JPH10307959A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine in a simple constitution that can prevent the falling of commodities which are piled and stored on a commodity column and also can facilitate the loading of the commodities. SOLUTION: A falling prevention parts 21 is placed at the front end side of a partition plate 8 forming a side wall of a commodity column 2 where the commodities are piled and stored and at a prescribed height position. Then the parts 21 projects over the front face of the column 2 and also touches the front edge of a commodity set at a prescribed height position in such a way that the parts 21 can move away from the front face of the column 2. The parts 21 uses an arc-shaped flexible parts which is made of an elastic body of synthetic resin, projects over the front face of the column 2 and is pressed flat to the plate 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine provided with a product column for stacking and storing products, and more particularly to a device for effectively preventing a product from falling forward when the product column is loaded with the product. It relates to a vending machine provided with parts.

[0002]

2. Related Background Art A vending machine for packaged products such as tobacco is provided with a plurality of product columns 2 for stacking and storing products inside a vending machine body 1 as shown in FIG. Commodities selectively paid out from the column 2 are guided to a commodity outlet 4 provided in the door portion 3. For example, each product column 2 selectively drives a product payout knit 5 incorporated in a lower portion thereof in accordance with a designated product, so that the products stored in the product column 2 are arranged in order from the lowest position. It is configured to pay out to the front side. The product delivered to the front of the product column 2 is guided to the product outlet 4 via a product chute 6 provided on the back surface of the door portion 3.

The product column 2 is composed of a long column for mass-marketed products, a medium-sized column for products with almost excellent sales, and a short column for dealing with products of various kinds in small quantities.
By the way, the long column has a length that can store about 100 packaged cigarettes as products,
The medium-sized column is realized as a length capable of stacking and storing about 60 cigarettes, and the short-sized column is realized as a length capable of stacking and storing about 30 tobaccos.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, a product column 2 is provided with a partition plate 8 fixed to a back plate 7 forming a rear wall surface.
Is set by partitioning in the width direction. A product placement surface is formed at the lower part of each product column 2, and a product payout unit 5 for paying out the front surface of the products in order from the lowest position is incorporated. In other words, the product column 2 has the upper surface of the product dispensing unit 5 as a product mounting surface, is partitioned by a back plate 7 provided at the back thereof and a side wall surface formed by the partition plate 8, and has a front surface open. It is realized as a vertically long product storage space.

In the lower part of the front side of the product column 2,
A plate-shaped product discharge guide 9 is provided above the product discharge port of the product discharge unit 5, and a depth adjusting member 10 is mounted on the product discharge guide 9. The depth adjusting member 10 is adjusted in position back and forth in accordance with the length of the product, and the products having various lengths are adjusted by the depth adjusting member 10 to the innermost portion (the back plate 7) of the product column 2. It is positioned on the commodity delivery unit 5 as a reference. The lowermost product stored in the product column 2 is pushed out toward the front side of the product column 2 by the operation of the product dispensing unit 5 while its side portion is guided by the partition plate 8, and the product delivery guide 9 is provided. While the payout attitude is regulated by this, the product is paid out from the product column 2 and dropped into the product chute 6 described above.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 11 denotes a bar-shaped product guide shaft having both ends bent in a hook shape and eccentric. This product guide shaft 11 has both ends of the partition plate 8.
And is rotatably supported by a partition plate holding member (not shown) provided above and the depth adjusting member 10. The lower end of the rotating end is engaged with the projection 10 a of the depth adjusting member 10, whereby the position is regulated and the product is positioned on the front surface of the product column 2. In this state, the product guide shaft 11 serves to prevent the products stored stacked on the product column 2 from collapsing.

By the way, the position regulation of the product guide shaft 11 by the depth adjusting member 10 is released, for example, by slightly lifting the product guide shaft 11 itself and engaging the lower end of its rotating end with the projection 10a of the depth adjusting member 10. This is done by removing In this state, the product guide shaft 11 is rotated to the front side, and the front of the product column 2 is opened to load the product into the product column 2.

[0008]

By the way, when the product guide shaft 11 is rotated to open the front surface of the product column 2 to store and store the product tobacco in the product column 2, the packaging form is Due to this, when about 30 pieces are stacked, they fall forward. For this reason, conventionally, the front end of the about thirty-third stage tobacco, which is liable to fall forward, is pressed by hand, and tobacco is further laminated thereon while preventing the fall. When the stacking (loading) of the tobacco is completed, the product guide shaft 11 is positioned on the front surface of the tobacco to prevent the tobacco from falling forward, and the pressing by the hand is released.

For this reason, the operation of loading the product into the product column 2 is very troublesome. In particular, when the product column 2 is the above-mentioned long column for mass-marketed products, for example, it is necessary to press the front end of the tobacco at about the 30th stage and further at the 60th stage above it. Therefore, conventionally, the front end of a large number of tobaccos stacked using a plate-shaped or rod-shaped auxiliary jig is pressed over a wide area, or the front end of the cigarette is pressed over a wide area with one arm.
Prevents falling when loading. This requires familiarity and techniques for loading tobacco.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the back plate 7 itself, which forms the inner wall surface of the product column 2, is tilted backward, and is placed on the product payout unit 5 and sequentially placed. It is considered that the stacked products are gradually displaced rearward to prevent the products from falling forward. However, such a structure causes a problem that the substantial depth of the product column 2 is increased due to the inclination of the back plate 7, and the overall depth of the vending machine is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a product column stacked and stored on a product column from falling forward without increasing the depth of the product column. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine having a simple configuration that enables the product loading operation to be easily performed while effectively preventing the vending machine.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vending machine according to the present invention is provided at a predetermined height position on a front end side of a partition plate forming a side wall surface of a product column for stacking and storing products. , Protruding from the front of the product column, and retractable from the front of the product column, abutting against the front end of the product at the predetermined height position stacked and stored on the product column, and It is characterized by the provision of a fall prevention component for preventing fall in front.

In particular, this fall prevention component is formed in an arc shape and protrudes from the front of the product column, and is pressed against the partition plate to flatten and retreat from the front position of the product column. It is characterized in that it is realized as a flexible component, and the height position at which the fall prevention component is provided is determined, for example, as the height position when about 30 cigarettes as products are stacked.

In other words, when loading the product into the product column, a fall prevention component that projects to the front of the product column and abuts on the front end of the product is provided at a height where the stacked products are likely to fall forward. The feature is to prevent the fall before that. In addition, the fall prevention component is configured to be flattened by, for example, being elastically deformed so that it can be retracted from the front of the product column, so that it does not hinder the loading of the product into the product column. It is characterized by.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a schematic configuration of a product column in a vending machine according to an embodiment.
The same components as those of the vending machine described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and described. The product column 2 according to this embodiment is:
Basically, the structure is the same as that of the product column 2 shown in FIG. 4, and in particular, a partitioning prevention member 21 is provided at a predetermined height position on the front edge side of the partition plate 8 forming the side wall surface of the product column 2. It is characterized by:

The fall prevention component 21 is a product column 2 having a large number of products to be stacked and stored, specifically, a long column for mass-market products, or a medium-size column for products with almost excellent sales. For a short column in which the number of stored products is small, there is almost no problem of the product falling down when loading the product, so there is no need to particularly provide the product.

The fall-prevention component 21 is mounted on a medium-sized column for stacking and storing about 60 commodities so as to hold the front end of the commodities of about 30th level, which is a mid-height position. In the case of the long column in which about 100 products are stacked and stored, two columns are provided at the positions of about the 30th stage and at the position of the about 60th stage to press the front end of the product, respectively. Can be The number of the fall prevention components 21 and the height of the fall prevention components 21 may be determined according to the degree of easiness of the fall due to the type of the product and its packaging form.

Next, the above-mentioned fall prevention component 21 will be described in more detail.
As shown in (a) and (b), it is attached to the front edge of the partition plate 8 of the medium-sized product column 2 so as to protrude from the front surface of the product column 2. More specifically, the fall prevention component 21 is positioned at the center of the front surface of the product column 2 along the product column 2 as described above, and is located on the front side of the product guide shaft 11 for guiding the products stored in the product column 2. Located at partition 8
Attached to the leading edge of the By attaching the fall prevention component 21 at such a position, the function of the product guide shaft 11 is not impaired, and only when the product guide shaft 11 is opened to load the product into the product column 2, the fall prevention component 21 is mounted. Is set to work.

In particular, the height position at which the fall-prevention component 21 is attached is such a height position that the commodities stacked and stored in the commodity column 2 tend to fall forward due to the packaging form, for example, a package. It is determined as a height position where about 30 cigarettes (products) are stacked. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the fall prevention component 21 is provided at a height position when about 24 tobaccos are stacked.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, the fall prevention component 21 includes a main body 22 having a plate-like body having a predetermined width curved in an arc shape. 8
Are made of synthetic resin parts having flexibility as the attachment parts 23 and 24 for the first and second members. And this fall prevention component 21
Under the external force applied to the arc surface of the main body 22, the distance between the mounting portions 23 and 24 at both ends thereof is increased and the main body 22 is expanded.
Can be elastically bent so as to be flattened.

The fall prevention component 21 is attached to the mounting portion 2.
T-shaped engagement pieces 25, 2 protruding from the back surfaces of 3, 24
6 is movably fitted to the edges of the long holes 8 a and 8 b formed in the corresponding portions of the partition plate 8 and attached to the partition plate 8. When the fall prevention component 21 receives the external force and deflects the main body portion 22 in the surface direction, especially the engagement piece 25
While the position is regulated by the long hole 8a, the other engaging piece 26 is pushed up in the long hole 8b to change the distance between the mounting portions 23 and 24, and the main body 22 is elastically deformed while being flattened. Has become. The flattening of the main body portion 22 suppresses the protrusion of the main body portion 22 to the front surface of the product column 2, in other words, the flattening of the main body portion 22 protruding to the front surface of the product column 2, thereby flattening the main body portion 22. The part 22 is retracted from the front of the product column 2 to the side.

Incidentally, the external force required for the flattening deformation of the fall prevention component 21 is, for example, such that the main part 22 is lightly pressed on the side surface of a packaged cigarette as a product as shown in FIG. 3B. It is enough. When the external force is released, the fall prevention component 21 elastically returns by its own elastic force so that the main body 22 returns to the original arc shape.

However, the fall prevention component 21 itself is formed of a plate-like body as described above, and has a strong rigidity against a force applied from a direction parallel to the plane as shown in FIG. ing. As a result, the products stacked and stored in the product column 2 begin to lean forward, and even if the products abut against the side of the main body 22 of the fall prevention component 21, the tilt applied by the load of the products Prevention parts 2 by force
1 does not bend, thereby preventing the product from further tilting (falling).

Thus, according to the vending machine having the structure in which the fall prevention component 21 is attached to the front edge side of the partition plate 8 and protrudes from the front of the product column 2, the product is loaded into the product column 2 when the product is loaded into the product column 2. Products may be sequentially stacked in the product column 2 with the guide shaft 11 opened. When the products are stacked to some extent and the height position reaches the mounting position of the fall prevention component 21,
By holding the fall prevention component 21 on the side of the product to be loaded and flattening the fall prevention component 21, the product can be stacked on the product in the product column 2 without difficulty.

When the stacking of the products in the product column 2 is completed, the fall prevention component 21 elastically returns and projects to the front of the product column 2. Even if the product starts to fall to the front,
When the product is slightly tilted, the front end of the product falls down.
1 and further tilting is prevented. As a result,
Collapse of the products stacked in the product column 2 in the forward direction is effectively prevented. And even in this state, it is possible to further stack commodities thereon.

Further, if the fall prevention component 21 prevents the product from falling forward as described above, a certain number of products are further placed on the product whose front end is pressed by the fall prevention component 21 as a reference. Products can be stacked. Therefore, only by providing the fall prevention member 21 at an appropriate height position, for example, at the height of about the 30th stage, for the products stored in the product column 2, Can be efficiently loaded.

According to the fall prevention component 21 having the above-described structure, the function of the product column 2 itself is not hindered, and the product column 2 is elastically bent to be flattened and retracted from the front surface of the product column 2. 2 does not hinder the loading of the goods. Furthermore, since the fall prevention component 21 itself can be easily and inexpensively manufactured as an integrally molded component made of synthetic resin and incorporated into the product column 2 of the vending machine, the production cost of the vending machine is almost increased. There is no. Further, effects such as not complicating the configuration of the vending machine can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it is of course possible to realize the fall prevention component 21 as a sheet metal, and its size and shape can be variously modified. Further, a plurality of fall prevention parts may be incorporated in one product column according to the length and width of the product column. Further, the mounting position of the fall prevention member may be variably set according to the product type.

In the above-described embodiment, the fall prevention component 21 is realized as a component separate from the partition plate 8, but a part of the front end of the partition plate 8 is cut and raised, for example, as shown in FIG. This is realized as a strip 31.
May be prevented from leaning forward on the side of the product column 2. At the time of loading the product, the strip 31 may be pushed into the hole 33 of the partition plate 8 via the hinge portion 32.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a fall prevention component can be realized as a movable plate 36 inserted into a slit hole 35 provided in the partition plate 8. In this case, a guide groove 37 extending in the lateral direction is provided in the center of the movable plate 36, and while the sliding direction is regulated by the guide groove 37, adjacent product columns partitioned by the partition plate 8 of the movable plate 36 are provided. 2 can be slid to open the entire product column 2 on the other side. A pair of tension springs 38, which are respectively stretched between both ends of the partition plate 8 and the movable plate 36, hold the movable plate 36 at a neutral position. It is positioned one by one. Therefore, the sliding of the movable plate 36 is performed against the tension spring 38 and positioned on one side of the product column 2. In addition, as for assembling the movable plate 36 to the slit hole 35, for example, one end of the movable plate 36 may be configured to be freely opened and closed.

In addition, the embodiment of the fall prevention component can be variously modified. In short, the present invention can be modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0032]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, the product column is placed at a predetermined height position on the front end side of the partition plate forming the side wall surface of the product column for stacking and storing the products. And a fall prevention part is provided so as to be retractable from the front of the product column, so that the fall prevention part is stacked on the product column and is brought into contact with the front end of the product at the predetermined height position stored therein. Can be prevented from falling down.

As a result, the operation of loading the product into the product column can be greatly simplified. In addition, even if the fall prevention parts are incorporated, the function of the product column itself is not impaired, the cost of the vending machine does not increase significantly, and it can be easily incorporated into existing vending machines. There are advantages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part configuration diagram showing a product column in a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention and a fall prevention component attached to the product column.

FIG. 2 is a side view and a front view showing a relationship between a product column and a fall prevention component in the vending machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the structure for mounting the product column to the partition plate and the component for preventing falling down shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of a fall prevention component.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another embodiment of the fall prevention component.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional general vending machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of storing commodities that are stacked and stored in a product column.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Commodity column 5 Commodity payout unit 7 Back plate 8 Partition plate 8a, 8b Slot 11 Commodity guide shaft 21 Fall prevention part 22 Main part 23, 24 Mounting part 25, 26 Locking piece 31 Strip piece (fall prevention part) 36 Movable Board (fall prevention parts)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine comprising a plurality of product columns for stacking and storing commodities, and dispensing the products in order from the lowest position in each product column, wherein a partition forming a side wall surface of the product column is provided. The product is provided at a predetermined height position on the front end side of the plate so as to be able to retreat from the front surface of the product column, and abuts on the front end of the product at the predetermined height position stored in the product column. A vending machine comprising a fall prevention component for preventing a fallen product from falling forward. 2. The product according to claim 1, wherein the fall-preventing component is formed of an elastic body which is formed in an arc shape and protrudes from the front surface of the product column, is flattened by being pressed by the partition plate side, and retreats from the front position of the product column. The vending machine according to claim 1. 3. The product comprises a packaged tobacco, and a predetermined height position at which the fall prevention component is provided is determined as a height position when about 30 pieces of the tobacco are stacked. The vending machine according to claim 1.