JPH0460792A - Goods housing device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute the re-filling of goods in a short time in a state where all the goods are going to be sold out by carrying the goods in a stocker to an upper part with a carrier device, and automatically housing the goods to a goods path via a switching mechanism and an opening/closing mechanism. CONSTITUTION:The stocker 4 is provided at the lower part of the housing 2 of an automatic vending machine 1 so as to be drawn out forward. The carrier device 16 is provided so as to be moved upward/downward at the rear part of the stocker 4. Serpentine type goods paths 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D on which the goods A on a cylinder are laminated and housed in line so as to be rolled movably are formed at a goods housing rack 5 provided at the upper part of the housing 2. The opening/closing mechanisms 60B, 60C are provided at the upper terminals of the goods paths 6B, 6C out of them. Furthermore, the switching mechanism 61 which allocates inside/outside goods to paths 6A, 6B side or to 6C, 6D side is provided on the opening/closing mechanism.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (b) Industrial application field The present invention relates to a product storage device for a vending machine.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, a product storage shelf for storing rollable products was provided in the storage compartment of the main body of the vending machine, and the products in the product storage rack were placed on the front of the main body based on sales instructions. In a vending machine that is designed to deliver products to the exit, a serpentine-type product storage shelf is used as a product storage shelf, with multiple product aisles that bend and extend vertically to stack and store rollable products in a line. is generally used, and the stored products are loaded through an input port that opens at the top of the product aisle, and the stored products are sequentially sent out by a delivery device installed at the delivery port at the bottom of the product aisle, and a product chute is installed at the bottom of the front of the main unit. It is configured to guide and send out the product to the product takeout port, for example,
This is shown in Publication No. 64.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention The product storage device for a vending machine in the prior art is as follows:
In order to increase the number of products stored, the product storage shelves are extended to the lower position as much as possible.

Therefore, in order to send the products sent out from the lower end of this product storage shelf to the product takeout port, the product takeout port must be located below the product storage shelf, and the products provided at the front of the main unit must be placed below the product storage shelf. Emergency exit guard: Low position. For this reason, each time a customer takes out a product from the product ejection port N, the customer must bend at the waist and assume a cramped posture, and also have to check whether the product is being delivered from the product ejection port N or not. There is one question missing.

In addition, in the case of this type of product storage shelf, products are refilled into each product aisle through the slot opened at the top, so
If the position of the product input port is high, it is impossible to directly look into the product input port while loading the product. For this reason, there are problems such as adding time and effort to the product loading process, and erroneously loading the wrong product into a certain product aisle or erroneously loading the product in a state where it cannot be rolled.

Furthermore, since the number of products stored in each product aisle is almost the same, popular products sell out quickly, while unpopular products remain unsold. To improve this, it would be possible to increase the number of popular products stored and reduce the number of unpopular products stored, but with conventional equipment, the number of stored products does not change as a whole, and the number of stored products is adjusted according to the product type. Therefore, it was impossible to freely adjust the number of products stored.

In view of the above points, the present invention allows the product outlet to be provided relatively high on the front of the main body, and allows the administrator to accurately and easily replenish products.
To provide a product storage device for a vending machine that can freely adjust the number of stored products according to type.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a product storage shelf having a plurality of product passages for storing various products by type in the storage of the main body, and sells the products in the product storage fence. In a vending machine that sends out products to a takeout port provided on the front of the main body based on The product storage shelf includes an internal product receiving port for receiving internal products from the stocker, a shutter mechanism for accepting or blocking external products, and a shutter mechanism for receiving or blocking external products from the internal product receiving port and the shutter mechanism. A switching mechanism that switches the rolling path of products rolled through the ramps, and a ramp that stores the products from this switching mechanism in its own product aisle or rolls them to another product aisle. a first sensor for determining the type of external product, and a second sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a product in each of the product aisles; a third sensor for determining the amount of the product, a conveyance device for taking out the product from the stocker and returning it to the stocker or storing it in the product storage shelf, and the second sensor 8 depending on the force. While determining whether there is a shortage of products in the product aisle, the type of product to be taken out from the stocker is determined according to the output of the third sensor, and if the product falls under the shortage product type, the product is transferred to the corresponding product aisle. The opening/closing mechanism is driven and controlled so as to store the product, and if the product does not fall under the shortage product type, the transport device is controlled to open so that the product is returned to the stocker, and in accordance with the first sensor output. A control section is provided that determines the type of external product and drives and controls the shutter mechanism, switching mechanism, and opening/closing mechanism according to the second sensor output.

(E) Effect With the above configuration, the products stored in the stocker at the bottom of the main body are classified by type, transported by the transport device, and stored in the product passageway at the top. This allows the product outlet to be provided relatively high on the front surface of the main body. Further, when a product is taken out from the stocker, if the corresponding product aisle is full, the product is returned to the stocker. Therefore, the stocker can store various products at once by freely adjusting the ratio of the number of products stored according to the type. Additionally, replenishing stockers with products can be done more easily than in the past. Furthermore, the products transported to the internal product receiving opening of the product storage shelf are automatically stored in a predetermined product aisle via a switching mechanism and an opening/closing mechanism.

In addition, the product type of external products is automatically determined, and if the corresponding product aisle is empty, they are automatically stored. On the other hand, if the corresponding product aisle is full, acceptance will be refused. Thereby, when replenishing products when all the product aisles are nearly empty, it is possible to quickly fill them up manually.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a conceptual side cross-sectional view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. On the front of the vending machine main body 1, there is a front door 3 that opens and closes a storage compartment 2. Possibly supported.

A stocker 4 is provided at the lower part of the storage 2 of the vending machine main body 1 so as to be able to be pulled out forward.

Note that the stocker 4 stores products to be stored and sold, with the ratio of the number of products stored depending on the type being freely adjusted. In this example, there are four types of products A, +A2 +A31.
Although this will be explained as a vending machine that sells A4 paper, product passages 6A and 6B are provided in the upper product storage shelf 5.

By adding 6C and 6D in more rows in the front-rear direction and in more rows in the left-right direction of the main body l, it is possible to store and sell even more types of products.

The stocker 4 is formed into a box shape with an open top, and stores cylindrical rollable products A such as canned juice and canned beer.
It is designed so that it can be stacked and stored in large numbers in a horizontal position. The bottom surface on which the product A is placed has a shelf 7 that slopes low toward the rear, and the shelf 7 has a rear end that extends further rearward than the rear plate 8 and is curved upward. A take-out part 9 is provided to which a cylindrical product A can be locked. Also,
An opening 10 through which one product A can pass is provided between the lower end of the rear plate 8 and the shelf 7, and the product A stored in the stocker 4 rolls on the shelf 7 and passes through the opening 10. Part 10 to Toro part 9
It is now possible to move to.

As shown in the rear view of the stocker 4 in FIG. 2 and the bottom view in FIG. A recess 11 is formed, and a clamping piece 20 of a conveyance device 16, which will be described later, can enter into the recess 11.

On the other hand, rail members 12 and 12 are provided on both sides of the stocker 4 and extend in the front-rear direction, respectively, and rail support members 13 and 12 are provided on both sides of the storage 2 as shown in FIGS. By inserting and supporting the rail member 12.12 at .13, the stocker 4 can be pulled out to a predetermined position in front by holding the front handle 14. That is, open the front door 3 of the vending machine main body l,
By grasping the handle 14 provided on the front side of the stocker 4 and pulling it forward, the upper opening of the stocker 4 can be fully opened to one side. Thereby, when putting the product A into the stocker 4, it is possible to easily and quickly store a plurality of products at the same time using both hands into the opening at the top of the stocker, which opens wide by pulling it out forward. Further, the stocker 4 is set at a predetermined storage position by pressing the front surface and moving it rearward.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sensor 15 is provided at the lower end of the rear plate 8 of the stocker 4 to detect the presence or absence of products and the type thereof. That is, in the present invention, the product A is a rolling product such as a can or bottle, and a bar code b representing the type is attached to the entire circumference of the product A as shown in FIG. 15 and sends it to a control circuit that will be described later.

In this case, the sensor 15 is not limited to the lower end of the rear plate 8, but may be placed anywhere as long as it can monitor the high quality product A, such as the take-out operator device 18. Furthermore, the bar code b representing the type of product A is not limited to one end of the product as shown in FIG. 5, but may be attached to both ends. Alternatively, it may be attached to the end surface of the product A. Further, the type of product A can be determined not only by the barcode but also by a single color, shape, or even weight, and various methods can be adopted.

At the rear of the stocker 4 is a conveyance device that moves vertically! 16 are arranged. This conveying device 1G straddles between a pair of vertically installed left and right rail members 17, and a loading/unloading device N1.
8 is provided to be movable up and down, and when the transport motor 41 (see FIG. 9) provided in the take-out/input device 18 is driven in the normal direction, the take-out/input device 18 is moved upward, and when it is driven in the reverse direction, the take-out/input device 18 is moved upwardly. It is configured to move downward.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the take-out/input device 18 is provided with an arm portion 19 that extends and contracts forward, and a pair of clamping pieces 20, 20 provided at the tip of this arm portion 19. outfit ff
Take-out/load drive device 42 provided in iHg (see Figure 9)
is driven, the arm portion 19 is extended forward and the gripping piece 20.
20 can be advanced into the recess 11 of the take-out part 9 of the stocker 4, and then the clamping pieces 20, 20 operate to clamp the product A in the taking-out part 9 from above and below by the clamping pieces 20, 20, After this clamping, the arm part 19 rotates upward.
By shrinking, it is possible to take out product A from stocker 4.

In addition, when putting the product A into the product receiving port 24 of the product storage shelf 5 provided at the upper part of the storage 2, which will be described later, the product A is placed above the take-out/insertion device 18, as shown in the top view of the product feed port in FIG. As a result of the movement, the arm portion 19 is extended while rotating the upper clamping piece 20.20 forward, and the clamping piece 20.
20 into the recess 24a of the product quantity 24b, and placed the product A that was being clamped on the product quantity 24b, and then the clamping piece 20.20
After releasing the clamping of the product A by the arms 19, the arm portions 19 are retracted and the clamping pieces 20, 20 are retracted.

In addition, when the conveyance device 16 has a structure in which a plurality of product passages 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D of the stocker 4 and the product storage shelves 5 (described later) are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, the rail members 17° 17 are arranged side by side. This can be achieved by configuring the take-out/insertion device M18, which is provided at the outermost side of the product storage shelf and extends between the rail members 17 and 17, to be movable in the left and right directions.

Reference numerals 25, 26, and 27 are position sensors for detecting the position of the take-out/loading device 18 and stopping the take-out/loading device 18 at a predetermined position. The position sensor 26 detects when the ejecting unit 9 has reached the position corresponding to the ejecting unit 9! ! 18 is provided to detect when the stocker 4 has reached a position corresponding to the product return position. Further, the upper position sensor 27 is provided to detect when the take-out/input device 18 has come to a position corresponding to a product receiving opening 24 of the product storage shelf 5, which will be described later.

The product storage shelf 5 provided in the upper part of the storage compartment 2 has circular arc-shaped running plates facing each other in the front and back, and by arranging them in the vertical direction, the product storage shelf 5 is bent and extends vertically to form a cylindrical shape. Serpentine-type product aisles 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D are formed in the front and rear, in which the products A are rollably stacked and stored in a row. Among these, lids 60Ba and 60Ca are provided at the upper ends of product aisles 6B and 60, respectively, and lids 60B are installed on the upper ends of product aisles 6B and 60, respectively.
Solenoids 60Bb and 6 for opening and closing a and 60Ca
Opening/closing mechanisms 60B and 60C consisting of 0Cb are provided. On the other hand, the upper ends of the product aisles 6A and 6D remain open. Product A with lids 60Ba and 60Ca closed
A rolling path is formed for storing the products in the product aisle 6A or 6D.

Furthermore, a switching device 411I61 consisting of a switching plate 61a and a solenoid 61b for switching between distributing internal or external replenishment products to the product aisles 6A and 6B and to product aisles 6C and 6D is provided at the top. A ramp 62 for supplying internal replenishment products from the product receiving port 24 is disposed in the switching mechanism 6I.

Replenishment products from outside are introduced through the product receiving slot 63 by opening the front door 3 of the vending machine main body 1, but a type discrimination sensor 64 is disposed above the product receiving slot 63 to determine the type of the inserted product. There is. However, the arrangement of the type discrimination sensor 64 is not limited to this. In addition, the product passes through,
A shutter mechanism 65 consisting of a shutter plate 65a that shuts off and a solenoid 65b that opens and closes the shutter plate 65a;
A ramp 66 is provided to guide external products from the shutter mechanism 65 to the switching mechanism 61.

Sensors 30A to 300 are placed at the top of each product aisle 6A to 6D to detect whether the product A is full or not, while the bottom end is used to lock the lowest product A and to store the product A based on sales instructions. Sending devices 31A to 31D are respectively provided to sequentially control sending out one device at a time.

In the product receiving opening 24 of the product storage shelf 5 including these product paths 6A to 6D, a product volume 24b extending rearward and curved upward is formed, as shown in FIG. A recess 24a into which the clamping pieces 20, 20 of the take-out/input device 18 can enter is formed in the amount 24b.

Furthermore, a product chute 32 serving as a product delivery device is provided at the bottom of the product storage shelf 5. This product shoot 3
2 is a delivery device 3 provided at the bottom of each product aisle 6A to 6D.
1A to 310 to receive the fallen product A and guide it to the product takeout port 33 in the front. can be moved up and down.

That is, the product chute 32 is provided between the lower part of the upper product storage shelf 5 and the upper part of the lower stocker 4, and receives the product A delivered from each product aisle 6A to 6D and guides it to the product takeout port 33. The front part of the product chute 32 is tilted low to the front so that the stocker 4 can be delivered, and the front part is movable up and down with the rear part pivotally supported. can be moved upward so that the drawer of the stocker 4 is not obstructed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the product chute 3 is used as the product delivery device.
2, an endless belt-type unloader extending in the front-rear direction is provided between the lower part of the upper product storage shelf 5 and the upper part of the lower stocker 4, and each of the upper product storage shelves 5 is When receiving the product A delivered from the product passages 6A to 6D, the endless belt can be immediately rotated to carry it forward and deliver it to the product outlet 33.

The product takeout port 33 is provided at the vertically intermediate portion of the front door 3, which is the front surface of the main body 1, corresponding to the lower part of the upper product storage shelf 5, and the product output port 33 is provided at the rear of the front door 3, which corresponds to the lower part of the product storage shelf 5 at the top. A delivery door 34 that can be opened by A is provided, and an outlet door 35 that can be opened forward is provided at the front.

As described above, in this embodiment, the product takeout port 33 can be provided at approximately the middle position of the vending machine main body 1, and as a result, the customer can take out the product in a very comfortable posture.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for controlling the drive of the conveyance device 16, in which 40 is a control section composed of a microcomputer, which controls the conveyance motor 41, the take-out/input drive device 42, and each of the sensors 15, 25-27. 30A to 300.64 respectively, and based on the signal input from each sensor,
It drives and controls the opening/closing mechanisms 28B to 28D, the transport motor 41, the take-out/loading drive device 42, the switching mechanism 61, and the shutter mechanism 65.

The operation of this configuration is achieved by program control of the control section 40, and this operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Upon starting the operation, the control unit 40 first determines whether or not the take-out/input device 18 is located at a predetermined standby position based on a signal from the lower position sensor 25.

If it is not located, drive the transport motor 41 in reverse,
An initial setting operation is performed to move the unloading/loading device 18 to a predetermined standby position detected by the lower position sensor 25 (1
00).

Next, the control unit 40 determines whether the product A is present in the stocker 4 by determining the presence or absence of a signal from the sensor 15 (101). As a result, if the product A does not exist in the stocker 4 (N of 101), the process here ends and moves to another routine. If the product A is present in the stocker 4 (Y in 101), check whether the product A is 80 or not by comparing the signal from the sensor 15 with a pre-stored code (102); As a result, if the product quantity is 〇 (102 Y), sensor 30A
The presence or absence of a signal from is checked (103).

As a result, there is no signal from the sensor 30A and the product aisle 6A
If the product A is not full (N of 103), after resetting the contents of the memory (104), take out and put in the bag! ! Drive the 18 take-out/input drive device 42 (105)
.

By driving the take-out/input drive device 42, the take-out/input device 18 moves the arm portion 19 forward ∆ as shown in FIGS.
Place the stretched and open clamping piece 20.20 into the stocker 4.
Then, the clamping pieces 20 and 20 are operated to clamp the product A in the extraction section 9. After this clamping, the take-out/input drive device 42
The arm portion 19 is rotated upwardly by the clamping pieces 20 and 20.
The product A is contracted and taken out from the take-out section 9, and the product A is stopped in the state shown in FIG. 7 (105).

When the take-out operation of the product A□ by the take-out and throw-in drive device 42 is completed, the control section 40 drives the transport motor 41 in the take-out and throw-in device 18 to rotate normally. Due to the forward rotation of the transport motor 4J, the take-out/loading device E18 starts upward movement (
106).

Next, the control device 40 monitors the output of the sensor 27 to determine the presence or absence of the take-out/input device 107.
), the take-out/input device 18 is connected to the product receiving opening 24 of the product storage shelf 5
It is detected that the transport motor 41 has been reached (Y in 107), and the transport motor 41 is stopped (108).

Next, the control device 40 drives the takeout/loading drive device 42 to perform a product loading operation into the product quantity 24b (109).

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the clamping pieces 20. which are clamping the product A1 while extending the arms 19 by the drive of the unloading/loading drive device 42. move forward. And the clamping piece 2
0.20 is the concave portion 24a of the product amount 24b with product acceptance 024
When the product advances to this point, the clamping pieces 20 and 20 open and product A
The product A1 is released from the clamp and placed on the product amount 24b. The product A placed in this product quantity 24b is
The switching mechanism 61 in the solid line position state in FIG. 1 from the ramp 62
The product enters the product aisle 6A through the switching plate 61a and the lid 60Ba of the opening/closing mechanism 60B. After putting in this product A, the clamping piece 20
, 20 remains open and retreats from the product receiving opening 24 by the retracting action of the arm 19, and the take-out/input drive device 42 removes the product A.
Finish the closing operation of □ and stop.

Next, the control device! 40 drives the transport motor 41 in reverse;
The take-out/input device 118 is lowered (110). It is determined by the output of the sensor 25 that the take-out/input device 18 has reached a predetermined standby position corresponding to the take-out part 9 of the stocker 4 (111), and the transport motor 41 is stopped (112).
, the process returns to process 101.

On the other hand, the product A appearing in the take-out section 9 in the stocker 4 is
2 (Y in 113), if the product aisle 6B is empty and there is no signal from the sensor 30B (N in 114), the opening/closing mechanism 60B is driven to open the lid 60Ba (115)
. Thereafter, by executing the processes 104 to 109 described above, the product A2 appearing in the take-out section 9 is placed in the product amount 24b. Thereby, in the same manner as described above, the product A2 rolls on the ramp 62 from the part weight 24b and falls into the product path 6B because the lid 60Ba is open. Thereafter, the processes 110 to 112 described above are executed and the process returns to process 101.

In the same way, product A appeared in the take-out section 9 of the stocker 4.
is A3 (y of 116) and there is space in product aisle 6C.
If there is no signal from sensor 30C (N of 117),
The switching mechanism 61 is driven to switch the switching plate 61a to the #\ line direction in FIG. 1 (118), and the opening/closing mechanism 60C is driven to open the lid 60Ca (119). Also, the product A that appeared in the take-out section 9 of the stocker 4 is A4 (120 Y
), if the product aisle 6D is empty and there is no signal from the sensor 30D (N of 121), only the switching mechanism 61 is driven to switch the switching plate 61a to the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1 (1).
22). Thereafter, by executing processes 104 to 112, respectively, the product A can be stored in the product aisle 6C, and the product A4 can be stored in the product aisle 6D.

By the way, if the product A exists in the stocker 4, but the product A that appears in the takeout section 9 is not A, ~A4 (N of 102, 113, 116, 120), or
The product A that appears in the take-out section 9 is one of Ai to A4, but if there is a signal from the corresponding sensor 30A to 30D and the corresponding product aisle 68 to 6D is full of products, then (1
03,114°117.121 Y), in order to change the product type appearing in the take-out section 9, the following product circulation operation is performed.

That is, the control unit 40 determines whether the product circulation operation has reached 10 times by checking the contents of the memory 123), and if it has reached 10 times, the process ends. 10
If the number of times has not been reached (N of 123), the contents of memory A are incremented by 1 (124), and the take-out/input drive device 42 in the take-out/input device I8 is driven to remove the product A from the take-out section 9 of the stocker 4. (125), and drives the transport motor 41 in normal rotation (126).

Then, by monitoring the signal from sensor 26,
It is determined that the take-out/input device 18 has reached the product return position to the stocker 4 (127), and the driving of the conveyance motor 41 in the take-out/input device M18 is stopped (108).

Thereafter, the take-out/input device W42 is driven to return the product A to the stocker 4 (109).

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, this take-out/input drive device 42 has a product receiving opening 24 of the product storage shelf 5 in order to return the product A grabbed by the clamping pieces 20, 20 of the take-out/input device 18 to the stocker 4. A product return passage 52 having a product receiving opening 51 similar to the above is formed. Therefore, when the control unit 40 detects that the take-out/input device 18 has reached the position corresponding to the product receiving port 51, the control unit 40 stops the take-out/input device 18 there.
In exactly the same way as the product A was delivered to the product receiving port 24 of the product storage shelf 5, the product A is delivered to the product receiving port 51 of the product return path 52.

As a result, the product A falls onto the shelf section 7 through the product return channel J152. In this case, if you do not want the product A to fall onto the shelf 7, as shown in FIG. 54, 55, and 56 may be provided.

In this way, the operation of taking out the product A appearing in the take-out part 9 of the stocker 4 by the transport device [16 and returning it to the stocker 4 again is repeated, and when the number of times reaches 10 times in a row,
23 Y), even if a product replenishment request is issued from the product aisles 6A to 6D, the product replenishment process from the stocker 4 to the product storage shelf 5 is once completed.

However, while repeating the return operation to product stocker 4,
If the product replenishment operation from the stocker 4 to the product storage shelf 5 is actually performed even once, the contents of the memory H are reset in the process of executing the processes 104 to 112, thereby continuing the product replenishment process.

On the other hand, when replenishing the product aisle with products from outside 5, the front door 3 of the vending machine body 1 is opened and the product is placed on the product receiving opening 63 at the top of the upper product storage shelf. Type discrimination sensor 64
Similar to the sensor 15, the bar code indicating the product type placed on the product receiving port 63 is read and transmitted to the control unit 40. Thereby, the control unit 40 determines the product type and determines whether or not a product replenishment request is issued from the corresponding product aisle by checking each sensor 30A to 30B.

As a result, if a request for replenishment of the product on the product input port 63 has been issued, the shutter mechanism 65 is driven and the shutter plate 6
5a and the switching mechanism 61. Opening/closing mechanism 60B,
Select and drive 60G as appropriate. Thereby, the products on the product receiving port 63 are stored in the predetermined product paths 6A to 6D via the shirt cover plate 65a, the ramp 66, and the switching mechanism 61.

This external product replenishment operation allows products to be manually loaded from the front when the vending machine main body 1 is installed or when the product is almost sold out, so that the product aisle can quickly be filled with products. Further, in this case, the product need only be placed on the product receiving port 63 regardless of its type, so work efficiency is greatly improved.

(G) As described in detail, according to the present invention, the number of products 80 can be provided relatively high on the front of the main body, so when taking out the products from the product outlet, it is difficult to bend at the waist and take a cramped posture. This eliminates the need for product removal, making it easy to take out the product, and also making it extremely easy to check the presence or absence of the product in the product take-out port.

In addition, since the administrator can load products by placing them in the stocker at the bottom, the product is placed at a lower position, allowing the operator to work while looking directly into the loading section, and preventing incorrect product loading. Loading work can be performed reliably and extremely easily without stretching.

In addition, since the transfer of products from the lower stocker to the upper product storage shelf is automatically performed by automatically determining the type, it is possible to store products all at once in the stocker regardless of type, and it is also possible to store products in bulk regardless of type. The number of products stored can be freely adjusted depending on the sales of the products.

Furthermore, products can be automatically sorted and stored in designated product aisles by simply placing them in the input slot manually, regardless of type.
Product replenishment can be performed quickly and efficiently when a vending machine is installed or when all products are nearly sold out.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a vertical side view of the vending machine, Figure 2 is a rear view of the stocker at the bottom of the vending machine, and Figure 3 is a view of how products are taken from the stocker. Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the vending machine with the front door removed and the lower stocker pulled forward, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the product. , Figures 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of the product removal operation, and Figure 8
The figure is a top view of the product input receiving section provided at the entrance of the product aisle at the top of the vending machine, and Figure 9 is a block diagram of the control unit.
FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart of the control section, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram showing another example of the configuration of the stocker. 1...Vending machine body, 2...Storage, 4...Lower stocker, 5...Upper product storage shelf, 15...
Product identification sensor, 16... Conveying device, 18... Taking out and loading device, 25-27... Position sensor, 60B-60
D...Opening/closing mechanism, 60Ba~60Da...Lid, 60
Bb~60Db...Solenoid, 30A~30D...
- Product detection sensor, 40... Control unit, 61... Switching mechanism, 64... Type discrimination sensor, 65... Shutter mechanism. Agent Patent Attorney Crest 1) Makoto Fig. 2 + 1 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. 7 Fig. Fig. Fig. 9

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A product storage shelf having a plurality of product passages for storing various products by type is provided in the storage of the main body, and the products in the product storage fence are provided on the front of the main body based on sales instructions. In a vending machine that delivers products to a product takeout port, the storage compartment is divided into upper and lower halves, and a product storage shelf is provided in the upper part, and a stocker for storing products in bulk regardless of type is provided in the lower part, and the storage compartment is provided so as to be able to be pulled out of the compartment. In the product storage shelf,
an internal product receiving port for receiving internal products from the stocker, a shutter mechanism for accepting or blocking external products, and rolling of products that are rolled from the internal product receiving port and the shutter mechanism via ramps, respectively. A switching mechanism for switching routes, an opening/closing mechanism for forming a ramp for storing products from this switching mechanism into its own product aisle or rolling them to other product aisles, and a mechanism for determining the type of external products. A first sensor and second sensors are provided for detecting the presence or absence of products in each of the product aisles, and a third sensor is provided for determining the presence or absence and type of products to be taken out from the stocker; a conveyance device for taking out the product and returning it to the stocker or storing it in the product storage shelf; The type of product to be taken out from the stocker is determined according to the sensor output, and if the product falls under the shortage product type, the opening/closing mechanism is driven and controlled so as to store the product in the corresponding product aisle. If the product does not correspond to the product type, driving and controlling the transport device to return the product to the stocker, determining the type of the external product according to the first sensor output, and determining the type of the external product according to the second sensor output. 1. A product storage device for a vending machine, comprising: a control section for driving and controlling the shutter mechanism, the switching mechanism, and the opening/closing mechanism.