JPH10340380A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine, with which the vending ratio of cold articles and hot articles can be changed, while reducing the loss of vending chance after the change and improving cost problems as well by facilitating the work of that change. SOLUTION: Inside an article storage chamber 12 equipped with a plurality of column lines 22, a plurality of inserting spaces 24 are formed between adjacent column lines 26, a partition plate 14 for laterally dividing the article storage chamber 12 is freely attachably and detachably constituted in this inserting space 24 and by changing the inserting position of partition plate 14, the ratio of column lines 22 arranged on both left and right sides can be changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines for selling products such as beverage cans and beverage bottles such as coffee and juice have been used.
The interior of the refrigerator is divided into three or four chambers by a partition plate, and a cooler and a heater for heating are arranged in each of the chambers.
It is configured so that it can be used by switching between a hot room for selling high-temperature products (hereinafter, hot products) at -60 ° C and a cold room for selling products (hereinafter, cold products) at 0-5 ° C.

For example, a conventional vending machine 1 shown in FIG.
At 00, the interior of the product storage room 120 is partitioned into three rooms, a left room 102, a middle room 103, and a right room 104 by two fixed partition plates 101, 101. In the left room 102, three rows of column rows 105 each containing five types of products are arranged.
A similar column row 105 is arranged in the middle room 103 in one row,
In the right room 104, two similar column rows 105 are arranged. The left room 102 is a room dedicated to cold products, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a cooler 106 is provided in a room with a fan 107.
It is arranged with. The middle room 103 and the right room 104 are rooms in which a cold product and a hot product can be switched, and a cooler 106 and a heater 108 are arranged together with a fan 107 in the room.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 11, the partition plates 101, 101 are screw-fixed in a product storage room 120 via fixing members 109. At the lower end of the front surface of the partition plate 101,
A notch 110 is provided, and is drawn out from the control unit 112 and the refrigeration cycle 113 disposed in the machine room 111 at the bottom of the vending machine 100 via the notch 110 and extends on the bottom surface 114 of the product storage room 120. The bundle 115 and the pipe 116 are guided into the respective chambers 102, 103, and 104, and are connected to the cooler 106 and the like (see FIG. 12). Reference numeral 117 denotes a sealing material for reducing heat leak from the notch 110.

[0005]

In the above-described conventional vending machine 100, when changing the sales ratio of cold products and hot products according to the season and the installation location, each room 10
The replacement of the products stored in the storage units 2, 103, 104 is complicated and takes a long time. In addition, the time until the temperature in the switched room is stabilized is long, so that the sales suspension state is prolonged and the sales chance loss is increased. There is a problem that it is large.

That is, for example, when the season changes from summer to winter, the state of the cold room (cold / hot = 30 columns / 0) is first applied to all three rooms 102, 103 and 104.
Column), the middle room 103 is switched to the hot room (cold / hot = 25 columns / 5 columns), and then the right room 10
4 is switched to the hot room, and the middle room 103 is returned to the cold room (cold / hot = 20 columns / 10 columns). Finally, the middle room 103 is also switched to the hot room (cold / hot = 15 columns / 15 columns). That is done. When the sales ratio of the hot products is sequentially increased in this way, when the number of hot products is increased from 5 columns to 10 columns, the products in the middle room 103 must be transferred to the right room 104. It is complicated.
In this case, since the temperature of the two rooms must be switched at a time when the middle room 103 is changed from hot to cold and the right room 104 is changed from cold to hot, it takes time to stabilize the room temperature.

In the conventional vending machine 100,
A cooler 106, a heater 108, and the like are required for each of the chambers 102, 103, and 104, and a plurality of partition plates 101 are required, such as two or three.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vending machine which can easily change the sales ratio of a cold product and a hot product, has little sales chance loss after the change, and is excellent in cost. The purpose is to:

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine, comprising: a product storage room having a plurality of columns for storing products; and a space formed between the adjacent columns in the product storage room. A plurality of insertion spaces and a partition plate which is removably inserted into the insertion space and divides the product storage room into right and left sides, and is arranged on the left and right sides by changing the insertion position of the partition plate. The ratio of the number of columns can be changed.

In the vending machine of the first aspect, by changing the insertion position of the partition plate with respect to the plurality of insertion spaces,
Since the ratio of the number of columns arranged on both sides can be changed, if different temperature zones are set on both sides of the partition, by changing the insertion position of this partition, products with different temperature zones can be easily changed. You can change the sales ratio. Also, by sequentially moving the insertion position of the partition plate from right to left or from left to right, the number of columns for performing temperature switching can be made the minimum number of columns accompanying a change in the sales ratio. The time it takes for the product temperature to stabilize after switching is short, and sales chance loss is small. In addition, the number of members such as a partition plate and a cooler can be reduced as compared with the above-described conventional case, so that the cost is excellent.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, the plurality of insertion spaces are formed at predetermined intervals on one of the right and left sides of the product storage room, and the plurality of insertion spaces are inserted into the insertion space. The one side of the inserted partition plate can be switched between one temperature zone and another temperature zone, and the other side is fixed to the one temperature zone.

In this case, when selling only a product in one temperature zone, the partition plate is inserted into or removed from any one of the insertion spaces. Then, when increasing the sales ratio of products in other temperature zones, first, a partition plate is inserted into the insertion space located on the most one side of the product storage room, and one side of the partition plate is connected to another side. Set the temperature zone. Thereafter, the insertion position of the partition plate is sequentially moved to the other side. In this way, by changing the temperature zone of the column sequentially from one side of the product storage room, the sales ratio of the product in one temperature zone and the product in another temperature zone can be changed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, a guide portion for guiding an insertion position of an upper end and a lower end of the partition plate is provided on a ceiling surface and a bottom surface of the insertion space. It is characterized by the following.

In this case, the partition plate is inserted by being guided by guide portions provided above and below the insertion space, whereby the position of the partition plate is fixed without shifting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, a concave portion or a convex portion is provided on a ceiling surface or a bottom surface of the insertion space, and a convex portion or a concave portion fitted to the concave portion is provided on the partition plate. Thus, the partition plate inserted into the insertion space is positioned in the front-rear direction.

In this case, when the partition plate is inserted into the insertion space, the partition plate is positioned in the front-rear direction by fitting the projection or the concave portion of the partition plate into the concave portion or the convex portion of the insertion space.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, a groove extending in the left-right direction is provided on a bottom surface of the product storage room, and the groove is disposed on both left and right sides of the product storage room. A connection member for connecting temperature control means such as a cooler is provided.

Since the connecting member is buried in the bottom of the product storage room as described above, the connecting member does not hinder the insertion of the partition plate, and the partition plate can be easily attached and detached.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vending machine 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a partition plate 14 for partitioning the inside of a product storage room 12 is attached to and detached from the vending machine 10 of the present embodiment, and FIGS. It is a front view showing the inside, and has shown the state where the insertion position of the partition plate 14 differs respectively. Also, FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the vending machine 10 with a column removed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a product storage room 12 includes a heat-insulating box, which is formed by an inner box 16 and an outer box 18 and is opened forward.
This is a heat insulating space formed by the inner door 20 shown in FIG. 1 whose front surface is closed. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of column rows 22 are provided in the product storage room 12 in the left-right direction. Here, one column row 22 having five columns arranged in the front-rear direction is provided. Are arranged in 6 rows in the horizontal direction, for a total of 3
0 columns are arranged.

The three column rows 22 arranged on the left side of the commodity storage room 12 are arranged without a gap, and the three rows on the right side are arranged with a gap between adjacent column rows 22. Due to this gap, three insertion spaces 24 that open at the front surface and extend to the rear surface are formed in the product storage room 12 at every other column from the left side of the column column 22 at the right end.

The partition plate 14 is a rectangular plate-like member having a heat insulating structure, is detachably inserted into the insertion space 24 from the front thereof, and in this inserted state, as shown in FIGS. The product storage room 12 is divided into two left and right rooms 26 and 28. By changing the insertion position of the partition plate 14,
The ratio of the number of columns arranged on both the left and right sides can be changed.

As shown in FIG. 5, guide grooves 30 for guiding the upper end and the lower end when the partition plate 14 is inserted are formed in the ceiling surface and the bottom surface of the insertion space 24, respectively. The upper and lower guide grooves 30 are formed slightly wider than the upper and lower ends of the partition plate 14, and
2 and is formed to extend from the front surface to the rear surface in the chamber 12. And the upper and lower guide grooves 30
The rear end is connected to a rear surface of the product storage room 12 by a concave portion 32 extending vertically. This recess 32
Is configured to receive the rear surface of the partition plate 14. As shown in FIG. 6, the guide groove 30 and the recess 32 are formed by molding the inner box 16 into a sheet metal.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom surface of the rear portion of the left side portion of the product storage room 12, that is, the three column rows 2 on the left side
A cooler 34 and a fan 36 for circulating the cool air into the left chamber 26 are arranged at a lower rear portion of the cooling device 2. On the other hand, a cooler 38 and a heater 4 are provided on the rear bottom surface of the right side of the product storage room 12, that is, on the lower rear portion of the right column column 22.
0 and a fan 42 for circulating the cool air and the warm air into the right chamber 28 are arranged. These coolers 34, 3
8, the heater 40 and the fans 36, 42
It is connected to a control unit 46 and a condenser 48 arranged in a machine room 44 below the second unit 2.

At the front edge of the bottom surface of the product storage room 12, a concave groove 50 extending in the left-right direction over substantially the entire width is formed. In this groove 50, as shown in FIG.
A pipe 52 for connecting the condenser 48 to the left and right coolers 34 and 38 and a bundle 54 for connecting the controller 46 to the heater 40 and the fans 36 and 42 are provided. The groove 50 is provided with a long hole 56 in the bottom plate 16 a of the inner box 16, and the concave member 58 made of styrene foam having a groove corresponding to the long hole 56 is formed with the bottom plate 16 a of the inner box 16 and the ceiling surface of the machine room 44. It is formed by disposing it between the machine room cover 44a to be formed.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 60 denotes a chute disposed below each column row 22. Reference numeral 62 denotes a steadying member for preventing the column row 22 from swaying left and right, and is arranged horizontally near the lower front part of the column row 22. This steady rest member 6
2 is removably attached to the left and right side walls of the opening edge of the product storage room 12.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 64 denotes a main door covering the front of the vending machine 10, and reference numeral 66 denotes an evaporating dish disposed in the machine room 44.

In the vending machine 10, when the insertion position of the partition plate 14 is changed, as shown in FIG. 1, the main door 64 and the inner door 20 are opened, and the shake preventing member 62 is removed. Then, the partition plate 14 may be pulled out from the insertion space 24 and inserted into another insertion space 24.

Here, an example in which the sales ratio of the cold product and the hot product is changed will be described with reference to an example in which the sales ratio of the hot product is increased from summer to winter.

First, the product storage room 12 is in a state of selling only cold products (cold / hot = 30 columns / 0 columns) in summer. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the partition plate 14 is inserted into the left insertion space 24L.
Then, the left and right coolers 34 and 38 are operated to make the left and right chambers 26 and 28 of the partition plate 14 cold chambers. In this case, the insertion position of the partition plate 14 is not limited to the above, and may be the center or right insertion space 24C, 24R depending on the cooling capacity of the left and right coolers 34, 38.
Further, the partition plate 14 may be removed from the product storage room 12.

When the one column row 22 is put into the hot product sales state from this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the partition plate 14 is inserted into the right insertion space 24R, and the operation of the right cooler 38 is performed. Then, the heater 40 is turned on. As a result, the right room 28 of the partition plate 14 becomes a hot room and the left room 26 becomes a cold room, and the sales ratio becomes cold / hot = 25 columns / 5 columns.

Further, when one column row 22, ie, two rows, is put into a hot product sales state, the partition plate 14 is inserted into the center insertion space 24C as shown in FIG. As a result, the sales ratio is cold / hot = 20 columns / 10 columns. At this time, the controller 46 controls the product storage room 12
By controlling the heat capacity of the heater 40 disposed on the right side of the right chamber to be large, the right chamber 28 having the increased volume can be quickly and uniformly heated.

Further, when one column row 22, ie, three rows, is put into a hot product sales state, as shown in FIG. 4, the partition plate 14 is inserted into the left insertion space 24L. Thus, the sales ratio is cold / hot = 15 columns / 15 columns. Also in this case, the controller 46 changes the heat capacity of the heater 40 so as to increase.

In order to increase the sales ratio of hot products from summer to winter in this manner, the partition plate 14 may be sequentially moved to the left from the right insertion position. On the other hand, in order to increase the sales ratio of cold products from winter to summer, the partition plate 14 may be sequentially moved to the right from the insertion position on the left, contrary to the above.

The vending machine 10 according to the embodiment described above.
Therefore, when changing the sales ratio of the cold product and the hot product, the insertion position of the partition plate 14 is sequentially moved from the right side to the left side or from the left side to the right side, so that the hot line is generated for each column of the column row 22. Since the cold can be switched, it is not necessary to transfer the goods between the column rows as in the above-described conventional case, and the work of replacing the goods is easy. Therefore, the work time when changing the sales ratio can be significantly reduced. Further, since the number of the column rows 22 in which the temperature is switched in accordance with the change of the sales ratio may be the minimum column row 22, that is, one row, the time until the product temperature is stabilized is shorter than in the conventional case. , Less sales chance loss.

Further, by sequentially switching the temperature from one column row 22 as described above, the energy saving effect is excellent. That is, the conventional vending machine 10
In the case of 0, the middle chamber 103 is the chambers 102, 10 on both sides thereof.
Although there is a problem that the heat loss is large when the temperature zone is set to a temperature zone different from 4, there is no such heat loss in the vending machine 10 of the present embodiment because the temperature zone is sequentially changed from one side. .

In addition, the number of the partition plates 14 may be one, and it is not necessary to provide a plurality of the partition plates unlike the above-mentioned conventional one, so that the cost is reduced. Further, compared to the conventional case, the number of coolers, heaters, and fans can be reduced by one set, so that the cost can be reduced.

Further, pipes 52 and bundles 54 for connecting the temperature control members such as the coolers 34 and 38, the heater 40 and the fans 36 and 42 disposed on the left and right of the partition plate 14 are connected to the inner box bottom surface 1.
6a, it is embedded in the bottom of the product storage chamber 12 by inserting it into the groove 50. Therefore, when the partition plate 14 is moved in and out, the pipes 52 and the bundled wires 54 do not interfere, and Easy to put on and take off.

Further, since the guide grooves 30 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the insertion space 24, the inserted partition plate 14 can be accurately positioned without shifting left and right. Further, by fitting the upper and lower portions of the partition plate 14 into such guide grooves 30, heat leakage at the upper and lower ends of the partition plate 14 can be reduced. That is, the partition plate 14 is placed on a flat surface.
Since the heat path when heat leaks from one of the left and right sides of the partition plate 14 to the other side is extended as compared with the case of disposing, the heat insulating effect is correspondingly excellent. In addition, insertion space 2
The heat path is extended by inserting the rear surface of the partition plate 14 into the concave portion 32 provided on the rear surface of the fourth member 4, so that the heat insulating effect can be further enhanced.

When the guide groove 30 is provided, as shown in FIG. 7, a notch 68 extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the ceiling surface and the bottom surface of the inner box 16, and a groove is formed on the back surface of the notch 68. May be formed by disposing a concave member 70 made of polystyrene foam. Contrary to the above, protrusions extending in the front-rear direction may be provided on the ceiling surface and the bottom surface of the inner box 16, and grooves for receiving the protrusions may be provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the partition plate 14.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A concave portion 72 is further provided in the guide groove 30 provided on the ceiling surface of the vehicle, and a convex portion 74 that fits into the concave portion 72 is provided on the upper surface of the partition plate 14. You can also The recess 72 is provided without opening in the front of the product storage room 12. As shown in FIG. 8B, the tip of the projection 74 of the partition plate 14 is attached to the tip of the recess 72 of the insertion space 24. The partition plate 14 is locked to position the partition plate 14 in the front-rear direction. It is sufficient if the concave portion 72 and the convex portion 74 are provided on one of the upper and lower sides of the partition plate 14, but they may be provided on both.

[0043]

According to the vending machines of the first and second aspects of the present invention, by changing the insertion position of the partition plate, it is possible to easily change the sales ratio of commodities having different temperature zones. The time can be significantly reduced. In addition, the time required for the product temperature to stabilize after the change in the sales ratio is short, and sales chance loss is small. Furthermore, since members such as a partition plate and a cooler can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, the cost is also excellent.

According to the vending machine of the third aspect, the partition plate is inserted by being guided by guide portions provided above and below the insertion space, so that the position of the partition plate can be fixed without shifting.

According to the vending machine of the fourth aspect, when the partition plate is inserted into the insertion space, the insertion space and the concave portion and the convex portion of the partition plate are fitted to each other, thereby positioning the partition plate in the front-rear direction. Can do it.

According to the vending machine of the fifth aspect, the connecting member for connecting the temperature control means such as the coolers arranged on both right and left sides of the product storage room is buried in the bottom surface of the product storage room, so that the partition is provided. The connecting member does not hinder the insertion of the plate, and the partition plate can be easily attached and detached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention in an open state.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing one state in the vending machine 10;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing another state of the inside of the vending machine 10;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing still another state in the storage of the vending machine 10;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the interior of the vending machine 10 with columns omitted.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing a guide groove 30 provided in the product storage room 12 of the vending machine 10;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part showing another example of the guide groove 30.

FIG. 8 is a view showing still another example of the guide groove 30,
(A) is a perspective view of the main part, and (b) is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part showing a groove 50 provided on the bottom surface of the product storage room 12.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the interior of a conventional vending machine 100.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly structure of parts arranged in a product storage room in the conventional vending machine 100.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a main part of a bottom surface of a product storage room of the conventional vending machine 100.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vending machine 12 Product storage room 14 Partition plate 22 Column row 24 Insert space 26 Left room 28 Right room 30 Guide grooves 34, 38 Cooler 40 ... heater 50 ... groove 52 ... piping 54 ... bundled wire 72 ... concave part 74 ... convex part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A product storage room having a plurality of columns for storing products, a plurality of insertion spaces formed between adjacent columns in the product storage room, and detachably inserted into the insertion space; A vending machine comprising: a partition plate for dividing the product storage room into right and left, and by changing an insertion position of the partition plate, a ratio of the number of columns arranged on both right and left sides thereof can be changed. . 2. The plurality of insertion spaces are formed at predetermined intervals on one of the left and right sides of the product storage room, and the one side of the partition plate inserted into the insertion space has one temperature. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine is switchable between a zone and another temperature zone, and the other side is fixed to the one temperature zone. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein guide portions are provided on a ceiling surface and a bottom surface of the insertion space to guide insertion positions of an upper end and a lower end of the partition plate, respectively. . 4. A concave or convex portion is provided on a ceiling surface or a bottom surface of the insertion space, and a convex portion or a concave portion fitted to the concave or convex portion is provided on the partition plate so that the front and rear of the partition plate inserted into the plug space are provided. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein positioning is performed in a direction. 5. A groove extending in the left-right direction is provided on a bottom surface of the product storage chamber, and a connection member for connecting temperature control means such as a cooler disposed on both right and left sides of the product storage chamber is provided in the groove. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the vending machine is provided.