JPH06301855A - Automatic vending machine and pusher type commodity rack - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a pusher type commodity rack made to be installed effec tively using remaining narrow free space in the depth direction, considering an automatic vending machine for a box type commodity such as cigarettes, etc., as an object. CONSTITUTION:A transversal pusher type commodity rack 9 is constituted of a commodity housing case 10 in which the box type commodities are housed by stacking in forward/backward directions, a bent mechanism 11 on which a pusher 11a installed at the output port side terminal of the case 10 and to eject by segmenting the commodities arranged at the front row from the output port of the case 10 reciprocates upward/downward, a coil spring 12 which presses a commodity row housed in the case from the back advancing the bend mechanism 11, and a gate flapper 13 provided at the output port of the case 10. By employing such constitution, it is possible to increase the number of selection of the automatic vending machine by installing the commodity rack at the narrow free space with a low height by effectively using the depth space of the machine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for selling box-shaped products such as cigarettes, and a pusher type product rack mounted on the vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show a conventional cigarette vending machine and a pusher product rack mounted on the vending machine. In the figure, 1 is a vending machine cabinet, 2 is a front door, 3 is a product outlet, 4
Is a vertical pusher type product rack housed in the cabinet 1 and 5 is a shooter for sending out the products 6 carried out from the product rack 4 to the product outlet 3. The pusher-type product rack 4 has a vertically long product storage case 7 for storing a plurality of products 6 stacked in a row in the vertical direction, and the case 7.
And a pusher-type bend mechanism 8 installed at the bottom of the pusher-type bend mechanism 8, and the pusher-type bend mechanism 8 has a base 8a on which an article row is placed, and a drive unit 8b (bend motor) incorporated in the base 8a. 8c and feed screw 8d)
The pusher 8e reciprocates in the front-back direction for each sale operation. Although only one product rack 7 is shown in the illustrated example, a plurality of product racks are arranged vertically and horizontally in an actual vending machine.

The product unloading operation of the pusher type product rack 4 is well known, and in the sales standby state of FIG. 3A, the pusher 8e of the bend mechanism 8 is in the standby position behind the product storage case 7, and is sold here. When the command is given, the bend motor 8c is started to move the pusher 8e forward from the standby position, push out the lowest-ordered products 6 in the preceding traveling process forward, and then move backward to the standby position again. The product 6 carried out from the case 7 slides down the shooter 5 and is delivered to the product outlet 3.

[0004]

By the way, the vertical pusher type product rack for vertically stacking and storing the products as described above has a relatively large vertical size per unit. There is a problem of low space efficiency. That is, as shown in the figure, in the configuration in which the products 6 are stacked and stored in one row for each column of the product rack 4, an empty space corresponding to the backward stroke of the pusher 8e of the bend mechanism 8 (product Not used for storage) remains. Further, even if some empty space remains in the depth direction above or below the product rack 4 in the cabinet 1, this empty space cannot be effectively utilized as a product storage space.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to make a pusher type device which can be installed by effectively utilizing a small empty space remaining in the depth direction in the machine. An object of the present invention is to provide a product rack and an automatic vending machine in which the product rack is combined with a conventional product rack to improve the space efficiency in the machine.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a pusher type product rack according to the present invention is provided with a product storage case for stacking box-shaped products in a front and rear direction and an outlet side end of the product storage case. And a pusher-type bend mechanism that cuts out the products lined up in the front row from the exit of the case and carries them out, and a pressing urging means that presses the product line stored in the case from behind toward the bend mechanism. To do.

Further, the pusher type product rack described above can be specifically constructed as follows. (1) The pusher-type bend mechanism is configured to include a base that receives the product rows arranged in front and rear, and a pusher that reciprocates vertically on the surface of the base for each sales operation.

(2) A coil spring is interposed between the rear wall of the product storage case and the product row as a means for pressing the product row. (3) The product storage case is installed in an inclined posture with the outlet side facing down, and a weight that slides down the inclined bottom surface by its own weight is provided as a pressing and urging means for the product row, behind the product row stored in the case.

(4) A normally closed gate flapper is provided at the exit of the product storage case and is opened following the product unloading operation. On the other hand, in order to effectively use the space inside the vending machine, the horizontal pusher-type product rack described above and the vertical pusher-type product that stacks the products vertically in the product storage case and carries them out in order from the product lined up at the bottom There is a configuration in which product racks are arranged in the upper and lower tiers and installed in the machine.

[0010]

In the product rack of the above construction, when the pusher type bending mechanism is operated in response to the sales instruction, the pusher moves from the upper standby position and pushes the products lined up in the front row downward. As a result, the product pushes open the flapper type gate (the gate is biased by a torsion spring or the like in the closing direction) provided at the outlet of the product storage case, and drops and carries the product downward. When the pusher moves backward to the standby position, the second and subsequent commodities are pushed from behind by the pressing and urging means such as coil springs and weights to move inside the case and return to the sales standby state again, and at the same time, the gate flapper. Also close and block the outlet of the case.

In addition, since the horizontal product rack for storing products in front and rear rows in this way has a low height, it can be installed by effectively utilizing the depth space in the vending machine. By combining it with the vertical pusher type product rack that has been adopted more effectively, it is possible to increase the number of selections of vending machines by effectively utilizing the empty space above and below the cabin that has not been effectively used until now.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings of the embodiments, the same members as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals. 1A to 1C, a horizontal pusher type product rack 9 according to the present invention includes a horizontally long product storage case 10 in which box-shaped products (cigarettes) 6 are stacked in a front-rear row and stored. The pusher-type bend mechanism 11 combined with the outlet side end of the coil spring 10, the coil spring (pressing and urging means) 12 for pressing the product row stored in the case toward the bend mechanism 11 from behind, and the product storage case 10 Gate flapper 13 provided at the product exit on the bottom side
The product outlet is provided with a shooter 14 that guides the delivered product to the product outlet. In addition, 10a is a case lid.

Here, the bend mechanism 11 has a structure similar to that of the pusher type bend mechanism 8 shown in FIG. 6, and the mounting posture thereof is changed from horizontal to vertical. The base 11a and the drive unit (bend motor, feed screw) incorporated in the base are operated to operate the base 11
The pusher 11b reciprocates up and down along the end face of a. Further, the coil spring 12 is a product storage case 1
A compression spring having a coil length required to push the product 6 toward the bending mechanism 11 inside the 0, and is interposed between the rear wall of the case 10 and the product 6 arranged in the last row via the push plate 12a. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the gate flapper 13 is hinge-coupled to the outlet end of the product storage case 10 via a support shaft 15 and a torsion spring 16. Here, the torsion spring 16 urges the flapper 13 in the closing direction.

With such a configuration, in the standby state, the pusher 11b of the bend mechanism 11 is retracted to the upper position as shown in FIG. 7A, and the products 6 housed in the product storage case 10 side by side in a line are coiled from the back. Products that are pressed by 12 and are lined up in the front row are pressed against the base 11a of the bending mechanism 11. Further, in this state, the flapper 13 is biased by the spring to block the outlet of the case 10, so that the products in the front row are not accidentally dropped. Here, when a sales command is given, the bend mechanism 11 operates and the pusher 11b moves from the retracted position as shown in (b) and (c) to push the front row product downward. As a result, the product 6 pushes open the flapper 13 and drops and carries it out. After that, the pusher 11b moves backward and returns to the standby state shown in FIG. To replenish the product rack 9, the product 6 is loaded into the case 10 with the push plate 12a pushed to compress the coil spring 12 rearward as shown in FIG. Further, in order to simplify the product replenishment work, it is preferable that the product rack 9 can be drawn out for each column and loaded in the cabinet of the vending machine.

FIG. 4 shows an application example of the present invention. In this embodiment, the commodity storage case 10 is installed in a forward tilted posture (inclination angle θ) with the bend mechanism 11 facing forward, and the commodity rows housed in the case are bent.
A weight 17 that slides down on the inclined bottom surface of the case 10 is placed behind the product row as a means for pressing and urging toward the direction 1.

Next, FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an automatic vending machine in which the above-mentioned horizontal pusher type product rack 9 and the conventional vertical pusher type product rack 4 described in FIG. 6 are combined.
In this embodiment, a horizontal product rack 9 and a vertical product rack 4 are arranged in the cabinet 1 side by side in the vertical direction. By laying out the product racks 4 and 9 in combination in the machine in this way, the depth of the empty space remaining on the upper side of the machine in FIG. 6 which is not used as a dead space in the conventional vending machine is effectively utilized. An independent horizontal product rack 9 can be installed here, and the number of products to be sold can be increased while improving the space efficiency of the cabinet 1.

[0017]

As described above, according to the pusher type product rack of the present invention, a large height can be stored and a large number of products can be stored by effectively utilizing the depth direction of the space inside the vending machine. In addition, by installing this horizontal product rack in combination with a conventional vertical product rack in a vending machine, the empty space in the depth direction that remains in the conventional vending machine can be effectively utilized. Installation of an independent pusher type product rack improves space efficiency inside the machine,
In addition, it is possible to increase the number of selections of sales products.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are explanatory views of a configuration of an embodiment of a pusher type product rack according to the present invention and a product unloading operation, in which FIG. 1A is a side sectional view of the entire structure in a standby state, and FIGS. Operation explanatory diagram at the time of carrying out

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the gate flapper mounting structure in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a bird's-eye view showing a product replenishment state of the product rack of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an application example of a pusher type product rack according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of an embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention.

6A and 6B are configuration diagrams of a conventional vending machine equipped with a pusher-type product rack, in which FIG. 6A is an internal configuration diagram of the vending machine, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory view of a product unloading operation of the pusher-type product rack.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine Cabinet 3 Product Outlet 4 Vertical Pusher Product Rack (Conventional) 6 Product 9 Horizontal Pusher Product Rack (Invention) 10 Product Storage Case 11 Bend Mechanism 11a Base 11b Pusher 12 Coil Spring 13 Gate flapper

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A pusher-type product rack mounted on a vending machine for selling box-shaped products such as cigarettes, the product storage case storing the box-shaped products in front and back, and an outlet side end of the case. The pusher-type bend mechanism installed to cut out the products lined up in the front row from the exit of the case and carried them out, and the pressure urging means for pressing the product line stored in the case from the back toward the bend mechanism. Pusher-type product rack that is characterized. 2. The product rack according to claim 1, wherein the pusher-type bend mechanism includes a base that receives the product rows arranged in front and rear, and a pusher that reciprocates vertically on the surface of the base for each sales operation. A pusher-type product rack characterized by being provided. 3. The pusher-type product according to claim 1, wherein a coil spring is interposed between a rear wall of the product storage case and the product row as a pressing and biasing means for the product row. rack. 4. The product rack according to claim 1, wherein the product storage case is installed in an inclined posture with the outlet side facing downward, and the product rack is installed behind the product line stored in the case as a pressing biasing means for the product line. A pusher-type product rack that has a weight that slides down the inclined bottom surface by its own weight. 5. The pusher-type product rack according to claim 1, wherein a normally closed gate flapper that is opened in response to the product unloading operation is provided at the exit of the product storage case. 6. A vending machine for selling box-shaped products such as cigarettes, wherein the horizontal pusher-type product rack according to claim 1 and the products stacked vertically in a product storage case are lined up at the bottom. A vending machine characterized by vertically installed pusher type product racks that are carried out in order from top to bottom and installed in the machine.