JPH04296992A - Coin collecting device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To selectively guide a coin ejected from a coin identifying device to either of a coin fetching port and a safe and to close a front door when the coin is guided to the safe. CONSTITUTION:A freely slidable chute 18 is provided along the transverse direction of a vending machine main body 2 at the lower part side of the coin identifying device 16 at the inside surface side of a front door 4. The chute 18 is in a position 18 at the ordinary time and guides the coin ejected from the coin identifying device 16 to a coin fetching port 12. On the other hand, when the chute 18 is slid to a position 18a at the time of collecting the coin, thus, the coin ejected from the coin identifying device 16 is guided to the safe 24. In such a case, since the sliding direction of the chute 18 is in the transverse direction of the vending machine main body 2, the front door 4 is not interrupted from closing.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to a coin collecting device for collecting coins stored in a coin identifying device therein.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Coins inserted through the coin slot of a vending machine are stored in a coin identification device located inside the front door of the vending machine body. Generally, when collecting the stored coins, the front door is first opened, and then the coin identifying device is operated to eject the coins inside to the coin outlet. Next, the coins are manually taken out from the coin outlet and collected in a suitable safe or the like.

However, since this type of collection work needs to be carried out frequently to rotate funds and prevent theft, collection workers have to frequently visit a large number of vending machines to collect coins. Must be. Therefore, manual coin collection is time consuming and inefficient. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of this type of collection work, a vending machine that can easily collect coins has been proposed. For example, in the device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 55-67481, the outlet side of the coin ejection chute of the coin identification device is provided to be slidable in the front and rear directions of the vending machine body. This chute is located at a position that communicates the coin identification device with the coin return port when the vending machine is in operation. When collecting coins, the exit side of the chute is slid toward the front of the vending machine body, and the safe is placed on the exit side of the chute. In this state, the coins ejected from the coin identification device are collected directly into the safe via the chute.

[0004] Furthermore, in the device disclosed in Utility Model Publication No. 53-33600, the chute is provided on the inner door of the vending machine body, and by opening the inner door, the entire chute can be removed from the coin identification device. ing. With this device, by removing the chute from the coin identification device when collecting coins, the coins ejected from the coin identification device can be dropped directly into the safe and collected.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in these vending machines, when collecting coins, it is necessary to slide the chute toward the front of the vending machine or open the inner door, so the coin collecting operation is difficult. The front door cannot be closed in the middle of the process. This causes the following inconveniences.

[0006] When the front door is open, it is necessary to monitor the operation to prevent theft of coins and products, and the operator cannot leave the vending machine while collecting coins. Therefore, even in places where a large number of vending machines are nearby, it is not possible to perform coin collection work for a plurality of vending machines at the same time, resulting in poor work efficiency. Furthermore, there is a risk that the open front door may obstruct or cause a collision with pedestrians walking in front of the vending machine.

[0007]Furthermore, when coins are collected, an operation test of the vending machine is sometimes carried out, but if the front door cannot be closed, it is difficult to check whether the products are reliably dispensed to the product outlet. I can't confirm. Therefore, it is not possible to perform an operation test in parallel with the recovery work, and it takes time to perform the operation test.

In addition to the inconvenience caused by not being able to close the front door, it is necessary to place the safe when collecting coins, and the chute is normally fixed with a fixing screw, so this It is also necessary to attach and detach the screw, resulting in poor workability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a coin collecting device for a vending machine that can close the front door of the vending machine body during coin collecting operations. It's about doing. Another object of the present invention is to enable the coin collecting device of the vending machine to easily perform coin collecting work in a short time.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, a coin collecting device for a vending machine according to the present invention includes a door that can be opened and closed at the front of the vending machine main body, and , a coin collection device for a vending machine, which has a coin takeout port communicating from the inner side of the door and is equipped with a coin identification device on the inner side of the door; A safe arranged in parallel with the outlet in the width direction of the vending machine body and removable from the vending machine body; and a safe slidably disposed on the lower side of the coin identification device along the width direction of the vending machine body. and a chute that selectively guides coins discharged from the coin identification device to either the coin outlet or the safe by sliding in the width direction of the vending machine main body. It is characterized by

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the chute is fixed in a sliding position that guides coins discharged from the coin identification device to the coin ejection port, and the chute is provided near the sliding position. An engaging means is provided for detachably engaging the chute.

0012

[Operation] According to the above structure, under normal conditions, the chute guides coins ejected from the coin identification device to the coin outlet. On the other hand, during coin collection work, by sliding the chute in the width direction of the vending machine main body, the chute guides the coins discharged from the coin identification device to the safe. in this case,
Since the sliding direction of the chute is not in the front-rear direction of the vending machine but in the width direction of the vending machine main body, the sliding position of the chute does not interfere with opening and closing of the door of the vending machine main body. Therefore, the door can be closed during coin collection work.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vending machine equipped with a coin collecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a front door 4 that can be opened and closed forward is provided on the front of the vending machine main body 2. At the top of the front door 4, a sample display window 6 is provided in which samples (not shown) of sales products such as cigarettes are displayed. At the bottom of this sample display window 6,
A product selection button 8 and a coin slot 10 are provided. A coin outlet 12 and a product outlet 14 are opened in the lower part of the front door 4 and communicate from the inner surface to the front surface of the front door 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a coin identification device 16 is provided on the inner surface of the front door 4, and a coin identification device 16 is provided on the lower coin ejection side of the device 16 along the width direction of the vending machine body 2. A freely movable sliding chute 18 is arranged. Additionally, two fixed chutes 20 are fixed below this sliding chute 18.
a and 20b are the coin outlet 12 and the safe guide 2, respectively.
2 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Safe guide 22
A safe 24 is disposed inside the vending machine main body 1 so as to be freely removable toward the front. The safe 24 is disposed within the safe guide 22 even in normal times, and the safe 24 in this state communicates with a fixed chute 20b and a fixed chute 20c, which will be described later, via the safe guide 22.

A fixed chute 20c communicating with a safe guide 22 is fixed below the coin identifying device 16. This fixed chute 20c is for guiding coins that overflow from the coin storage section (not shown) of the coin identification device 16 to the safe 24 in the safe guide 22.

The sliding chute 18 normally has a reference numeral 18.
It is in the sliding position shown by (hereinafter referred to as the normal position), and communicates with the fixed chute 20a on the coin outlet 12 side. In this state, the coins discharged from the coin identification device 16 to the sliding chute 18 are transferred to the fixed chute 20 on the side of the coin outlet 12.
It is guided to the coin outlet 12 via a. On the other hand, when collecting coins, the sliding chute 18 is placed in a sliding position (hereinafter referred to as the coin collecting position) indicated by the reference numeral 18a. In this state, coins discharged from the coin identification device 16 to the sliding chute 18 are guided to the safe 24 via the fixed chute 20b on the safe 24 side.

The sliding and fixing of the sliding chute 18 will be explained in more detail with particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. On the rear side of the sliding chute 18 below the coin identification device 16 is a base 26 extending in the width direction of the vending machine main body 1.
is located. A stepped screw 26a is provided protruding from the front surface of the base 26. Further, on the rear surface of the sliding chute 18 facing the front surface of the base 26, a vending machine main body 2 is provided.
A sliding hole 18b extending in the width direction is provided. By inserting the stepped screw 26a of the base 26 into the sliding hole 18b, the sliding chute 18 is supported by the base 26 so as to be slidable along the base 26. Therefore, the sliding chute 18 can freely slide along the width direction of the vending machine main body 2 as described above.

Furthermore, in order to fix the sliding chute 18 in the normal position, it is preferable to provide a removable engagement means as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, a pin 28 is provided protruding from the side surface of the sliding chute 18 on the normal position side. This pin 28 can engage with a hook 30 provided on the normal position side of the base 24. The hook 30 is attached to a hook bracket 32 fixed to the normal position side of the base 26.
It is pivotally attached to the body by a pin 34 and is freely rotatable in the vertical direction. In normal times, the sliding chute 18 is fixed at the normal position by engaging the pin 28 of the sliding chute 18 with the hook 30. That is, the coin identification device 16 and the coin outlet 12 are communicated with each other via the sliding chute 18 and the fixed chute 20a on the coin outlet side. Next, the operation of the vending machine as described above will be explained.

[0020] In normal times, when the user inserts coins into the coin slot 10
When the user inserts the price for the product and selects the product using the selection button 8, the selected product is discharged to the product outlet 14 by a known method. At this time, if there is change, the change is dispensed from the coin identification device 16, guided by the sliding chute 18 to the fixed chute 20a on the coin outlet side, and dispensed to the coin outlet 12. In addition, coins that overflow from the coin storage section in the coin identification device 16 during normal times are guided directly to the safe 24 by the overflow fixed chute 20c.

On the other hand, when collecting the coins in the coin identification device 16, the front door 4 is first opened. Next, as shown in FIG.
b and position it at the coin collection position. In this case, if the sliding chute 18 has the engaging means shown in FIG. 5, by rotating the hook 30 as shown by the reference numeral 30a in FIG. 5 before the sliding chute 18 slides, The sliding chute 18 is disengaged from the pin 28. As a result, the sliding chute 18 is released and becomes slidable.

When a coin is ejected from the coin identification device 16 with the sliding chute 18 located at the coin collection position,
The ejected coins are guided from the sliding chute 18 to the safe 24 via the safe-side fixed chute 20b. In this case, the sliding chute 18 moves only in the width direction within the vending machine main body 2 and does not move in the front direction of the vending machine main body 2. Therefore, since the sliding chute 18 at the coin collection position does not obstruct the front door 4, the front door 4 can be closed while coins are being collected from the coin identification device 16 to the safe 24. When the collection of coins into the safe 24 is completed, the front door 4 is opened again and the safe 24 is taken out.

[0023]

As explained above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, in order to selectively guide coins ejected from the coin identification device to the remittance port and the safe, the chute is installed in the vending machine main body. It was made to slide in the width direction. Therefore, the chute does not protrude forward of the vending machine body as in the conventional case, and the front door can be closed during the coin collection operation. Therefore, the operation test of the vending machine can be carried out at the same time while the coins are being collected, and there is no inconvenience that the front door obstructs pedestrians.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view, cut away, of essential parts of a vending machine equipped with a coin collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view taken along the line II-II in FIG.
1 is a diagram schematically showing main parts of a vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the sliding chute in FIG. 1, and is a perspective view showing the state in which the sliding chute is in communication with the fixed chute on the coin outlet side, as seen from the back side of the front door of the vending machine. It is a diagram.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the sliding chute in FIG. 1, and is a perspective view showing a state in which the sliding chute is in communication with the safe side fixation and the chute, as seen from the back side of the front door of the vending machine. It is.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the main parts of a vending machine equipped with a coin collecting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the back side of the front door of the vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

2...Vending machine body, 4...Front door, 12...Coin outlet, 1
6... Coin identification device, 18... Sliding chute, 24... Safe,
28... Pin (engaging means), 30... Hook (engaging means),
32... Hook bracket (engaging means), 34... Pin (engaging means).

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: The vending machine main body is provided with a door that can be opened and closed at the front, and the front of the door has a coin ejection port that communicates from the inner surface of the door, and a coin identification device is provided on the inner surface of the door. A coin collecting device for a vending machine comprising: a coin collecting device for a vending machine, which is arranged on the inner surface side of the door, parallel to the coin outlet in the width direction of the vending machine main body, and arranged so as to be freely removable from the vending machine main body. a safe provided on the lower side of the coin identification device so as to be slidable along the width direction of the vending machine main body, and coins ejected from the coin identification device by sliding the vending machine main body in the width direction; A coin collecting device for a vending machine, comprising: a chute that selectively guides coins to either the coin outlet or the safe. 2. The chute is removably engaged in the vicinity of the sliding position so as to fix the chute at the sliding position where coins discharged from the coin identification device are guided to the coin outlet. The coin collecting device for a vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging means.