JP7452278B2 - Product storage device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a product storage device, and more particularly to a product storage device applied to a vending machine that sells drinks and the like in containers such as cans and plastic bottles as products.

2. Description of the Related Art Serpentine product racks are conventionally known as product storage devices for selling products such as canned beverages and plastic bottled beverages. Such a product storage device has passage forming members bent in a meandering manner between a pair of base side plates that are erected to face each other on the left and right sides, and are constructed in such a manner that they face each other. It has a product storage passage defined in a meandering manner. Further, the product storage device is provided with a dispensing mechanism for cutting out and dispensing the lowest product on the lower side of the product storage path.

In such a product storage device, a posture control plate is provided on a protruding portion of the path forming member that projects toward the product storage path. This attitude control plate is swingably disposed on the protrusion of the passage forming member so as to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage, and in a normal state, it advances into the product storage passage by being biased by the attitude control plate spring. By moving and coming into contact with the product passing through the product storage passage, the product moves backward against the biasing force of the posture control plate spring, thereby correcting the passing posture of the product (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).

Patent No. 4345664

Incidentally, in recent years, demand for sales of small and lightweight products with smaller container capacities and dimensions than conventional products has been increasing even in vending machines. However, in the above product storage device, the front and back dimensions of the product storage passage are larger than the width dimensions of the small and lightweight products, and furthermore, the posture control plates provided on each of the channel forming members facing each other do not allow the small and light products to be affected. Due to the reaction force caused by the product, there is a risk that the small and lightweight product may become stuck in the product storage passageway, and the product may not be properly stored.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product dispensing device that can satisfactorily store small and lightweight products whose containers have small capacities and dimensions.

In order to achieve the above object, the product storage device according to the present invention is attached to a pair of left and right base side plates in a manner that they face each other, thereby extending vertically and sequentially storing products in a horizontal position. A passage forming member that defines a product storage passage; and a passage forming member that is swingably provided to the passage forming member so as to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage, and in a normal state is biased by a biasing means to push the product. an attitude control plate that advances into the storage passageway and moves backward against the urging force of the urging means to correct the passing posture of the goods when it comes into contact with the goods passing through the goods storage passageway; a product storage device for dispensing the lowest order product among the products stored in the product storage passageway downward when a delivery command is given, the product storage device comprising: one passageway defining the product storage passageway; A passage attachment member is provided on the forming member in a removable manner in a manner that defines the front and rear dimensions of the product storage passage, and that regulates the amount of advance movement of the posture control plate provided on the one passage forming member. It is characterized by

Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned product storage device, in which the passage attachment member is integrally attached to a passage regulating plate extending in the vertical direction with a surface facing the product storage passage, and a back surface of the passage regulating plate. and an attitude regulating plate that is attached to the one passage forming member and that regulates the amount of advancement movement of the attitude controlling plate, and the attitude regulating plate is fixed to the one passage forming member. Features.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned product storage device, the passage attachment member is provided with an opening that allows the tip of the attitude control plate provided on the one passage forming member to pass therethrough. .

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the product storage device, the passage attachment member extends in a meandering manner along the vertical direction.

According to the present invention, the passage attachment member is provided on one passage forming member that defines a product storage passage and is removably provided in a manner that defines the front and rear dimensions of the product storage passage. Since the amount of advance movement of the attitude control plate is regulated, only the attitude control plate provided on the other passage forming member acts, and the reaction force applied to the product passing through the product storage passage can be sufficiently reduced. can. Therefore, when a small, lightweight product with a small container capacity or size passes downward through the product storage passage, its attitude is corrected only by the attitude control plate provided on the other passage forming member, preventing the product from clogging, etc. It can be stored on its side without causing any damage. Therefore, it is possible to favorably store small and lightweight products whose container capacity and dimensions are small.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing the internal structure of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the foremost product storage device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the passage attachment member shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the passage attachment member shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the passage attachment member shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 attached to the passage forming member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the product storage device at the forefront when the passage attachment member shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is attached to the passage forming member. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the main parts of the product storage device when the passage attachment member shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is attached to the passage forming member. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main part of a modification of the product storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a main part of a modification of the product storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a product storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing the internal structure of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine illustrated here sells products in a cooled or heated state, and includes a main body cabinet 1, an outer door 2, and an inner door 3.

The main body cabinet 1 is formed into a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opening in the front by appropriately combining a plurality of steel plates, and has a product storage 4 with a heat-insulating structure inside. The outer door 2 is for covering the front opening of the main cabinet 1, and is provided on one side edge of the main cabinet 1 so as to be openable and closable. Although not clearly shown in the figure, the front of the outer door 2 includes a display window, a product selection button, a bill insertion slot, a coin slot, a return lever, an integrated display, a coin return slot, a product takeout port 2a, etc. It has everything you need to sell a product. The inner door 3 is a heat insulating door for covering the front opening of the product storage 4, and is provided at one side edge of the main cabinet 1 at a position inward of the outer door 2 so as to be openable and closable. A product exit 3 a is provided at the lower part of the inner door 3 for transporting products to the outside of the product storage 4 .

Further, in the vending machine, a chute 5 is provided inside the product storage 4, and a temperature control unit 6 is provided in an area below the chute 5 (hereinafter also referred to as a "heat exchange area"). On the other hand, a product storage device 10 is provided in an area above the shooter 5 (hereinafter also referred to as a "product storage area").

The chute 5 is a plate-like member for guiding the product discharged from the product storage device 10 to the product exit 3a of the inner door 3, and is provided in a manner that gradually slopes downward toward the front side. . Although not clearly shown in the figure, the chute 5 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes (not shown) that communicate between the heat exchange area and the product storage area.

The temperature control unit 6 is for maintaining the internal atmosphere of the product storage 4 at a desired temperature state, and includes an evaporator 6a of a refrigeration cycle, a heater 6b, and a blower fan 6c. In this temperature control unit 6, for example, when the blower fan 6c is driven while the refrigeration cycle is in operation, the air cooled in the evaporator 6a is sent upward through the ventilation hole of the chute 5, thereby reducing the product storage area. Can be maintained at low temperature. On the other hand, when the blower fan 6c is driven while the heater 6b is energized, the air heated by the heater 6b is sent upward through the ventilation hole of the chute 5, so that the product storage area can be maintained at a high temperature. . Incidentally, the compressor, condenser, and expansion valve of the refrigeration cycle are all provided in the machine room 7 outside the product storage 4, although they are not clearly shown in the figure.

In the illustrated example, the product storage devices 10 (10a, 10b, 10c) are arranged in three rows in the front and back, and by disposing a passage forming member 12 between a pair of base side plates 11, the product storage devices 10 (10a, 10b, 10c) are It is provided with a product storage passage 13 configured in a meandering manner along the product storage passage 13, and a plurality of products are stored in the vertical direction inside the product storage passage 13 in a horizontal position. To explain in more detail, the passage forming members 12 are appropriately disposed on the front side and the rear side of the product storage passage 13 so as to face each other, and are fixed to the base side plate 11.

Further, the passage forming member 12 is provided with an attitude control plate 14 . The attitude control plate 14 is swingably provided on the passage forming member 12 so as to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage 13 . The attitude control plate 14 is biased by a biasing means (not shown) and normally assumes a posture in which it moves forward into the product storage passage 13. By coming into contact with the product passing through the product storage path 13, the product moves backward along the meandering product storage path 13 against the biasing force of the biasing means, thereby correcting the passing posture of the product. It is something.

In such a product storage device 10, a dispensing mechanism 15 is provided on the lower side of the product storage passage 13, while an input slot guide 17 and a top tray are provided on the upper side of the product storage passage 13 from the third row from the front. 20 are provided.

The dispensing mechanism 15 stores the product in the product storage passage 13 in the standby state by controlling the behavior of the product between it and the passage width regulating plate 16 disposed opposite to each other, while storing the product in the product storage passage 13 when a dispensing command is given. functions to dispense corresponding products one by one to the shooter 5. Such a dispensing mechanism 15 includes a lower pedal member 15a and an upper pedal member 15b.

The lower pedal member 15a is swingably arranged to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage 13, and in the standby state, by moving forward and backward into the product storage passage 13, it comes into contact with the lowest product and removes the product. While downward movement is restricted, when a dispensing command is given, the product is moved backward from the product storage path 13 and allowed to move downward. The upper pedal member 15b is swingably arranged to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage 13. In the standby state, the upper pedal member 15b moves backward and forward from the product storage passage 13, and when a dispensing command is given, the upper pedal member 15b moves back and forth from the product storage passage 13. It moves forward into the aisle 13 and comes into contact with the second product from the lowest, thereby restricting the downward movement of the product. Such a dispensing mechanism 15 is conventionally known, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The input slot guide 17 is swingably provided around the axis of a shaft member (not shown) in such a manner that it moves forward and backward into the product passage area 18 in the upper area of the product storage path 13 . Such an input port guide 17 is used to adjust the posture of the product by coming into contact with the product that has been input through the input port 19 and before being carried into the product storage path 13.

The top tray 20 is constructed by bending a flat sheet metal, and has locking protrusions (not shown) projecting laterally from the left and right ends and locking holes (not shown) provided in the base side plate 11. It is provided between the base side plates 11 by being inserted into the base side plates 11. This top tray 20 has a product guide section 20a and a passage forming section 20b.

The product guide part 20a is a part that gradually slopes downward from the front to the rear, and when the product storage passage 13 exists behind the product guide part 20a, the upper surface of the product guide part 20a guides the product inserted through the slot 19 into the product storage. This constitutes a product guide passage leading to the passage 13. Incidentally, when the product guide section 20a of the top tray 20 is provided with a flat guide component 22 in its front area between the base side plates 11 that gradually slopes downward from the front to the rear, Its upper surface forms a product guide path together with the upper surface of the guide component 22. The passage forming part 20b is a part that extends downward from the rear end of the product guide part 20a in a bent form, and together with the passage forming member 12 located below it, forms the product storage passage 13. .

By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, a passage attachment member 30 is removably disposed in the product storage device 10 at the forefront. In addition, each component of the passage attachment member 30 will be explained below in accordance with the direction shown in FIG. 2. The passage attachment member 30 illustrated here includes a passage regulating plate 31 and an attitude regulating plate 32, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The passage regulating plate 31 is formed by processing a sheet metal or the like, and includes a passage regulating base 311, a passage regulating locking part 312, and a passage regulating abutting part 313 that are integrally molded. The passage regulating base 311 is an elongated plate-like body whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction, and similarly to the passage forming member 12 described above, it extends in a meandering manner along the vertical direction.

The passage regulation locking part 312 is provided continuously at the upper end portion of the passage regulation base 311, and has a regulation front extension part 312a and a regulation downward extension part 312b. The restriction front extension portion 312a is a flat plate-shaped portion that extends forward from the upper end portion of the passage restriction base 311. The lower restriction extending portion 312b is a portion extending downward from the front end portion of the front restriction extending portion 312a, and its rear surface faces a part of the front surface of the passage restriction base 311. Tongue-shaped regulating protrusions 312c extending rearward are formed at both left and right ends of the lower end, which is the extending end of the regulating lower extending portion 312b.

A plurality of passage regulating contact parts 313 (two in the illustrated example) are provided in a left and right pair. These passage regulating contact portions 313 are tongue-shaped and extend forward from both left and right ends of a portion of the passage regulating base 311 that is convex toward the front.

The attitude regulation plate 32 is formed by processing a sheet metal or the like, and includes an attitude regulation base 321 and an attitude regulation locking part 322 that are integrally molded. The posture regulation base 321 is an elongated plate-like body whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction, and has two wide regulation parts 321a and two narrow regulation parts 321b.

The wide regulating portions 321a each have a width in the left-right direction that is smaller than a length in the left-right direction of the passage regulating base 311, and each of the wide regulating portions 321a has a fastening member 33 such as a pin on a portion of the passage regulating base 311 that is convex toward the front. are connected via.

The width of the narrow regulation part 321b in the left-right direction is sufficiently smaller than the length of the wide regulation part 321a in the left-right direction, and each of the narrow regulation parts 321b is connected to the lower end 321a1 of the wide regulation part 321a. Of these two narrow regulation parts 321b, the upper narrow regulation part 321b connects the two wide regulation parts 321a, connects to the lower end 321a1 of the upper wide regulation part 321a, and It is connected to the upper end of the wide regulating portion 321a on the side. The lower end of the lower narrow width regulating portion 321b is joined to a portion of the passage regulating base 311 that is convex toward the front via a fastening member 33 such as a pin.

The posture regulating base 321 as a whole extends in a meandering manner along the vertical direction, and the lower end 321a1 of the wide regulating part 321a and the upper end 321b1 of the narrow regulating part 321b are connected to the passage regulating base 311. It is spaced further forward.

A plurality of posture regulating locking portions 322 (two in the illustrated example) are provided in a pair of left and right positions. These posture regulation locking parts 322 are each provided at the upper end of the wide regulation part 321a. More specifically, the posture regulation locking portion 322 includes a locking front extension portion 322a that extends forward from both left and right end portions of the upper end edge of each wide restriction portion 321a, and a locking front extension portion 322a of the locking front extension portion 322a. It has a locking lower extension part 322b extending downward from the front end part which is the extension end part.

After the passage attachment member 30 having the above configuration is inserted into the input port 19 from the lower end of the passage regulating plate 31, the posture regulating locking portion 322 of the posture regulating plate 32 is formed on the passage forming member 12 on the front side. By inserting the locking hole 12a into the locking hole 12a from behind, the locking front extension part 322a of the posture regulating locking part 322 is placed on the lower edge of the locking hole 12a, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. , the passage regulating locking part 312 is attached to the passage forming member 12 on the front side with the regulating front extension part 312a placed on the lower edge of the input port 19.

In this case, the lower locking extending portion 322b of the posture regulating locking portion 322 extends downward on the front side of the locking hole 12a, and the lower restricting extending portion 312b of the passage regulating locking portion 312 extends downward from the front side of the locking hole 12a. By extending downward on the front side, the passage attachment member 30 is locked to the passage forming member 12 on the front side by the passage regulating locking part 312 and the posture regulating locking part 322. Moreover, the front end portion of the passage regulating contact portion 313 is in contact with the rear surface of the passage forming member 12 on the front side.

Note that by displacing the passage attachment member 30 upward and then rearward, the posture regulation locking portion 322 is disengaged from the locking hole 12a, and the passage restriction locking portion 312 is disengaged from the locking hole 12a. is removed from the input port 19, and then pulled out from the input port 19, thereby being removed from the passage forming member 12 on the front side.

When the passage attachment member 30 is attached to the passage forming member 12 on the front side, the rear surface of the passage regulating plate 31 faces the product storage passage 13, as shown in FIG. 7, and the passage forming member 12 on the rear side The front and rear dimensions of the product storage passageway 13 can be defined in opposition to the product storage passageway 13. Note that the width of the product storage passage 13 in the left and right directions can be determined by displacing the conventionally known rack side plates.

When the passage attachment member 30 is attached to the front passage forming member 12, the posture control plate 14 provided on the front passage forming member 12 comes into contact with the posture regulating plate 32, thereby allowing the product to be stored. The amount of movement toward the passage 13 is regulated. In particular, in the examples shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the posture control plate 14 cannot face the product storage passage 13 due to the passage attachment member 30, and the posture control plate 14 is not provided in the product storage passage 13 on the passage forming member 12 on the rear side. Only the posture control plate 14 that has been adjusted will act.

Therefore, in the product storage device 10 to which the passage attachment member 30 is attached, in the product storage passage 13 whose front and back dimensions are defined by the passage attachment member 30, only the attitude control plate 14 provided on the passage forming member 12 on the rear side is provided. Therefore, the reaction force applied to the products passing through the product storage passage 13 can be sufficiently reduced. Therefore, when a small and lightweight product with a small container capacity or size is loaded from the input port 19 and passes downward through the product storage passage 13, the posture control plate 14 provided on the passage forming member 12 on the rear side The position is corrected by the chisel, and the product can be stored in a horizontal position without causing jams or the like.

Therefore, according to the product storage device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily store small and lightweight products whose containers have small capacities and dimensions.

According to the product storage device 10, the passage attachment member 30 is removably attached to the passage forming member 12 on the front side, so that it can be applied to existing vending machines.

According to the above product storage device 10, the path attachment member 30 attached to the path forming member 12 on the front side is a path regulating plate that extends in the vertical direction with its rear surface (front surface) facing the product storage path 13. 31, and an attitude regulating plate 32 that is integrally attached to the front surface (back side) of the passage regulating plate 31 and regulates the amount of advance movement of the attitude control plate 14 provided on the passage forming member 12 on the front side. Therefore, the rigidity of the passage attachment member 30 itself can be improved. Moreover, the posture regulation locking portion 322 provided on the posture regulation plate 32 that contacts the posture control plate 14 is inserted through the locking hole 12a of the passage forming member 12 on the front side, so that the passage attachment member 30 forms the passage on the front side. Since it is locked to the member 12, it is possible to prevent the passage attachment member 30 from being pressed toward the product storage passage 13 by the urging means of the posture control plate 14.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes can be made.

In the embodiment described above, the passage attachment member 30 comes into contact with the posture control plate 14 provided on the passage forming member 12 on the front side, and prevents the posture control plate 14 from facing the product storage passage 13. However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, an opening 314 that allows the tip portion of the attitude control plate 14 to pass through the passage attachment member 30' (the passage regulating plate 31' and the attitude regulating plate 32'), 324 may be formed.

In this case, the tip of the attitude control plate 14 faces the product storage passage 13 as shown in FIG. There is. Therefore, when a small and lightweight product is inserted through the input port 19 and passes downward through the product storage passage 13, its attitude is corrected by the attitude control plate 14 provided on the passage forming member 12 on the rear side. It is possible to store products in a horizontal position without causing product jams or the like. Therefore, small and lightweight products can be stored well.

In the embodiment described above, the passage attachment member 30 was composed of the passage regulating plate 31 and the posture regulating plate 32, but in the present invention, the passage attachment member does not need to be composed of two regulating plates. , various configurations can be adopted.

In the embodiment described above, the passage attachment member 30 was removably provided to the front passage forming member 12 constituting the foremost product storage passage 13, but in the present invention, the passage attachment member 30 The present invention is not limited to the product storage passage, but may be removably provided to passage forming members constituting various product storage passages.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Product storage device, 11... Base side plate, 12... Passage forming member, 12a... Locking hole, 13... Product storage passage, 14... Posture control plate, 19... Input port, 30... Passage attachment member, 31... Passage regulation Plate, 311... Passage regulation base, 312... Passage regulation locking part, 313... Passage regulation contact part, 32... Posture regulation plate, 321... Posture regulation base, 322... Posture regulation locking part, 33... Fastening member.

Claims (4)

A passage forming member that is attached to a pair of left and right base side plates in a manner that they face each other to define a product storage passage that extends along the vertical direction and sequentially stores the products in a sideways position;
The passage forming member is swingably provided to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage, and in a normal state, the product storage passage moves forward and backward into the product storage passage by being urged by a biasing means. an attitude control plate that moves backward against the urging force of the urging means to correct the passing attitude of the item when it comes into contact with the item passing through;
A product storage device that, when a delivery command is given, pays out the lowest product among the products stored in the product storage path downward,
advancing movement of the attitude control plate that is removably installed on one passage forming member that defines the merchandise storage passageway in a manner that defines the front and rear dimensions of the merchandise storage passageway, and that is provided on the one passageway forming member; A product storage device characterized by comprising a passage attachment member that regulates quantity. The passage attachment member is
an aisle regulating plate extending vertically with a surface facing the product storage aisle;
an attitude regulating plate that is integrally attached to the back surface of the passage regulating plate and that regulates the amount of advancement movement of the attitude controlling plate provided on the one passage forming member;
The product storage device according to claim 1, wherein the posture regulating plate is locked to the one passage forming member. 2. The product storage device according to claim 1, wherein the passage attachment member includes an opening through which a tip of the attitude control plate provided on the one passage forming member passes. The product storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the passage attachment member extends in a meandering manner along the vertical direction.

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