JPH11154270A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of a trouble in a vending machine by forming a means for preventing the lower end part of a paper pack commodity arranged on a frontmost line from being extruded from a column case to the front at the time of loading the commodity. SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine is provided with plural columns 6 arranged on a commodity storing rack built in a storage so as to be drawn out to a rack plate 11 arranged on the storage side as a tub-like case, oscillation arm type gate mechanisms each of which is arranged on the front end of each column case 6a as a commodity discharging mechanism to hold each commodity on a storing position and pusher mechanism each of which pushes each stored commodity from the back to the front. An oscillation type stopper mechanism 14 is arranged on the front end bottom side of each column case, and in a state that the column case is drawn out from the storage to the front, a stopper piece 14b is projected to the front of a commodity passage in the case to suppress the lower end part of a commodity 5 arranged on the frontmost line out of commodities stored so as not to be projected to the front. In a state storing the column case in the storage, the stopper piece 14 is retracted from the commodity passage to a waiting position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine which sells beverages and the like containing paper packs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vending machine described above, a drawer-type column for storing products in a row in front and rear of each column is stored in a cabinet of a main body case having an outer door with a product outlet on the front side. Equipped with a product storage rack constructed by arranging in the lower row, left and right rows, one product can be loaded from the column specified based on the sales order.
2. Description of the Related Art A vending machine is known which pays out a product to the front and carries it out to a product outlet below.

Further, in order to prevent the products paid out from each column of the product storage rack from being deformed by a landing impact when dropped into the box of the product outlet, a column is provided in front of the rack in combination with the product storage rack. A bucket unit that receives the goods paid out from the company, and an XY transport mechanism that carries the bucket unit and moves up, down, left and right, and a column selected via the XY transport mechanism based on a sales command. The bucket unit is accessed in the forward direction, the goods paid out from the column are transferred to the bucket unit and sent out to the product outlet, and the bucket unit has a pusher mechanism and a gate mounted on each column of the product storage rack. Equipped with a drive unit that is the power source of the product dispensing mechanism consisting of a combination of mechanisms, and access the bucket unit to the designated column. In this position, a vending machine configured to transmit power from the bucket unit to the commodity dispensing mechanism of the column to pay out the commodities has already been proposed by the same applicant as Japanese Patent Application No. 9-43454. I have.

Next, an outline of the vending machine proposed will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the entire structure of the vending machine is shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). In the drawing, 1 is a main body case (insulated housing) of a vending machine, 2 is an outer door provided with a product outlet 2a at a lower part on the front surface, 3 is an insulated inner door, 4 is a product for each column (paper pack product). A product storage rack constructed by arranging a plurality of columns 6 for storing the products 5 in one row in the front and rear rows and upper and lower rows and right and left rows. A bucket 7 receives the products paid out from each column 6 of the product storage rack 4 at the front position thereof. The unit 8 is a rectangular coordinate XY transport mechanism that moves up, down, left and right with the bucket unit mounted thereon. The XY transport mechanism 8 is moved and operated in front of the designated column 6 based on a sales command. After accessing the bucket unit 7 to the position and transferring the commodity 5 paid out from the column to the bucket unit 7, the XY transport mechanism 8 is again moved down and sent out from the bucket unit 7 to the commodity 5 commodity outlet 2a. Do It is cormorant configuration.

Here, the column 6 of the product storage rack 4 is
It is a gutter-shaped case which is mounted on a rack support frame 11 provided on the main body case 1 side and is provided so as to be able to be pulled out forward, so that it can be individually pulled out and replenished. Is equipped with a product delivery mechanism without a power source. On the other hand, the bucket unit 7 has
An electric drive mechanism described later is provided as a power source for driving the product dispensing mechanism of the column from the bucket unit side, and power is supplied from the bucket unit drive mechanism at a position where the bucket unit 7 is accessed to the designated column 6. Is transmitted to the commodity delivery mechanism of the column 6 to pay out the commodity 5.

In the vending machine, the product 5 stored in the product storage rack 4 in the warehouse and the product purchased by the customer at the time of sale are transferred from the column 6 to the bucket unit 7 and taken out to the product outlet 2a. The door surface areas of the outer door 2 of the main body case and the heat-insulating inner door 3 facing the product storage rack 4 are each constituted by a transparent door plate so that a series of sales operations until the product is sold can be visually observed from the outside. I have. In addition, 9 is a cooling unit for keeping the product 5 cool, and 10 is a condensing unit of a refrigerator.

Next, the columns 6 and 6 of the product storage rack 4
And the structure of the product dispensing mechanism 9 incorporated in the column 6,
The operation will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the column 6 is a gutter-like case (column case 6) made of a resin molded product having a front end surface opened.
The products 5 are arranged in the front and rear rows in the product passage in the case and stored in the upright posture. In addition, the column case is equipped with a gate mechanism 12 disposed at the front end of the column case 6a and a belt-driven pusher mechanism 13 for pushing out the product 5 forward as a product delivery mechanism.

Here, the gate mechanism 12 has one end pivotally supported by the front end of the side wall of the column case and projects to the front end surface of the column case 6a, and a gate plate 12a of a swing arm type as shown in FIG. For linear / rotational conversion combining a cylindrical cam 12b (having a rib-shaped cam projection formed on the peripheral surface) connected to the rear part thereof, a reciprocating slider 12c connected to the cylindrical cam 12b, and a return spring 12d. And a return spring 12d from the front of the column case 6a.
When the slider 12c is pushed in against the pressure, the cylindrical cam 12b rotates to close the gate plate 12a (sideways).
To the open position (vertical orientation).

On the other hand, a belt-driven pusher mechanism 13
Is the front drive pulley 1 along the bottom side of the column case.
A toothed belt 13c stretched between the rear pulley 3a and the rear driven pulley 13b, a screen-shaped pusher 13d that is connected to the belt 13c by standing upright and protrudes into the column case, and a front drive pulley Power transmission gear 13e protruding toward the front end of the column case 6a connected to the power transmission gear 13e.
The pusher 13d engages with a ratchet teeth 13g formed in the front-rear direction along the bottom surface of the column case 6a with the claw 13f attached to the rear surface thereof so that the pusher 13d does not retreat from that position. keeping.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 8, the goods received from the column 6 are stored in a bucket unit 7 by an XY transport mechanism 8.
Conveyor 7a for sending the product toward the product outlet 2a at the lower position, a drive motor 7b for the conveyor, and a product detection switch mechanism 7c for detecting the products transferred from the column 6.
In addition to the above, the drive motor 7b is used as a power source for the column 6
A drive gear 7d for transmitting power to the pusher mechanism 13 and a drive pin 7g connected to a drive motor 7e via a reciprocating screw feed mechanism 7f as a drive mechanism for the gate mechanism 12 of the column 6 are provided. The drive pin 7
The drive gear 7d is protruded and retracted behind the bucket unit 7 by following the forward and backward movements of g.

[0011] The product selling operation of the vending machine having such a configuration is performed as follows. First, after the customer inserts the coin,
When a desired product is selected from the products arranged in the refrigerator (the interior of the refrigerator can be viewed through the front door) and the selection button corresponding to the column is pressed, the bucket unit 7 is moved from the standby position by the XY transport mechanism 8. The user moves to access the front position of the designated column 6. Next, at this position, the drive pin 7g protrudes to push the slider 12c of the gate mechanism 12 incorporated in the column case backward.
As a result, the gate plate 12a rotates to the open position to open the front end face of the column 6, and the drive gear 7d meshes with the gear 13e of the pusher mechanism 13 arranged on the column side, so that the drive motor 7b and the pusher mechanism 13 Between the power transmission paths. When the drive motor 7b is started in this state, the pusher 13d moves forward via the belt 13c of the pusher mechanism 13, pushes the products 5 stored in the column 6 from behind, and pays out the products arranged in the front row forward.

When the goods 5 are transferred to the bucket unit 7, the goods detection switch 7c is transferred in the delivery process.
Operates, stops the drive motor 7b based on the operation signal, and moves the drive pin 7g backward to move the gate mechanism 1.
The second gate plate 12a is returned to the closed position. Then X
After the bucket unit 7 is moved down to the position of the product outlet 2a by the -Y transport mechanism 8, the products 5 stored in the bucket by the unloading conveyor 7a are moved to the product outlet 2a.
And one sales operation ends.

[0013]

Incidentally, when selling paper-packed products (beverage products) with the above-mentioned vending machine, the following sales troubles often occur. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in the box-shaped paper pack product 5, the upper end and the lower end of the paper pack are relatively strong and hard to deform, but the middle body has low rigidity and a small external force F is applied. Simply add it and it will be easily deformed as shown by the dashed line. For this reason, when loading the product 5 by pulling out the product storage column 6 shown in FIG. 6 forward from the inside of the refrigerator and holding the body of the product 5 by hand, the column case 6
a, or when the pusher 13d (see FIG. 7) is pressed against the back of the product 5 stored in the column case 6a, the paper pack is deformed, and in the standby state for sale, the front row of the column case 6 as shown in FIG. The body of the products 5 arranged in a row is pressed by the gate plate 12a from the front and slightly collapsed, and the upper end and the lower end of the paper pack protrude forward from the front end surface of the column case 6a (the approach of the upper and lower ends). The output part is denoted by the symbol A,
B).

When the selling operation is performed in such a state, the bucket unit 7 which moves from below and accesses the front position of the column 6 has the lower end of the paper pack product 5 protruding from the front end surface of the column case 6a. In this case, the XY conveying mechanism 8 (see FIG. 6) is disturbed (jagged) by the protruding portion B of the section. Further, when the gate plate 12a swings from the closed position to the open position, the gate plate 12a interferes with the protruding portion A at the upper end of the paper pack and causes squealing, so that the slider 12c of the gate mechanism 12 is moved. If the power of the drive motor 7e (see FIG. 8) pushed through the drive pin 7g is insufficient, the gate plate 1
There is a possibility that the product cannot be paid out because the motor 2a cannot be opened and the motor lock is caused.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a means for preventing a lower end of a paper pack product lined up in the front row from protruding forward from a column case when a product is loaded. The second object is to avoid the interference with the bucket unit at the time of selling, and to smoothly open the gate plate without being hindered by the protruding parts of the products arranged in the front row of the gate plate and the column case during the selling operation. It is to provide an improved vending machine.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a product storage rack in which drawer-type columns for storing paper pack products are arranged in a front and rear row for each column in a cabinet of a main body case, and are arranged vertically and horizontally. A vending machine equipped with a vending machine for transferring goods paid out of the column forward based on a sales command to a bucket unit accessing the column and carrying out the goods to a product outlet, wherein the column has an open front end face. Arm type gate that is placed and supported so as to be able to be pulled out forward on a shelf plate arranged inside the warehouse as a case-like case, and is arranged at the front end of each column case as a product delivery mechanism and holds products in a storage position. Mechanism and a pusher mechanism that pushes out stored products forward from behind,
In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, in a state in which the column case is pulled forward from the inside of the cabinet at the bottom of the front end of each column case, the front row which protrudes to the front of the product passage in the case and is stored in the case Press down to prevent the lower end of the products lined up at the front end of the case from protruding forward,
When the column case is stored and set in the refrigerator, a stopper mechanism which operates so as to retreat from the product passage to the standby position is provided (claim 1). Specifically, the stopper mechanism is provided at the bottom of the front end of the column case. A swing-type stopper piece that is spring-biased so as to pivot and protrude toward the product passage,
And an actuator piece that protrudes downward from the stopper piece, retracts the stopper piece to the standby position by hitting the upper surface of the shelf plate when the column case is stored in the refrigerator and placed on the shelf plate ( Claim 2).

In such a configuration, when the column is pulled forward from the storage position in the refrigerator at the time of refilling the product, the stopper piece of the stopper mechanism automatically protrudes from the standby position to the front end face of the product path of the column case. Thereby, even if the body of the paper pack product loaded in the column case is pressed by the gate plate and deformed, the lower end of the product lined up in the front row is restrained by the stopper piece and the front end of the column case is moved forward from the front end face. Never rush. Then, after loading the product, the column case is pushed in and placed on the shelf plate in the refrigerator, the actuator piece operates, the stopper piece retreats to the standby position, and is automatically retracted from the product path. Therefore, there is no hindrance to the product dispensing operation during the selling operation.

In order to achieve the second object, the gate mechanism is arranged to be inclined slightly forward with respect to the column case. This allows the gate plate to pivot from the horizontal closed position to the vertical open position along the surface slightly inclined forward about the support shaft with respect to the front end surface of the column case during the opening operation of the gate plate. I do. Therefore, even if the paper pack products lined up in the front row of the column case are deformed and the upper end part is slightly protruding forward, the gate plate follows the movement locus to avoid interference with this protruding part and opens. Swings to the position.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment. In the drawings of each embodiment, the same members corresponding to FIGS. 7 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals. [Embodiment 1] FIGS. 1 to 3 show the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
1 shows an embodiment corresponding to FIG. In this embodiment, a stopper mechanism 1 for preventing the paper pack product 5 from protruding is provided at the lower front end of the column case 6a for each column 6.
Equipped with four. The stopper mechanism 14 includes a support shaft 14
a stopper arm 14b of a swing arm type which is pivotally supported on the base 6b of the column case 6a via a, and a biasing spring (torsion) such that the tip of the stopper piece 14b projects from below toward the product passage in the column case. Coil spring) 14c and the rear end of the support shaft 14a (connected to the front end (left end) of the stopper piece 14b (the right end) opposite the support shaft 14a) and to the bottom surface of the column case 6a. Opened window hole 6c
(See FIG. 2) and an actuator piece (U-shaped projection piece) 14d projecting downward. The above-mentioned window hole 6
Reference numeral c denotes an opening at a position facing the upper surface of the shelf board 11 supporting the column case 6a with the column 6 set in the storage position inside the refrigerator.

Next, the operation of the stopper mechanism 14 having the above configuration will be described. First, FIG. 1 (a), (b) and FIG. 3 (a)
When the column case 6a is placed on the shelf plate 11 and set in the storage position, the actuator piece 14d abuts on the upper surface of the shelf plate 11 and the window hole 6
Pressed into c. Thereby, the stopper piece 1
4b is retracted from the product path of the column case 6a and held at the standby position (horizontal posture).

On the other hand, in order to load (replenish) the product 5 into the column 6, when the column case 6a is pulled out from the inside of the refrigerator, as shown in FIGS. 1 (c), (d) and 3 (b). Then, the actuator piece 14d is disengaged from the shelf board 11 to release the constraint. As a result, the stopper piece 14b swings clockwise under the spring force of the urging spring 14c, and its tip projects from below toward the front end face of the product passage of the column case 6a. Therefore, when the paper pack product 5 is loaded into the column case 6a in this state, the lower end of the product 5 arranged in the front row is restrained by the stopper piece 14b, and FIG.
As described in 1, the lower end of the product is stored in the column case 6a without being protruded forward.

After loading the product 5, the column case 6a is pushed into the refrigerator and set on the shelf board 11. When the actuator piece 14d, which has been projecting downward, hits the upper surface of the shelf board 11 and is pushed in. The stopper piece 14b swings counterclockwise, retreats downward from the product passage, and returns to the sales standby state of FIG. This prevents the lower end of the product 5 stored in each column 6 from protruding from the front end surface of the column case 6a in the standby state for sale, and is unreasonable with the bucket unit 7 moving from below during the selling operation. Sales troubles caused by interference can be prevented beforehand.

[Embodiment 2] FIGS. 4 and 5 show an embodiment corresponding to claim 3 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the gate mechanism 12 (the structure and operation of the gate mechanism is described with reference to FIG. 9) provided at the front end of the column case 6a is slightly inclined forward (inclination) with respect to the column case 6a. Angle θ). Therefore, the swing arm type gate plate 12 of the gate mechanism 12
a is a column case 6 centered on the support shaft at the time of opening and closing operation.
The opening / closing movement is performed along a surface slightly inclined forward from the opening end surface of “a”. The solid gland indicates the closed position (horizontal direction) of the gate plate 12a, and the chain line indicates the open position (vertical direction).

Thus, as shown in FIG.
In the state where the paper pack products 5 are stored in the column case 6a side by side on the column b, even if the upper end of the products 5 arranged in the front row protrudes forward so as to protrude from the front end surface of the column case, the gate plate 12a is As described with reference to FIG. 11, the product 5 swings toward the open position smoothly without avoiding the protruding portion A without unduly interfering with the protruding portion A of the product 5.

Therefore, when opening the gate plate 12a of the gate mechanism 12 in conjunction with the product selling operation, the drive motor 7e incorporated in the bucket unit 7 (see FIG. 8) as a power source for pushing the slider 12c from the front is It is possible to avoid a sales trouble such as a motor lock being caused by a resistance caused by an interference between the gate plate 12a and the product protruding portion, and the dispensing of the product 5 being impossible without opening the gate plate 12a.

In the illustrated embodiment, the driving mechanism is driven by a driving motor 7e in which a gate mechanism 12 of a commodity dispensing mechanism mounted on the column 6 and a belt-driven pusher mechanism 13 mounted on a bucket unit are used as power sources. ,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a configuration in which a drive motor and a solenoid are mounted as power sources of a product delivery mechanism for each column. Also, by using the arrangement of the stopper mechanism described in the first embodiment and the arrangement of the gate mechanism described in the second embodiment, the reliability of the selling operation of the paper pack product is further improved.

[0027]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, when a paper pack product is stored in a column of a product storage rack mounted in the vending machine and sold, the paper pack is deformed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the product from protruding from the column case from unreasonably interfering with the selling mechanism, thereby facilitating the selling operation without selling trouble.

That is, by attaching the stopper mechanism of claim 1 to the column case, the lower end of the paper pack product loaded in the column case during loading of the product is prevented from protruding forward from the front end face of the case. Unfair interference with the bucket unit moving from below can be avoided, and by adopting the structure of claim 2 as the stopper mechanism, it is possible to adjust the operation of loading and unloading the column case from the interior when loading the goods. As a result, the stopper piece of the stopper mechanism can be automatically protruded and moved to the standby position.

Further, the gate mechanism mounted on the column case adopts the forward inclined arrangement according to the third aspect,
The gate plate can be smoothly opened and closed by avoiding interference between the gate plate and the upper protruding portion of the paper pack product, thereby preventing troubles such as a motor lock of a drive motor for operating the gate mechanism and a failure to pay out the product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment corresponding to the first embodiment of the present invention, where (a) and (b) are a front view, a side view, and (c) and (d) of a column in a standby state for sale, respectively. Shows the front and side views of the column in the product loading state where the column case is pulled out from the inside of the cabinet, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front end of the column case of FIG. 1 incorporating a stopper mechanism as viewed from a bottom surface side.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the internal structure and operation of the stopper mechanism in FIG. 1, wherein FIGS. 3A and 3B are FIGS.
Diagram showing the operating state corresponding to (c)

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment corresponding to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is a side view of a front end portion of a column case incorporating a gate mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the opening and closing operation of the gate plate by the configuration of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of a vending machine to which the present invention is applied, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a vertical side view.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the conventional structure of the product storage column in FIG. 6;

8 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the bucket unit in FIG. 6 and an operation of accessing the column of the product storage rack and transmitting power to the product payout mechanism of the bucket unit.

9 is a perspective view of a gate mechanism incorporated in the column case in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of a paper pack product sold by a vending machine.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a situation of a sales trouble that occurs when a paper pack product is stored in the conventional column shown in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine main body 2 Front outer door 2a Product exit 4 Product storage rack 5 Product (paper pack product) 6 Column 6a Column case 6b Base 7 Bucket unit 8 XY transport mechanism 11 Shelf board 12 Gate mechanism 12a Gate Plate 13 Belt-driven pusher mechanism 14 Stopper mechanism 14a Support shaft 14b Stopper piece 14c Energizing spring 14d Actuator piece A, B Protruding part of paper pack product θ Arrangement inclination angle of gate mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A product storage rack in which drawer-type columns for arranging paper pack products in a row in front and rear for each column are arranged in upper and lower rows and left and right rows in a cabinet of a main body case,
A vending machine that delivers the goods paid out from the column forward based on the sales command to a bucket unit that accesses the column and carries out the goods to a product outlet,
The column is placed and supported so as to be able to be pulled out forward on a shelf plate arranged inside the refrigerator as a gutter-shaped case with an open front end surface,
In addition, as a product dispensing mechanism, a swing arm type gate mechanism arranged at the front end of a column case for each column to hold the product in a storage position, and a pusher mechanism for pushing the stored product forward from behind, At the bottom of the front end of the column case, when the column case is pulled forward from the inside of the case, the lower end of the frontmost product lined up in the case protrudes to the front of the product passage in the case and is housed in the case, and moves forward from the front end of the case. Press down to prevent from approaching,
A vending machine equipped with a stopper mechanism that operates so as to retract from a product passage to a standby position when the column case is stored and set in a refrigerator. 2. A vending machine according to claim 1, wherein said stopper mechanism is a swing type stopper piece which is spring-biased so as to pivotally support the front end bottom of the column case and protrude toward a product passage. A vending machine comprising an actuator piece that projects downward from a stopper piece, retracts the stopper piece to a standby position by hitting the upper surface of the shelf plate when the column case is stored in the refrigerator and placed on the shelf plate, . 3. A product storage rack in which drawer-type columns for arranging paper pack products in a row in front and rear for each column are arranged in upper and lower rows and left and right rows in a cabinet of the main body case,
It is a vending machine which carries out the goods paid out from the column forward to the product outlet based on a sales order, wherein the column is provided on a shelf plate arranged inside the warehouse as a gutter-shaped case having an open front end face. A swing arm type gate mechanism that is mounted and supported so as to be able to be pulled out forward, and is disposed at the front end of each column case as a product payout mechanism to hold the product in a storage position;
A vending machine having a pusher mechanism for pushing out stored products from the back to the front, wherein the gate mechanism is incorporated with a slight forward inclination relative to the column case.