JPH02228794A - Commodity housing device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the same state as sold-out and to recognize that a holding member is not positioned in a normal holding position by arranging a sold-out detector on a surface facing to the commodity column of the holding member. CONSTITUTION:When a commodity 3 is supplied, a holding member 10 is saved from a position, which is vertically provided with facing to an opening 4 of a commodity column 1, to the front direction of the commodity column 1 and turned to a position to open the opening 4. Then, the commodity is supplied from the opening 4 to the commodity column 1. When the position of the holding member 10 is let returned to the position which is vertically provided with facing to the opening 4 of the commodity column 1, the commodity 3 can not be detected by a sold-out detector 19 to detect the commodity 3 sold-out since the holding member 10 is not vertically provided with facing to the opening 4 of the commodity column 1. Accordingly, although the commodity 3 is housed, the sold-out state is detected and based on the detection, an informing device detects the sold-out state. Then, it can be regarded that the holding member 10 is not vertically provided with facing to the opening 4 of the commodity column 1. Thus, trouble that sale is executed without positioning the holding member 10 in the normal holding position can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a product storage device for a vending machine that stores products in a stacked state and has a product column with an opening in the front.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, a product storage device for a vending machine that stores products in a stacked state in a product column and dispenses the products one after another has been used.
A configuration as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-275995 is common. To explain the structure of the product storage device disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a holding rod whose upper and lower ends are rotatably supported is vertically disposed in the opening of a product column, and the holding rod is held at the time of selling the product. One side of the stacked products is held at the product holding position, and when replenishing the product, the holding rod is rotated around the upper end and the lower end, moved to the retracted position, and then the product is replenished. It is the composition.

On the other hand, in recent years there has been a strong trend towards diversification of products sold in vending machines, and there has been a greater demand for an increase in the number of product columns corresponding to the number of brands stored, rather than the number of products stored in a single product column. On the other hand, since the height of a vending machine is limited, increasing the number of product columns requires increasing the number of product columns, and as a result, the vertical dimension of the product columns must be shortened. There is a tendency to

However, in the product storage device disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, even if the size of the holding rod becomes longer due to the increase in the size of the product column in the vertical direction, replenishment of products is not hindered. If the dimension in this direction becomes shorter, the member supporting the lower end of the holding rod becomes an obstacle to the product replenishment operation to the product column, resulting in a problem that it becomes difficult to replenish the product column.

In order to prevent the product from flying out of a vending machine, which was devised in Utility Application No. 63-13433 by the present applicant and was devised to solve this problem, the holding member is located at the holding position when selling the product, and the product column is It is installed vertically in front of the board to hold one side of the stacked products. Further, when replenishing the product, the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the holding member are guided to the first guide groove and the second guide groove, respectively, and first the first protrusion is guided to the first guide groove. After the holding member moves upward until it comes into contact with the upper end of the groove, if the front surface of the holding member rotates about the first protrusion in a direction approaching the top surface of the product column, the product The holding member is retracted from the opening on the front side of the column to open the opening, and while the holding member is held by the holding means, products are replenished from the front side of the product column. Product replenishment can be done smoothly even if the dimensions are short.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The device for preventing products from falling out of vending machines described in the above-mentioned Utility Model Application No. 13433/1980 has a holding position for holding products and a product column compared to conventional holding bars. It is easy to distinguish between the retracted position and the retracted position where the opening of the vending machine is opened, and therefore, sales are carried out with the holding member in the retracted position, and vibrations of the vending machine body may disturb the stacked state of the products or cause the products to It is easy to prevent problems such as products clogging in the product delivery section due to falling from the column and making it impossible to sell, but especially when there are a large number of product columns, it is difficult to prevent the holding member from being in the correct holding position. There is a problem in that there is a risk that the above-mentioned trouble may occur if the user overlooks that the location is not correct.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-275995 discloses that when a holding bar to prevent the product from flying out is not in the holding position, a sold-out lamp is lit, and the manager of the vending machine is asked to confirm that the holding bar is not in the correct position. A technology has been disclosed to notify that the device is not in the holding position, but it requires a shielding plate that interlocks with the holding rod in addition to the sell-off switch, which poses the problem of increasing the number of parts and complicating the structure. exist.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a simple structure in which the sold-out detection device is arranged on the surface of the holding member facing the product column. When the vending machine's product moves, it detects the same condition as being sold out, and based on this, the notification device notifies the seller that the vending machine is sold out, allowing the vending machine manager to recognize that the holding member is not in the correct holding position. A storage device is provided.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a vending machine that stores products in a stacked state and has a product column with an opening in the front. a holding member whose end is supported by a support part so as to be rotatable between a vertically disposed position facing the opening of the product column and a position where the opening is opened by retreating to the front of the product column; The above problem is solved by including a sold-out detection device disposed on the side of the holding member facing the product column, and a notification device that notifies the sold-out detected by the sold-out detection device.

*) Function According to the product storage device for a vending machine of the present invention, when replenishing products, the holding member is retracted from a vertical position facing the opening of the product column to the front of the product column to open the opening. When the replenishment of products is completed, the holding member is placed vertically facing the opening of the product column. However, if you forget to return the holding member to the vertical position facing the opening of the product column, the sold-out detection device that detects when the holding member is sold out will detect that the holding member is Since the product is not vertically installed facing the opening of the product column, the product cannot be detected, and therefore, even though the product is stored, it detects that the product is sold out.Based on this, the notification device notifies that the product is sold out, and the automatic The manager of the vending machine can recognize that the holding member is not vertically disposed facing the opening of the product column.

(f) To explain the present invention in detail according to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 are a vertical cross-sectional view and a perspective view of a main part of a product storage device of a vending machine as an example, respectively, and FIG. 3 is the same. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine using a product storage device.

To explain the symbols and structures of the embodiments of the present invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, (1) stores products (3) stacked on a base (2)... (3) It is a product column with an opening (4) in the front, divided into a U-shape by a rear wall (5) and a plurality of column partition plates (6), and a plurality of columns are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction. The product column (1) is provided in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and since the height dimension of the main body of the vending machine is limited, the vertical dimension of the product column (1) is short. shall be. (7) is a product delivery plate that slides in a groove (8) provided in the base (2) by the driving force of a pen motor (not shown), and is provided in the front of the product column (1). (10) is vertically installed in the opening (4) and holds the - side of the merchandise tray 3) at the holding position and pushes out the merchandise (3) from the opening (9). ) This is a holding plate that serves as a holding member to prevent the product (3) from flying out. 11) are a pair of first protrusions projecting from both sides of the upper part of the holding plate (10).

(12) are a pair of second protrusions that are provided below the pair of first protrusions (11) and protrude from both sides of the retaining plate (10). (13) is a pair of first guide grooves into which the -pair of first protrusions <11) are inserted, respectively, and the holding plate (10
) is movably guided upward from the holding position. (1
4) are a pair of second guide grooves into which the pair of second protrusions (12) are respectively inserted, guide the holding plate (10) so as to be movable upward from the holding position, and guide the holding plate (10) upwardly from the holding position. When the first protrusion (11) is located at the upper end of the first guide groove (13), the opening (
4) Guide the rotation of the holding plate (10) in the direction of opening. (15) is a guide member as a support part,
The pair of first guide grooves (13) and the pair of second guide grooves (14) are provided on both side surfaces, and the product column (
1) is fixed to the upper wall (16). (17a) (1
Reference numerals 7b) denote a first engaging portion and a second engaging portion as fixing means extending from the upper ends of the first guide groove 13) and the second guide groove (14), respectively.

(18) is a groove protruding from the holding plate (10), and the actuator (20) of the sold-out switch (19) serving as a sold-out detection device faces the product column (1). (20).

The sell-out switch (19) is fixed to a support plate (21) provided on the side of the holding plate (10) that does not face the product column (1).

(22) is the body of the vending machine, and the product column (1 ) are installed in parallel.

(25)...(25) is a product selection switch provided corresponding to the product type in the product column (1),
If a selection operation is performed after inserting an amount equal to or more than the price set for each product type into the coin slot 26), a pen motor (not shown) is driven, and the product delivery plate (7) is loaded with the product (3). ) is extruded from the product delivery port (9) and sent out falling to the product removal port (27).

(28)...(28) is the product selection switch (25)
)...This is a sold-out lamp as a notification device provided corresponding to (25), and notifies that the product is sold out.

The above is an explanation of the symbols and structure of the product storage device as an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 1 to 3. First, when selling a product, as shown in FIG. and a second protrusion (12) are located at the lower ends of the first guide groove (13) and the second guide groove (14), respectively, and are vertically disposed in the opening (4) of the product column (1). The opening (4) of the product column (1) is opened to prevent the product (3) from flying out, and in this state the product unloading plate (7)
is moved to the left in FIG. 1, and the product (3) is pushed out from the product delivery port (9). If the sales operation is repeated, the number of products (3) in the product column (1) will decrease, and when the number of products (3) decreases to a predetermined number, the sell-out switch (19) will be activated.
Since the actuator (20) is no longer in pressure contact with the front surface of the product (3), the sell-out switch (19) is activated. Based on this, the sell-out switch (19) is activated by the sell-out lamp (28).
) lights up to notify vending machine users that the vending machine is sold out.

When replenishing products, the manager closes the front door (24) and then moves the holding plate (10) upward along the first guide groove (13) and the second guide groove <14>. If so, the first protrusion (11) is connected to the first guide groove (13).
). At this time, the administrator
0) from the opening (4), that is, rotate clockwise in FIG. 1 about the first protrusion (11). When the holding plate (10) is in a horizontal state, the administrator moves the holding plate (10) horizontally to the left in FIG. The protrusions (12) are each a first engaging portion (17a).
and the second engaging portion (17b), and the retaining plate (
10) is held in the retracted position. And the holding plate (1
0) is maintained in a horizontal state, the opening (4) is completely opened, and in this state, the manager replenishes products. At this time, the actuator (20) of the sell-off switch (19) is separated from the front of the product (3), so the sell-off switch (19) is separated from the front of the product (3).
) lights up the sold-out lamp (28) as described above.

When the replenishment of products is completed, if the manager horizontally moves the holding plate (10) to the right in FIG. 1, the first protrusion (11) and the second protrusion (12) are the first engaging portion (17a) and the second engaging portion (17a), respectively.
17b), rotates under its own weight, and then moves downward, and the holding plate (10) returns to the holding position.

As a result, the actuator (20) comes into pressure contact with the front surface of the product (3), so the sell-out switch (19) switches the sell-out lamp (
28), and then the administrator closes the front door (24>).

However, if you forget to return the holding plate (10) to the holding position, the actuator (20) will not come into pressure contact with the front surface of the product (3) even if the product column (1) is replenished with the product (3). Therefore, the sell-out switch (19) leaves the sell-out lamp (28) lit, and the vending machine manager can, by lighting the sell-out lamp (28),
It is recognized that the holding plate (10) has not been returned to the holding position.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent troubles caused by sales being carried out without the holding plate (10) being returned to the holding position.

In addition, if a door switch is installed on the front door (24) of the vending machine, if the sold-out switch (28) detects that the front door is closed when the sold-out switch (28) detects that the front door (24) is closed, it can be used as an alarm device. An alarm buzzer may be activated to notify the vending machine manager that the holding plate is not in the holding position.

The above is an explanation of the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the retaining plate (10) is retracted forward with the upper end rotatably supported, but the retaining plate (10)
It is also possible to rotatably support the lower end of the unit and retract it forward in the same way.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the product storage device for a vending machine of the present invention, the holding member that prevents products from flying out from the product column can be completely retracted from the opening of the product column. In addition to smoothly replenishing the product column, it is also possible to detect when a holding member is not in the correct holding position using a sold-out detection device that detects when a product is sold out. By not using a device and having a simple structure, it is possible to prevent troubles that may occur due to sales being carried out without the holding member being located at the proper holding position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a vertical sectional view and a perspective view of a main part of a product storage device of a vending machine as an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vending machine using the same product storage device It is. (1)...Product column, (3)...Product, (4
)...opening, (10)...holding plate, (19)...
...Sold out switch, (20)...Actuator, (28)...Sold out switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a vending machine having a product column that stores products in a stacked state and has an opening in the front, there is a vertical position facing the opening of the product column, and a position that is retracted to the front of the product column and the opening. a holding member whose end is supported by a support part so as to be rotatable between a position where the product is opened; a sold-out detection device disposed at a lower part of the holding member on the side facing the product column; 1. A product storage device for a vending machine, comprising: a notification device for notifying a sold-out condition detected by a sold-out detection device.