JPH11232541A - Article pay-out device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article pay-out device of the automatic vending machine which has its constitution simplified and its cost reduced and is highly practical. SOLUTION: A device main body 11 which has a mount part for articles at its top surface is provided with an endless flexible body which travels from the inner part of an article column to the front side along the top surface, and only one pressurizing member 14 which projects from the top surface of the device main body, moves in the article column, and pushes the bottom article out of the article column is fitted to the endless flexible body. A driving motor 13 which drives the endless flexible body to travel is powered ON when the article is paid out of the article column to allow the endless flexible body to travel and when the depression member 14 which moves as the endless flexible body travels passes a specific passage detection position 21 in the device main body, that is detected to stop feeding the electricity to the driving motor 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise dispensing apparatus which is incorporated in a lower portion of a merchandise column and sequentially pays out the merchandise stored in the merchandise column, and particularly to simplify the structure and reduce the cost. And a product dispensing device for a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vending machine for packaged goods such as tobacco is provided with a plurality of kinds of goods inside a vending machine main body 1 having a box-shaped housing with an open front as shown in FIG. It has a plurality of product columns 2 that are sorted by brand and stored in a stack. When a product selection switch (not shown) incorporated in a door portion 3 provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 1 to be opened and closed is selectively operated, the product is incorporated into a product column 2 containing the corresponding product. By selectively driving the product dispensing device, the commodities are paid out in order from the lowest position, for example. The products paid out from the product column 2 are guided to a product outlet 5 at a lower portion of the front surface of the door portion 3 via a product chute 4 provided on the back surface of the door portion 3.

By the way, as shown schematically in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, the commodity dispensing apparatus incorporated in each commodity column 2 has its upper surface provided with a placing portion for the commodity stored in the commodity column 2. The main body 11 is a unit having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped apparatus body 11 as a main body. The upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 also functions as, for example, a product payout guide surface extending from the innermost part of the product column 2 to the product payout port, and the length is defined as the depth length of the product column 2 and the maximum length of the product to be sold. It is set slightly longer than the length (vertical length).

[0004] The endless belt 12 exposed at the center of the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 is passed through the inside of the apparatus main body 11 in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. The endless belt 1 built in the apparatus body 11
The traveling drive is performed by a drive motor 13 arranged inside the second orbit. A pressing member (pusher) 14 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 12 extends, for example, in the width direction of the endless belt 12 and is slightly narrower than the width of the apparatus main body 11. Also has a T-shape with a wide contact piece 14a. This pressing member 14
Protrudes from the rear end of the apparatus main body 11 to the upper surface thereof as the endless belt 12 travels, moves to the front side along the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and then moves from the front end side of the apparatus main body 11 to the apparatus. It goes around the inside of the main body 11 and goes around.

Incidentally, the height of the pressing member 14 is set so that the amount of protrusion from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 does not exceed the minimum thickness of a plurality of types of products, for example, about half of the maximum thickness of the products. Have been. When the pressing member 14 protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 and is driven to move to the front, the contact piece 14a abuts on the rear end of the product placed on the upper surface and the product Is pushed out to the front side of the apparatus main body 11 and is dispensed from above the apparatus main body 11 (commodity column 2).

The endless belt 12 of the apparatus main body 11
A lifter 15 is provided at a lateral position of the pressing member 14 so as to protrude from the upper surface thereof in association with the movement of the pressing member 14. The lifter 15 has an arc cam shape, and the endless belt 12
The endless belt 12 rotates in a direction opposite to the running direction of the endless belt 12 in conjunction with the running of the belt. The lifter 15 projects to the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 when the product is pushed out to a predetermined position by the pressing member 14, and plays a role of preventing the next product from tilting backward. That is, when the next product placed on the product at the bottom position is tilted backward with the payout of the product at the bottom position,
The lifter 15 functions to slightly lift the rear end side of the rearwardly tilted next product and move it rearward, thereby preventing the next product from being left in the product column 2 while being tilted rearward.

The endless belt 12 of the apparatus body 11
A product detection lever (sold out lever) 16 is provided at a position on the side opposite to the position where the lifter 15 is provided. The product detection lever 16 is elastically biased upward by a spring (not shown), but is normally pushed into the inside of the apparatus main body 21 by receiving a load from a product stored in the product column 2. ing. When all the commodities are paid out, or when the amount of commodities remaining in the commodity column 2 is reduced and the load is insufficient, the commodity detection lever 16 protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and in this state, the sold-out detection It serves to actuate a switch (not shown).

The reference numerals 17a, 17b and 17c denote the main body 1 of the apparatus.
1 is arranged in a substantially triangular shape with the axial direction aligned in the front-rear direction,
It is a shaft pulley on which the endless belt 12 is stretched. The drive motor 13 is connected to the shaft pulley 17a,
The endless belt 12 is driven to travel through 17b and 17c.

[0009]

In the commodity dispensing apparatus 6 having the above-described structure, the three shaft pulleys 1 are provided.
The entire length (circumference length) of the endless belt 12, which is stretched in a substantially triangular shape between 7a, 17b, and 17c, extends from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 to the inside of the apparatus main body 11, and forms a orbit in the front-rear direction. In general, the endless belt 12 is provided with two pressing members 14 because the length is sufficiently longer than twice the length of the product payout area from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 to the front end surface. When one of the pressing members 14 merely moves inside the apparatus main body 11 and does not contribute to the dispensing of the product, the other pressing member 14 is protruded to the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 and is moved so that the dispensing of the product is efficient. It is made to be performed in a typical manner. That is, as in the case of a conventional general product dispensing apparatus of a type in which an endless belt having a pressing member attached to its peripheral surface is circulated to pay out commodities, only one half of the endless belt 12 is rotated by one end of the pressing device. The main body 11 is moved from the extrusion start position on the upper surface to the payout completion position on the front end surface of the main body 11, thereby completing one product payout operation.

However, when the endless belt 12 travels by half a turn, it is necessary to accurately control the stop position of the pressing member 14. By the way, when one pressing member 14 that has pushed out the product stops beyond the payout completion position, the other pressing member 14 stops in a state protruding from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and the next product is pushed forward. Therefore, there is a possibility that the product is paid out twice. Further, after the product pushed out by the pressing member 14 is paid out due to its forward inclination, if the pressing member 14 stops before reaching the product payout completion position, for example, the pressing member located at the front end of the upper surface of the apparatus body 11 There is a possibility that the next product rides on the product 14 and leans backward, and the product stacked thereon further leans forward and falls through the gap of the product payout opening. Furthermore, when the endless belt 12 is driven to run while the product is running on one of the pressing members 14, a so-called idling phenomenon may occur and the product may not be paid out.

Conventionally, in order to prevent such a double payout or empty hit of the product, the pressing member 14 has reached the payout operation start position in the apparatus main body 11 or immediately before it, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. A detection lever 18a that is sometimes energized and a detection switch 18 that detects its operation are provided. Then, the drive of the drive motor 13 is stopped according to the detection result, and the brake mechanism 19 is operated to prevent the inertial movement of the endless belt 12, whereby the pressing member 14 is accurately stopped at the payout operation start position. Like that. The running of the endless belt 12 is controlled based on the payout operation start position. For this reason, not only is the endless belt 12 forcibly stopped by the brake mechanism 19 and its driving mechanism unnecessarily applied, but also the configuration of the product dispensing mechanism 6 cannot be reduced in size, and the cost is high. Is the cause.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to simplify the structure and reduce the cost thereof, and to provide a highly practical product dispensing apparatus for a vending machine. Is to provide.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a commodity dispensing apparatus for a vending machine according to the present invention is installed at a lower part of a commodity column for stacking and storing a plurality of commodities, and a commodity at a lowermost position. To the front of the product column, and particularly to an apparatus body having an upper surface on which a product is placed, and an endless shape that runs from the back of the product column toward the front side along the upper surface. A pressing member is provided on the outer periphery of the endless flexible body, the pressing member protruding from the upper surface of the apparatus main body and moving in the product column to push out the lowest product in the product column. And a drive motor for driving the endless flexible body to travel is supplied with electricity when the commodity column is dispensed, and the pressing member completes the dispensing of the commodity as the endless flexible body travels. And the device body When wrapping around the inside, it is characterized in that a pressing member passage detection means for stopping the energization of said drive motor to detect this.

In other words, only one of the pushing members is attached to the outer periphery of the endless flexible body, and the extruding member is driven by a drive motor which is energized at the time of discharging the product from the product column. The pressing member attached to the endless flexible body travels on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, and further, the pressing member completes the dispensing of the product and wraps around the inside of the apparatus main body to set a predetermined passage detection position. By stopping the energization of the drive motor at the time of passing, even if the endless flexible body runs inertia, the running stops while the pressing member runs inside the apparatus main body. Thereby, the pressing member is prevented from protruding to the upper surface of the apparatus main body.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; This product dispensing device is incorporated in a lower portion of a product column 2 of a vending machine 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1, for example, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped external shape as shown in FIG. Is achieved. The product dispensing device 20 according to this embodiment is basically configured substantially in the same manner as the product dispensing device 6 shown in FIG. 3, but as shown in FIG. The point that only one pressing member (pusher) 14 is attached, the point that the brake mechanism 19 is not provided, and that the drive motor 13 is energized at the time of dispensing the product and the endless belt 12
After the pressing member 14 travels on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 12 as the endless belt 12 travels, the pressing member 14 goes around the inside of the apparatus main body 11 and passes through a predetermined passage detection position. Pressing member passage detection means (the detection lever 21 and the stop switch 2) for stopping the energization of the motor 13
2) is different.

Referring to FIG. 4, the same parts as those of the goods dispensing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and will be described in more detail. The goods dispensing apparatus according to this embodiment will now be described. Has only one pressing member 14 attached to the endless belt 12.
After the pressing member 14 travels from the rear end to the front end of the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 with the traveling drive of
1 when passing through a predetermined passage detection position by detecting the inside of the drive motor 13 and stopping the energization of the drive motor 13. In particular, the passage detection position is set not at the dispensing operation start position (stop position) of the pressing member 14 nor at the position immediately before it, but at the approximate center position of the return traveling path.

That is, a detection lever 2 for detecting the passage of the pressing member 14 is provided at a substantially central position of the traveling path below (return side) of the endless belt 12 and located at the side of the traveling path.
1 is provided. The detection lever 21 has one end protruding toward the surface of the endless belt 12 and the other end facing the operating piece of the stop switch 22. As shown in FIG. The endless belt 12
In the traveling direction of the vehicle. When the pressing member 14 passes through the mounting position of the detection lever 21 as the endless belt 12 travels, the detection lever 21 is rotated by one end thereof being pressed by the contact piece 14 a of the pressing member 14. The stop switch 22 is pressed and urged at the other end. The control circuit (not shown) operates by the urging of the stop switch 22, and the energization of the drive motor 13 is stopped.

The energization of the drive motor 13 is started when the delivery of a product from the corresponding product column 2 is designated by operating the product selection switch. The drive motor 13 is energized by the load from the product placed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11, and the above-described product detection lever 16 is turned on.
Is pressed, and is executed only under the condition that the sold-out of the product is not detected.

The detection lever 2 for controlling the stop of the energization of the drive motor 13 by energizing the stop switch 22 is described.
In particular, even if the running of the endless belt 12 does not immediately stop due to its inertia force after the drive motor 13 is de-energized, the pressing member 1
4 so that it does not reach the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11,
The attachment position (passage detection position) is determined.
That is, the mounting position of the detection lever 21 is
3 so that the maximum travel distance due to the inertia of the endless belt 12 when the power is stopped is shorter than the distance from the mounting position of the detection lever 21 to the rear end surface of the apparatus main body 11.
As described above, it is determined as the approximate center position of the return traveling path of the endless belt 12.

According to the commodity dispensing apparatus thus constructed, the drive motor 13 is energized and the endless belt 1 is turned on.
2, the power supply to the drive motor 13 is stopped when the pressing member 14 attached to the endless belt 12 passes through the mounting position of the detection lever 21 (passage detection position). Even after the stop, even if the endless belt 12 runs inertially, the running of the endless belt 12 surely stops before the pressing member 14 reaches the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11. Therefore, the pressing member 14 must be attached to the apparatus main body 1.
1 is located in the lower (return side) traveling path of the endless belt 12, which is a region extending from the inside of the belt 1 to the rear end surface.

When the drive motor 13 is energized the next time, the pressing member 14 starts moving from the above-mentioned stop position. Therefore, depending on the stop position of the pressing member 14, the pressing member 14
Slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 14 and starts pressing the product, but the time difference is small, and the time required from the start of energization of the drive motor 13 to the completion of the delivery of the product is changed. Is negligible for the buyer. Then, the pressing member 14 which has passed the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 and has completed the dispensing of the product enters the inside of the apparatus main body 11 again and receives the detection lever 2.
1 to turn the drive motor 13 off, whereby the energization of the drive motor 13 is stopped, and the pressing member 14
Stop on the lower (return side) travel route of.

Therefore, since the pressing member 14 does not stop on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 or the front end surface thereof, the products remaining in the product column 2 ride on the pressing member 14 to collapse the storage posture, and Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent a problem such as a double payout of the product. In addition, as described above, since only one pressing member 14 is attached to the endless belt 12, the number of components of the commodity dispensing device 20 can be reduced, and the endless belt 12 is Endless belt 1 even when running inertia
Since the inertial running of the endless belt 12 stops in a state where the pressing member 14 is located in the lower (return side) running path of the endless belt 2, it is not necessary to incorporate a brake mechanism to control the endless belt 12 to stop. Therefore, an unreasonable load due to the braking force is not applied to the endless belt 12 and its driving mechanism, and the configuration of the commodity delivery device 20 can be greatly simplified. In addition, since it is only necessary to control the start and stop of energization of the drive motor 13, the control circuit can be made very simple, and the cost of the apparatus can be greatly reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it is possible to use an endless chain instead of the endless belt. Further, the pressing member 14 that passes through a predetermined pressing member passage detection position may be detected by using a non-contact type sensor instead of the detection lever, and the passing detection position may also be detected by the endless belt 21 or the like. What is necessary is just to determine in consideration of an inertia mileage. In short, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to accurately control the stop position (payout operation start position) of the pressing member in the product payout device incorporated in the lower part of the product column of the vending machine. The structure can be greatly simplified, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost of a vending machine in which a large number of commodity dispensing apparatuses are incorporated. The benefits are great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an external shape of a commodity dispensing device incorporated in a lower part of a commodity column of a vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional product delivery device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a commodity payout apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine main body 2 Merchandise column 6 Merchandise dispensing device 11 Main body 12 Endless belt (endless flexible body) 13 Drive motor 14 Pressing member 20 Merchandise dispensing device 21 Detection lever (Pressing member passage detection position) 22 Stop switch 23 Spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A commodity dispensing device which is incorporated in a lower part of a commodity column for stacking and storing a plurality of commodities and pays out a commodity at a lowermost position to a front surface of the commodity column. An endless flexible body provided along the upper surface of the apparatus main body so as to be able to run from the back of the product column toward the near side; and one on the outer periphery of the endless flexible body. A pressing member that is attached only to the upper surface of the apparatus main body, protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus body, moves in the product column, and pushes out a product at a lowermost position in the product column, A drive motor for driving the endless flexible body, and when the pressing member completes the dispensing of the product and goes around the inside of the apparatus main body as the endless flexible body travels, Detecting the drive motor Article dispensing device, wherein said that the energization is provided with a drive motor is stopped when the the pressing member passage detection means for stopping the energization.