JPH087169A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic vending machine capable of housing and taking out the various kinds of products in different sizes and to smoothly take out the product even when a chain is extended. CONSTITUTION:A shelf 2 is provided with a lot of push-out machines 4 and the attaching position of a partition plate 44 is made variable by using three kinds of attaching holes. In the push-out machine 4, two carriers 6 are attached at the 180-degree opposite positions of the chain 8 and the product is taken out by pushing the back surface of the product. The chain 8 is driven by a driving gear 14 and a driven gear 16, the driven gear 16 is pressed to an outside by a spring 32 and appropriate tension is applied to the chain 8 at all times. Also, it is detected that no more product is present by a sold-out sensor 12 and the carriers 6 are stopped at prescribed positions by a carrier switch 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to a merchandise take-out mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional vending machine, canned drinks and the like are vertically accommodated in a shelf and a stopper is used to prevent the product from dropping, and when the product is taken out, the stopper is removed to drop the products one by one. However, such vending machines cannot sell different types of products, cannot change the types of products to be sold, or cannot sell multiple types of products at the same time. This is because the product storage unit and the take-out mechanism are dedicated to products of a specific size. On the other hand, one of the inventors provided a plurality of extruders on a shelf for placing products, and a carrier connected to a chain or a belt of the extruder was used to push out the products one by one from the back surface. Proposed vending machine (Japanese Patent Application No. 5-3
50602). A partition plate is provided between the extruders and the mounting position of the partition plate is made variable so as to correspond to the size of the product. The chains and belts are driven by the driving and driven vehicles.

However, when such an automatic vending machine was made as a trial product, when the product was repeatedly taken out by the extruder, the motor idled and the product could not be taken out frequently. Such troubles occurred when the product was taken out several hundred times per extruder, and the extruder failed unexpectedly in a short period of time. The inventor studied the mechanism and found that the mechanism of FIG. 5 causes trouble. In the figure, 01 is a product, 6 is a carrier attached to the chain 8, and 44, 44 are partition plates. In the vending machine, the chain 8 is driven with a low speed and a large load. For example, since a large number of products 01 are stacked flatly, the load applied to the products 01 from above is about several Kg. When the chain 8 is driven at a low speed and with a large load, the chain 8 easily extends, and when the chain 8 extends, no force is applied from the driving gear. Further, when the chain 8 extends, the carrier 6 sways to the left and right as shown in the figure, and as a result, the left and right torques are applied to the product 01 to cause friction with the partition plate 44. Since a weight of about several Kg is applied to the product 01 from above, friction is large, and as a result, the motor idles and the product cannot be taken out. As described above, the cause of the trouble is the elongation of the chain, which deteriorates the meshing with the driving vehicle and increases the friction due to the lateral deviation of the carrier 6, so that the product cannot be taken out. The inventor clarified this empirically. The belt stretches more easily than the chain,
If you repeatedly use the extruder, trouble may occur.
This is the same as when using a chain.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic vending machine which 1) can freely accommodate products of different sizes, and 2) does not cause troubles due to elongation of chains or belts.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of extruders are provided on shelves for placing products, variable partition plates are provided between the extruders, and the extruder is a chain or belt. In a vending machine provided with a conveyer, which is provided with a motor, a driven vehicle, and a carrier for pushing out a product and which is provided with a motor for driving the driven vehicle, The shaft is attached to the extruder so as to be able to move forward and backward, and a spring for pressing the pivot shaft to the outside of the conveyor is provided.

[0006]

According to the present invention, since the partition plate is attached to the shelf to determine the storage width of the product, it is possible to change the attachment position.
It can respond to changes in product size. Even if the conveyor chain or belt is extended next time, the pivot force of the driven vehicle moves to the outside of the conveyor due to the force of the spring, so that the chain or belt does not sag. For this reason, the power can always be appropriately transmitted from the prime mover to the chain or belt, and the carrier does not move to the left or right, so that the product does not collide with the partition plate and get stuck.

[0007]

EXAMPLE An example is shown in FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a shelf for storing products in a vending machine, which is 3 to 5 vertically.
When the products are provided in rows and dropped in front of the shelf 2, the products are pushed out to the product take-out port of a take-out door (not shown). 4 is an extruder, and 6 is its carrier, which pushes the back surface of the product and conveys it from the back to the front of the drawing. The carrier 6 is made of metal or plastic, and its height is lower than the height of the product,
Be able to push out products one by one. 8 is carrier 6
The carrier 6 may be a belt, and the carrier 6 is fixed to the chain 8. In the embodiment, the carrier 6 is attached to the chain 8.
Install the two 180 ° opposite positions. Also the chain 8
Is housed in a groove provided on the shelf 2 so that the chain 8 is below the bottom surface of the product. A carrier switch 10 is composed of a touch sensor or the like, and detects that the carrier 6 has passed this position. Reference numeral 12 denotes a sold-out sensor, which detects the load of the product by using the touch sensor or detects reflected light of the product by using the photoelectric sensor to detect whether or not the product is on the shelf 2.

Reference numeral 14 is a driving gear, and 16 is a driven gear using a sprocket or the like. When a belt is used instead of the chain 8, a pulley is used. Reference numeral 18 is a motor, and 20 is a gearbox for power transmission. In the embodiment, the driven gear 16 is on the product takeout side, but the driving gear 14 may be arranged on the product takeout side. The driven gear 16 is allowed to move back and forth with respect to the frame 35 of the extruder 4, and the pivot shaft (here, non-rotating shaft) of the driven gear 16 is attached to the mounting plate 22. 24 is the extruder 4
Is a support plate fixed to the frame body 35, 26 is a pin connecting the mounting plate 22 and the support plate 24, 28 is a ring through which the pin 26 is inserted, and 30 is a screw for fixing the pin 26 to the mounting plate 22. , 32 are coil springs, and may be leaf springs or the like, as long as they press the mounting plate 22 outward against the frame 35 or the support plate 24. Reference numeral 34 is a child screw for fixing the support plate 24 to the frame body 35 of the extruder 4.

Reference numeral 36 is a mounting rod for mounting the extruder 4 on the shelf 2, 38 and 38 are holes for penetrating the mounting rod 36, and 40 is a receiving portion provided on the shelf 2 for receiving the tip of the mounting rod 36. A hole 42 is a screw for fixing the mounting rod 36. A partition plate 44 is attached to the shelf 2 between the extruder 4 and the extruder 4, and the lower protrusions 46 and 46 and the upper protrusions 48 and 48 are used for attachment. The front end of the partition plate 44 projects toward the front outlet side to form the front guide 50,
While keeping the orientation between the pair of left and right front guides 50, the product is dropped into the outlet. Further, 52 is a rear stopper, which is arranged at the rear end position of a pile of a large number of products stacked flat,
Prevent the pile of products from collapsing. There is a take-out door (not shown) in front of the product pile, and this door prevents the product pile from collapsing. Then, take out the products one by one from the mouth of the takeout door. 54 is a large number of holes and is a rear stopper 52.
And the hole 54 is selected so that the position of the rear stopper 52 can be changed according to the product size.

FIG. 2 shows a mechanism around the driven gear 16. A pair of mounting plates 22 and support plates 24 are provided on the front and back of the frame 35, and the forces from the springs 32, 32 on the front and back are uniformly applied to the driven gear 16 so that the driven gear 16 does not tilt with respect to the frame 35. To do. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 56 denotes a shaft for pivotally supporting the driven gear 16, which is a non-rotating shaft here, but may be a rotating shaft. Reference numeral 58 is a bearing such as a ball bearing or a roller bearing, which enables the driven gear 16 to rotate with respect to the pivot shaft 56, and 60 is a groove-shaped through slot provided in the frame body 35. Chain 8
It moves forward and backward in the through slot 60 so that the stress from the spring and the pressure from the spring 32 are balanced. The rotary shaft of the driven gear 16 may penetrate through the slot 60, and may be supported by bearings between the pair of front and back mounting plates 22, 22.

FIG. 3 shows an extruder 4 and a partition plate 4 for the shelf plate 2.
4 shows the arrangement. 68a, b, c are three kinds of mounting holes provided in the shelf board 2 for mounting the partition plate 44 at, for example, three kinds of positions. 62 is a groove for accommodating the chain 8 and 64 and 66 are holes serving as entrances and exits of the carrier 6. The carrier 6 appears from the hole 64 in the back of the drawing, and the carrier 6 is the back side of the shelf 2 from the hole 66 in the front of the drawing Get in.

FIG. 4 shows a control circuit of the vending machine. In the figure, 70 is a large number of product selection buttons, which are provided for each extruder 4, 72 is a controller using a sequence circuit or a microcomputer, 74 is a sold-out display of lamps, etc. Set up. The sold-out sensor 12 detects the load applied from the product, and when the load becomes 0, the sold-out display 74 is turned on. When a product is selected with the product selection button 70, the extruder 4 corresponding thereto is operated, and the carrier switch 10 detects that the carrier 6 has passed through the hole 64 and stops the motor 18.

The operation of the embodiment will be described. The extruder 4 itself is fixed to the shelf 2, for example, and is arranged at equal intervals. Depending on the size of the product, the position of the partition plate 44 may be set to the mounting holes 68a, b, c
The partition plate 44 is arranged so as to straddle the two extruders 4, 4 for a particularly large product. Therefore, the size of the product can be changed only by changing the position of the partition plate 44. The products are stacked flat between the pair of left and right partition plates 44, 44, and a rear stopper 52 is provided at the rear part so that the line of the stacked products is not disturbed. Rear stopper 52
The position of can be changed depending on which hole 54 is attached, and can be adapted even if the depth of the product changes.

When a coin is inserted and a product selection button 70 is used to determine which product of the extruder 4 should be taken out, the motor 72 is turned on by the controller 72, and the carrier 6 moves on the chain 8 from the left side to the right side in FIG. Rotate 180 degrees, push the back of product 01 and drop product 01 into the outlet on the right side of the figure. The front guide 50 prevents the product 01 from bending at the exit of the partition plate 44. When the product 01 is completely dropped, the carrier 6 opposite to the 180 ° touches the carrier switch 10 to stop the motor 18. 2 for chain 8
There is one carrier 6, and one stroke makes one carrier 6.
Rotates 1/2 the length of the chain 8. Therefore, the extruder 4 is in a stationary state at the right end of FIG. Since the pair of carriers 6, 6 are provided on the chain 8 at positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees, the carrier 6 on the opposite side is used when the product is taken out next time, so that the product can be taken out quickly. The chain 8 is hidden in the groove 62, and the chain 8 is a product 0
There is no possibility of touching 1 to stain the product 01 or disturbing the line of the stacked product 01.

If the extruder 4 is used a large number of times, the chain 8 extends, and the force from the driving gear 14 cannot be transmitted to the chain 8 as it is. When the chain 8 extends again,
As shown in FIG. 5, the carrier 6 tilts to the left and right, and the product 01
Is shaken to the left and right and collides with the partition plate 44, and the product cannot be taken out. Here, if a large tension is applied to the chain 8 from the beginning so that the chain 8 does not slack even if it extends, the chain 8 will not rotate even if force is applied from the prime mover 14.
There is an appropriate range for the tension on the chain 8, and troubles will occur above and below this. However, in the embodiment, the pair of front and back coil springs 3 of the frame body 35 of the extruder 4 is used.
2, 32 press the pivot shaft 56 forward through the mounting plate 22, and the driven gear 16 advances in the through slot 60 accordingly. As a result, the elongation of the chain 8 is corrected by the movement of the driven gear 16, and an appropriate tension is always applied to the chain 8. Therefore, power is always transmitted to the chain 8 from the driving gear 14, and the carrier 6 does not tilt and the product does not move.

The spring 3 is used to correct the elongation of the chain 8.
It is also conceivable to use a third guide gear instead of 2. However, for that purpose, the driving gear 14 and the driven gear 16
And the third gear must be arranged in a triangular shape, which increases the height of the extruder 4. This is the state of FIG.
It can be understood by considering disposing the third gear so as to contact the lower half of the chain 8 on the lower side. Furthermore, gears are generally expensive. On the other hand, in the embodiment, the gearbox 20 is excluded and only the two gears 14 and 16 are required. When the spring 32 is used, the chain 8 is connected to the gears 14, 16
There is also the effect that it will be easier to hang. That is, the spring 32
When is pushed inward to move the driven gear 16 inward and the chain 8 is hung, it is easy to hang the chain 8 because the position of the gear 16 is moved inward. Further, although the chain 8 is described as an example in the embodiment, a belt may be used instead of the chain 8.

[0017]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, 1) products of different sizes can be freely accommodated, so a wide variety of products can be sold. Since it gives a great tension, there is no idling of the motor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part showing a pushing mechanism of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing problems of the conventional vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

01 products 36
Mounting rod 2 shelves 38
Hole 4 extruder 40
Receiver 6 Carrier 42
Screw 8 chain 44
Partition plate 10 Carrier switch 46, 48
Protrusion 12 Sold-out sensor 50
Front guide 14 Driving gear 52
Rear stopper 16 Driven gear 54
Hole 18 motor 56
Axis support 20 Gearbox 58
Bearing 22 Mounting plate 60
Through slot 24 Support plate 62
Groove 26 pins 64, 66
Hole 28 ring 68
Mounting hole 30 Screw 70
Product selection button 32 Coil spring 72
Controller 34 Child screw 74
Sold out display 35 frame

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of extruders are provided on a shelf for placing products, a partition plate with variable position is provided between the extruders, and the extruder comprises a conveyor composed of a chain or a belt. An automatic vending machine provided with a motor, a driven vehicle, and a carrier for pushing out a product on the conveyor, and a motor for driving the driven vehicle, wherein a pivot shaft of the driven vehicle is pushed out. An automatic vending machine, which is attached to the machine so as to be able to move forward and backward, and further provided with a spring for pressing the pivot shaft to the outside of the conveyor.