JPH09102074A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of components in use, to facilitate assembling operation, and to hold a passage in a secure form when a serpentine article passage is formed of a couple of side plates and many curved guide plates. SOLUTION: Shaft parts 27 having both end parts 27a projected are formed in curling shape and provided at the upper edge part and lower edge part of a guide plate 26, and projection pieces 28 are raised and formed at both end parts 27a of the shaft parts 27; and holes 24 and cut parts 25 communicating with the lower parts of the holes 24 are formed in the side plates 22 and 23, both the end parts 27a and projection pieces 28 of the shaft parts 27 are inserted into the holes 24, and the guide plate 26 is lowered to fit both the end parts 27a of the shaft parts 27 in the cut parts 25, the projection pieces 28 are positioned outside the side plates 22 and 23, and the guide plate 26 is thus fitted to the side plates 22 and 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine having a product passage in a main body which extends in a meandering manner in the vertical direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vending machine, a product passage extending vertically in a zigzag shape is provided in a main body.
This is for cushioning when stored products (cans, bottles, etc. containing beverages) are descending, and for attitude control, and is installed between the pair of side plates and the front and rear between these side plates to raise and lower. It is formed by a large number of curved guide plates arranged side by side.

FIG. 13 shows a part of the product passage as a representative, in which two holes 3 are formed vertically in the side plates 1 and 2, and the guide plate 4 has an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion. A cylindrical portion 5 is formed on each of the side plates 1, and a shaft 6 is inserted from each hole 3 of the side plate 1 through each cylindrical portion 5 of the guide plate 4 into each hole 3 of the side plate 2. A guide plate 4 is installed between the side plates 1 and 2 by being hit and preventing the shaft 6 from coming off. By attaching the guide plates 4 in a staggered arrangement in the upper and lower sides of the side plates 1 and 2, respectively, a product passage extending vertically in a meandering manner is formed.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, two shafts 6 and two push nuts 7 are required to attach each of the guide plates 4 to the side plates 1 and 2, so that the parts used. There was a problem that there were many points. In addition, each mounting of the guide plate 4 requires two laborious shafts 6 to pass through and two push shafts 7 to push the push nuts 7, respectively. It was hanging. Furthermore, in this case, the push nut 7 is not struck against the shafts 6 in a constant manner, and an erroneous striking position, an inclination, or the like occurs, which easily spreads between the side plates 1 and 2, and the product is jammed or the posture is changed. I was coming (such as what should be horizontal stands up).

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore an object thereof is to form a product passage.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine which can reduce the number of parts used, simplify the assembling work, and reliably maintain the shape of the passage.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in the vending machine of the present invention, a pair of side plates and a pair of side plates are rotatably installed between the side plates and arranged vertically. A plurality of curved guide plates provided with a product passage extending vertically in a meandering shape, and the shaft portions of which both end portions project to the upper edge portion and the lower edge portion of the guide plate are curled. The shaft portion is formed by raising projecting pieces at both end portions of the shaft portion, and the side plate is provided with a hole through which the both end portions of the shaft portion and the projecting piece are inserted, and the shaft portion communicating below the hole. And notches into which both ends of the are inserted.

According to the above means, the mounting of the guide plate to the side plate is performed by the portion (shaft portion, projecting piece) integrally formed with the guide plate. Further, the mounting is performed only by inserting those portions into the holes and the notches of the side plate and lowering the guide plate. The projecting piece that is inserted and lowered then functions not only to prevent the shaft portion from coming off, but also to control the spread between the side plates with a certain size.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 2 shows a main body 11 of a vending machine. Inside the main body 11, columns 12 are provided in front and rear two rows, and in each column 12, product passages 13 are further provided in front and rear two rows, for a total of four rows. ing. A cooler 15, a heater 16, and cool air and hot air generated by the cooler 15 and the hot air are separated from each other by a delivery chute 14 in the lower portion of the main body 11 below the product passage 13.
A circulation fan 17 that selectively circulates in the inside of 1 is arranged.

A compressor 18 and a condenser 19 which form a refrigeration cycle together with the cooler 15 are arranged below the main body 11 and a cooling fan 20 for cooling them is arranged. A door 21 for displaying products is provided at the front opening of the.

Here, FIG. 1 shows a part of the product passage 13 (column 12) as a representative, and there is a pair of side plates 22 and 23 on the left and right. The side plates 22 and 23 are provided with an oval hole 24 and an oval notch 25 (which is narrower than the hole 24) which communicates with the hole 24 below the hole 24. On the other hand, the guide plate 26 is made of a curved rectangular metal plate, and its upper edge and lower edge are
The shaft portion 27 from which the both end portions 27a project is curled, and the projecting pieces 28 are formed at both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27.

In this case, the holes 24 of the side plates 22 and 23 are formed to have a size larger than the size of the side surface shape obtained by adding the protrusion 28 to the shaft portion 27 of the guide plate 26, and the size of the upper and lower two of them. The notch 25 is formed wider than the diameter D of only the shaft 27. Also, the hole 24 and the notch 25 are
As shown in FIG. 3, the guide plates 2 are provided above and below the side plates 22 and 23.
A large number of them are formed in four rows in the front and rear at a pitch corresponding to the vertical dimension of 6, and the pitch of the holes 24 and the notches 25 is shifted by half a pitch in each row. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, for the bottom and top of each row,
The notch 25 is formed with the length of one shaft 27,
In other cases, that is, from the second to the second from the bottom, the notch 25 is formed with a length of two or more shafts 27 (in this case, two). There is.

In addition, the protrusions 28 do not overlap with each other even when the guide plates 26 are vertically stacked and are stacked,
In this case, it is formed in a fan shape with a width (size) that does not overlap, and both ends 27a of the shaft portion 27 are formed by the protrusions 2.
It is formed to have a length further protruding from the position 8 by the dimension L in the axial direction. In addition, in order to prevent the projecting pieces 28 from vertically overlapping, the projecting directions may be changed such that the projecting directions are opposite.

In forming the product passage 13 with this structure, as shown in FIG. 5, first, one guide plate 2 is formed.
6. Both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 at the lower edge portion of 6 and the projecting piece 28 are inserted into the lowermost hole 24 of the front row, and both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 at the upper edge portion and the projecting piece 28 are in the same row. The second hole 24 from the bottom is inserted into the hole 24, and then the guide plate 26 is lowered, so that both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 are fitted into the notches 25 through the holes 24. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the projecting piece 28 is located outside the side plates 22 and 23 from the notch 25, respectively, and prevents both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27, and by extension, the entire guide plate 26 from coming off. .

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 at the lower edge portion of the guide plate 26 and the projecting piece 28 are formed.
Insert and into the second hole 24 from the bottom of the front row,
Both ends 27a of the shaft portion 27 are inserted by inserting both ends 27a of the shaft portion 27 at the upper edge and the projecting piece 28 into the third hole 24 from the bottom in the same row, and then lowering the guide plate 26 thereof. Part 2
7a are fitted into the notches 25 through the holes 24, respectively.

After that, by repeating this, the both ends 27a of the shaft portion 27 of the guide plate 26 are sequentially fitted into the notches 25 from all the holes 24 in the front row, and finally, the commodity loading rail 29 is attached, and Both ends 2 of the shaft portion 27 of the upper guide plate 26
Hold down 7a. The same procedure is repeated in sequence from the front row to the second row, the third row, and the last row, so that each column 12 has two meandering product passages 1 each.
Form 3

The mounting of the guide plate 26 is as follows.
The side plates 22 and 23 are framed by four connecting rods 30 as shown in FIG. 8 while the side plates 22 and 23 are slightly widened. Further, FIG. 2 shows a product discharge mechanism 31 provided at the bottom of the product passage 13 formed as described above.

As described above, according to this structure, the side plate 2 for forming the product passage 13 extending vertically in a meandering shape.
The guide plate 26 can be attached to the shafts 2, 23 by means of the shaft portion 27 and the projecting piece 28, both of which are integrally formed with the guide plate 26. Since it is not necessary to have two for each of the guide plates 26,
The number of parts used can be reduced sufficiently.

Further, the mounting itself, the shaft portion 27 and the projecting piece 28.
It suffices that the guide plates 26 be lowered by inserting the guide plates 26 into the holes 24 of the side plates 22 and 23, and two shafts 6 are passed through each of the guide plates as in the conventional one. There is no need for the troublesome work of hitting the push nuts 7 on each of the two shafts 6,
Assembly work can be sufficiently simplified.

Further, the position of the projecting piece 28 with respect to the shaft portion 27 is constant for all the guide plates 26, and there is no error in the hitting position such as hitting of the push nut with respect to the conventional shaft or inclination, so that the side plate 22 is provided. , 23
The space between them can be controlled with a constant size, that is, the shape of the passage can be reliably retained, and it is possible to prevent the product from being jammed or changing its posture.

In addition, particularly in the above-mentioned structure, two or more both end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 are fitted in the notch portion 25 from the second from the bottom to the second from the top. Since they are formed in the length, the notch 25
Can be shared by the two shafts 27, and the notch 25
And the number of holes 24 can be reduced, and
The punching die to be formed at 23 can be easily manufactured, and the strength of the side plates 22 and 23 can be maintained high. It should be noted that the cutout portions 25, the lowermost portion and the uppermost portion, each have only one end portion 27a of the shaft portion 27 fitted therein, but may have a length such that two or more fitting portions are fitted therein.

Further, since the projecting piece 28 is formed in such a form that it does not overlap even when the guide plate 26 is vertically stacked, the projecting piece 28 has two or more end portions 27a of the shaft portion 27 as described above. In the notch 25 part to be fitted, the projecting pieces 28 do not overlap with each other, and the guide plate 26 can be arranged neatly, and the cushioning effect and the attitude control effect when the stored products descend are surely obtained. You can

Since the shaft portion 27 is formed to have a length that further projects in the axial direction from the projecting piece 28, the shaft portion 27 is formed.
The projecting piece 28 and the portion ahead of the projecting piece 28 protrude outward from the side plates 22 and 23 with a margin, and the detachment from the side plates 22 and 23 can be prevented more reliably.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the outer surface of each of the side plates 22 and 23 is located outside the side plates 22 and 23 by forming the protruding piece 28 into a wavy shape. It shows the one in which the convex portion 32 protruding in the direction is formed. By doing so, the projecting piece 28 comes into contact with the outer surfaces of the side plates 22 and 23 on the side plates 22 and 23 side from the root portion and presses the side plates 22 and 23. The presser can be strengthened more strongly when it is about to be unfolded due to the collision, and therefore, the shape of the passage can be maintained more reliably, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the product from being jammed or changing its posture.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the side plate 2 is positioned outside the side plates 22 and 23 by extruding a part of the projecting piece 28.
2 and 23, the protrusions 33 protruding in the respective outer surface directions are formed. Even in this case, the same operation and effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

[0025]

The present invention is as described above.
The following effects are obtained. According to the vending machine of claim 1,
When forming a meandering product passage with a pair of side plates and a large number of curved fixed guide plates, it is possible to reduce the number of parts used, simplify assembly work, and securely maintain the shape of the passage. As a result, it is possible to prevent the product from being clogged or the posture to be changed.

According to the vending machine of the second aspect, it is possible to easily manufacture the punching die in which the guide plate mounting hole and the notch are formed in the side plate, and the strength of the side plate can be maintained high. it can. According to the automatic vending machine of the third aspect, the guide plates can be arranged in an orderly manner, and the cushioning effect and the attitude control effect when the stored products are lowered can be surely obtained.

According to the automatic vending machine of claim 4, it is possible to more reliably prevent the guide plate from coming off from the side plate.
According to the vending machine of the fifth aspect, the shape of the passage can be maintained more reliably, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the product from being jammed and the posture from changing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall vertical side view.

FIG. 3 is a side view in which a part of a side plate is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged side view of a side plate.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged side view of a side plate showing a guide plate attaching step 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view of a part of the main part.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged side view of a side plate showing a guide plate mounting step 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a side plate assembly.

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a projecting piece.

FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 is a main body, 13 is a product passage, 22 and 23 are side plates, 24
Is a hole, 25 is a notch, 26 is a guide plate, 27 is a shaft, 2
Reference numeral 7a denotes both ends of the shaft portion, 28 denotes a protruding piece, and 32 and 33 denote convex portions.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A product passage extending vertically in a meandering manner is provided in the main body by a pair of side plates and a plurality of curved guide plates that are rotatably installed between the side plates and are vertically arranged. In this case, the guide plate is provided at its upper edge portion and lower edge portion with shaft portions having both ends protruding by curling, and at both end portions of this shaft portion, projecting pieces are raised to form the side plates with An automatic vending machine, characterized in that a hole through which both ends of the shaft portion and the projecting piece are inserted, and a notch portion communicating below the hole and into which both ends of the shaft portion are fitted are formed. 2. The cutout portion is formed to have a length such that at least two end portions of the shaft portion are fitted in at least the second one from the bottom and the second one from the bottom. The vending machine according to claim 1. 3. When the shaft portion is fitted into the cutout portion of the projecting piece,
The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the upper and lower protrusions are formed so as not to overlap each other. 4. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the shaft portion is formed to have a length that further projects in the axial direction from the projecting piece. 5. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the projecting piece is provided with a convex portion that projects toward the outer surface of the side plate while being located outside the side plate.