that can be opened and closed, and the second opening / closing portion 20 is provided with a lock portion 20a for maintaining the second opening / closing portion 20 in a closed state. Further, inside the article discharge port 11d, an article discharge section 11d1 (see FIG. 6A) for discharging the article AR is provided. FIG. 6A shows an article discharging portion 11d1 having an L-shaped vertical cross-sectional shape, but there is no particular limitation on the vertical cross-sectional shape as long as the article AR can be discharged.

The article accommodating portion 13 is provided between the front and rear two fluoroscopic portions (transparent or nearly transparent translucent member) 13a having a semi-long circular cross-sectional shape and the left and right transparent portions 13a provided between the front and rear two fluoroscopic portions 13a. It is composed of two strut portions 13b, the lower end of each strut portion 13b is connected to the main body portion 11, and the upper end is connected to the top plate portion 14.

The bottom surface of the article accommodating portion 13 is composed of an upper surface of a bottom plate portion 22 provided at the bottom portion of the article accommodating portion 13, and the upper surface thereof is inclined downward toward the article supply portion 25 (FIG. 6A). See). That is, the article accommodating space HS of the article accommodating portion 13 is composed of a space surrounded by the inner surface of the article accommodating portion 13, the lower surface of the top plate portion 14, and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 22.

An article loading port 14a for loading the article AR into the article accommodating space HS from the outside is provided on the upper surface of the top plate portion 14 so as to penetrate. Further, the article loading port 14a is provided with a third opening / closing portion 21 that can be opened / closed, and the third opening / closing portion 21 is provided with a lock portion 21a for maintaining the third opening / closing portion 21 in a closed state. .. Further, on the lower surface side of the third opening / closing section 21, a lighting section 21b (see FIG. 10) for illuminating the article accommodating space HS and the article AR accommodated in the article accommodating space HS is provided. The light generation source of the illumination unit 21b is preferably composed of a multicolor LED, a monochromatic LED, or the like, but may be another light source such as a fluorescent lamp.

Supplementing the bottom plate portion 22, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 6A, in the center of the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 22, there is an arrangement recess 22a for the article supply portion 25 having a circular top view. The lower wall portion 22a1 of the arrangement recess 22a is provided with an article supply hole 22a2 having a circular top view.

The arrangement recess 22a has a continuous shape of an upper truncated cone-shaped portion and a lower cylindrical portion, and as shown in FIG. 2B, an article supply hole is provided in the upper truncated cone-shaped portion. Corresponding to 22a2, a fall restraint portion 24 whose upper surface is a convex curved surface or an inclined surface is provided, and an article supply portion 25 is arranged in a lower columnar portion. Further, mounting portions 22b for the load reducing portion 23 are provided on both left and right sides of the arrangement recess 22a on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 22.

Explaining the article supply section 25 first, as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (B), the article supply section 25 is displaceably arranged in the placement recess 22a of the bottom plate section 22 and is displaced by a predetermined displacement. It is configured to be able to supply the article AR held in the article holding hole.

Specifically, the article supply unit 25 has a disk shape and is capable of rotational displacement, and a plurality of article holding holes 25a (four in the drawing) are provided so as to penetrate at equal angle intervals in a top view. There is. The inner shape of the article holding hole 25a is slightly smaller than the outer shape of the article AR, and the vertical dimension of the article holding hole 25a (article supply unit 25) is preferably about 1/3 to 2/3 of the outer shape of the article AR. Is.

That is, the article supply unit 25 is configured to be able to supply the article AR held in any one article holding hole 25a through the article supply hole 22a2 below the article holding hole 25a based on the rotational displacement.

Although not visible from the outside, the rotational drive source (for example, a servomotor, a pulse motor, etc., including a speed reducer as necessary) 26 for rotationally displacing the article supply unit 25 is as shown in FIG. 2C. The rotation drive shaft 26a is provided on the lower surface of the lower wall portion 22a1 of the arrangement recess 22a, and is connected to the center of the lower surface of the article supply portion 25 through a hole (reference numeral omitted) provided in the lower wall portion 22a1. ..

Explaining the load reducing unit 23, the load reducing unit 23 is for reducing the load applied to the article supply unit 25 from the article AR housed in the article accommodating unit 13 (article accommodating space HS). As shown in 2 (A), the top view covers at least a part of the article supply section 25, preferably the central portion in the front-rear direction, and more preferably 1/3 to 2/3 of the outer shape of the article supply section 25. In addition, it is arranged on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 22 in a non-contact manner with the article supply portion 25.

Further, the load reducing unit 23 makes it possible to see through the transparent or near-transparent translucent member so that the article AR and the article supply unit 25 existing below the article AR and the article supply unit 25 can be visually recognized from the outside through the fluoroscopic unit 13a of the article accommodating unit 13. It is configured. Further, the load reducing unit 23 has a mode in which the article AR on the load reducing unit 23 can be guided to the outside, that is, the central portion is raised in the front view, and the lower portion (reference numeral omitted) is the bottom plate portion. It is attached to the attachment portion 22b of 22.

Of course, the mounting orientation of the load reducing unit 23 is not limited to the orientation shown in the drawing, and may differ by 90 degrees between the orientation shown in the drawing and the top view, or may differ at an angle other than 90 degrees in the top view. May be good. That is, if the mounting direction of the load reducing unit 23 is irrelevant, the aspect of the load reducing unit 23 can be broadly rephrased as having a shape in which the central portion is raised in the side view.

Explaining a specific embodiment of the load reducing unit 23, the load reducing unit 23 shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C) and FIG. 2 (A) is shown in FIGS. 3 (A) to 3 (C). As shown in the above, the top view is band-shaped and the side view is bow-shaped. The shape of the lower part of the load reducing portion 23 is not limited to the one shown in these figures, but by changing the shape of the mounting portion 22b of the bottom plate portion 22, it can be bent outward as shown in FIG. 3 (D). , It is also possible to have an inwardly bent shape as shown in FIG. 3 (E).

Of course, the shape of the side view of the load reducing unit 23 is not limited to the bow shape described above, and the load reducing unit shown in FIG. 4 can guide the article AR on the load reducing unit 23 to the outside. Front view (mounting side view in a broad sense regardless of the mounting direction) like 23-1 or front view (mounting) like the load reduction unit 23-2 shown in Fig. 5. If the orientation does not matter, the shape (in a broad sense, side view) may be triangular.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C) and FIG. 2 (A), the load reducing unit 23 is attached to the attachment portion 22b of the bottom plate portion 22 and is attached to the article accommodating portion 13 (article). An article passage port 23a through which the article AR housed in the accommodation space HS) can pass is formed in at least one lower portion. It is preferable that the article passage port 23a is provided with two article passage ports 23a having the same shape facing each lower portion of the load reducing portion 23, and the article passage port 23a allows one article AR to pass through. The size is preferable.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C) and FIG. 2 (A), the load reducing portion 23 is attached to the mounting portion 22b of the bottom plate portion 22 and is viewed from the front and the rear (front view and rear view). In a broad sense (side view) regardless of the mounting direction, at least one article passage gap 23b through which the article AR housed in the article accommodating portion 13 (article accommodating space HS) can pass is formed. It is preferable that the article passage gap 23b has two article passage gaps 23b having the same shape facing the side surface of the load reducing portion 23, and the article passage gap 23b allows two or more article ARs to pass through. It is preferable to make it as large as possible.

By the way, in the case of the load reducing unit 23 shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (D) and FIG. ) Is bow-shaped, and the side view of the article passage gap 23b in the load reducing portion 23-1 shown in FIG. 4 (in a broad sense, the side view regardless of the mounting direction) is pentagonal, as shown in FIG. The side view of the article passage gap 23b in the load reducing portion 23-2 (in a broad sense, the side view regardless of the mounting direction) is triangular.

Next, a configuration that cannot be seen from the outside of the above-mentioned article supply device 10 will be described.

In the main body 11 of the article supply device 10, an article passage 27, a delivery direction changing unit 28, a coin sorting unit 29, a coin storage unit 30, and a control system 50 are provided.

The article passage 27 is the article AR when the article AR held in any one article holding hole 25a is supplied through the article supply hole 22a2 below the article holding hole 25a based on the rotational displacement of the article supply unit 25. Serves as a guide on the delivery direction changing unit 28. The article passage 27 may be composed of a bent or curved cylinder as shown in FIG. 6A, or may be straight when the article supply hole 22a2 is located directly above the delivery direction changing portion 28. It may be composed of various cylinders. Of course, when the vertical distance between the article supply hole 22a2 and the delivery direction changing portion 28 is small, the article passage 27 can be eliminated.

Further, the article passage 27 is provided with a supply detection unit 27a (see FIG. 10) that detects the passage of the article AR when the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 passes through the article passage 27. .. The supply detection unit 27a preferably comprises a transmissive or reflective optical sensor. Incidentally, when the article passage 27 is excluded, the supply detection unit 27a may be arranged below the article supply hole 22a2.

The delivery direction changing unit 28 serves to deliver the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 to at least one of the article outlet 11c and the article discharge port 11d. As shown in FIGS. 6 (B) and 6 (C) , the delivery direction changing unit 28 shown in FIG. 6 (A) is guided in addition to the guide unit 28b which can change the inclination in the side view. A support portion 28a that supports the portion 28b so as to be inclined is provided.

The support portion 28a has a U-shaped or U-shaped vertical cross section, and is provided with a support protrusion 28a1 capable of supporting the guide portion 28b in the center in the front-rear direction and is fixed in the main body portion 11. The guide portion 28b has a U-shaped or U-shaped vertical cross section, and elongated holes 28b1 in the front-rear direction are formed on both side surfaces. The guide portion 28b is attached to the support portion 28a by inserting a thin portion of the connecting component 28c having a T-shaped cross section into each elongated hole 28b1 and connecting the tip thereof to each side surface of the support portion 28a. There is.

That is, by moving the guide portion 28b in the forward direction in FIG. 6B, the guide portion 28b can be in the first state in which the vertical position of the rear end is higher than the vertical position of the front end thereof. By moving the guide portion 28b in the forward direction, the guide portion 28b can be in the second state in which the vertical position of the rear end is higher than the vertical position of the front end thereof. Incidentally, the first state is a state in which the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 can be sent to the article outlet 11c (see FIG. 7A), and the second state is the state in which the article supply unit 25 supplies the article AR. The article AR is in a state where it can be sent to the article discharge port 11d.

Further, since the upper surface of the support projection 28a1 of the support portion 28a is flat, the guide portion 28b is in the state shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B), that is, the vertical position of the front end and the vertical position of the rear end. It is also possible to set the third state in which the directional positions are the same. Incidentally, the third state is a state in which the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 can be sent to either the article outlet 11c or the article discharge port 11d.

Supplementing the delivery direction changing portion 28, although the upper surface of the support projection 28a1 of the support portion 28a is flat, the outer shape of the thin portion of the connecting part 28c is smaller than the width of each elongated hole 28b1 of the guide portion 28b, so that the guide is guided. The portion 28b can be easily changed into the first state and the second state. Further, the first state and the second state can be said to be a state in which the guide portion 28b is supported by the support protrusion 28a1 by line contact, and in the third state, the guide portion 28b is supported by the support protrusion 28b1 by surface contact. It can also be said that it is in a state of being.

The delivery direction changing unit 28 shown in the drawing includes a guide unit 28b capable of changing the inclination, but if there is a space in the main body portion 11, the transmission direction changing unit 28-1 shown in FIG. 8 is adopted. It is also possible.

The delivery direction changing portion 28-1 is fixed to the support portion 28d in a state where the guide portion 28e is tilted, and the support portion 28d enables manual rotation in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction when viewed from above. There is. That is, by appropriately rotating the support portion 28d around the shaft portion 28d1, it is possible to change the direction of the guide portion 28e in the top view (change to the states corresponding to the first state and the second state described above). be.

The coin sorting unit 29 (see FIG. 10) is for sorting coins (not shown) inserted through the coin insertion unit 18, and the coin storage unit 30 selects the coins selected by the coin sorting unit 29. It is for storage.

Explaining the coin sorting unit 29 in detail with a specific example, when the coins (target coins) that can be used in the article supply device 10 are only two types, a 500-yen coin and a 100-yen coin, the coin sorting unit 29 is a coin. It has a function of returning non-target coins (50 yen coins, 10 yen coins, 5 yen coins and 1 yen coins) inserted into the insertion unit 18 to the article outlet 29 through a return chute (not shown).

Further, the coin sorting unit 29 sorts the target coins (500-yen coins and 100-yen coins) inserted into the coin insertion unit 18 by type, detects the number of inserted coins after the separation, and sorts the sorted target coins. It has a function of guiding to the coin storage unit 30 for each type through a guide chute (not shown).

Explaining the coin storage unit 30 in detail with specific examples, the coin storage unit 30 when the target coins are only two types, a 500-yen coin and a 100-yen coin, is a box-shaped 1 as shown in FIG. It is provided with a large storage unit 30a and a box-shaped small storage unit 330b provided in the large storage unit 30a so that it can be taken in and out. Since the partition plate 30c is provided in the large storage unit 30a so as to face each other, the small storage unit 32 can be put in and out of the area partitioned by the partition plate 30c.

For example, when the coin A shown in FIG. 9 is a 500-yen coin and the coin B is a 100-yen coin, the 500-yen coin guided by the guide chute for the 500-yen coin of the coin sorting unit 29 is in the large storage unit 30a. The 100-yen coins stored in the area other than the small storage unit 30b and guided by the 100-yen coin guide chute of the coin sorting unit 29 are stored in the small storage unit 30b.

Of course, when the number of coins (target coins) that can be used in the article supply device 10 is three or more, it is possible to increase the partition plate 30c of the large storage unit 30a to have two or more small storage units 32. Is.

By using the coin storage unit 30 as shown in FIG. 9, the coin storage unit 30 in which 500-yen coins and 100-yen coins are stored for each type can be taken out from the main body 11 at once through, for example, the article discharge port 11d. In addition, since the 500-yen coin and the 100-yen coin can be individually collected from the taken-out coin storage unit 30, the coin collection work can be easily performed.

As shown in FIG. 10, the control system 50 includes a main control unit 51, a light emitting unit 17a, an operation detection unit 17b, an illumination unit 21b, a rotation drive source 26, a supply detection unit 27a, and a coin sorting unit 29 described above. In addition, a counting unit 52, a notification unit 53, and a storage unit 54 are provided.

The main control unit 51 includes a microcomputer, various drivers, and the like, and stores a program for realizing the operation described later in the ROM or the storage unit 54.

As shown in FIG. 11, the counting unit 52 includes a counting unit 52a and 52b that display the number of coins A and B inserted based on the signal related to the number of coins inserted detected by the coin sorting unit 29, and a supply detecting unit. A counter 53c that displays the number of supplies of the article AR based on the signal related to the article supply detected in 27a is provided. Each of the counters 52a to 52c may be an analog type capable of displaying numbers by rotating a number board, or may be a digital type using a small liquid crystal display capable of displaying numbers.

The notification unit 53 is a sound generation source such as a speaker that can generate different sounds when the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is sent to the article outlet 11c and when it is sent to the article discharge port 11c. Consists of. The sound generated from the notification unit 53 is a sound effect, voice, music, or a combination thereof, and the data for sound generation is stored in the storage unit 54.

Although not shown, the distinction between when the article AR is sent to the article outlet 11c and when it is sent to the article discharge port 11c is determined by a detection unit such as an on / off switch provided in the transmission direction changing unit 28. In addition to being able to detect by the guide unit (which detects the direction of the guide unit 28b), a detection unit (article outlet 11c) such as a transmission type or reflection type optical sensor provided inside each of the article outlet 11c and the article discharge port 11c. And the one that detects the delivery of the article AR to the article discharge port 11c).

Of course, the notification unit 53 may be configured to generate different lights (including lighting or blinking) in addition to generating different sounds. In this case, light generation such as a multicolor LED or a monochromatic LED may be generated. The source may be arranged in the vicinity of the article outlet 11c and the article discharge port 11c so that the light can be visually recognized from the outside.

Next, the method of using and the operation of the above-mentioned article supply device 10 will be described.

<Purchase of goods AR>
Assuming that there is no article AR in the article accommodating section 13 (article accommodating space HS) of the article supply device 10, the owner of the article supply device 10 or the maintenance company entrusted by the owner is heaven. The third opening / closing portion 21 on the upper surface of the plate portion 14 is opened, and a large number of article ARs (preferably the number in which the article accommodating space HS is not filled with the article AR) are accommodated in the article accommodating space HS through the article input port 14a. The opening / closing part 21 is closed.

The article AR thrown into the article accommodating space HS is in a state of being densely packed on the upper side of the article supply unit 25 due to the movement of its own weight, but since at least a part of the article supply unit 25 is covered by the load reduction unit 23, it is accommodated. The load of the article AR is not applied to the article supply unit 25.

Further, when the article passage port 23a and the article passage gap 23b are formed in the load reducing portion 23, the article AR accommodated in the article accommodating space HS is subject to flow restriction by the load reducing portion 23, and the article. It flows into the article supply unit 25 through the passage port 23a or the article passage gap 23b and is held in the article holding hole 25a.

Further, since the drop prevention portion 24 is provided at the position corresponding to the article supply hole 22a2 in the arrangement recess 22a of the bottom plate portion 22, even if the article holding hole 25a is located directly above the article supply hole 22a2. , The article AR that has flowed into the article supply unit 25 does not directly fall into the article supply hole 22a2.

A consumer who intends to purchase an article AR confirms the article AR accommodated in the article accommodating space HS through the fluoroscope 13a of the article accommodating unit 13, and then coins that can be used in the article supply device 10 at the time of purchase (target coins). ) Is inserted into the coin insertion unit 18.

Since the cross-sectional shape of the article accommodating portion 13 is oval and most of it is composed of the fluoroscopic portion 13a, the consumer can confirm the article AR from 360 degrees around the article supply device 10. Further, even if the stored article AR is reduced until all of the load reducing section 23 is exposed due to the supply of the article AR described later, the consumer should confirm the article AR under the load reducing section 23 through the see-through. Can be done.

When the coins inserted into the coin insertion unit 18 are target coins, the target coins are sorted by type by the coin sorting unit 29, guided to the coin storage unit 30 by a guide chute, and stored by the consumer. As described above, if a non-target coin other than the target coin is erroneously inserted into the coin insertion unit 18, the non-target coin is returned from the coin sorting unit 29 to the article outlet 29 through a return chute.

When the target coin corresponding to the price of the article AR is inserted, the light emitting unit 17a of the supply operation unit 17 emits light, and the light emission urges the consumer to be in a supplyable state. Therefore, this light emission is confirmed. After that, the consumer pushes in the supply operation unit 17.

When the push of the supply operation unit 17 is detected by the operation detection unit 17b, when the number of article holding holes 25a is 4 and the angle interval in the top view is 90 degrees, the article supply unit 25 is determined by the rotation drive source 26. Rotating 90 degrees in the direction, one of the four article holding holes 25a matches the article supply hole 22a, and the article AR held in the article holding hole 25a is supplied through the article supply hole 22a.

When the number of article holding holes 25a is 4, the article supply unit 25 can supply the article AR by repeating 90 degree rotation in a predetermined direction, but the article supply unit in the opposite direction every 90 degree rotation in the predetermined direction. If the 25 is rotated (for example, around 45 degrees) and then returned, the article AR on the article holding hole 25a can be agitated by the rotation and the return in the opposite direction. The article AR can be satisfactorily entered and held in the hole 25a.

The article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is guided to the delivery direction changing unit 28 through the article passage 27. Normally, since the guide unit 28b of the delivery direction changing unit 28 is in the first state (a state in which the article AR can be transmitted to the article outlet 11c) shown in FIG. 7 (A), the article supplied by the article supply unit 25 The AR is sent to the article outlet 11c by the delivery direction changing unit 28, and is held by the article holding unit 11c1.

A sound is generated when the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is sent to the article outlet 11c, and the delivered article AR of the article outlet 11c can be visually recognized from the outside. , The consumer takes out the article AR from the article outlet 11c. This completes the purchase of the goods AR by the consumer.

<Exchange of goods AR>
Assuming that there are a small number of article ARs in the article accommodating section 13 (article accommodating space HS) of the article supply device 10, the owner of the article supply device 10 or a maintenance company entrusted by the owner , The guide portion 28b of the delivery direction changing portion 28 is opened through the second opening / closing portion 20 on the rear surface of the main body portion 11 and through the article discharge port 11d or through the second opening / closing portion 11b after opening the first opening / closing portion 16. , The first state shown in FIG. 7 (A) (the state in which the article AR can be sent to the article outlet 11c) to the second state shown in FIG. 7 (B) (the article AR can be sent to the article outlet 11d). Change to state). Then, the article discharge switch (not shown) provided in the control system 50 is turned on.

When the article discharge switch is turned on, when the number of article holding holes 25a is 4 and the angle interval in the top view is 90 degrees, the article supply unit 25 is intermittently rotated in a predetermined direction in units of 90 degrees by the rotation drive source 26. Alternatively, the residual article AR including the article AR held in the article holding hole 25a by continuously rotating in a predetermined direction is sequentially supplied through the article supply hole 22a.

The article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is guided to the delivery direction changing unit 28 through the article passage 27. Here, since the guide unit 28b of the delivery direction changing unit 28 is in the second state (a state in which the article AR can be transmitted to the article discharge port 11d) shown in FIG. 7 (B), it was supplied by the article supply unit 25. The article AR is delivered to the article discharge port 11d by the delivery direction changing unit 28, and is discharged to the outside through the article discharge unit 11d1. At the time of this discharge, a sound different from that when the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is sent to the article outlet 11c is generated, so that it can be recognized that the discharge operation is performed by this sound.

Since the completion of discharge can be visually confirmed, the article discharge switch is turned off and the rotation of the article supply unit 25 is stopped when the discharge of the residual article AR is completed. Of course, since the completion of discharge can be confirmed even when the supply detection unit 27a does not detect the supply for a predetermined time, it is possible to automatically stop the rotation of the article supply unit 25 based on this.

After the discharge is completed, the guide unit 28b of the delivery direction changing unit 28 is shown in FIG. 7 (A) from the second state (a state in which the article AR can be delivered to the article discharge port 11d) shown in FIG. 7 (B). The state is changed to the first state (the state in which the article AR can be sent to the article outlet 11c), and the second opening / closing portion 20 on the rear surface of the main body portion 11 is closed.

Then, the third opening / closing portion 21 on the upper surface of the top plate portion 14 is opened, and a large number of article ARs (preferably the number in which the article accommodating space HS is not filled with the article AR) are accommodated in the article accommodating space HS through the article input port 14a. , The third opening / closing part 21 is closed. This completes the exchange of the article AR.

Next, the action and effect related to the problem solving obtained by the above-mentioned article supply device 10 will be described.

According to the article supply device 10 described above, the delivery direction changing unit 28 is moved from the first state (the state in which the article AR can be delivered to the article outlet 11c) to the second state (the state in which the article AR can be delivered to the article discharge port 11d). ), The article AR remaining in the article accommodating section 13 (article accommodating space HS) can be sent to the article discharging port 11d different from the article outlet 11c, so that the article accommodating section 13 (article accommodating space) can be sent. The work of opening the HS) and manually taking out the remaining goods AR, or the work of operating the goods supply unit 25 in the same manner as when the consumer purchases the goods AR to send the remaining goods AR to the goods outlet 11d. It is possible to easily and accurately replace the article AR by discharging the residual article AR without requiring the above.

Next, a modification of the above-mentioned article supply device 10 will be described.

(1) In the above-mentioned article supply device 10, each of the main body portion 11, the pedestal portion 12, the article accommodating portion 13, and the top plate portion 14 has an elliptical cross-sectional shape. The shape may be another shape such as a circular shape, an elliptical shape, a rectangular shape, or a polygonal shape. Of course, if the article supply device 10 can be installed without the pedestal portion 12, the pedestal portion 12 may be eliminated.

(2) In the above-mentioned article supply device 10, the article discharge port 11d is provided on the rear surface of the main body 11, but the article discharge port 11d is configured to be used as a second article outlet. May be good. In this case, if the delivery direction changing unit 28 is in the third state (see FIG. 6) described above, the article AR supplied by the article supply unit 25 is the article outlet 11c and the second article outlet (article). Since the article AR can be sent to any of the outlets 11d), the consumer enjoys the idea that the article AR is randomly sent to either the article outlet 11c or the second article outlet (article outlet 11d). Can be donated to.

(3) In the above-mentioned article supply device 10, the coin is inserted into the coin insertion unit 18 to pay the price, but a device capable of paying the price using an electronic money card, a smartphone, or the like is used. A device capable of code payment (payment of price) may be used instead of the coin insertion unit 18 and the coin sorting unit 29, and the coin storage unit 30 may be eliminated.

10 ... Goods supply device, 11 ... Main body, 11a ... First opening, 11b ... Second opening, 11c ... Goods outlet, 11c1 ... Goods holding part, 11d ... Goods discharge port, 11d1 ... Goods discharge part, first 3 openings, 12 ... pedestal part, 13 ... article accommodating part, 13a ... see-through part, 13b ... strut part, HS ... article accommodating space, AR ... article, 14 ... top plate part, 14a ... article input port, 15 ... sample Exhibition section, 16 ... 1st opening / closing section, 17 ... Supply operation section, 17a ... Light emitting section, 17b ... Operation detection section, 18 ... Coin insertion section, 19 ... Coin return button, 20 ... 2nd opening / closing section, 21 ... 3rd Opening / closing part, 21b ... Lighting part, 22 ... Bottom plate part, 22a ... Placement recess for article supply part, 22a1 ... Lower wall part, 22a2 ... Article supply hole, 22b ... Mounting part for load reduction part, 23,23-1 , 23-2 ... Load reduction unit, 23a ... Article passage port, 23b ... Article passage gap, 24 ... Fall restraint unit, 25 ... Article supply unit, 25a ... Article holding hole, 26 ... Rotation drive source, 26a ... Rotation drive shaft , 27 ... article passage, 27a ... supply detection unit, 28, 28-1 ... delivery direction changing unit, 28a ... support unit, 28a1 ... support protrusion, 28b ... guide unit, 28d ... support unit, 28e ... guide unit, 29 ... Coin sorting unit, 30 ... Coin storage unit, 30a ... Large storage unit, 30b ... Small storage unit, 50 ... Control system of article supply device, 51 ... Main control unit, 52 ... Counting unit, 53 ... Notification unit, 54 ... Memory Department.

Claims (19)

An article supply device that can supply articles
An article accommodating portion capable of accommodating the article and allowing the article to be seen through from the outside,
An article supply unit provided at the bottom of the article storage unit and capable of supplying the article housed in the article storage unit, and an article supply unit.
An article outlet and an article outlet from which the article supplied by the article supply unit is delivered , and
A delivery direction changing section capable of delivering the article supplied by the article supply unit to the article outlet and the article discharge port is provided .
The delivery direction changing unit includes a guide unit capable of delivering the article supplied by the article supply unit to the article outlet and the article discharge port by changing the inclination in the side view.
The guide portion has a first state in which the vertical position of the other end is higher than the vertical position of one end, a second state in which the vertical position of the other end is lower than the vertical position of one end, and a vertical position of one end. It is configured to be able to take a third state in which the vertical positions of the other end are the same as those of the other end.
Goods supply equipment. The article discharge port is configured to be used as a second product outlet.
The article supply device according to claim 1. The article discharge port is provided with an opening / closing portion that can open and close the article discharge port.
The article supply device according to claim 1 or 2. The first state is a state in which the article supplied by the article supply unit can be sent to the article outlet.
The second state is a state in which the article supplied by the article supply unit can be delivered to the article discharge port.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The third state is a state in which the article supplied by the article supply unit can be randomly delivered to either the article outlet or the article outlet.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The delivery direction changing portion includes the guide portion and a support portion that slantably supports the guide portion.
The support portion includes a support protrusion having a flat upper surface capable of supporting the guide portion.
The first state and the second state are states in which the guide portion is supported by the support protrusion by line contact.
The third state is a state in which the guide portion is supported by the support protrusion by surface contact.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The delivery direction changing unit includes a guide unit that can be tilted and then turned in a top view.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The article supply section is displaceably arranged at the bottom portion of the article storage section, and is configured to be able to supply the article held in the article holding hole by a predetermined displacement.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . The article supply unit has a disk shape and has a disk shape.
The predetermined displacement is a rotational displacement.
The article supply device according to claim 8 . A plurality of the article holding holes are provided at equal angle intervals when viewed from above.
The article supply unit is configured to be able to supply the article held in any one article holding hole based on the rotational displacement.
The article supply device according to claim 9 . The rotational displacement includes an equiangular rotational displacement in a predetermined direction, a subsequent rotational displacement in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction, and a subsequent rotational displacement for return .
The article supply device according to claim 9 or 10 . A notification unit capable of generating different sounds when the article supplied by the article supply unit is delivered to the article outlet and when the article is delivered to the article discharge port is further provided.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 . The notification unit is configured to be capable of generating different lights in addition to generating the different sounds.
The article supply device according to claim 12 . The article accommodating portion has an oval cross-sectional shape.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 . A coin sorting unit capable of sorting coins inserted through the coin insertion unit and a coin storage unit sorted by the coin sorting unit are further provided.
The coin sorting unit is configured to return the non-target coin to the article outlet when the non-target coin is inserted.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 14 . The coin storage unit includes a plurality of storage units for storing target coins for each type.
The plurality of storage units are composed of a large storage unit and a small storage unit provided in and out of the large storage unit.
The article supply device according to claim 15 . Further, a counting unit capable of counting the target coins for each type when the target coins are inserted is provided.
The article supply device according to claim 15 or 16 . The counting unit is configured to be able to count the number of supplies of the article when the article is supplied by the article supply unit.
The article supply device according to claim 17 . Further provided with a supply operation unit for supplying the article,
The supply operation unit includes a light emitting unit capable of arousing a supplyable state by light emission.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 18 .

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