JPH04293196A - Merchandise takeout port of vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the invading of a dust, etc., from the external part and to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction that a cup is removed on the way of pouring water. CONSTITUTION:The title machine has a cup sending means to send a cup 4 to a water pouring device one by one, a drink pouring means to pour a prescribed quantity into the cup 4, a cup transporting means to transport the cup from the water pouring position to a merchandise output port 2 for the cup after pouring, a shutter 6 provided at the part between the water pouring position and the merchandise output port 2 at the position on the way of the cup transporting path, opened after the pouring of the water to an upper part cup is completed and closed after the cup passes and an opening closing cover means to open and close the merchandise takeout port 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells drinks and the like in cups, and more particularly to a cup filled with a drink, that is, a product outlet.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines have been known that dispense predetermined amounts of juice, soft drinks, etc. into cups such as paper cups. In these vending machines, when a predetermined amount of money, such as a coin, is inserted into a coin slot, paper cups are delivered one by one to an injection position and a predetermined amount of beverage is poured into the machine. Therefore, the purchaser confirms that the injection is complete and then removes the cup. Further, the water injection position is provided in a concave shape on the front side of the vending machine main body, and some are left open, while others have a manual opening/closing lid. By the way, in the case where the outlet is left open, when the cup is installed outdoors, the cup is exposed to the outside, so there is a risk that foreign matter such as dust may get mixed in. In addition, even if it is possible to prevent foreign substances from entering from the outside with a manual lid, when taking out a cup that has been filled with water, it is necessary to open the lid with one hand while supporting the lid with the other hand. It was necessary to take out the cup with one hand, and the operation was inconvenient because both hands had to be used to take out the cup. Furthermore, if the opening/closing lid was not opened properly, there was a risk that the cup would get stuck on the opening/closing lid when taken out and the drinking water contained therein would be spilled.

0003

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional situation, and when pouring drinking water etc. into a cup, the injection position is provided inside the vending machine main body, This is done in an environment that is tightly isolated from the outside, and furthermore, when the cup is taken out, it is automatically transported from the water injection device to the take-out port, and the opening/closing lid attached to the take-out port is automatically opened. When the water-filled cup, which is a product, can be easily taken out, and the opening/closing lid is open, a shutter provided in the middle of the cup conveyance path connecting the water-filling position and the take-out port is closed, and the water-filling position is removed. It is intended to be used so that it is not directly exposed to the outside.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention was developed to solve the above problems, and is a vending machine that is provided with a water injection device inside the main body of the vending machine and a product outlet on the front side of the main body. a cup dispensing means for discharging the cups one by one to the water pouring device; a beverage pouring means for pouring a predetermined amount of drinking water into the cup; a cup conveyance means for conveying the cup along the conveyance path; and a cup conveyance means provided at an intermediate position of the cup conveyance path between the water injection position and the product takeout port and opened after the water injection into the cup is completed. The structure includes a shutter means that is closed after the product has passed through the product, and an opening/closing lid means that opens and closes the product outlet.

[0005]

[Operation] Since the present invention adopts the above configuration, the water injection position is always blocked from the outlet by the shutter and/or the opening/closing lid, so that dust and other foreign substances can escape from the outside. Intrusion can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, the present invention is intended to prevent the purchaser from erroneously operating the cup, such as removing the cup while pouring water into the cup.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic external perspective view of the lid in a closed state, and FIG. 3 is a schematic external perspective view of the lid in an open state. Reference numeral 1 in these figures is the outer casing of the vending machine main body 1, and a product outlet 2 is provided near the center of the front side. Reference numeral 3 designates a moving tray serving as a cup conveying means, and a cup receiving surface 3a on which a cup such as a paper cup 4 is supported is provided on the upper part. Further, the tray 3 is connected to a transfer mechanism 5 such as a belt or a conveyor.
The cup 4 can be transported from the cup position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, that is, from the water injection device 4A to the cup position 4B shown by the chain line.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a shutter, which is formed into a flat plate shape in this example, and is movable up and down in the vertical direction in FIG. This shutter 6 can be opened and closed in the middle of the cup conveyance path formed by the conveyance mechanism, between the water injection device 4A and the product takeout port 2. The shutter 6 is opened in conjunction with the completion of pouring drinking water, etc. into the cup 4 at the water pouring position, but the activation signal for the shutter 6 is generated by pouring water from a water pouring means (not shown). As long as the detection is performed by detecting the amount of water, any mechanical or electrical configuration can be used.

Reference numeral 7 denotes an opening/closing lid, which in this example is divided into two in the vertical direction and can be opened and closed. This opening/closing lid 7 opens and closes the outlet 2, and in this example, an upper lid 71 and a lower lid 72 are bent into an arc shape, and each lid 71,
Reference numerals 72 are attached to tips 81a and 82b of levers 81 and 82. Support shafts 91 and 92 are pivotally supported at base ends 81b and 82b of each of the levers 81 and 82 so as to form a center of rotation. In addition, each of the above-mentioned support shafts 91 and 92
Attached are transmission gears 10A and 10B that mesh integrally with the levers 81 and 82, respectively. and,
An operating lever 11 is integrally provided with one of the levers 81, and the tip 11A of the operating lever 11 is connected to an operating arm 12A of the drive mechanism 12.
is abuttingly engaged with. 13 is a first microswitch that emits an opening detection signal for the opening/closing lid;
The shutter 6 may be closed by this signal. A second microswitch 14 detects the closed state of the opening/closing lid, and can operate the shutter 6 to open based on this detection signal.

In the above structure, normally the opening/closing lid 7 is closed and the outlet 2 is closed, as shown in FIG. At this time, the moving tray 3 is located at the water injection device 4A. When a start signal such as a coin insertion signal is input from this state, water is poured into the cup 4 at the water injection position from an upper water injection port (not shown). Also, in the above state, the shutter 6
is in an open state. Eventually, when a predetermined amount of water is poured into the cup 4, the drive mechanism 12 is activated and the actuation arm 1 is activated.
When the arm 2A is rotated clockwise around the support shaft 12B, the actuation lever 11 is pushed down by the movement of the arm 12A. Then, the transmission gears 10A and 10B are rotated relative to each other, and the upper lid 71 and lower lid 72 of the opening/closing lid 7 are rotated in a direction away from each other and opened. When the opening/closing lid 7 is opened in this way, the conveying mechanism is activated by this detection signal, and the cup 4 filled with water is sent out from the water filling position toward the take-out position.

In this state, the outlet is sufficiently wide as shown in FIG. 2, so that the purchaser can easily take out the cup 4. Furthermore, when the cup 4 is taken out, the taking out of the cup 4 is detected by the detection means, such as optical sensors, which are disposed opposite to each other on both sides of the take-out opening, and the operation opposite to the above-mentioned operation is started to set the next vending position. You can take it.

[0011]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, the cup can be easily taken out with one hand in a vending machine that sells drinking water, etc. in paper cups, and the water pouring device that pours water, etc. into the cup is provided. Since it is covered inside the main body through a mechanism that alternately opens and closes the shutter lid in two stages, it is possible to sufficiently prevent foreign matter from entering from the outside.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the main part of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic external perspective view of the opening/closing lid in a closed state.

FIG. 3 is a schematic external perspective view of the opening/closing lid in an open state.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Vending machine body 2...Product outlet 4A…Water injection position 4...Cup 6...Shutter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine comprising a water pouring device inside the vending machine body and a product takeout port on the front surface of the vending machine body, comprising: a cup delivery means for feeding cups one by one to the water pouring device; a beverage injection means for injecting a predetermined amount of drinking water into the cup; a cup conveyance means for conveying the cup after the beverage is poured from the water pouring position to the product takeout port along the cup conveyance path; and a midway point in the cup conveyance path. a shutter means provided between the water injection position and the product takeout port, the shutter means being opened after filling the cup with water and closing after the cup has passed; and an opening/closing lid means for opening and closing the product takeout port. A product outlet for a vending machine.