JPH10247275A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an automatic vending machine so that the stored number of products in a pusher-type product storage rack loaded on the automatic vending machine is increased and correspondence to the size change of the sales product is realized. SOLUTION: In the automatic vending machine, the box products 3 such as cigarettes are arranged in front/back columns and they are piled and stored on the upper face of the base 4 on a product storage column 1 and the products arranged at the lowest order are carried out forward in order by the operation of a pusher-type bending mechanism 2 incorporated in the base. The pile-up areas of the products, which are arranged in the three rows forwards/backwards are formed on the upper face of the column base. Inclination step parts where the areas of the back columns become slightly low are formed between the respective areas and the column base 4 is divided into two of a front base 41 and the back base 411. The respective divided bases are engaged and connected so that they are extended/contracted and the length of an intermediate column area is variably controlled by adjusting it to product sizes L1 and L2. The products of the various sizes, which are stored by arranging them in the three columns can be sold without a trouble with the moving control operation of a gate 5 and a parting wall 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine equipped with a pusher-type product storage rack for selling box-shaped products such as cigarettes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As cigarette vending machines mentioned above, product storage columns are arranged on each side of a product storage rack housed in the machine, and the columns are arranged on the left and right. Products (cigarettes) are stacked and stored in two rows,
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-29854 discloses a structure in which a pusher-type bend mechanism incorporated in a column base is used to carry out products in order from the lowest order to the front.
No. 8, for example.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the configuration of one column of a pusher type product storage rack mounted on such a vending machine. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a product storage column, 2 denotes a pusher type bend mechanism, and 3 denotes a product. The products 3 are stacked and stored in the product storage column 1 in two front and rear rows. Here, the product storage column 1 holds a box-shaped base 4 incorporating a pusher type bend mechanism 2 with its upper surface as a product stacking stage, a product cutout gate 5 provided at the upper front thereof, and stored products. It consists of a front shaft 6 and an L-shaped column partition wall 7 that partitions the side and rear surfaces of the column.
In addition, an inclined step 4a is formed on the upper surface of the column base 4 so that the area of the rear row is slightly lower by connecting the area of stacking the articles arranged in the front row and the area of stacking the articles arranged in the rear row. Note that, as will be described later, this inclined step 4a is the lowermost product in the rear row, which is pushed by the pusher coming from behind during the selling operation and moves forward on the base upper surface, of the second lowest product in the front row. It performs the function of sinking down and pushing the lowest order product in the front row forward.

The pusher type bend mechanism 2 has a pusher 2b connected to a timing belt 2a stretched between the front and rear pulleys along the longitudinal direction of the column base 4 so that a tip of the pusher 2b protrudes from the upper surface of the base. The pusher 2b is moved in the direction of the arrow in accordance with the selling operation by driving the 2c. Reference numeral 2d denotes a stop position detection switch of the pusher disposed on the orbital movement path of the timing belt 2a, and 2e denotes a belt 2a opposed to the switch 2d.
Dogs (protrusions) provided at regular intervals on the peripheral surface of.

[0005] The selling operation of such a pusher-type product storage rack is well known, and the bend motor 2 is provided for each selling operation.
c starts, the pusher 2b moves in the direction of the arrow by one pitch, and by this pusher movement, the goods 3 stacked and stored in the column are dispensed in the order of # 1 to # 4, and the goods are taken out through a shooter (not shown). To be carried out. When the dog 2e, which moves around with the timing belt 2a for each sales operation, activates the stop position detection switch 2a, the bend motor 2c is activated by a command from a control unit (not shown) based on this switch operation signal. Stops and enters the sales standby state.

[0006] Fig. 5 (a) shows the storage state of the product in the product storage column 1 set according to the standard size (length L1) of the product (cigarette) 3, and Fig. 5 (b) shows the short and small size of the product to be sold. (Length L2) when the product (short-sized cigarette) is changed to the storage condition. When the product is changed from the standard size to the short size, the inclined step portion 4a described above is used. Is used as a reference for positioning, and the depth dimension of the column is adjusted by moving the front gate 5 backward and the rear partition wall 7 forward in accordance with the product size.

[0007]

By the way, recently, in order to reduce the number of replenishment of goods to the vending machine installed at the location and to reduce the labor cost of maintenance staff, the vending machine is almost the same as the conventional machine. It is required as a market need to increase the number of stored products while keeping the outer size. For this reason, regarding the cigarette vending machine described above, manufacturers have taken various measures to increase the product storage efficiency by reducing the in-flight play space as much as possible from the design point of view, but as described above, the product storage column In the current rack configuration in which the products 3 are arranged in two front and rear rows, the increase in the number of stored products is almost at its limit.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, it is possible to significantly increase the number of products stored without changing the basic structure of the pusher type product storage rack, and also to easily change the size of the product for sale. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine in which a product storage column is improved so as to be able to handle the vending machine.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a vending machine equipped with a pusher-type product storage rack, comprising three or more rows arranged in front and rear on a base surface of a product storage column base. The product stacking areas and the inclined steps are formed between the areas, and the products are stacked and stored in each area to sell the goods.

[0010] As described above, by arranging and stacking the products in the front and rear three rows in the product storage column, the depth of the column is equivalent to one product while the height of the product storage rack remains the same as that of the conventional machine. Just expand slightly as much as you do,
The number of articles stored per column can be increased by 30% or more compared to the conventional two-row storage system of the conventional machine, and an inclined step is formed between each area formed on the top surface of the base in the front and rear rows. Thereby, the product can be stably carried out forward without trouble in taking out.

In order to cope with a change in the size of a product to be sold, a product storage column in which three or more rows of product stacking regions are formed in the column as described above and an inclined step is formed between the regions. According to the present invention, the base of the product storage column is divided into front and rear by an intermediate row region arranged between the front row and the last row of product stacking areas,
The split bases are connected to each other in an extensible manner, and the length of the intermediate row area is variably adjusted according to the length of the product to be sold. A row is divided at an inclined step portion connected to a row region and a region arranged immediately before the row, and the divided bases are slidably fitted and connected in the front-rear direction.

As described above, by forming the column base into a divided structure, even when a product to be sold is changed to a product having a different length, the length of the intermediate row region is increased by expanding and contracting between the divided bases. Can be variably adjusted according to the product size,
In addition, by moving the gate on the front side of the column and the column partitioning plate on the rear side in the front-rear direction in conjunction with this adjustment operation, products of various sizes can be carried out without any trouble.

Further, according to the present invention, a pusher-type bend mechanism incorporated in a column base for controlling a product unloading operation corresponding to a change in size of a product for sale is provided.
Control means for automatically adjusting the stop position of the pusher accompanying the product unloading operation according to the length size of the sold product,
Automatic adjustment means for variably setting the appropriate stop position of the pusher at the time of selling operation according to the size of the product shall be provided, and here the setting of the automatic adjustment means corresponding to various product sizes will be provided with the vending machine attached Do it on the keyboard.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a pusher type product storage rack according to the present invention mounted on a vending machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the drawings of the embodiment, the same members corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b),
The structure of the pusher type bend mechanism 2 is basically the same as that shown in FIG.
This is the same as the conventional structure of the two-row storage system shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, in order to store the products 3 in the front and rear three rows in the column, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper stage of the column base 4 has three product stacking areas arranged front and rear along its longitudinal direction. I, II, and III are formed, and inclined steps 4a and 4b are formed between the regions I, II, and III such that the rear region is slightly lower than the immediately preceding region. In the following description, the regions I, II, and III are referred to as I in the front row region, II in the middle row region, and III as the back row region.

Further, the column base 4 is divided into a front base 4I and a rear base 4II before and after the inclined step 4a formed between the intermediate row area II and the front row area I. The rear base 4II has a front end slidably inserted into a rear end of the front base 4I and is fitted and connected so as to be relatively expandable and contractible in the front-rear direction. When a product of a standard size (length L2) is sold in the product storage column 1 having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 1A, the rear base 4II is pulled out rearward with respect to the front base 4I. Positioning and setting are performed so that the length of the intermediate row region II corresponds to the size L2 of the product 3, and further, the front gate 5 and the rear partition 7 are further positioned in accordance with the product size, In this state, the product 3 is divided into three columns before and after in the column, and each region I, I
Stack and store on I and III. In this product storage state, the rear ends of the products 3 stacked in the front row region I and the middle row region II are slightly inclined steps 4a,
The correct setting is to set so as to protrude to 4b.

When a sales command is given in this product storage state, the bend motor 2c is started and the pusher 2b waiting at the rear end position moves forward and pushes the lowest product # 3 in the rear row forward. As a result, the product # 3 dive below the second lowest product # 5 in the middle row, push the lowest product # 2 forward, and further press the product # 2.
Pushes out the lowest order merchandise # 1 in the front row, and the merchandise # 1 is conveyed forward as shown in FIG. 3 (a). When the pusher 2b moves to the position, the switch 2d is actuated by the dog 2e that moves together with the timing belt 2a, and the bend motor 2c stops to enter the sales standby state. In the next sale, the pusher 2b starts from the position shown in FIG. 3 (a) and moves to the position shown in FIG. 3 (b). Will be carried out. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated for each sale, whereby the commodities stored in three columns in the column are sequentially carried out one by one.

On the other hand, when changing the product for sale 3 to a product of short size, as shown in FIG. 1B, first, the front end of the rear base 4II of the column base 4 is connected to the front base 4I. The middle row area II exposed on the base is positioned and set so as to correspond to the length L2 of the small and small product size, and further, the front gate 5 is moved rearward and rearward in accordance with the product size. After the partition walls 7 on the side are adjusted and set so as to be moved forward, the commodities 3 are divided into three rows in the front and rear, and are stacked and stored on the respective regions I, II and III.

Here, when a sales order is given, FIG.
As in the selling operation described in (a), the pusher 2b moves forward and is sequentially unloaded from the products 3 arranged at the bottom of each row. In this case, the pusher 2b stops during the selling operation. Slight correction is required for position control. That is, in order for the pusher 2b to move forward from the standby position in FIG. 1 (b) based on the sales command and to push the product # 3 in the rear row to carry out the product # 1 in the front row, the pusher 2b is shown in FIG. It is necessary to advance to another position. On the other hand, when the stop position detection switch 2d is operated by the dog 2e arranged on the timing belt 2a as described above and the bend motor 2c is stopped by the signal, the pusher 2b
4 stops at the position shown in FIG. 4 and cannot move the product # 1 due to a short moving stroke. In other words, when selling short and small-sized products, it is necessary to make a correction to advance the pusher 2b further by ΔL from the stop position corresponding to the operation of the switch 2d.

Therefore, in the present invention, the control section 8 of the bend mechanism 2 is provided with an automatic adjusting means to perform the above-mentioned correction. As the adjusting means, for example, the length size of the product for sale is inputted by using the keyboard 9, and based on the input data, the control unit 8 operates from the time when the operation signal of the stop position detecting switch 2d is inputted to the time when the bend motor 2c is stopped. When a small-sized product is sold by adding a slight timer control, the pusher 2b is automatically adjusted so as to stop at a position further advanced by ΔL from the position in FIG. In addition to this method, in addition to the above-mentioned method, for example, an encoder is connected to a bend motor, and the product size data input to the control unit by a keyboard and the position signal of the pusher obtained by the encoder are used to determine the position of the pusher during a selling operation. An appropriate stop position can be variably controlled according to the product size.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, an example is shown in which three rows of front and rear product stacking areas are formed on the upper surface of the base of the product storage column 1 to store the products in three rows. Instead, four or more rows of product stacking areas can be formed to further increase the number of stored products. In this case, in order to cope with the change in the product size, for each region of the intermediate row formed on the column base,
The area is divided by an inclined step portion connected to the area arranged one row before (for example, when the product stacking area is four rows, the base has a three-part structure), and then the divided bases are separated from each other. It is necessary to fit and connect the space slidably in the front-rear direction.

[0021]

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the width and height of a vending machine are smaller than those of a conventional vending machine in which commodities are stored in a merchandise storage rack in front and rear two rows and are sold. By slightly increasing the depth dimension without changing the size, it is possible to significantly increase the number of products accommodated in response to market needs.

Further, by using the column base having the split structure which can be extended and contracted according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, and the automatic adjustment system of the pusher stop position according to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, a product for sale is provided. Even if you change the product to a different size product, just perform a simple adjustment operation on the product storage column,
The products stored in the product storage column arranged in three or more rows can be sold without any trouble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a product storage column mounted on a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) and (b) are diagrams illustrating a standby state in which products of different lengths are stored.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a column base having a divided structure in FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of a product unloading operation corresponding to FIG. 1A, wherein FIGS. 3A and 3B show states immediately after unloading products # 1 and # 2 in the figure, respectively;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a product unloading operation corresponding to FIG. 1 (b) and an automatic adjusting means attached to a pusher type bend mechanism.

5A and 5B are configuration diagrams of a product storage column in a conventional machine in which products are stored in two front and rear rows, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a standby state in which products of different lengths are stored.

6 is an external perspective view of the product storage column shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity storage column 2 Pusher type bend mechanism 2a Timing belt 2b Pusher 2c Bend motor 2d Stop position detection switch 3 Box type product (cigarette) 4 Column base 4a, 4b Inclined step part 4I Front base 4II Rear base 5 Gate 7 Column partition 8 Control unit 9 Keyboard

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Box-shaped products such as cigarettes are arranged in front and rear rows, stacked and stored on the upper surface of a base of a product storage column, and the operation of a pusher-type bend mechanism incorporated in the base causes the products arranged in the lowest order to move forward in order. A vending machine to be carried out, in which a stacking area of products arranged in front and rear rows is set on the upper surface of the base, and an inclined step portion in which a rear row area is slightly lowered is formed between each area, and the product storage is performed. A vending machine characterized in that three or more rows of product stacking areas arranged in front and rear on a column base upper surface, and an inclined step portion are formed between the areas. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the base of the product storage column is divided into front and rear by an intermediate row region arranged between the frontmost row and the last row of product stacking areas.
A vending machine characterized in that each of the divided bases is extendably connected to each other, and the length of the intermediate row area is variably adjusted according to the length of the product for sale. 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the column base is divided at an intermediate step region and an inclined step portion connected to a region arranged in front of the intermediate line as a boundary, and the divided bases are moved forward and backward. A vending machine characterized in that it is slidably fitted and connected in a direction. 4. The automatic vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the stop position of the pusher is variably set in accordance with the length of the product when the product is carried out, with respect to the pusher-type bend mechanism incorporated in the column base. A vending machine comprising adjusting means. 5. The vending machine according to claim 4, wherein the setting of the automatic adjusting means corresponding to various product sizes is performed by a keyboard attached to the vending machine.