JPH11185124A - Commodity housing and ejecting device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eject a commodity at an appropriate falling speed at the time of sales and to reduce a manufacture cost. SOLUTION: This commodity housing and ejecting device 1 is provided with a housing container 4, partition plates 5 provided so as to vertically partition the housing container 4 into plural housing chambers, commodity racks 7 provided in the respective plural housing chambers for paying out the commodity S from a pay-out port formed at one end part of a front-to-back direction at the time of the sales and an ejecting path 10 for guiding the commodity S paid out from the pay-out port downwards. The partition plate 5 is provided with an opening 5a for constituting a part of the ejecting path 10. A shutter 11 capable of opening and closing the opening 5a of the partition plate 5 and a driving means 12 for closing the shutter 11 at the time of the sales standby of the commodity S and opening the shutter 11 after the lapse of prescribed time after the commodity S is paid out from the pay-out port at the time of the sales of the commodity are provided further.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for storing a large number of commodities arranged in a front-rear direction in a vending machine vault, and for carrying the commodities out of one end at the front and rear ends during sale. The present invention relates to a carry-out device, and more particularly to a device having a plurality of storage rooms in which a storage is vertically divided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device shown in FIG. 6 has been known as a product storage and unloading device for a vending machine of this kind. In the merchandise storage / unloading device 70 of the vending machine 70a, a storage 72 is provided in a vending machine main body 71, and the storage 7 is provided.
2 is provided with upper and lower two storage chambers 72a, 72b partitioned by a partition plate 73. The partition plate 73 is provided in the storage 7
It is fixed to the second wall and has a high heat insulating property, and an opening 73a is formed in the front part thereof. An electric shutter (not shown) for opening and closing the opening 73a is attached to the opening 73a, and the shutter is normally closed so that heat is not transmitted between the upper and lower storage chambers 72a and 72b. The upper storage room 72a is used as a shared room for heating and cooling the stored products S, and the lower storage room 72b is used as a dedicated cooling room for cooling the products S. In the storage rooms 72a and 72b, a number of product racks (hereinafter, referred to as "racks") 74 are vertically arranged in a substantially horizontal posture.
4, a large number of products S are stored in the front-back direction.
At the front end of each rack 74, a product payout mechanism (not shown) for paying out the stored products S one by one forward is provided.

The racks 74 of the storage chambers 72a and 72b are provided.
A vertically extending discharge path 75 is formed between the front end portion and the heat-insulating door 71 a, and the opening 73 a of the partition plate 73 constitutes a part of the discharge path 75. In the carry-out path 75, an elevator 76 is disposed so as to be vertically movable between the vicinity of the opening 73a and the vicinity of the shutter 77 at the bottom. The elevator 76 has a mounting plate 76 that can rotate forward from a horizontal position to an obliquely downward angle position.
a. A sales port 78 is provided below the carry-out path 74, and the shutter 77 opens and closes an upper opening of the sales port 78.

In order to sell the product S in the upper storage chamber 72a, the elevator 76 first moves to the vicinity of the opening 73a, and then the shutter of the partition 73 opens the opening 73a. Next, when the commodity delivery mechanism is activated, one commodity S at the foremost position in the rack 74 is paid out forward, falls onto the placement plate 76a of the elevator 76, and is placed thereon. Thereafter, the elevator 76 descends to the vicinity of the shutter 77, and the shutter 77 opens the opening of the sales port 78. Next, the placing plate 76a rotates obliquely downward and pays out the placed product S downward, so that the product S falls into the sales port 78 and is sold. Further, the commodity S in the lower storage chamber 72b is directly paid out onto the shutter 77, and is sold by opening it.

[0005]

According to the above-described conventional product storage / unloading device 70, since the elevator 76 is used for unloading the product S, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases accordingly. As a method of reducing the manufacturing cost, the elevator 76 is omitted and the product S is stored in the rack 74.
It is also conceivable to drop the product directly to the shutter 77 or the sales outlet 78 by paying out from the company. But,
In this case, the fall distance from the upper rack 74 to the shutter 77 or the sales outlet 78 is long, and the fall speed is increased. In such a case, there is a problem that a loud impact sound is generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a product storage and delivery device of a vending machine which can carry out a product at an appropriate drop speed at the time of sale and reduce manufacturing costs. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine product storage and unloading device, comprising: a storage box defined in a vending machine main body; A partition plate provided so as to partition up and down, and a plurality of products are provided in each of the plurality of storage chambers, and a plurality of products are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction and stored. Product racks configured to dispense products, and a carry-out path extending vertically in the vicinity of the payout ports of these product racks and guiding the products paid out from the payout ports downward, the partition plate includes: A shutter having an opening that constitutes a part of the carry-out path, having a heat insulating property, and capable of opening and closing the opening of the partition plate, closing the shutter when the product is on standby, and paying the product when the product is sold; After a predetermined time has passed since the exit A driving means for opening, and further comprising a.

According to the merchandise storage and unloading device of the vending machine, the shutter closes the opening of the partition plate and the partition plate and the shutter each have a heat insulating property when the product is on standby for sale. The heat insulation in the storage room is maintained. Thereby, the heating / cooling temperature of the product in the product rack stored in the storage room can be appropriately maintained. Further, at the time of selling the product, the driving means closes the shutter until a predetermined time elapses after the product rack pays out the product, so that by appropriately setting the predetermined time in advance, the drive unit above the partition plate is set. When the merchandise rack pays out the merchandise, the merchandise guided to the carry-out path falls onto the shutter and is received. After a predetermined time has elapsed after the delivery of the product, the drive unit opens the shutter, and the product is conveyed downward through the opening. in this case,
Since the falling of the product is performed in two stages, that is, the falling from the upper product rack to the shutter and the falling from the shutter downward, the distance of these drops is shorter than when there is no shutter. Further, when the product is discharged from the product rack below the partition plate, the product is carried out at a short falling distance while being guided to the carry-out path irrespective of the driving means and the shutter. Therefore, the falling speed can be made small and appropriate, and when the product is carried out, deformation and breakage of the product and impact noise when the product is a canned product are not generated. As described above, the commodity can be carried out at an appropriate drop speed without requiring an expensive structure such as a conventional elevator for carrying out the commodity, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the above, the partition plate is constituted by a plurality of partition plates each having an opening, the shutter is constituted by a plurality of shutters each capable of opening and closing the openings of the plurality of partition plates, and the driving means comprises: It is preferable to open the plurality of shutters at the time of selling the product with a predetermined time difference in order from the upper shutter.

According to the vending machine product storage / unloading device, the storage compartment is divided into three or more storage rooms by the plurality of partition plates, and each shutter for opening and closing the opening of each partition plate is used when the product is sold. Since the drive means opens the shutters from the upper shutter in order from the upper shutter at a predetermined time difference, the products paid out from the product rack fall downward from the upper shutter while sequentially falling on the lower shutter from the upper shutter. It is carried out. Thus, even when the storage is divided into three or more storage rooms, the falling of the product can be divided into a plurality of stages and the falling distance can be shortened, so that the falling speed can be reduced and made appropriate. .

In the above, it is preferable that the shutter has a cushioning property.

According to the merchandise storage / unloading device of the vending machine, the shock-absorbing properties of the shutter can buffer the drop impact when the merchandise falls on the vending machine. It is possible to more effectively prevent the impact sound and the like in the case of a can product.

Further, in the above, it is preferable that a portion of the shutter that closes the opening of the partition plate has a downwardly convex shape.

According to the merchandise storage and unloading device of the vending machine, the commodity falling on the shutter can be received by the downwardly convex portion, so that the commodity jumps or rolls on the shutter. Or not.
As described above, since the product can be stably received and held, the selling operation can be stably executed.

Further, in the above, it is preferable that the partition plate is provided detachably to the storage, and the shutter is provided on the partition plate.

According to the vending machine product storage and unloading device, since the partition plate is detachable from the storage box, the position of the partition plate attached to the storage box can be changed by simply changing the position of the partition plate. The ratio of the capacity of the storage room can be changed. In addition, since the shutter is provided on the partition plate,
It becomes easier to change the ratio of the capacity of the storage room. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to change the storage ratio of the cooling product and the heating product according to the season, and it is possible to improve the sales efficiency of the vending machine.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A merchandise storage and unloading device of a vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vending machine 1 to which a product storage and unloading device 1 of the present embodiment is applied.
“a” is a so-called see-through type in which merchandise actually sold, such as canned juice or packed drinking water, is visible from the outside. The vending machine 1a includes a vending machine main body 2 and a main door 3 that opens and closes the front of the vending machine main body 2. A transparent heat insulating glass 3a is attached to the main door 3, and when purchasing the product, the product purchaser can refer to the product S stored in the vending machine 1a through the heat insulating glass 3a. ing.

Inside the vending machine body 2, a storage 4 is defined by a wall 4a filled with a heat insulating material (not shown).
The storage box 4 has high heat retention and three upper, middle, and lower storage chambers 6a to 6c by two upper and lower partition plates 5, 5.
It is divided into. The upper storage room 6a is a heating room for storing the product S while heating it, and near the ceiling thereof,
A heating mechanism 8 including a heater and a fan is provided. The middle storage room 6b is a room temperature room for storing the product S in a normal temperature state, and the lower storage room 6c is a cooling room for storing the product S while cooling it. A cooling mechanism 9 including an evaporator, a compressor, a fan, and the like is disposed below the lower storage chamber 6c.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a total of nine product racks (hereinafter, referred to as "racks") 7 are provided in the upper storage room 6a. In the middle storage room 6b and the lower storage room 6c, a total of six racks 7 are housed in the vertical direction and two stages in the vertical direction with three left middle right units as one stage. Each rack 7 stores a number of products S in the front-rear direction (not shown). These products S are supplied by a payout mechanism 7a provided at a payout port at the front end of the rack 7 at the time of product sales. One is paid out diagonally forward and downward. An unloading path 10 extending vertically is formed between the front end of the rack 7 and the heat-insulating glass 3a, and the goods S discharged from the payout port are guided downward by the unloading path 10. Product delivery mechanism 7a
Is provided with a transparent opening / closing plate 7b, and through the opening / closing plate 7b and the heat insulating glass 3a, a product S stored in the rack 7 is provided.
Among them, the commodity (sale commodity) S at the forefront position can be visually recognized from the front, and the appearance that the sale commodity S is paid out into the carry-out path 10 and guided downward can be visually confirmed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the partition plate 5
It is composed of a hollow plate made of a steel plate arranged in a substantially horizontal state and a heat insulating material such as foamed polyurethane filled in the inside thereof, and has a high heat insulating property. As shown in FIG. 2, the partition plate 5 has an opening 5a that constitutes a part of the carry-out path 10 between the partition plate 5 and the heat insulating glass 3a, and a flat shutter 11 for opening and closing the opening 5a is provided. Have. The shutter 11 is movably attached to the front end of the lower surface of the partition plate 5. The shutter 11 is driven in the front-rear direction by a drive mechanism (drive unit) 12 attached to the lower surface of the partition plate 5. The shutter 11 is composed of a hollow plate made of a steel plate and a heat insulating material such as foamed polyurethane filled inside, and the surface is thickly covered with elastic synthetic rubber. Thereby, the shutter 11
Has a high level of heat insulation and shock absorption.

The drive mechanism 12 includes a motor 12a attached to the lower surface of the partition plate 5, and a link mechanism 12b connecting the motor 12a and the shutter 11. The link mechanism 12b is composed of a plurality of link members, one end of which is connected to the drive shaft of the motor 12a and the other end of which is connected to the rear end of the lower part of the shutter 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the two guide portions 5b, 5
b (only one is shown) is provided on each of the left and right sides of the front part of the lower surface of the partition plate 5, and the shutter 11 is moved in the front-rear direction by these guide portions 5b, 5b and the lower surface of the partition plate 5. You will be guided when you move. Thus, the drive mechanism 12 rotates the shutter 11 by the rotation of the motor 12a.
Is slid in the front-rear direction, and the opening of the opening 5 a is opened and closed by the sliding of the shutter 11. On the other hand, a transparent synthetic rubber stopper 3b is attached to the inner surface of the heat insulating glass 3a at a position corresponding to the shutter 11, and the shutter 11 closes the opening 5a when closing the opening 5a.
b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, grooves 4b, 4b extending in the front-rear direction are
Are formed bilaterally symmetrically, and these grooves 4b, 4b
Are arranged between the upper and lower two racks 7, 7, respectively.
The partition plate 5 is attached to the storage box 4 by being inserted into these grooves 4b, 4b, and at this time, the rear end of the partition plate 5 contacts the wall of the storage box 4. By this contact, the drive mechanism 12 is electrically connected to a control device (not shown) via a connector (not shown) provided on the wall of the storage case 4. The partition plate 5 is detachable from the grooves 4b, 4b between the upper and lower two racks 7, 7, and the storage capacity of the storage chambers 6a to 6c is changed by changing the mounting position. I can do it.

Further, a sales port 13 for selling products and a sales port shutter 14 for opening and closing the upper opening of the sales port 13 are provided below the carry-out path 10. The sales port shutter 14 has a drive mechanism 15 substantially similar to the drive mechanism 12 of the shutter 11. The control device includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM (both not shown).
The microcomputer includes a microcomputer including a payout mechanism 7a, a heating mechanism 8, a cooling mechanism 9, and a drive mechanism 12, 15 of each rack 7, which are electrically controlled during standby and during sales. I do. In particular, as described below, the control device drives the drive mechanisms 12 and 15 according to the setting of the operation program and the program timer when the product S is on standby for sale and when the product S is on sale.
The opening and closing of the first and the first 14 are controlled respectively.

The operation of the merchandise storage / unloading device 1 configured as described above will be described. When the sale of the product S is on standby, the control device holds the shutters 11 and 14 in the closed state.
When selling the goods S, for example, when paying out the goods S from the uppermost rack 7, the control device drives the payout mechanism 7a and pays out the sold goods S at the frontmost position to the carry-out path 10. The product for sale S falls in the carry-out path 10, falls on the shutter 11 of the upper partition plate 5, and is received by this. At this time, since the surface of the shutter 11 is thickly covered with the synthetic rubber having elasticity, the drop impact of the product S is buffered.

After a predetermined time has passed since the payout mechanism 7a paid out the product S, the control device drives the drive mechanism 12 to slide the shutter 11 backward so as to open the opening 5a. Thereby, the commodity S falls on the shutter 11 of the lower partition plate 5 and is received by the shutter. After a predetermined time has passed since the upper shutter 11 opened the opening 5a, the shutter 11 of the lower partition plate 5 slides backward to open the opening 5a, so that the product S is released from the shutter 14a. It falls down and is caught by this. Since the surface of the shutter 14 is thickly covered with a synthetic rubber having elasticity similarly to the shutter 11, the drop impact of the product S is buffered. After a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter 11 of the lower partition plate 5 was opened, the shutter 14 opens the upper opening of the sales port 13, so that the product S falls into the sales port 13, and the selling operation ends. I do. As described above, the control device drives each of the drive mechanisms 12, 14a with a predetermined time difference (or delay time) at the time of selling the product S, so that the shutters 11, 14 are sequentially shifted from the upper one of the shutters 11, 14 by the predetermined time difference. Open.

As described in detail above, in the merchandise storage and unloading device 1 of the vending machine of the present embodiment, when the merchandise S is sold, the control device opens the shutters 11, 14 in order from the upper one with a predetermined time difference. , Goods S are shutters 11 and 14
After being dropped from the top in the order and received, it is sold to the sales outlet 13. In this way, the product S is released from the shutters 11 and 14.
By falling sequentially from the top, the falling distance of the product S to the shutters 11 and 14 can be shortened as compared with the case where there is no shutter, and the falling speed can be made small and appropriate. In addition to this, the shutter 11,
Since the surface of the product 14 is thickly covered with the elastic synthetic rubber, the drop impact of the product S is further buffered. Thereby, when the goods S are carried out, the goods S
No deformation or breakage, and no impact sound when the product S is a can product, etc., are generated. Therefore, without requiring an expensive structure like a conventional elevator for carrying out goods,
Goods can be carried out at an appropriate drop speed, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Further, since the partition plate 5 is detachable from the grooves 4b, 4b between the upper and lower two racks 7, 7 by changing the mounting position thereof, the respective storage chambers 6a to 6b are changed. 6b can be changed. In addition to this,
Since the shutter 11 and the drive mechanism 12 are integrally provided on the partition plate 5, this change operation is further facilitated.

In the above-described embodiment, the opening 5a of the partition plate 5 is opened and closed by the flat shutter 11, but instead, the shutter 11 is formed in a shape as shown in FIG. Is also good. The shutter 11 has a shape that bends downward and convexly. Further, instead of the stopper 3b attached to the inner surface of the heat insulating glass 3a, a cushion material 11a made of vinyl chloride is provided at the tip of the shutter 11. Is attached. According to the shutter 11 configured as described above, the commodity S falling from above is
Can be received stably, and the product S
There is no bouncing or rolling on 1 As described above, since the commodity S can be stably received and held, the selling operation of the commodity S can be executed stably. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide an extra member such as the stopper 3b on the heat insulating glass 3a, the product S in the product storage and unloading device 1 of the vending machine can be easily seen through the heat insulating glass 3a, and its design is improved. be able to.

In the above-described embodiment, the time difference between each shutter 11 opening the opening 5a is set to a predetermined value.
This time difference may not be the same value, and each shutter may be opened with a different time difference. further,
A sensor for detecting that the commodity S has fallen on each shutter 11 may be provided, and each shutter 11 may be opened and closed according to the output of this sensor.

[0030]

As described above, according to the merchandise storage and unloading device of the vending machine of the present invention, the merchandise can be unloaded at an appropriate drop speed when the merchandise is sold, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. it can. Further, it is possible to buffer a drop impact when the product falls. Further, the product can be stably received and held. Further, the ratio of the capacity of the upper and lower storage chambers divided by the partition plate can be easily changed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine to which a product storage and unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a product storage and unloading device.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a partition plate and a shutter.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a partition plate and a shutter.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another configuration of the partition plate and the shutter.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional product storage / unloading device of a vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commodity storage and unloading apparatus 1a Vending machine 2 Vending machine main body 4 Storage 5 Partition plate 5a Opening 6 Storage room 7 Commodity rack 10 Unloading path 11 Shutter 12 Drive mechanism (drive means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A storage box defined in a vending machine main body, a partition plate having heat insulation and provided so as to vertically partition the storage box into a plurality of storage chambers, and the plurality of storage chambers. And a product rack configured to store a plurality of products arranged side by side in the front-rear direction and to pay out the products from a payout opening formed at one end in the front-rear direction at the time of sale. A carry-out path extending vertically in the vicinity of the pay-out port and guiding the goods paid out from the pay-out port downward, wherein the partition plate has an opening constituting a part of the carry-out path. A shutter having heat insulation properties and capable of opening and closing the opening of the partition plate; closing the shutter when the product is on standby for sale; and dispensing the product from the payout port when selling the product. After the elapse of a predetermined time from A product storage and delivery device for a vending machine, further comprising: a driving means for opening. 2. The partition plate includes a plurality of partition plates each having the opening, and the shutter includes a plurality of shutters each capable of opening and closing the openings of the plurality of partition plates. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means executes the opening of the plurality of shutters at the time of selling the product with a predetermined time difference from the upper shutter in order. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter has a buffering property. 4. The vending machine product according to claim 1, wherein said shutter has a downwardly convex shape at a portion closing said opening of said partition plate. Storage and unloading device. 5. The partition according to claim 1, wherein the partition plate is detachably provided to the storage, and the shutter is provided on the partition plate. Vending machine product storage and unloading device.