JPH10241034A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain the stop position of an elevator at a previously set normal position even when an endless belt or an endless chain is extended with time by providing the automatic vending machine with a stop position correcting device for driving the elevator by the endless belt and correcting the stop position of the elevator. SOLUTION: A memory included in a controller stores that the numbers of pulses generated from an encoder in a motor 46 are changed to 200, 400,..., and 1200 during a falling period from the waiting position '0' of the elevator 1 up to the height position of the lower edge side of each inclined commodity rack arranged on the lower part of the elevator 1. After checking that the elevator 1 is held at the uppermost position, the controller reads out the number of pulses corresponding to an inclined commodity rack required by a user from the memory, rotationally drives the motor 46 to descend the elevator 1 until the number of pulses generated from the encoder coincides with the number of pulses read out from the memory, and when both the numbers of pulses coincide with each other, steps the motor 46 to stop the elevator 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for merchandise packed in containers such as bottles, cans, and PET bottles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An elevator that moves up and down, a plurality of merchandise shelves stacked one above the other at intervals on the sides of the elevator and inclined downward toward the elevator, and pays goods from the merchandise shelves to the elevator. A vending machine having a dispensing device for dispensing goods is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-147483. In the vending machine disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-147483, the elevator stops at the side of the product shelf on which the desired product is placed, and the product delivery device operates,
The goods placed on the inclined goods shelf are dispensed onto the elevator, and the dispensed goods are conveyed to the commodity outlet by the elevator. Elevator stop position control is performed by a control device provided in the vending machine.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the vending machine disclosed in No. 3, the elevator is driven by an endless chain. When an elevator is driven by an endless belt or an endless chain, there arises a problem that the endless belt or the endless chain extends over time, and the stop position of the elevator shifts from a preset normal position. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and includes an elevator that moves up and down, and a plurality of merchandise shelves that are stacked at intervals on the sides of the elevator and that are vertically inclined toward the elevator. And an article dispensing apparatus for dispensing articles from an article shelf to an elevator, wherein the elevator is a vending machine driven by an endless belt or an endless chain. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine which can maintain the stop position of the vending machine at a preset regular position.

[0004]

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following description, the directions of arrows I, II, III, IV, V, and VI in FIGS. 1 to 9 will be referred to as forward, backward, left, right, upward, and downward, respectively. In addition,
1, 2, 3, and 8, the direction from the back surface to the front surface of the paper is the front, and the direction from the front surface to the back surface is the rear. In FIG. 9, the direction from the back surface to the front surface of the paper is the left side, and the direction from the front surface to the back surface is the right side.

FIG. 1 shows a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, an elevator 1 that can move up and down is disposed at the center of the vending machine 100 in the left-right direction. On the left and right sides of the elevator 1, a plurality of product shelves 2 that are stacked vertically and spaced apart from each other and that are inclined downward toward the elevator 1 are provided. The lower edge of the product shelf 2 extends forward and backward. Each product shelf 2
On the upper side, goods 200 packed in containers such as bottles, cans, and PET bottles are placed in a state of being aligned in the left-right direction with the central axis extending in the front-rear direction. On each product shelf 2, a plurality of rows of products 200 are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction.
Rows are placed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a seesaw-type product dispensing mechanism 3 is provided on the lower surface of the lower edge of each product shelf 2 and directly below each row of products 200. Elevator 1
The configuration of the product payout mechanism 3 will be described, focusing on the product payout mechanism 3 on the left side of FIG. The product dispensing mechanism 3 includes a hinge-shaped first stopper 31 whose upper end is rotatably supported on the product shelf 2 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the front-rear direction and whose lower end is free.
A lower end is a hinge-shaped second stopper 32 whose free end is a support end supported on the product shelf 2 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the front-rear direction, and an upper end is moved forward and backward to the free end of the first stopper 31. An intermediate arm 33 rotatably connected around an axis extending in the direction and having a lower end rotatably connected to a free end of the second stopper 32 around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. The first stopper 31, the second stopper 32, and the intermediate arm 33 have their upper ends, which are the support ends of the first stopper 31, point obliquely upward and to the left, and the lower ends, which are the support ends of the second stopper 32, point obliquely downward and to the right. It is arranged so as to extend to the left and right in parallel with the shelf 2. Product shelf 2 has the first
An opening 21 that allows the joint of the stopper 31 and the joint of the second stopper 32 to protrude above the product shelf 2 is formed. The opening 21 may be formed by punching the product shelf 2 or by forming a recess in the product shelf 2 by pressing or the like, and storing the first stopper 31, the second stopper 32, and the intermediate arm 33 in the recess. The open end of the recess may be the opening 21. The intermediate arm 33 is supported by the product shelf 2 so as to be movable in parallel with the product shelf 2 between a first position diagonally lower right and a second position diagonally upper left. The intermediate arm 33 is urged by a spring 34 obliquely downward and to the right in parallel with the shelf 2. As a result, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the intermediate arm 33 is normally at the first position diagonally right lower, the joint of the second stopper 32 projects above the product shelf 2, and the joint of the first stopper 31 The unit is retreated below the product shelf 2. The products 200 at the lower end of the product row are supported by the second stoppers 32 projecting upward from the product shelves 2, thereby preventing all the products 200 belonging to the product row from falling. A pressing piece 35 is fixed to the intermediate arm 33.

As shown in FIG. 4, the elevator 1 is constituted by a box-shaped member 11 whose upper end is open. A plurality of openings 11a are formed in the left and right side walls of the box-shaped member 11 so as to face a plurality of product dispensing mechanisms 3 arranged at an interval in the front and rear and at intervals in the anteroposterior direction. . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the elevator 1 is fixed to a slider 41 of an elevator driving device 4. Two guide rods 42 extending vertically are inserted into the slider 41,
A slider 4 is attached to one of endless belts 44 extending vertically extending between pulleys 43a and 43b disposed vertically.
1 is fixed. The upper pulley 43a is driven by a DC motor 46 with an encoder via a reduction gear (not shown) provided in the gear box 45. A dog 47a is attached to the back surface of the slider 41, and a dog 47b is attached to the bottom surface of the slider 41. Two optical sensors 4 spaced vertically
8, 49 are provided. The uppermost position of the slider 41 and thus the elevator 1 which is a standby position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5,
That is, the dock 47a blocks light emitted from the light emitting element of the optical sensor 48 at the upper side of the inclined commodity shelf 2 at the lower edge side. When the slider 41 and thus the elevator 1 are at the lowermost position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5, that is, at the height position on the lower edge side of the lowermost inclined commodity shelf 2, the light emitting element of the optical sensor 49 with the dock 47b below is emitted. Blocking the light. As shown in FIG. 6, the elevator 1 and the elevator driving device 4 are assembled in a rectangular framework 5. An opening 51 a is formed at the upper end of the front vertical girder 51 of the U-shaped cross section of the framework 5. When the elevator 1 is at the uppermost position as the standby position, that is, at the height position on the lower edge side of the uppermost inclined shelf 2, the elevator 1 faces the opening 51 a of the framework 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the framework 5
The vending machine 100 is mounted at the center in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 9, the middle door 101 of the vending machine 100
, An opening 101a is formed to face the opening 51a of the framework 5. In the outer door 102 of the vending machine 100, a product outlet 102a is formed to face the opening 51a of the framework 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, a belt-type product carrying conveyor 6 is attached to the elevator 1 so as to extend back and forth in parallel with the lower edge of the product shelf 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the elevator 1 is provided with side plates 7 that are disposed on both left and right sides of the product transport conveyor 6 and that can be turned only between a standing position and a position where the product transport conveyor 6 falls down. ing. The side plate 7 is urged in a rising direction by a spring (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the elevator 1 is provided with a side plate 7 on both sides of the product transport conveyor 6 when the side plate 7 is pushed down to the product transport conveyor 6 side.
A switch 8 for detecting that the product has fallen to the product transport conveyor 6 side is attached.

The elevator 1 has a driving device 9 for driving the product dispensing mechanism 3 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 below the product conveying conveyor 6 and facing a plurality of openings 11a formed in the side wall. Are mounted at intervals in the direction parallel to the lower edge of the product shelf 2, that is, in the front-back direction. The driving device 9 includes a DC servo motor 91 having an encoder and a reduction gear 9 disposed in a gear box 92.
3, a driving rod 94 meshing with the reduction gear 93, and a driving rod 9
4 and an optical sensor 95 for detecting the initial position. When the driving rod 94 is at the initial position, the opening 94a formed in the driving rod 94 faces the optical sensor 95, and the optical sensor 95 detects that the driving rod 94 is at the initial position. As can be seen from FIG.
It is curved in an arc shape, and as shown by an arrow in FIG. 8, makes a circular motion to the left and right by a rotating reduction gear 93. When the drive rod 94 makes an arc movement to the left, the left end of the drive rod 94 passes through the opening 11a of the left side wall of the elevator 1 and protrudes to the left of the elevator 1. When the drive rod 94 makes an arc movement to the right, The right end of the driving rod 94 protrudes to the right of the elevator 1 through the opening 11a in the right side wall of the elevator 1. The product payout mechanism 3 and the product payout mechanism driving device 9 constitute a product payout device. The elevator 1, the product delivery mechanism driving device 9, and the product transport conveyor 6 are controlled by a control device (not shown).

The operation of the vending machine 100 according to this embodiment will be described below. One product row is composed of the same product 200. On a plurality of product shelves 2, constituent products 2
There are a plurality of different commodity rows of 00. The user selects a desired product 200 and presses a product selection switch (not shown). A control device (not shown) incorporated in the vending machine 100 operates, the DC motor 46 of the elevator driving device 4 rotates, the pulley 43 a rotates via a reduction gear provided in the gear box 45, and the endless belt 44. Runs. Slider 41 fixed to endless belt 44
Is moved downward from the uppermost position, which is the standby position, by the guide rod 42, and the elevator 1 fixed to the slider 41 approaches the product shelf 2 on which a row of desired products 200 is placed. The DC motor 46 of the elevator driving device 4 is stopped, and the elevator 1 stops facing the lower edge of the product shelf on which the row of the desired products 200 is placed. The stop position control of the elevator 1 is performed as follows. In this embodiment, the elevator 1 is moved from the standby position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, that is, from the height position on the lower edge side of the uppermost inclined shelf 2 in FIG.
The encoder of the motor 46 is configured so that the number of pulses emitted while descending to the lowermost position indicated by the dashed line, that is, the lowermost side of the inclined shelf 2 is 1200 pulses. Since the inclined commodity shelves 2 are arranged at equal intervals, the elevator 1 is moved downward from the standby position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, that is, from the height position on the lower edge side of the uppermost inclined commodity shelf 2. The number of pulses generated by the encoder of the motor 46 while descending to the height position on the lower side of the shelf 2 is 200, 400, 600, 800, 100
0 and 1200 pulses. The optical sensor 48 detects that the elevator 1 is at the standby position, that is, the uppermost position, and the optical sensor 49 detects that the elevator 1 is at the lowermost position. The memory provided in the control device (not shown) of the vending machine includes a standby position, that is, when the elevator 1 is at the height position on the lower edge side of the uppermost inclined commodity shelf 2, the elevator 1 is provided with each inclined commodity below. While lowering the shelf 2 to the height position on the lower edge side, the motor 4
The number of pulses generated by the encoder 6 is 200, 400, 6
00, 800, 1000, and 1200 are stored. Therefore, the control device (not shown) of the vending machine 100 first confirms that the elevator 1 is at the uppermost position, which is the standby position, and then checks the product 200 desired by the user.
Is read from the memory, and the motor 46 is driven to rotate and lower the elevator 1 until the number of pulses generated by the encoder matches the number of pulses read from the memory, When the number of pulses generated by the encoder matches the number of pulses read from the memory, the motor 46 is stopped and the elevator 1 is stopped. As a result, the elevator 1 accurately stops at the height position on the lower edge side of the inclined commodity shelf 2 on which the commodity 200 desired by the user is placed.

The DC servo motor 91 of the drive unit 9 facing the product line constituted by the desired product 200 rotates, and the reduction gear 93 rotates. The drive rod 94 meshing with the reduction gear 93 is moved from the initial position in which the left and right ends are at the same height position to the product shelf 2 on which the product row constituted by the desired product 200 is placed. , And the left or right end of the drive rod 94 passes through an opening 11 a formed in the side wall of the elevator 1, and a product shelf on which a product row composed of desired products 200 is placed. Protruding toward 2. When a product line constituted by desired products 200 is placed on the left product shelf 2, the left end of the drive rod 94 passes through the opening 11 a formed in the left side wall of the elevator 1 and moves to the left. Protruding and desired product 2
When the product line constituted by 00 is placed on the right product shelf 2, the right end of the drive rod 94 projects rightward through the opening 11 a formed in the right side wall of the elevator 1. The stroke of the circular motion of the driving rod 94 is accurately controlled by comparing the number of pulses generated by the encoder with the number of pulses indicating a preset stroke.

The protruding end of the drive rod 94 enters the gap between the vertically adjacent product shelves 2 and comes into contact with the pressing piece 35 of the product dispensing mechanism 3 disposed immediately below the desired product line. Press piece 3
5. Push up diagonally upward. Since the arc-shaped drive rod 94 makes an arc movement, the protruding end of the drive rod 94 moves substantially along the inclined gap between the vertically adjacent product shelves 2. As a result, the gap between the vertically adjacent product shelves 2 is narrow, and the lower surface of the product shelf 2 on which a desired product row is placed and the top of the product 200 placed on the product shelf 2 immediately below the product shelf 2 Is small, the protruding end of the drive rod 94 can move in the narrow inclined gap without interfering with the commodity 200 below. The end of the driving rod 94 is the pressing piece 35.
As a result, the intermediate arm 33 of the product payout mechanism 3 moves from the first position diagonally below to the second position diagonally upward, and the joint of the second stopper 32 retreats below the product shelf 2. The first stopper 31 protrudes above the product shelf 2. The lowermost commodity 200 of the desired commodity row loses the support of the second stopper 32 and falls from the lower end of the commodity shelf 2 into the elevator 1. The second product 200 from the lowermost end of the desired product row is supported by the first stopper 31. As a result, all other products 2 belonging to the desired product row
00 from the product shelf 2 is prevented.

When the lowermost product 200 of the desired product row falls from the lower end of the product shelf 2 into the elevator 1, the side plate 7 of the elevator 1 is pushed down to the product transport conveyor 6 side. The switch 8 is pressed by the pushed down side plate 7, and the side plate 7
Is detected, that is, that the desired product 200 has been carried out of the product shelf 2 to the elevator 1. After the product 200 moves into the elevator 1, the fallen side plate 7 stands up by the urging force of a spring (not shown). The upright side plate 7 facing the pushed down side plate 7 prevents occurrence of a situation in which the commodity 200 gets over the elevator 1 and falls to the opposite side. After it is detected that the desired product 200 has been dispensed from the product shelf 2 to the elevator 1, the DC servo motor 91 rotates in the reverse direction, and the drive rod 94 returns to the initial position.
The return of the drive rod 94 to the initial position is detected by the optical sensor 95 for detecting the initial position. Desired product 2
If it is not detected that 00 has been dispensed from the product shelf 2 to the elevator 1, the driving rod 94 is driven again, and
Attempt to pay out the desired product 200 from the product shelf 2 is made.

After the desired product 200 is dispensed from the product shelf 2 to the elevator 1, the elevator 1 moves upward and reaches the height position of the opening 51a of the framework 5. Since the elevator 1 is assembled in the framework 5, it has sufficient strength and operates stably. During the movement of the elevator 1, the upright side plate 7 prevents the commodity 200 from falling from the elevator 1. The product transport conveyor 6 starts operating, and the product 200 is transported toward the opening 51a of the framework 5. As shown in FIG. 9, the product 200 passes through the opening 51 a of the framework 5 and the opening 101 a of the middle door 101, and passes through the opening 10.
It falls on a product take-out shelf 103 disposed below and in front of 1a, and is taken out of the vending machine 100 through a product take-out port 102a of the outer door 102.

Due to the weight of the elevator 1 and the weight of the product 200, the endless belt 44 of the elevator driving device 4 extends over time. When the endless belt 44 is extended, the distance between the teeth of the endless belt 44 becomes longer, so that the traveling distance of the endless belt 44 with respect to the rotation of the pulley 43a at a unit angle becomes longer. That is, the DC motor 46 of the elevator driving device 4
, The travel distance of the endless belt 44 for the rotation of the unit angle becomes longer, and the travel distance of the endless belt 44 for the unit pulse generated by the encoder of the DC motor 46 becomes longer. As a result, the control device (not shown) incorporated in the vending machine 100 compares the number of pulses read from the memory and corresponding to each inclined commodity shelf with the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the DC motor 46 to stop the elevator 1. When the position control is performed, the elevator 1 actually stops at an excessively high position on the lower edge side of the target inclined commodity shelf 2,
The carry-out of the goods 200 from the inclined goods shelf 2 to the elevator 1 is hindered. In order to cope with the above problem, in the vending machine 100 according to the present embodiment, the built-in control device (not shown) moves the elevator 1 to the standby position, that is, every predetermined period based on the count of the built-in timer (not shown). Lower from the top position to the bottom position, during which DC
Detect the number of pulses X generated by the encoder of the motor 46,
X is divided by the numerical value stored in the memory as the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the DC motor 46 while the elevator 1 descends from the standby position to the lowest position, that is, 1200, and X
/ 1200 is stored in the memory as the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the motor 46 while the elevator 1 descends from the uppermost position to the height position on the lower edge side of each inclined commodity shelf 2 below, 200, 400, 600, 800,
Multiplied by 1000, 1200, the obtained value, 200 × X /
1200, 400 × X / 1200, 600 × X / 120
0, 800 × X / 1200, 1000 × X / 1200,
The memory 1200 × X / 1200 is used as a corrected value of the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the motor 46 while the elevator 1 descends from the uppermost position to the height position on the lower edge side of each inclined commodity shelf 2 below. To memorize. Vending machine 10
Thereafter, a control device (not shown) built in 0 performs the stop control of the elevator 1 based on the corrected pulse number.
As a result, even if the endless belt 44 that drives the elevator 1 extends over time, the elevator 1 stops accurately at the height position on the lower edge side of each inclined commodity shelf 2.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. In the above embodiment,
Although the elevator 1 is driven by the endless belt 44, even when the elevator 1 is driven by the endless chain,
By correcting the stop position of the elevator 1 in the same manner as in the above embodiment, it is possible to cope with the elongation of the endless chain over time. In the above-described embodiment, the control device (not shown) incorporated in the vending machine corrects the stop position of the elevator 1 every predetermined period based on the count of the incorporated timer, but as shown in FIG. A mark 11b is formed on the front end wall of the box-shaped member 11, and as shown in FIG. 6, the mark 11b is seen through the front stringer 51 of the framework 5 for storing the elevator 1 when the elevator 1 is at a regular stop position. May be formed. According to the above configuration, the maintenance staff of the vending machine 100 can
And the inner door 101 are opened, and the elevator 1 is stopped at the stop position on the lower edge side of each product shelf 2 under the stop position control by a control device (not shown) incorporated in the vending machine 100, and the see-through hole 51b is opened. The marker 11b formed on the front end wall of the box-shaped member 11 of the elevator 1 is seen through, and when the marker 11b cannot be seen through, it is determined that the stop position of the elevator 1 is deviated from the normal position, and the control device determines the stop position. By performing the correction operation and correcting the stop position of the elevator 1 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, the stop position of the elevator can be quickly corrected to the normal position. When correcting the stop position of the elevator 1, the DC motor 4 is moved while the elevator 1 is lowered from the standby position, that is, from the uppermost position to the lowermost position.
The number of pulses X generated by the encoder No. 6 is displayed on some display device, and the maintenance person reads the number of pulses X from the display device, and 200 × X / 1200, 400 × X / 120
0, 600 × X / 1200, 800 × X / 1200, 1
000 × X / 1200 and 1200 × X / 1200 are calculated, and the obtained value is used as the value of the motor 46 while the elevator 1 descends from the uppermost position to the height position on the lower edge side of each inclined commodity shelf 2 below. The correction value of the number of pulses generated by the encoder may be stored in the memory of the control device using any input device. In the above-described embodiment, the commodity dispensing mechanism 3 is driven by using the commodity dispensing mechanism driving device 9. However, a solenoid may be attached to the commodity dispensing mechanism 3 and the commodity dispensing mechanism 3 may be driven by using the solenoid.

[0018]

As described above, in the vending machine according to the present invention, even if the endless belt or the endless chain for driving the elevator extends over time, the stop position correcting device corrects the stop position of the elevator. Since the elevator is returned to the predetermined regular position, the stop position of the elevator is maintained at the preset regular position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an internal structure of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a commodity payout mechanism provided in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an elevator provided in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an elevator driving device provided in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing a state in which the elevator of FIG. 4 and the elevator driving device of FIG. 5 are assembled in a framework. (A)
Is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along the arrow bb in (a).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a driving device that drives a commodity payout mechanism provided in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the arrow aa in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view showing the operation of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Elevator 2 Merchandise shelf 3 Commodity payout mechanism 4 Elevator drive device 5 Frame 6 Commodity transport conveyor 7 Side plate 8 Switch 9 Driving device 47a, 47b Dog 48, 49 Optical sensor 100 Vending machine

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An elevator that moves up and down, a plurality of merchandise shelves stacked vertically at intervals on the sides of the elevator, and inclined downward toward the elevator, and pays goods from the merchandise shelves to the elevator. A vending machine, comprising: a commodity dispensing device for dispensing, an elevator driven by an endless belt, and a stop position correcting device for correcting a stop position of the elevator. 2. An elevator that moves up and down, a plurality of merchandise shelves stacked vertically apart from each other on the side of the elevator, and inclined downward toward the elevator; A vending machine comprising: a product dispensing device for dispensing a product; an elevator driven by an endless chain; and a stop position correcting device for correcting a stop position of the elevator. 3. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein a mark is formed on the elevator, and a through hole through which the mark can be seen when the elevator is at a proper stop position is formed in a framework for storing the elevator. 3. The vending machine according to 1 or 2.