JPH11185142A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set the discharge position of a product from a product column to an arbitrary height position, to easily advance loading work withoutt forcing an unnecessary work posture and to considerably improve the loading workability of a product by hanging the plural product columns of a side adjusting system out a lifter mechanism and circularly and vertically moving them. SOLUTION: The product columns 3 of what is called lateral adjusting system, which laterally store the plural products S, are hung on the lifter mechanism 10 and the respective product columns 3 are provided so that they circularly and vertically move. The respective product columns 3 are selectively positioned in prescribed product discharge positions with the driving of the lifter mechanism 10 linked with the selection operation of the products S. A depression mechanism which is mainly constituted of a spring is incorporated in the product column 3. The plural products S which are laterally stored in the product column 3 are moved/displaced to one end side forming the discharge part of the product by the depression mechanism. They are laterally moved one by one with the discharge of the products S from a discharge part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine of a horizontal-column type, which is excellent in product loading.

[0002]

[Related Background Art] A vending machine for packaged products such as tobacco is generally provided with a plurality of columns of so-called vertical-packed product columns in which a plurality of products are stacked and stored, and stored in each product column. It is configured to pay out the commodities, for example, from the lowest position to the front side thereof.
Such a product column is provided in multiple stages according to the column length.

[0005] The products selectively paid out from the above-mentioned respective product columns are moved to a lower position of the door portion via, for example, a product chute provided on the back surface of the door portion forming the front surface of the vending machine main body. It is led to the provided product outlet.
In the case where the product outlet is provided at a mid-height position (so-called waist position) of the door portion, the product once dropped to the lowest position inside the vending machine main body is removed from the belt body, for example. It is configured to be picked up by a transport mechanism and transported to the product outlet.

[0004]

The loading of a product into a product column is performed by sequentially stacking a plurality of products in the product column. However, in the case of a long column for mass-market products, as the stacking height of the products increases, it becomes more difficult to stack the products thereon. In addition, even if the column is located at the upper stage, it is difficult to stack the products on the product column, even if the column is located at the upper stage, and if the worker is short, for example, a step platform Is required.

On the other hand, the product outlet is generally provided at the lower position of the door portion as described above in order to guide the product to the product outlet by utilizing the drop of the product selectively discharged from each product column. Can be However, if the product outlet is at the lower position of the door portion, it is necessary to bend when taking out the product. On the other hand, if a product outlet is provided at the waist position, it is possible to take out the product without bending, but it is necessary to incorporate a transport mechanism as described above, and the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a product column having excellent loadability of a product, and to relatively freely set a height position of a product outlet in a door portion. An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of setting.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vending machine according to the present invention stores a plurality of products side by side and moves the stored products to one end thereof. A plurality of product columns having a pressing mechanism for displacing, a lifter mechanism for suspending and moving these product columns up and down, and a product column selected by driving the lifter mechanism to a predetermined product dispensing position. , And a product discharge mechanism for discharging a product displaced to one end from the product column positioned at the product delivery position to the front side of the product column.

[0008] That is, the vending machine according to the present invention is provided with a horizontal-packing type product column in which a plurality of products are placed side by side and stored, and these plurality of product columns are suspended by a lifter mechanism. By cyclically moving each product column up and down, the selected and designated product column is selectively positioned at a predetermined product payout position, and from the product column positioned at this product payout position, It is characterized in that stored goods are sequentially paid out in front of them.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the commodity discharging mechanism is provided behind an end of a commodity column selectively positioned at a predetermined commodity discharging position, and a pusher provided in the commodity discharging mechanism is provided. By protruding into the product column, the product in the product column is pushed out to the front side. In other words, the product delivery mechanism provided at the product delivery position allows the product to be delivered from the product column positioned at the product delivery position without incorporating the product delivery mechanism for each product column. And

[0010] Further, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, claim 3 is provided.
As described in (1), a product column cyclically moved up and down by a lifter mechanism is guided by a guide member, so that the product column is positioned at a product payout position while restricting a hanging posture of the product column. That is, while stabilizing the attitude of the product column using the guide member, the product column is moved up and down and the product is paid out from the product column.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking a cigarette vending machine as an example. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a vending machine according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a characteristic configuration thereof. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine main body composed of a box-shaped housing, and a door 2
Are provided to be freely opened and closed. The interior of the vending machine main body 1 mainly forms a space for storing products for sale, and a plurality of product columns 3 for storing products S of a plurality of brands classified by brand as described later. The door unit 2 includes a product display unit for displaying a plurality of product samples (not shown) and incorporating a product selection switch or the like corresponding to each product sample, a currency input port, a change return port, and the like. A money transfer unit is provided. Further, the door portion 2 has a product outlet 4 for taking out the product S for sale and a product chute (product passage) 5 for guiding the product S selectively paid out from the product column to the product outlet 4. Provided.

A feature of the vending machine is that, instead of the conventional arrangement, a plurality of columns of vertically-packed products for stacking and storing products are fixedly provided side by side. To store a plurality of products S side by side,
The so-called horizontal packing type product columns 3 are suspended from the lifter mechanism 10, and each of these product columns 3 is provided so as to be movable up and down cyclically. The configuration is such that each product column 3 is selectively positioned at a predetermined product payout position by driving the lifter mechanism 10 in conjunction with the selection operation of the product S.

That is, the product column 3 basically has a horizontally long box shape with an open upper surface, and has a structure in which a plurality of products S are housed side by side therein.
It is hung by 0 and provided to be able to move up and down. Each product column 3 incorporates a pressing mechanism mainly composed of a spring as described later. By this pressing mechanism, a plurality of products S stored side by side in the product column 3 are
It is moved and displaced to one end side forming a product payout section, and is laterally moved one by one in accordance with the payout of the product S from the payout section.

Incidentally, the lifter mechanism 10 is composed of a pair of right and left transport mechanisms incorporated in the left and right side plates of the vending machine main body 1, respectively.
11b and an endless belt 12 stretched between the pulleys 11a and 11b. These pulleys 11
A pair of right and left transport mechanisms including a, 11b and a belt 12 are driven by a motor (drive mechanism) (not shown) in conjunction with each other to move the belt 12 up and down cyclically. The plurality of product columns 3 described above are suspended from the belt 12 of the lifter mechanism 10 and are moved up and down cyclically as the lifter mechanism 10 is driven.

The lifter mechanism 10 includes a pulley 11
A gutter-like guide member 14 is provided along an endless belt 12 stretched between a and 11b. Lifter mechanism 1
The product column 3 hung at 0 moves while being guided vertically in a state where both ends are fitted into the guide members 14 respectively, whereby the hanging posture is fixed in the horizontal direction. It has become so.

Thus, as described above, the commodity column 3 suspended by the lifter mechanism 10 and vertically moved cyclically.
A predetermined height position, which is located on the front side of the vending machine main body 1, in particular, is set as a commodity payout position from the commodity column 3. Specifically, an opening 14a having a predetermined width is provided in a part of the guide member 14 so that the commodity S paid out from the commodity column 3 to the front thereof can be inserted. A product payout mechanism 16 for paying out the products S in the product column 3 to the front at the rear of the product payout position.
Is provided. The product dispensing mechanism 16 is mainly composed of a plunger 18 having a rod-shaped pusher 17 at the tip end thereof, which is moved forward and backward, and protrudes into the product column 3, for example. The product S in the product column 3 is pushed out to the front side thereof by projecting the pusher 17 into the product column 3.

Basically, as described above, in a vending machine in which a plurality of product columns 3 are suspended by a lifter mechanism 10 and moved up and down cyclically, the lifter mechanism 10 is moved in response to a product selection operation. To selectively position the product column 3 storing the specified product S at the above-described product removal position. In this state, the product delivery mechanism 16
, And the pusher 17 is protruded into the product column 3 to pay out the product S from the inside of the product column 3 to the front side thereof, whereby the product S is sold. After dispensing the product S, the drive of the product dispensing mechanism 16 is stopped and the pusher 17 is pulled out of the product column 3 so that the product S remaining in the product column 3 is moved in the horizontal direction by the pressing mechanism. , And the vertical movement of the product column 3 by the lifter mechanism 10 becomes possible.

Here, the product column 3 of the horizontal justification method described above.
If you explain a little more about now, this product column 3
3 is, for example, formed in a horizontally elongated box shape as shown in FIG. 3, and is suspended by the belt 12 of the lifter mechanism 10 at the upper ends of the side walls forming both ends. The upper surface of the product column 3 is largely opened in the width direction, and the front side is a front door 3b provided to be freely opened and closed via a hinge 3a. The front door 3b is a product column 3
A front end wall of the product column 3 is formed by engaging with a front end hook 3d of an arm 3c protruding forward from the rear end upper end. Thus, when loading the commodity S into the commodity column 3, the engagement between the front end hook 3d and the front door 3b is released by elastically bending the arm 3c, and the front door 3d is tilted to the front side. This is performed with the front side of the product column 3 open.

The front door 3b is provided with an opening having the thickness of the product S formed between the right end and the right end side wall. The space between the right end of the front door 3b and the right end side wall is
It is used as a payout port for the commodity S from within the commodity column 3. Further, the front door 3b prevents the products S stored in the product column 3 from falling off from the front end, and contacts the front end of the next product S when dispensing the product S at the right end position from the payout opening. It also plays a role in preventing payout of the next product S from the product column 3 (double payout).

On the left side of the product column 3,
The plurality of products S stored side by side in the product column 3 are pressed in the lateral direction (right end direction), and are left in the product column 3 in association with the payout of the products S from the product column 3. Pressing mechanism 20 for moving and displacing stored goods S to the right
Is incorporated. As described above, the pressing mechanism 20 is mainly composed of a spring, and by using the elastic force to move and displace the stored product S in the product column 3, the right end side provided with the payout port is provided. In order to position the product S sequentially.

The commodity dispensing mechanism 16 described above dispenses the commodities S which are sequentially moved and displaced to the right end side of the commodity column 3 by the pressing mechanism 20 to the front side thereof, for example, as shown in FIG. It is provided on the back side, and pushes the rear end face of the product S by pushing the rod-shaped pusher 17 into the product column 3 to push out the product S from inside the product column 3 toward the front side. .

The product dispensing mechanism 16 uses, for example, a ball screw driven by a motor to drive the pusher 1.
7 may be configured to drive forward and backward. Also, as described above, the product column 3 positioned at the product payout position
Instead of fixedly providing the product payout mechanism 16 behind, a product payout mechanism may be incorporated at the right end of each product column 3. In this case, a product payout mechanism provided as a mounting surface of the product S at a lower portion of a conventional general vertically long product column may be placed horizontally and incorporated. Only when the commodity column 3 is selectively positioned at the commodity dispensing position, the electric connection of the commodity column 3 to the commodity dispensing mechanism is made, and the commodity dispensing mechanism can be driven only in this state. Good.

Thus, according to the vending machine configured as described above, the plurality of product columns 3 have the box-shaped structure of the horizontal packing type for storing the products S side by side, and are suspended by the lifter mechanism 10 and circulated. The product S is easily loaded into the product column 3 while sequentially positioning the product column 3 at a predetermined height position on the front side of the vending machine main body 1 because the product column 3 is provided so as to be vertically moved. I can do it. In particular, since it is only necessary to arrange a plurality of products S in the product column 3 positioned on the front side of the vending machine main body in order from the right end side, the loading operation is very simple.

Incidentally, when a plurality of products S are stacked and stored in the vertically packed product column, when the stacking height reaches a certain degree, the package S tends to fall forward due to the package shape. In order to prevent such a forward fall, it was necessary to devise, for example, pressing the front end of the product stacked on the top with a hand, an arm, or the like. The above-mentioned contrivance is not required at all because the front-side fall does not occur. In addition, by appropriately adjusting the height position of the product column 3 to which the product S is to be loaded, the loading operation can be performed without forcing an excessive work posture.

Further, according to the above-described configuration, it is only necessary to pay out the product S from the product column 3 positioned on the front side of the vending machine main body 1 to the front side thereof, so that the product column 3 is defined by the pair of pulleys 11a and 11b. An arbitrary height position at the front-side movement position of the product column 3 to be set can be set as a product payout position. Therefore, even in the case where the product outlet 5 is provided at the middle height position (waist position) of the door part 2, it is necessary to set a product payout position at which the product S can be easily guided to the product outlet 5. Can be. As a result, there is no need to incorporate a product transport mechanism for scooping the product S dropped into the lower portion of the vending machine main body 1 as in the related art, and the configuration of the vending machine can be simplified. Further, since it is not necessary to scoop up the product S by the product transport mechanism, it is possible to avoid problems such as damage to the package of the product due to scooping.

A supplementary description of the pressing mechanism 20 which is incorporated in each product column 3 and mainly includes the above-described spring will be described. The pressing mechanism 20 is designed to ensure the product storage space in the product column 3 as large as possible. It is preferable to make it compact. However, whether a compression spring or a tension spring is used, a spring having a certain length is required in order to secure a pressing displacement width of the product corresponding to substantially the entire width of the product column 3. By the way, assuming that the practical expansion / contraction width (ratio of length between compression and expansion) of the practical spring is about three times, the compression length of the compression spring for pressing and moving the product S to the right end position of the product column 3. As a result, 1/3 of the width (length) of the product column 3 is required, and 2/3 of the width of the product column 3 is required.
Only 3 can be used for storing the product S.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the extension length corresponds to the entire width of the product column 3 and the compression length is 1/3 of the width of the product column 3. A spring 21 and a compression spring 22 having an extension length that is 1/3 the width of the product column 3 are provided using a connecting member 23 so that the spring force acts in the same direction (right end side). What is necessary is just to comprise so that stored goods S may be pushed to the right end side from 21 via the compression spring 22, and may be displaced. With such a configuration, it is possible to use substantially the entire width of the product column 3 as a storage space for the product S, as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 6, two pulleys 24 and 25 having different radii are used to apply a rotational force to a small-diameter pulley 25 by a tension spring 26 while applying the rotational force to the large-diameter pulley 24. introduce. Then, by moving the pressing member 29 attached to the endless belt 28 stretched between the large-diameter pulley 24 and the guide pulley 27, the product S in the product column 3 may be pressed and moved. . When the pressing mechanism 20 is configured in this manner, even if the extension and contraction width of the tension spring 26 is about の of the width of the product column 3, the displacement width due to this can be increased by the large-diameter pulley 24, so that Substantially the entire width of the column 3 can be used as a product storage space.

In the above-described embodiment, only the right end of the product column 3 is used as a product payout port. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, both ends of the product column 3 are used as product payout ports. The inside of the column 3 may be divided into two parts, left and right, to store different types of products S, respectively. In this case, the pressing mechanism 20 is configured to move and displace the goods S stored in the right area to the right end side and the goods S stored in the left area to the left end side. In addition, the above-described commodity payout mechanism 16 is also provided correspondingly to both ends of the commodity column 3. In this case, the pressing mechanism 20 that presses and displaces the product S in each direction may be about 幅 of the width of the product column 3. For example, as shown in FIG. It is sufficient to use the tension springs 31 and 32 (or compression springs).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the number of product columns 3 suspended on the lifter mechanism 10 and the width of the product columns 3 (the number of stored products)
What is necessary is just to determine according to the specification. Of course, it is also possible to provide a guide member for guiding the product column 3 on the back side of the lifter mechanism 10. If such a guide member is provided, the product column 3 can be prevented from being unintentionally shaken. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the product S from dropping from the product column 3.

A lid is provided at the payout port of the product column 3,
The lid may be opened only when the product column 3 is selectively positioned at the product payout position. If such a lid is provided, it is possible to prevent the product from dropping out of the payout port when the product column 3 moves up and down. When the product column 3 is guided by the guide member 14, the lid is selectively opened by using an operating piece that comes into contact with and displaces the guide member 14. Good.

Further, regarding the control of the selective positioning of the commodity column 3 to the commodity payout position, for example, the pulley 11
By controlling the position of each product column 3 by monitoring the rotation angles of the a and 11b, or by optically reading an identification code attached to the outer wall surface (for example, a side plate) of the product column 3, the product is paid out. The control may be performed while monitoring the product column 3 positioned at the position. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, since a plurality of product columns of the horizontal justification type are suspended from the lifter mechanism so as to move up and down cyclically, the product is paid out from the product columns. The position can be set to an arbitrary height position. In addition, the products can be loaded into each product column while changing the positions of the plurality of product columns cyclically, and the products can be loaded side by side, so that an uncomfortable work posture is not required. The loading operation can be easily performed. Therefore, there is a great effect in practical use that the workability of loading the product can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a structure in which a plurality of product columns in the vending machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a product column.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a product column and a product payout mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a pressing mechanism incorporated in a product column.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a modification of the pressing mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a product column for storing two types of products.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S Commodity (tobacco) 1 Vending machine main body 3 Commodity column 3b Front door of product column 10 Lifter mechanism 11a, 11b Pulley 12 Endless belt 14 Guide member 16 Commodity payout mechanism 17 Pusher 18 Plunger 21 Tension spring 22 Compression spring 24, 25 Pulley 26 Tension spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of product columns for placing and storing a plurality of products side by side, a pressing mechanism incorporated in each of the product columns to move and displace the stored products side to side to one end thereof, A lifter mechanism for suspending and moving the product column cyclically up and down; a product selection mechanism for driving the lifter mechanism to position a selected and designated product column at a predetermined product payout position; A vending machine comprising: a product discharging mechanism for discharging a product displaced to one end from a product column to a front side of the product column. 2. The product delivery mechanism is provided behind an end of a product column selectively positioned at a product delivery position by the product selection mechanism, and protrudes into the product column and inside the product column. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a pusher for pushing out the product to the front side. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the commodity column is moved up and down while being suspended by the lifter while being guided by a guide member, and is positioned at a commodity dispensing position. .