JPH02183891A - Commodity fall preventing mechanism for conveyer type commodity shelf - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of commodity loading by providing oscillation type flapper for commodity fall prevention, whose tip is engaged to a gate mechanism and bound to a route blocking position at the time of sales waiting, to be hung down and supported from an upper direction to a conveyer shelf with gate mechanism so as to block the commodity carry-out edge side route of the conveyer shelf. CONSTITUTION:For each horizontal conveyer shelf 5 arranged in the respective upper and lower steps, an oscillation type flapper 14 for commodity fall prevention, which is hung down and supported from the supper direction is provided so as to cross the commodity route in the commodity shelf side. In the operational state of the commodity loading, for a gate mechanism 10 provided to the conveyer shelf 5 in each step, a bar 10a is locked and held in an elect posture and the flapper 14 is on standby with a vertically hung-down posture in the front direction of the bar 10a so as to block the commodity carry-out route. When a supplementary commodity 9 is pushed in, the flapper 14 is oscillated by being pushed by the commodity 9, which is arranged in the front row, and the tip is abutted to the bar 10a of the gate mechanism 10 and locked. Thus, it can be surely avoided that the commodity goes over the gate mechanism and falls down from the shelf in the forward direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a product fall prevention mechanism for a conveyor-type product shelf of a vending machine.

[Prior technology] As a product transport shelf device for a vending machine that handles easily damaged products such as bottled products and Gion bank products, a horizontal conveyor shelf with multiple upper and lower levels on which products are loaded in a row, and a conveyor shelf in each level are used. Soft handling combines an elevator mechanism for relaying products that goes up and down in conjunction with the product take-out port, and the products carried out from the conveyor shelf in response to a sales command are sent to the product take-out port via the elevator mechanism. This method is well known.

In addition, regarding the in-machine layout of the product shelf device in such vending machines, upper and lower conveyor shelves are installed in the depth direction inside the machine, and an elevator mechanism for relaying products to the conveyor shelves is installed deep inside the machine. has also been commercialized.

Next, the conventional configuration of the vending machine is shown in FIG. l is the vending machine cabinet, 2
3 is the front door, 3 is the internal door, and 4 is the product outlet. on the other hand,
Inside the cabinet 1, a plurality of horizontal conveyor shelves 5 installed in the depth direction are installed vertically in parallel, and the conveyor shelves 5 at each level and the product takeout port 4 are connected in a continuous manner. An elevator mechanism 6 for relaying products is provided at the back of the cabinet 1. Note that 7 is a lifting guide rail of the elevator mechanism 6, and 8 is a product delivery chute arranged at the bottom of the warehouse in series with the product take-out port 4.

As shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor shelf 5 is made up of an endless conveyor belt 5c stretched between a pair of front and rear sprockets 5a and 5b, and a conveyor drive motor 5d. They are mounted in a row on the top of the 5c.

With this configuration, when a sales command is given, the elevator mechanism 6 first rises to the position of the conveyor shelf 5 that has been vt tb and waits, and the goods 9 arranged in the front row on the shelf are quickly moved by the conveyor shelf 5 to carry out the goods. is delivered to the packet 6a of the elevator mechanism 6. After this product delivery is completed, the elevator mechanism 6 descends inside the warehouse with the product 9 still loaded.
Here, the packet 6a is placed on a stopper 6b on the ascending and descending route.
When it hits, it tilts forward and releases the product 9 into the chute 8. The product 9 is transferred along the inclined surface of the chute 8 and taken out to the product takeout port 4.

On the other hand, in the conventional conveyor shelf, as shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor shelf 5 is provided with a rotating gate mechanism 10 equipped with a U-shaped bar on the product delivery end side. This gate mechanism also serves as a stopper function to hold the product 9 mounted on the horizontal conveyor shelf 5 in a storage position in a sales standby state, and a product detection lever that has a switch actuator function to detect product removal. Cams 10b, 10c and a return spring are provided on the shaft supporting the U-shaped bar 10a, one cam 10b is equipped with a solenoid locking mechanism 11, and the other cam 10c is equipped with a product detection switch 1.
2 are deployed facing each other. In addition, in the figure, 13 indicates a sales control section.

With this configuration, a solenoid locking mechanism is used when waiting for sales.
l is locked to gate n, horizontal cam 10b and bar 10a
is restrained in an upright position, and products 9 loaded on a conveyor shelf 5 are held in a storage position. When a sales command is given to the control section 13, the solenoid locking mechanism 11 moves backward to release the gate mechanism 10. When the products 9 lined up on the conveyor heald 5c move toward the discharge end by the subsequent operation of the drive motor 5d, the bar 10a of the gate mechanism 10
rotates so as to be pushed down by the products 9 lined up in the front row, and in this process, the product detection switch 12 is activated to detect product removal, and this product removal detection signal is used to control the control unit 1.
3 controls the drive motor 5d to stop. Also, product 9 is 1
When the bar 10a of the gate mechanism IO is carried out, the bar 10a of the gate mechanism IO is rotated back to its original upright position by the spring bias, and the solenoid type locking mechanism 11 also returns to lock the gate mechanism 10 in the standby position.

In addition, the length of the arm of the bar 10a of the gate mechanism 1O that protrudes from the conveyor shelf 5 is set to be relatively short in order to avoid interference with the elevator mechanism 6 when it rotates to carry out products. .

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention!) By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional conveyor-type product shelves, the following troubles often occur during product loading.

That is, when loading a product, the front door 2. in FIG. After opening the internal door 3, products 9 are inserted into the horizontal conveyor shelves 5 of each stage from the front of the cabinet (1) to replenish them. Since there is only an interval between the conveyor shelves 5 and the conveyor shelves 5 are installed in the depth direction of the warehouse, it is difficult to visually check the storage status of products at the back of the shelf. If you force the product 9 into the conveyor shelf, or if you mistakenly judge that there is enough storage space on the conveyor shelf and pack more products than the storage capacity, the product 9 will be pushed forward and placed in the front row, as shown in Figure 7. Products 9 lined up could easily climb over the bar of the locked gate mechanism 10 (as mentioned above, the protruding dimension of the bar is short) and fall into the elevator passageway, resulting in damage to bottled products, etc. invite trouble.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and by adding a simple mechanism, it is possible to reliably prevent the product from accidentally falling forward from the conveyor shelf when loading the product. An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for preventing products from falling on a conveyor-type product shelf, which can improve workability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides suspension support for the above-mentioned conveyor shelf with a gate mechanism from above so as to block the road on the product delivery end side of the conveyor shelf. , and a swingable product fall prevention flapper whose tip engages with the gate mechanism and is restrained in the passageway closing position when the product is on standby for sale.

[Function] With the above configuration, the flapper can swing forward in the unrestrained state, and does not impede the movement of discharging the product from the conveyor during the sales operation.
When the flapper engages with the gate mechanism installed on the conveyor shelf side and is restrained in a hanging position, the flapper completely blocks the product path at the exit end of the conveyor shelf, forcing the product onto the conveyor shelf. Even if you try to push the items to the back or pack more items than the storage capacity, the items lined up in the front row on the shelf will hit the flapper and will not be able to move further forward, ensuring that the items will fall off the conveyor shelf. can be prevented. Furthermore, since the flapper is suspended and supported above the horizontal conveyor shelf, there is no risk of interference with the elevator mechanism even if the flapper swings forward as the product is carried out in an unrestrained state, and the shape of the product It is not affected by size.

Moreover, in the sales standby state, the tip of the flapper is restrained in a hanging position on the side of the conveyor shelf via a gate mechanism installed therein. Therefore, even if you force a replenishment product into the warehouse during product loading, the flapper will prevent it.
It is possible to reliably prevent products from accidentally falling from the conveyor shelf into the aisle at the back of the warehouse. In addition, during the sales operation, the flapper itself is released in conjunction with the release of the lock of the gate mechanism, so that the product delivery operation is not obstructed.

[Example] Figures 1 to 3 are configuration diagrams of an embodiment of the present invention showing the state of product loading work, and Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation at the time of sales, and the same parts corresponding to Figure 5 are shown. are given the same reference numerals.

That is, for each of the horizontal conveyor shelves 5 arranged in the upper and lower levels inside the cabinet 1, there is a swinging flapper 14 for preventing products from falling, which is suspended and supported from above so as to cross the product aisle, on the product delivery end side. It is a provision. As detailed in FIGS. 2 and 3, this flapper 14 is suspended from the lower surface of the conveyor shelves 5 arranged in the upper row via a hinge portion 14a at the upper end, and is supported by a tip portion 14b of the flapper. U-shaped bar 10 of the gate mechanism lO installed on the conveyor shelf 5
protrudes downward so as to engage with a from the front. Note that 14c is a return spring that is attached to the hinge portion and works to return the flapper to its hanging position.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. First, FIG. 1 shows the working state of product loading. In this state, the bar 10a of the gate mechanism 10 installed on the conveyor shelf 5 of each stage is locked and held in an upright position, and the flapper 14 blocks the product delivery path. It is waiting in a hanging position in front of the bar 10a. Here, when the replenishment product 9 is loaded on the conveyor shelf 5 and pushed toward the back, the flapper 14 is pushed by the product 9 lined up in the front row as shown in FIG. 10 and is locked. In this state, the flapper 14 is prevented from swinging any further via the gate machine fllO which is in a locked state, so even if the product 9 is pushed in forcibly, it cannot move any further, and as shown in FIG. As mentioned, product 9 is gate 110
It is possible to reliably prevent the vehicle from climbing over the bar 1110 and falling off the conveyor shelf 5. Further, this locked state is maintained even while waiting for sales after loading the product.

On the other hand, during the sales operation, one lock of the gate mechanism 10 is first released as explained in FIG. 6, and accordingly, the restraint of the flapper 14 by the gate mechanism IO is also released. Therefore, when the products 9 lined up on the shelf move toward the delivery end due to the subsequent moving operation of the conveyor shelf 5, the flapper 14 is pushed by the products 9 lined up in the front row and moves from the chain line position to the solid line line as shown in FIG. It swings upward to its position and opens the product delivery passage.

As a result, the product 9 passes through the flapper 14, is carried out from the conveyor shelf 5 while pushing down the bar 10a of the gate mechanism 10, and is delivered to the packet in the elevator mechanism 6 waiting in front of it. and,
When the product 9 completely passes through the flapper 14, the flapper 14 is again biased by the return spring and returns to the chain line position before the gate mechanism lO, and after a slight delay, the flapper 14 returns to the chain line position.
The bar 10a returns to the chain line position, and the bar 10a returns to the position shown in FIG.
Return to locked state.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The product fall prevention mechanism of the conveyor type product shelf according to the present invention has the following features:
Since it is configured as described above, the following effects are achieved.

(1) When loading products, the flapper closes the protruding end of the product aisle via a gate mechanism installed on the conveyor shelf and is restrained in a hanging position, and replenishes onto the conveyor shelf from the front side. Forcibly pushing products into shelves,
Even if an attempt is made to pack an extra number of products, the products lined up in the front row on the shelf will hit the flapper, so it is possible to reliably avoid the trouble of products climbing over the gate mechanism and falling forward from the shelf.

(2) Since the flapper is configured to be locked and released by effectively utilizing the gate mechanism installed on the conveyor shelf side, there is no need to provide a dedicated locking mechanism for the flapper, and it can be implemented with a simple mechanism. .

(3) The flapper for preventing products from falling is not affected by the shape or size of the product, so it can be applied to various products such as bottle products and one-paper pack products.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention showing a product loading operation state, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a side view showing the detailed structure of the product fall prevention mechanism in FIG.
Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product fall prevention mechanism during sales operation.
Fig. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with a conventional conveyor type product shelf device, Fig. 6 is a mechanical diagram of the conveyor ring in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a product loading time using the conveyor shelf in Fig. 5. FIG. In the figure, l: vending machine cabinet, 5: conveyor shelf, 6:
Elevator mechanism, 9: Product, 10: Gate mechanism, 11:
Solenoid two locking mechanism, 12: Product detection switch, 14
:Flapper to prevent products from falling. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 6 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A horizontal conveyor shelf that is installed in the interior of a vending machine in a front-to-back direction, and carries out products loaded side by side on the top surface at the time of sale and delivers them to an elevator mechanism located at the back of the interior. The product delivery end side of the conveyor shelf is equipped with a rotary gate mechanism that also serves as a product detection lever and is locked and released according to standby and sales, and the product delivery end side passage of the conveyor shelf is A conveyor-type conveyor type characterized by being provided with a swinging flapper for preventing products from falling, which is hung and supported from above so as to block the passage, and whose tip engages with the gate mechanism and is restrained in the passageway closing position when waiting for sales. Mechanism to prevent products from falling on product shelves.