JPH0643786U - Vending machine product delivery device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a product delivery device capable of reducing the number of products remaining to be sold out as much as possible and reliably delivering products even when the number of products remaining is small. [Configuration] When the drive device 15 operates based on a product sales command, the product storage column 2 is moved by one reciprocating movement of the pressing member 3.
4 from the lowest product stored in the stack
Is pushed towards. Then, even if the balance of supporting the products from the lower surface of the pressing member 3 is lost when the pressing member 3 is returned due to a decrease in the amount of the products in the product storage column 2 and a decrease in the load on the lowest products 8B, the lowest products 8B are urged. Member 18
Since the pressure is applied toward the lower end of the regulation plate 14 which is the upper edge of the delivery port 4, the horizontal posture does not collapse.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a product delivery device for a vending machine, and more particularly to a product delivery device for sequentially dispensing the lowest products from a product storage column in which box-shaped products are stacked and stored.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Box-shaped products are stacked in the product storage column inside the vending machine body, and the lowermost product in the product storage column is pushed out to the delivery port by the pressing member that reciprocates for each sales operation and delivered. The configuration of the delivery device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-154995. In such a product delivery device, the pressing member pushes out the lowest order product to the delivery port in the forward movement and delivers it, and then returns to the standby position in the backward movement.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above-mentioned product delivery device, as shown in FIG. 4, when the product in the product storage column remains less and the load on the lowest product decreases, the lowest product 22 is returned when the pressing member 21 returns. The balance may be lost from the horizontal state, and the product 22 may be discharged following the product 23 for sale.

Therefore, in such a product delivery device, conventionally, the sold-out detection member 24 is located inside the product column before the load on the lowest product 22 is reduced, that is, when the number of remaining products is about 3 to 4. By setting up so that the product cannot be detected after entering the market (Fig. 5), sales were stopped before the sold-out detection switch 25 generated a sold-out signal to cause a malfunction. Therefore, there was a problem in terms of sales efficiency because some products were left and sales were stopped.

The present invention provides a product delivery device that can reduce the number of remaining products that are judged to be sold-out as much as possible and that can reliably deliver the products even when the number of remaining products is small.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is provided with a product storage column for stacking and storing box-shaped products, and the product storage column is moved by the forward and backward movement of a pressing member that reciprocates for each sales operation. A product sending device for a vending machine that pushes out and sends lower-order products to a sending port, and the products are in the vicinity of the sending port including the products placed on the pressing member when the pressing member returns. A biasing member for pressing the sheet toward the upper edge of the delivery port; and a second lowest product when the lowest product is on the pressing member by advancing inward of the product storage column. And a sold-out detection member that is biased to come into contact.

[0007]

[Action]

 The products stacked and stored in the product storage column are pushed toward the delivery port from the lowest product by the pressing member that reciprocates for each sale operation. Then, even if the balance of supporting the product from the bottom surface is lost when the pressing member is returned due to the decrease in the amount of product remaining in the product storage column and the load on the lowest product, the product is delivered by the biasing member. The horizontal posture does not collapse because it is pressed toward the upper edge of the. When the last one product moves from the position of the second product to the position of the lowest product, the sold-out detection member cannot detect the product, leaving one product and sold out. The device stops working. As for the last product, since there is no product to press from above, if the balance that supports the product from the bottom of the product collapses due to the return of the pressing member, the horizontal posture collapses and the pressing force of the biasing member delivers the product. May be discharged from the. However, when the number of products in the product storage column becomes one, the product is sold out and the product delivery device stops operating, so that the last product is not delivered by mistake.

[0008]

1 to 3 show the configuration of the present invention, in which 1 is a vending machine body in which a door (not shown) is pivotably supported on the front surface so that products 8 are stacked and stored therein. The product storage column 2 for squeezing, the pressing member 3 that reciprocates for each sales operation and pushes the lowest product 8B of the product storage column 2 toward the forward delivery port 4 at the time of forward movement, and the pushed product 8A is provided with a product guide chute 6 for guiding the product to the product take-out port 5.

The product storage column 2 has a substantially U-shaped cross section formed by a rear wall 2A and a side wall 2B. The rear wall 2A has an opening through which the sold-out detection member 7 enters and exits the product storage column 2. Is provided. The sold-out detection member 7 is attached to the rear surface of the rear wall 2A, and when the lowest product 8B is on the pressing member 3, a suitable spring member is provided so as to contact the second product 8C. It is urged to move inward. The sold-out detection switch 9 is turned on / off in response to the sold-out detection member 7 moving in and out of the product storage column 2, and the sold-out detection member 7 cannot detect the product and the inside of the product storage column 2 is detected. When it advances to, it turns off and outputs a sold-out detection signal.

A guide member 10 is provided at the front opening of the product storage column 2 to prevent the products stored in a stack from falling. The guide member 10 has a structure in which a lower end portion 13 provided in an L shape is pivotally supported by a mounting member 11 so as to be rotatable, so that a front opening portion can be opened and closed. A restriction plate 14 is suspended from the lower end of the mounting member 11, and the lower end of the restriction plate 14 and a pair of guide plates 15 provided on both sides form a product delivery port 4. The regulation plate 14 regulates the width in the height direction of the delivery port 4 so that only the lowest product 8B in the product storage column 2 passes, and the product G is changed by changing the mounting position on the mounting member 11. The width of the outlet 4 in the height direction can be adjusted according to the thickness of the outlet.

The pressing member 3 is reciprocally moved by the driving device 15. The drive device 15 includes a reduction motor mechanism that makes one rotation based on a predetermined product sales command, and is configured to convert the rotational movement of the reduction motor mechanism into a reciprocating motion by the shaft 17 and output the reciprocating motion to the pressing member 3. There is.

In the product storage column 2, a biasing member 18 for pressing the product forward is attached to the inner surface of the rear wall 2A. The urging member 18 is the maximum when the product in the product storage column 2 is running low and the load on the lowest product 8B is reduced, so that the balance supporting from the lower surface of the pressing member 3 when it is returned is lost. This is to prevent the lower product 8B from losing its horizontal posture. Therefore, the force by which the biasing member 18 biases the product forward is several times larger than the force by which the sold-out detection member 7 is biased inward of the product storage column 2. However, if the biasing member 18 is configured to apply such a biasing force only to the lowest product, the movement of the product will be hindered. Therefore, by configuring the urging member 18 with a long leaf spring that simultaneously presses forward the lower 3-4 products including the lowest product 8B in the product storage column 2, Since the urging member 18 gradually urges the commodity as it is located below, it does not hinder the movement of the commodity.

The operation of the product delivery device having the above configuration will be described. When the drive device 15 operates based on the product sale command, the pressing member 3 is moved back and forth once to push the lowest product stacked and stored in the product storage column 2 toward the delivery port 4. Then, even if the balance of supporting the products from the bottom surface is lost when the pressing member 3 is returned due to the decrease in the amount of products remaining in the product storage column 2 and the reduction of the load on the lowest products 8B, the lowest products 8B are urged. Since the member 18 is pressed toward the lower end of the regulation plate 14 which is the upper edge of the delivery port 4, the posture in the horizontal state does not collapse. Therefore, the next lowest product does not accidentally be ejected from the delivery port 4 following the extruded product. Then, the urging member 18 does not prevent the product remaining in the product storage column 2 by the delivery of the product from moving downward by the return movement of the pressing member 3.

When the last one product moves from the position of the second product to the position of the lowest product, the sold-out detection member 7 cannot detect the product and the sold-out detection switch 9 detects the sold-out. Output a signal. As a result, the merchandise delivery device is sold out with one merchandise left and the operation of the drive device 15 is stopped, and the pressing member 3 is held in a state of supporting the last merchandise without returning. Therefore, since the last product is supported on the pressing member 3, there is no pressing by the product from above, and the posture in the horizontal state collapses. At that time, the pressing force of the biasing member causes the product to exit from the delivery port 4. It will not be sent by mistake.

[0015]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, it is possible to stably dispense products until the last one product is stacked, and a product delivery device with high sales efficiency is provided. Moreover, the urging member pushes and presses all the products near the delivery port including the lowest-ranked product placed on the pressing member. In other words, the product moves downward to press one product. Since there is no urging force to prevent this, there is no possibility of product jams in the product storage column.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a product delivery device according to the present invention, showing a product stored in a product storage column.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the product delivery device of the present invention showing a state in which one product is left in a product storage column and is sold out.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the product delivery device of the present invention, showing a state where there is no product in the product storage column.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a defect of a conventional product delivery device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a conventional solution to the drawback of the product delivery device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Product storage column 3 Pressing member 4 Outlet 7 Sold-out detection member

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A product storage column for stacking and storing box-shaped products is provided, and the lowest product of the product storage column is pushed out to a delivery port by forward movement of a pressing member that reciprocates for each sales operation. A product sending device for an automatic vending machine, which sends out products near the sending outlet including the products placed on the pressing member when the pressing member returns, toward the upper edge of the sending outlet. And a sold-out detection member that is urged to come inward of the product storage column and contact the second lowest product when the lowest product is on the pressing member. And a product sending device for a vending machine.