JPH08287354A - Article sending-out device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate article feeding operation by providing a carry-in end and a carry-out end successively in the horizontal direction or up-down direction, and performing the U-turn conveyance of fed articles through a channel-shaped article conveyance path. CONSTITUTION: The channel-shaped article conveyance path P having specific height is formed of the side wall 14a of an internal housing 14 and the side wall 13b of an external housing 13 by fixing a flange 14b to the bottom wall 13a of the external housing 13, and the carry-in end 25a and carry-out end 25b are provided horizontally and successively in front of an article housing H. In this case, an article is fed from the carry-in end 25a and the bottom surface of the article 3 is mounted on the switch piece of a loading switch 61. Consequently, the loading switch 61 is turned on and a driving motor 19 starts driving. Each time an article 3 is fed, the switch piece is turned on and the article is sent in toward the carry-out end 25b by a conveying conveyor 18. At this time, the article 3 never falls because of a locked shutter 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a product delivery device for use in an automatic vending machine in which a plurality of transfer mechanisms for transferring a product in a substantially horizontal direction are arranged side by side vertically and horizontally.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vending machine, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
In Japanese Patent No. 3899 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-143694, a conveyer conveys products from a carry-in end on the front side to a carry-out end on the back side, a bucket elevator located on the rear side, and a carry-out conveyor located on the lower side. It discloses a structure for sending out a product to a sales outlet on the side. However, in such a configuration, since the loading end is located on the front side, the loading operation of the product is easy, but since the shipping end is located on the back side, a shipping problem of the product or the like occurs. In case of maintenance is disadvantageous. Moreover, a dedicated carry-out structure such as a carry-out conveyor for sending the product from the back side to the front side is required.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such disadvantages, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 50-63093 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-176.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 260 discloses a configuration in which a carry-out end is provided on the front side of the transfer conveyor, a carry-in end is provided on the back side, and a basket elevator is provided on the front side. By adopting such a configuration, a vending machine advantageous in terms of maintenance is achieved.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional vending machine as described above, since it is necessary to load the product from the back side, an insulating door is provided at the back side so that the product can be loaded from the back side of the vending machine. It is necessary to devise such a structure as to put in the product, or to make it easy to put the product from the front side so that the conveyor itself can be pulled out from the vending machine body. Therefore, it is disadvantageous in terms of installation space and cost.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a product sending device for a vending machine which is easy to put products in and is advantageous in terms of installation space and cost. That is the purpose.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a commodity delivery device according to a first aspect of the present invention has a carry-in end and a carry-out end arranged side by side in a front part, and has a substantially "U" shape rearward. It is characterized in that it is provided with an extending product transport path and a transport mechanism for transporting a product in a U-turn along the product transport path.

In the product delivery device of the first aspect, the product transport path is formed in a substantially "U" shape in a horizontal plane, and the transport mechanism has a single transport conveyor for placing and transporting the product. Is preferred.

In the product delivering apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the conveyor comprises a front end pulley arranged at the front part, a rear end pulley arranged at the rear part, and an endless drive belt spanning between the front and rear pulleys. It is composed of a large number of product placing parts arranged all around the conveyor belt, and each product placing part is adjacent to a trunk piece extending in the width direction of the product conveying path from the outer peripheral surface of the drive belt. It is preferably composed of a plurality of branch pieces extending toward the trunk piece.

In the product delivering device according to the third aspect, the front end pulley is formed to have a smaller diameter than the rear end pulley, and the product placing portion that wraps around the front end pulley and the subsequent succeeding product placing portion that is adjacent thereto. It is preferable that a gap for dropping the product is formed between and.

In the product delivering apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the product transfer path is formed in a substantially "U" shape in the vertical plane, and the transfer mechanism is a first transfer conveyor having a loading end as a starting point and a sending side. It is preferable that the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor are arranged above and below each other, with the second transfer conveyor having the discharge end as the end point and serving as the sending side.

The product delivery apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising interlocking means for interlocking the operation of the first transfer conveyor and the operation of the second transfer conveyor, wherein the interlocking means is the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor. It is preferable to drive the conveyor at the same speed.

[0012]

According to the merchandise delivery device of the first, second and fifth aspects, the merchandise loaded at the carry-in end is guided to the merchandise carrying path by the carrying mechanism to be U-turned and reaches the carry-out end. In this case, since the product transport path extends rearward from the front carry-in end and the carry-out end in a substantially “U” shape, the product is loaded from the front part and paid out from the front part. It becomes the form. In addition, the format of selling in the order of introduction is maintained in accordance with the sale of general products. For this reason, appropriate sale of the product can be maintained, and the device for easily loading the product and for transporting the discharged product from the rear side to the front side is not required. Of course, the sales time is also shortened. In addition,
If the product transport path is U-turned in the horizontal plane, the vertical space is small, and if it is U-turned in the vertical plane, the horizontal space is small. So, for example, if you need to make the vending machine itself narrow,
A configuration that makes a U-turn in the vertical plane becomes advantageous.

Further, by using the transfer conveyor for the U-turn transfer, the products can be placed and stored, and all the stored products can be collectively and continuously transferred.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of product placing portions on the drive belt spanning between the front end pulley and the rear end pulley, and each of the product placing portions is a drive belt. By the trunk piece extending from the outer peripheral surface in the width direction of the product conveying path and the plurality of branch pieces extending toward the adjacent trunk piece, the product placing portion is provided in a state where the product can be placed, It can be moved without any problem by using an endless drive belt.

According to the commodity delivery device of the fourth aspect, the front end pulley is formed to have a small diameter with respect to the rear end pulley, and the product placing portion that wraps around in front of the front end pulley and the adjacent succeeding product placing portion. By forming a space for dropping the product between the product and the unit, the product can be carried out by using the individual movement of the product placing unit without using a special carry-out device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided interlocking means for interlocking the operation of the first conveyor and the operation of the second conveyor, and the interlocking means comprises the first conveyor and the second conveyor. By moving the conveyors at the same speed, even if two conveyors are used, a single drive source can continuously convey all the stored products.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a product sending device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an automatic vending machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic vending machine 1 is provided with a product storage 2 having a heat insulating structure. In the product storage 2, a product delivery such as a product 3 such as a can of juice, which has been loaded from the carry-in end 25a located on the front side, is discharged from the carry-out end 25b located on the front side while being transported in the horizontal direction. The devices 4 are arranged in parallel vertically and horizontally.

Further, on the front side of the product storage 2, the products 3 paid out on the front side of each product delivery device 4 are provided with heat insulating doors K.
A transport elevator 7 for transporting to the open / close lid 5 located below is disposed. The transport elevator 7 is provided with transport buckets 8 for receiving the products 3 dispensed from the product delivery devices 4, respectively. The transport bucket 8 receives the product 3 delivered from an arbitrary product delivery device 4 in the vicinity of the delivery end 25b of the product delivery device 4 and can deliver the product 3 in a stable posture. Further, the transport elevator 7 is arranged near the heat insulating door K, so that the maintenance is easy and the trouble of carrying out the product can be dealt with visually.

The vending machine 1 is provided with a cooling device 10. The cooling device 10 cools the product 3 by a cooling fan 11 arranged in the product storage 2 and is arranged outside the product storage 2. The condenser fan 12 discharges heat by heat exchange. Further, reference numeral R is a sales outlet provided on the outer door 9.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the product delivery device 4 serves as the base of the entire device and the product storage 2
The outer housing 13 extends horizontally from the front side to the rear side, and the inner housing 14 fixed to the center of the outer housing 13. Further, by the cooperation of the outer housing 13 and the inner housing 14, a product housing H having a U-shaped product transport path P is formed.

Here, the above-mentioned outer housing 13 has a U-shaped cross-section with its upper portion and one end opened, and has a U shape in the longitudinal direction.
It has a space portion S having a character shape, and this space portion S is formed by a flat plate-shaped bottom wall 13a and a U-shaped side wall 13b standing upright from the bottom wall 13a. The inner housing 14 has a U-shaped side wall 14a and a flange 14b extending inward from the lower portion of the side wall 14a. Then, the flange 14b is attached to the outer housing 13
By fixing it to the bottom wall 13a of the inner housing 14, the side wall 14a of the inner housing 14 and the side wall 13a of the outer housing 13 create a U-shaped product conveying path P having a predetermined height, and carry it in front of the product housing H. The end 25a and the carry-out end 25b are horizontally arranged side by side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the outer housing 1
14c of the inner housing 14 with respect to the bottom wall 13a of FIG.
Is slightly higher than the height of the conveyor 18 described later. Therefore, contact between the transfer conveyor 18 and the side wall 14a of the inner housing 14 is eliminated, and the transfer conveyor 1
8 smooth rotation is ensured.

Further, a transport mechanism 15 is housed inside the side wall 13b of the outer housing 13, and the transport mechanism 15 is
A small-diameter front end pulley 16 located in the center of the front part of the outer housing 13, and a large-diameter rear end located in the center of the rear part of the outer housing 13 and inside the U-turn part 14d provided in the rear part of the inner housing 14. Pulley 17 and front end pulley 1
6 and a rear end pulley 17, and an endless conveyor 18 and a drive motor 19 with a gear mechanism 20 for driving the rear end pulley 17.

Here, the transfer conveyor 18 is located in the product transfer path P, and is on the bottom surface 13a of the outer housing 13.
It is arranged in. Further, the transport conveyor 18 has an endless drive belt 21 spanning the front end pulley 16 and the rear end pulley 17, and a plurality of product placement parts A arranged at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the transport belt 21. It consists of and.
The product placing portion A includes a trunk piece 22 extending from the outer peripheral surface of the drive belt 21 in the width direction of the product conveying path P, and a plurality of branch pieces 23 extending from the trunk piece 22 toward the adjacent trunk piece 22. It is configured.

As shown in FIG. 4, the product placement sections A have the same shape, and the branch pieces 23 provided on the trunk piece 22 are the trunk pieces 22.
Are alternately arranged at equal intervals from the distal end to the distal end so as to overlap each other toward both sides. That is, the branch piece 23 extends from the adjacent trunk piece 22 so as to fill the gap between the branch pieces 23 of the trunk piece 22.

The product placement section A of the transfer conveyor 18
For the purpose of reducing the friction with the bottom wall 13b of the outer housing 13 and the friction with the product 3, a material having a small friction resistance is adopted. Further, it is preferable that the sliding surface of the bottom wall 13b of the outer housing 13 is configured to be slippery.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the carry-out end 25b.
A shutter 30 having a lateral opening structure is arranged in the. The shutter 30 includes a support shaft 31 fixed to one end of the shutter 30, and a spring 32 that biases the shutter 30 in a direction opposite to the product dispensing direction B. The support shaft 31 has a tip end of the inner housing 14. Intermediate flange 14e provided in the center
And the upper end flange 14f is pivotally attached to the tip. Therefore, the shutter 30 is reliably returned by the spring 32 after rotating in the product dispensing direction B together with the support shaft 31.

A lock mechanism 3 for locking and unlocking the shutter 30 is provided in the inner housing 14 described above.
3 is provided. The lock mechanism 33 includes a support shaft 34 located inward of the position of the front end pulley 16, and the support shaft 34 is pivotally attached to the rear end of the intermediate flange 14e and the lower end flange 14g of the inner housing 14 described above. There is. Further, the pulley 35 provided on the upper end of the support shaft 34 is connected to the pulley 36 provided on the lower end of the support shaft 31 of the shutter 30 by a belt 37. Further, a circular latch body 38 is fixed in the middle of the support shaft 34. Therefore,
The latch main body 38 rotates following the rotation of the support shaft 31 of the shutter 30.

Further, the lock mechanism 33 includes a solenoid 39, which is arranged inside the inner housing 14 and is fixed to the bottom wall 13a of the outer housing 13. The solenoid 39 is provided with a plunger 40 as an actuating rod that can freely move in and out. The tip of the plunger 40 is attached to the latch body 3 by a spring 43.
It is biased to 8. Then, the plunger 40 is reliably guided in the in-out direction by the guide pin 41 fixed to the intermediate flange 14e. As shown in FIG. 6, a claw portion 45 is formed at the tip of the plunger 40, and the claw portion 45 engages with a notch-shaped locking portion 44 formed on the peripheral surface of the latch main body 38 to cause latching. It prevents the body 38 from rotating.

A substantially fan-shaped latch guide piece 46 is slidably arranged on the lower surface of the latch body 38, and an elongated hole 47 is provided in the latch guide piece 46. It is mounted on the latch guide support shaft 48 which is erected on the. Further, the latch guide piece 46 is biased toward the locking portion 44 by the spring 49. Therefore, when the claw portion 45 is removed from the locking portion 44, the tip of the latch guide piece 46 projects outward from the position of the locking portion 44. As a result, the claw portion 45 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the latch guide piece 46,
The latch body 38 freely rotates in the direction of arrow C (the opening direction of the shutter 30). The operating rod 40 has a thickness sufficient to cover the upper and lower latch bodies 38 and the latch guide pieces 46.

As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of upper and lower first and second switch cams 50 and 51 are fixed to the lower end of the support shaft 34 of the latch main body 38 and rotate together with the latch main body 38. Further, the first and second switch cams 50 and 51 turn on and off the first and second switches 52 and 53. Here, the first switch 52, in cooperation with the first switch cam 50, detects the payout of the product 3 by opening the shutter 30. Then, the second switch 53, in cooperation with the second switch cam 51, detects on / off the product-less position and the product stop position of the shutter 30 pushed back by the spring force after the product is dropped.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, both side walls 1 of the outer housing 13 at the carry-in end 25a and the carry-out end 25b.
3b and the bottom wall 13a include a guide cover 5 having a triangular prism shape.
9, 60 are fixed. Each guide cover 59, 60
Is slightly lower than the height of the conveyer conveyor 18, and inside the guide cover 59, a loading switch 61 for detecting the presence / absence of products during the loading operation is provided. Then, by projecting the switch piece 61a of the loading switch 61 from the surface of the guide cover 59, the switch piece 61a is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the product 3 at the time of loading work to detect whether or not the product loading is completed. To do.

Further, inside the guide cover 60, there is provided a carrier switch 62 which is turned on / off by the trunk piece 22 of the product placing portion A. Then, by causing the switch piece 62a of the carrier switch 62 to project toward the product placement section A, the movement of the transport conveyor 18 is detected, and the trunk piece 22 of the product placement section A projects from the transport mechanism 15. I try not to stop in position.

Reference numeral G indicates a pair of guides pivotally attached to the lower end flange 14g and the bottom wall 13a of the outer housing 13 in order to forcefully push the drive belt 21 outward in the vicinity of the front end pulley 16. It is a pulley. By using the guide pulley G to push the drive belt 21 outward toward the loading switch 61 and the carrier switch 62, contact between the switch piece 61a and the product 3,
The contact between the switch piece 62a and the product placing portion A is ensured, and a space such as the solenoid 39 is secured inside the drive belt 21.

Next, the operation of the product delivery device 4 will be described based on the above-mentioned configuration. When loading the goods 3 onto the conveyor 18, after opening the heat insulating door K,
The product 3 is loaded from the carry-in end 25a located on the front side, and the bottom of the product 3 is placed on the switch piece 6 of the loading switch 61.
Place on top of 1a. As a result, the loading switch 61
When the switch is turned on, the drive motor 19 starts driving. Then, each time the product 3 is loaded, the switch piece 61a is turned on, and the product 3 is taken out by the transport conveyor 18 at the carry-out end 25b.
Send it to. At this time, the locked shutter 30 prevents the product 3 from dropping.

When the state where the loading switch 61 is turned on by the product 3 continues for a predetermined time,
When it is determined to be full load, the conveyor 18 is stopped by the timer. When the loading switch 61 remains off for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that the loading operation is completed (completed without full loading), and the conveyor 18 is stopped by the timer.

Next, when the product 3 is dispensed, the solenoid 39 is actuated by the sales command signal to move the plunger 40.
To pull in instantly. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the pawl portion 45 is removed from the locking portion 44 of the latch body 38, and at the same time, the tip of the latch guide piece 46 is moved from the position of the locking portion 44 by the urging force of the spring 49. Stick out. And
The plunger 40 is pushed back by the urging force of the spring 43, and the outer peripheral surface of the latch guide piece 46 and the claw portion 45 are engaged with each other. As a result, the unlocked state of the shutter 30 is maintained, and the latch body 38 can be freely rotated in the direction of arrow C (the opening direction of the shutter 30).

Then, the drive of the drive motor 19 is started,
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the shutter 30 is pushed open by the product 3 while moving the transfer conveyor 18 in the product transfer direction (direction of arrow B). At this time, since the trunk piece 22 quickly turns the small-diameter front end pulley 16, the carry-out end 25
In the vicinity of b, the space between the trunk pieces 22, 22 of the product placing portions A, A adjacent to each other in the front and rear direction is expanded in a fan shape. As a result, a gap F for dropping the product is formed between the branch pieces 23, 23 adjacent to each other in the front and rear. Therefore, the product 3 automatically drops downward by utilizing this gap F.

Then, the shutter 3 at the time of product delivery
The support shaft 34 of the latch main body 38 also rotates via the belt 37 following the rotation of 0 at about 90 °. At this time, FIG.
As shown in, the claw portion 45 of the plunger 40 continues to slide on the peripheral surface of the latch main body 38, so that the unlocked state is maintained. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the rotation of the support shaft 34 also rotates the first switch cam 50 by approximately 90 °,
The first switch 52 is turned off, and the payout of the product 3 due to the opening of the shutter 30 is detected.

Next, after the goods are dispensed, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the shutter 30 is moved by the restoring force of the spring 32.
It is returned to a position where it enters the transport conveyor 18 by a predetermined amount. Then, by reversing the support shaft 31 of the shutter 30,
The support shaft 34 of the latch body 38 is also rotated in the reverse direction via the belt 37. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, the position of the claw portion 45 of the plunger 40 exceeds the tip of the latch guide piece 46, so that as shown in FIG.
It is projected by the biasing force of and returns to the locked position. At this time, as shown in FIG.
The switch cam 51 is also rotated in the reverse direction to turn off the second switch 53 and detect the product-less position of the shutter 30 (close position at an acute angle with respect to the product conveyance direction B).

After that, since the drive of the conveyor 18 continues further, the shutter 30 is continuously pushed in the commodity conveying direction B by the commodity 3A in the front row. Then, while maintaining the engagement between the tip of the latch guide piece 46 and the claw portion 45 shown in FIG. 16, the claw portion 45 continues to retract the latch guide piece 46,
Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the claw portion 4 of the plunger 40 is
The shutter 30 is stopped at the product stop position (a position substantially vertical to the product transport direction B, see FIG. 4) by the engagement of the locking portion 44 of the latch main body 38 with the shutter 5. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotation of the support shaft 34 also rotates the second switch cam 51 to turn on the second switch 53, detect the product stop position of the shutter 30, and drive the drive motor. Stop 19

When the drive motor 19 is stopped, as shown in FIG.
It is necessary that the product placement section A does not project into the movement path of the transport basket 8. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
When the switch piece 62a of the carrier switch 62 is turned on by the trunk piece 22 of the product placement section A, the conveyor 18
Has been stopped.

The shutter 30 is opened when the carry-out end 25 is opened.
It is performed by the products 3 on the product placing portion A sequentially delivered to the product b, but the shutter 30 does not return to the product stop position even though the product delivery operation continues due to the drive of the transport conveyor 18, When the switch 53 is not turned on, the timer is operated to cause the conveyer conveyor 18 to make one round, and then the sold-out of the product 3 is displayed and the drive motor 19 is automatically stopped.

Next, another embodiment of the product sending device of the vending machine of the present invention will be described. The same or equivalent components as those of the vending machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the vending machine. As shown in FIG.
In the product storage 2 of the vending machine 100, a product 3 such as canned juice that has been loaded from the carry-in end 25a located on the upper side of the front side is conveyed downward from above while U-turning from above. Commodity sending devices 4A for paying out from the carrying-out end 25b located are arranged side by side in the vertical and horizontal directions.

As shown in FIG. 19, the product delivery device 4A
Is a base body 1 having a U-shaped cross-section with an open top and front end.
13, the base body 113 extends horizontally from the front side to the back side of the product storage 2 (FIG. 18).
reference). Further, the transfer mechanism 114 is provided in the base body 113.
The transport mechanism 114 includes a transport conveyor 101 in which the carry-in end 25a and the carry-out end 25b are U-turn connected.
And a drive motor 119 capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions for driving the transport conveyor 101.

The above-mentioned transfer conveyor 101 extends substantially vertically between the base main body 113, and has an endless upper transfer belt 109 having substantially the same width as the base main body 113 and the lower part of the base main body 113. , And an endless lower stage conveyor belt 118 having substantially the same width as the base body 113. The upper conveyor belt 109 is stretched around the front end pulley 102 located at the carry-in end 25a and the rear end pulley 103 located at the rear part. Further, the lower conveyor belt 118 includes a large-diameter front end pulley 117 located at the carry-out end 25b and a small-diameter rear end pulley 11 located at the rear part.
It is stretched over 6.

As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the drive motor 119 capable of forward and reverse rotation is located in the inner space of the conveyor belt 118 and the side wall 11 of the base body 113.
It is fixed to 3a. The gear motor 121 including the drive motor 119 and the gear mechanism unit 120 is also located in the inner space of the conveyor belt 118. As a result, the space efficiency is improved and the product delivery device 4A is downsized.

A drive pulley 123 is provided at one end of the output shaft 122 of the gear motor 121. The drive pulley 123 includes a first one-way clutch 124 that transmits a force only when the output shaft 122 rotates normally and is fixed to one end of the output shaft 122. In addition, the drive pulley 12
3 and a small-diameter intermediate pulley 1 fixed to the front end pulley 117
By connecting with 25 via the belt 126,
The front end pulley 117 is normally rotated when the output shaft 122 is normally rotated. As a result, the conveyor belt 118 travels in the product conveying direction (arrow B direction) by the normal rotation of the output shaft 122.

On the other hand, the output shaft 12 of the gear motor 121
A latch cam 127 is provided at the other end of 2. The latch cam 127 includes a second one-way clutch 128 that transmits a force only when the output shaft 122 rotates in the reverse direction, and is fixed to the other end of the output shaft 122. Latch cam 127
Includes a convex switch actuating piece 127b provided on the peripheral surface of the cam body 127a and a cam surface 127c formed on the end surface of the cam body 127a. And the cam body 1
A switch 129 for stopping the drive motor is provided near 27a.
Is provided. Therefore, by the cooperation of the switch 129 and the switch operating piece 127b, the latch cam 127 is
Can be stopped after every rotation. Further, the cam surface 127c of the latch cam 127 enables the shutter 130 to be locked and unlocked every half rotation.

The shutter 130 is arranged at the carry-out end 25b and has a lateral opening structure. That is, the shutter 130 extends substantially perpendicularly to the upper transport surface 118 a of the transport belt 118, is positioned on the side of the transport belt 118, is pivotally attached to the base body 113, and is fixed to one end of the shutter 130. It includes a support shaft 131 and a spring 132 that biases the shutter 130 in a direction opposite to the product conveyance direction B. Therefore, the shutter 130
After rotating in the product transport direction B together with the support shaft 131,
It is reliably returned by the spring 132.

The above-mentioned shutter 130 and latch cam 127.
A lock mechanism 133 for locking and unlocking the shutter 130 is provided between and. The lock mechanism 133 includes a support shaft 134 that is provided apart from the support shaft 131 of the shutter 130 on the latch cam 127 side. The support shaft 134 is located on the side of the conveyor belt 118 and at the same time as the base body. It is fixed to 113. Further, the pulley 135 provided on the upper end of the support shaft 134 is
A belt 137 is connected to a pulley 136 provided on a support shaft 131 of the shutter 130. Further, the support shaft 134
A circular latch body 138 is fixed in the middle of the position at a position facing the latch cam 127. As a result, the latch body 138 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the support shaft 131 of the shutter 130.

Further, the latch body 138 and the latch cam 12
An arm-shaped actuating rod 140 is provided so as to bridge the space between the actuating rods 7 and 7, and the center of the actuating rod 140 is swingably supported by a support shaft 141. This support shaft 14
The upper end of 1 is pivotally attached to an intermediate base 142 located in the inner space of the conveyor belt 118, and the intermediate base 142 is fixed to the side walls 113a and 113b of the base body 113. In addition, the intermediate base 142 is provided on the upper transport surface 1.
It is provided along the conveyor belt 118 at a position near 18a, so that the load of the product 3 can be supported and the conveyor belt 118 can be prevented from bending.

The tip of the operating rod 140 is attached to the winding spring 14
The latch main body 138 is biased by 3. And
As shown in FIG. 22, the tip of the operating rod 140 has a claw portion 14
5, the claw portion 145 engages with the notch-shaped locking portion 144 formed on the peripheral surface of the latch body 138 to prevent the latch body 138 from rotating.

Further, a substantially fan-shaped latch guide piece 146 is slidably arranged on the lower surface of the latch body 138, and an elongated hole 147 is provided in the latch guide piece 146, and the elongated hole 147 is locked. It is mounted on a latch guide support shaft 148 which is provided upright in the vicinity of the portion 144. Further, the latch guide piece 146 is urged toward the locking portion 144 by the spring 149. Therefore, the claw portion 145 is attached to the locking portion 144.
By removing the end of the latch guide piece 146,
It projects outward from the position of the locking portion 144. As a result, the claw portion 145 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the latch guide piece 146, and the latch body 138 becomes rotatable in the direction of arrow C (the opening direction of the shutter 130).

As shown in FIG. 23, a pair of upper and lower first and second switch cams 150 and 151 are fixed to the lower end of the support shaft 134 of the latch body 138, and they rotate together with the latch body 138. There is. In addition, the first and second switch cams 150 and 151 have the first and second switch 1
Turns 52 and 153 on and off. In this case, the first switch 152 cooperates with the first switch cam 150 to
The payout of the product 3 due to the opening of the shutter 130 is detected. Then, the second switch 153 cooperates with the second switch cam 151 to detect, on / off, the product-free position of the shutter 130 pushed back by the spring force after the product is dropped and the product stop position.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 19, the upper conveyor belt 109 and the lower conveyor belt 118 are arranged substantially parallel to each other. Then, the lower-stage front end pulley 117 and the upper-stage front end pulley 102 are connected to the intermediate belt (interlocking means) 1
It is linked by crossing 60. Specifically, outside the base body 113, the lower front end pulley 1
Drive pulley 161 (see FIG. 20) fixed to the support shaft 117a of the reference numeral 17 and the support shaft 102a of the front end pulley 102 of the upper stage.
The driven pulley 162 fixed to the intermediate belt 160 is connected to the driven pulley 162. Therefore, the upper conveyor belt 10
The product conveying direction M of 9 and the product conveying direction B of the lower conveyor belt 118 are made opposite to each other to enable continuous product conveyance from the upper stage to the lower stage.

A curved U-turn member 163 that forms the rear part of the product transfer path P is disposed between the upper transfer belt 109 and the lower transfer belt 118 in the rear part of the base body 113. . Therefore, the entire product conveyance path P is formed in a vertical “U” shape, and the upper conveyance belt 109
Even if the lower conveyor belt 118 is used, the products are continuously sent.

As shown in FIG. 19, a loading switch 164 for detecting the presence / absence of a product during the loading operation is provided inside the base body 113 on the side of the upper conveyor belt 109. Then, by causing the switch piece 164a of the loading switch 164 to project above the conveyance surface of the upper-stage side conveyance belt 109, the switch piece 61a is brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the product 3 during the loading operation, and the loading of the product is completed. Or not.

Next, the operation of the product sending device 4A will be described based on the above-mentioned configuration. When loading the product 3 onto the upper-stage side transport belt 109, after opening the heat insulating door K, the product 3 is loaded from the carry-in end 25a located on the front side. At that time, the loading switch 1 on the peripheral surface of the product 3
64 will be turned on. As a result, the drive motor 119 rotates in the normal direction, and the lower-stage side transport belt 118 and the upper-stage side transport belt 109 start operating. By repeating this loading operation, the product 3 is transferred through the U-turn member 163.
Are fed toward the carry-out end 25b of the lower-stage side transport belt 118. At this time, the shutter 130 is locked, and the product 3 does not drop from the carry-out end 25b. Further, the subsequent termination of the loading operation and the stop of the drive motor 119 are the same operations as in the first embodiment.

Next, when the product 3 is dispensed, the drive motor 119 is rotated in the reverse direction and the latch cam 127 is rotated by the sales command signal. As a result, the switch 129 is once turned off, and at the same time, the end of the operating rod 140 is pushed up by the cam surface 127c to disengage the pawl portion 145 from the locking portion 144 of the latch body 138. At this time, the tip end of the latch guide piece 146 is locked by the urging force of the spring 149.
It protrudes outward from position 4.

When the latch cam 127 makes one rotation, the switch operating piece 127b causes the switch 12 to move.
9 is turned on to stop the drive motor 119, and at the same time, the regulation of the end of the operating rod 140 is released. as a result,
The claw portion 145 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the latch guide piece 146,
The unlocking of the shutter 130 is maintained, and the latch body 138 can be rotated in the direction of arrow C (the opening direction of the shutter 130).

Next, the drive motor 119 is normally rotated, the drive pulley 123 is rotated in the direction of arrow D (see FIG. 19), and the product 3 is transported in the product transport direction B. as a result,
The shutter 130 is pushed open by the product 3, and the product 3 drops from the carry-out end 25b of the conveyor belt 118. At this time, the support shaft 134 of the latch main body 138 also rotates via the belt 137 following the rotation of the shutter 130 by approximately 90 °, but the claw portion 145 of the operating rod 140 does not move.
Since it continues to slide on the peripheral surface of No. 8, the unlocked state is maintained. Further, the rotation of the support shaft 134 also rotates the first switch cam 150 by approximately 90 °, and the first switch 15
2 is turned off, and the payout of the product 3 by opening the shutter 130 is detected.

Next, after the goods are dispensed, the shutter 130 is returned by the restoring force of the spring 132 to the position where the shutter 130 is inserted into the conveyor belt 118 by a predetermined amount. Then, the shutter 13
By the reverse rotation of the support shaft 131 of 0, the support shaft 134 of the latch body 138 also reverses in the arrow E direction via the belt 137.
As a result, the position of the claw portion 145 of the operating rod 140 exceeds the tip of the latch guide piece 146, and the operating rod 140 is returned to the locked position by the urging force of the spring 143. This time,
By the reverse rotation of the support shaft 134, the second switch cam 151 also reversely rotates, the second switch 153 is turned off, and the shutter 13
A zero product position (closed position with an acute angle with respect to the product transport direction B) is detected.

After that, since the conveyor belt 118 continues to be driven, the shutter 130 is continuously pushed in the commodity conveying direction B by the commodity 3 in the front row. Then, while maintaining the engagement between the tip of the latch guide piece 146 and the claw portion 145, the claw portion 145 continues to retract the latch guide piece 146, and finally, as shown in FIG. The engagement of the portion 145 and the locking portion 144 of the latch body 138 stops the shutter 130 at the product stop position (position perpendicular to the product transport direction B, see FIG. 20). At this time, the second switch cam 151 also rotates due to the rotation of the support shaft 134, and the second switch cam 151 also rotates.
The switch 153 is turned on, the product stop position of the shutter 130 is detected, and the drive motor 119 is stopped.

It should be noted that the shutter 130 does not return to the product stop position even though the product delivery operation continues due to the driving of the lower conveyor belt 118, and the second switch 153 does not return.
If is not turned on, the timer is operated to display that the product 3 is sold out, and the drive motor 119 is automatically stopped.

[0067]

As described above, according to the product delivery device of the vending machine of the present invention, the carry-in end and the carry-out end are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction at the front portion (front side) of the transport mechanism. Since the put-in products are conveyed by U-turn in the "U" -shaped product conveying path, the products can be put in and paid out from the front, and the products put in first can be sold in order. You can Therefore, it is possible to simplify the work of loading the product, and it is also advantageous in terms of installation space and cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an automatic vending machine to which a product delivery device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view showing a main part of the product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged side view showing a main part of the product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a locked state in which a latch body and a plunger are engaged with each other.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an engaged state of first and second switch cams and first and second switches.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a lock released state in which a claw portion of a plunger is engaged with a latch guide piece.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state in which a product pushes a shutter open.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a product pushes a shutter open.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an unlocked state in which the claw portion of the plunger is engaged with the peripheral surface of the latch body.

FIG. 12 is a diagram in which the first switch is turned off by the first switch cam.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a state where the shutter has been returned to the product-less position.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a state where the shutter has been returned to the product-less position.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a state in which the claw portion of the plunger has passed the tip of the latch guide piece.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a locked state in which the latch body and the plunger are engaged with each other.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for detecting a product-less position of a shutter.
It is the figure which made the 2nd switch the off state with the 2nd switch cam.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing an automatic vending machine equipped with a product delivery device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a side view showing a product delivery device used in the vending machine of FIG.

FIG. 20 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the main parts of the product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a partially enlarged side view showing a main part of the product delivery device of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a locked state in which the latch body and the plunger are engaged with each other.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an engaged state of the first and second switch cams and the first and second switches.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic vending machine 3 Product 4, 4A Product sending device 15 Conveying mechanism 16 Front end pulley 17 Rear end pulley 18,101 Conveyor conveyor 21 Drive belt 22 Stem piece 23 Branch piece 25a Carrying end 25b Carrying out end 102 Upper front end pulley 109 Upper side Transport belt 118 Lower transport belt 117 Lower front pulley 160 Intermediate belt A Product loading area P Product transport path F Gap for product drop

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A product transport path having a loading end and a unloading end arranged side by side in a front portion and extending rearward in a substantially "U" shape, and a U-turn transport of a product along the product transport path. And a transport mechanism for controlling the vending machine. 2. The product transport path is formed in a substantially “U” shape in a horizontal plane, and the transport mechanism has a single transport conveyor for placing and transporting a product. The product delivery device of the vending machine according to claim 1. 3. The transport conveyor comprises a front end pulley arranged in a front part, a rear end pulley arranged in a rear part, an endless drive belt spanning between the front and rear pulleys, and a whole of the transfer belt. It is composed of a large number of product placing portions arranged around the circumference, and each of the product placing portions is adjacent to a trunk piece extending from the outer peripheral surface of the drive belt in the width direction of the product conveying path, The commodity delivery device of the vending machine according to claim 2, comprising a plurality of branch pieces extending toward the trunk piece. 4. The front end pulley is formed to have a small diameter with respect to the rear end pulley, and the product placing portion that wraps around in front of the front end pulley,
The product delivery device of the vending machine according to claim 3, wherein a space for dropping the product is formed between the product placement unit and the adjacent product placement unit. 5. The product transport path is formed in a substantially “U” shape in a vertical plane, and the transport mechanism has a first transport conveyor that serves as a feed-in side starting from the carry-in end, and the carry-out end. 2. The second transfer conveyor having the sending side as an end point, and the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor are arranged above and below each other. Product delivery device for vending machines. 6. An interlocking means for interlocking the operation of the first transfer conveyor and the operation of the second transfer conveyor, wherein the interlocking means includes the first transfer conveyor and the second transfer conveyor. 6. The product sending device of the vending machine according to claim 5, wherein and are run at the same speed.