JPH0637978U - Vending machine product unloading device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a spiral vending machine that can reliably discharge a product for each sale even if the user forgets to put the product in. [Structure] The spiral 2 is configured to hold a product between spirals 5 formed at a constant pitch on the left and right around a rotating shaft 4, and to rotate the rotating shaft 4 each time a predetermined sales command is input. The spiral 2 is driven by 180 degrees to make a half rotation, and every time the spiral 2 makes a half rotation, the lowest product from the left and right of the spiral 2 is alternately dropped and discharged from the product outlet 10 provided at the lower end of the spiral 2. Then, sensors 8 and 9 for detecting the presence or absence of products in the sending order and the products in the next sending order in the spiral 2 are provided, and the rotation angle of the spiral is controlled by signals from these two sensors.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a product unloading device for a vending machine that sells a product by rotating a screw-shaped unloading member in which the product is inserted and held in a gap formed at a constant pitch.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 As such an automatic vending machine, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-243593, a screw-shaped carry-out member in which a product is inserted and held in a gap formed at a constant pitch is rotated to release the product. There is a so-called spiral type vending machine that I tried to sell.

FIG. 1 shows an example of such a spiral type automatic vending machine, in which a spiral-shaped discharge member spiral 2 is provided in a vertically arranged product storage column 1. It is rotatably arranged vertically. At the center of the spiral 2, the upper and lower ends of the spiral 2 are fixed, and a rotary shaft 4 that rotates at a low speed by a drive unit 3 provided on the upper surface of the product storage column 1 is arranged in the vertical direction. The spiral 2 is adapted to rotate by driving the rotating shaft 4.

The spiral 2 holds a product in a space (hereinafter referred to as a storage unit) 5 between spirals formed at a constant pitch on the left and right around a rotation shaft 4. Therefore, the administrator of the vending machine inserts the products to be sold in advance into the storage unit 5 to load the products. The guard 6 is for preventing the product held by the spiral 2 from coming off the storage part 5 and dropping from the product storage port 7 provided on the side surface of the product storage column 1. When storing the product, the product storage port is opened. It is rotatably supported by a shaft 11 so that the shaft 7 can be opened.

The vending machine drives the rotary shaft 4 by 180 degrees to rotate the spiral 2 half a time each time a predetermined sales command is input. The product is configured so as to be alternately dropped and discharged from a product outlet 10 provided at the lower end of the spiral 2.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, the problem with such spiral type vending machines is that they forget to insert the product into a storage part due to a mistake in the loading work. In this case, even if the rotary shaft 4 is driven 180 degrees. The problem is that products in that rank are not discharged.

Therefore, the present invention provides a spiral type vending machine which can surely discharge a product for each sale even if the user forgets to insert the product.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention is formed by winding a spiral around a rotary shaft, and stores products between spirals formed at a constant pitch on the left and right around the rotary shaft and rotates the spiral by 180 degrees. As a result, in the product unloading device of the vending machine that alternately sends out the products from the left and right, the sensors for individually detecting the presence or absence of the products in the delivery order and the products in the next delivery order are provided separately from the two sensors. The rotation angle of the spiral is controlled by a signal.

[0009]

[Action]

 When both sensors detect a product, there is a product to be delivered to the left or right, and the product is ejected from the left or right delivery order by rotating the spiral 180 degrees. On the other hand, if one of the left and right sensors does not detect the product, the spiral is rotated 360 degrees to discharge the product from the one holding the product to be sent out on the left and right.

[0010]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The spiral 2 is provided with sensors 8 and 9 for detecting the presence or absence of products in the delivery order and the products in the next delivery order. Both types of sensors 8 and 9 can be used, but in a vending machine that sells frozen products, the contact type sensor may freeze the moving parts. It is preferable to use a non-contact type sensor capable of detecting the distance, for example, emitting sound or light by itself to measure the distance to the reflection target. In this example, such a non-contact type sensor is used so that the range shown by the dotted line in the figure is set as the detection area, and the signals from the sensors 8 and 9 are input while the spiral 2 is stopped. For example, it is possible to reliably detect the presence of a product.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a state in which there is a product to be delivered to both the left and right of the spiral 2 around the rotation axis, and the sensors 8 and 9 detect the product, respectively. In FIG. 1, the end of the spiral 2 on the sending side is on the right side, so that the lowest product M1 on the right is the product in the delivery order, and the lowest product M2 on the left is the product in the next delivery order. Then, when the spiral 2 rotates 180 degrees in the state of FIG. 1, the product M1 is discharged, and as a result, the sending side end of the spiral 2 is positioned on the left side as shown in FIG. M3, which has become a new product and is the lowest product on the right side, is the product in the next transmission order.

However, if there is a storage section 5 in which the product is forgotten to be stored, one of the sensors 8 and 9 does not detect the product when the spiral 2 is rotated by 180 degrees, for example, as shown in FIG. Mode comes out. This is an example of the case where there is a storage unit 5 on the left side that has forgotten to store products, and when the left side products move downward in sequence, there is a mode in which there is no product to be sent to the bottom. Come. When a sales command is input in such a standby state, the drive unit 3 rotates the spiral 2 360 degrees. As a result, in the state of FIG. 3, the product is delivered by the first rotation of 180 degrees, and when it continues to rotate by 180 degrees and stops, it returns to the standby state of FIG. Therefore, even if the user forgets to store the product, the product can be reliably delivered.

When neither of the sensors 8 and 9 detects a product, the drive unit 3 rotates the spiral 2 at least 180 degrees in 12 rotations (that is, 6 rotations) at least 12 times, during which the sensor is detected. When either 8 or 9 detects a product, the rotation is stopped to put it in a sales standby state, but when neither sensor 8 nor 9 detects a product even after 6 rotations, the product is sold out. By performing such control, it is possible to distinguish between loading error and sold out. The number of rotations 8 at this time is equal to the number of times the spiral of the spiral 2 is wound, in other words, the number of products that can be stored on each side.

[0014]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, a spiral is wound around a rotary shaft, and products are stored between spirals formed at a constant pitch on the left and right around the rotary shaft, and the spiral is rotated by 180 degrees. In the product unloading device of the vending machine that alternately sends the products from the left and right by rotating the products one by one, the products can be reliably delivered even if the product is forgotten to be stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a product transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of the product transport device with its operation mode changed.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a main part of the product transport device when a product is forgotten to be stored.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Spiral 4 Rotation axis 7,9 Sensor

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A spiral is wound around a rotary shaft, and products are housed between spirals formed at a constant pitch on the left and right around the rotary shaft.
In a product unloading device of a vending machine that alternately sends products from the left and right by rotating them by 80 degrees, sensors that individually detect the presence or absence of a product in the delivery order and a product in the next delivery order are provided independently. A product unloading device for a vending machine, wherein the rotation angle of the spiral is controlled by signals from the sensors.