JPH11283096A - Article ejector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article ejector with which the number of parts and the man-hour of assembly for a sold-out detecting means can be reduced and structure can be simplified. SOLUTION: When a final article A in an article storage part 1 is carried out, an opening/closing plate 11 is turned to a position higher than the supporting position of a rotary board 16 by a spring 18, a switch pressing part 20a of a microswitch 20 is pressed by a projection 1b on the opening/closing plate 11 and a link plate 21 and sold-out is detected so that any detector dedicated to detect sold-out in contact with the article A is not required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out a product provided in a vending machine for beverages and the like sealed in various containers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vending machine for selling this kind of product, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-96241, a product storage section for storing products stacked vertically and A rotatable opening / closing plate that opens and closes the lower surface of the product storage unit, a support member that supports the opening / closing plate from below, a partition plate that forms one side of the product storage unit, and a protruding / retracted inside the product storage unit from the other side. There is known a device provided with a product carrying device constituted by a product locking plate. In this product unloading device, when an arbitrary product is selected, the product locking plate protrudes into the product storage portion and is locked to the second product from the bottom of the product storage portion, so that the second product from the bottom can store the product. By being held in the product storage unit by the locking plate and releasing the support of the opening and closing plate by the support member in this state,
The opening / closing plate is rotated in the opening direction by the weight of the lowest order product, and only the lowest order product falls from the product storage unit to a predetermined outlet.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional product unloading device, a detector for detecting sold-out is provided at the lower part of the product storage unit, and the detector switches the micro switch by contact with the product in the product storage unit. It is designed to work. However, there is a problem in that the number of parts increases by the amount required for the dedicated detector, and the material cost and the number of assembly steps increase. In addition, since a detector for detecting sold-out, a product locking plate, a driving mechanism thereof, and the like are arranged below the product storage unit, it is difficult to secure a mounting space for the micro switch. And a sufficient distance above it.
For this reason, the detector and the microswitch must be interlocked via a long interlock mechanism, and the structure becomes complicated,
There has been a problem that a failure or the like is likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to reduce the number of parts and the number of assembling steps of a sold-out detecting means and to simplify the structure of a product carrying-out apparatus. Is to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a product storage section for storing products in a stacked state in a vertical direction, and a vertical direction rotating at a lower end side of the product storage section. An opening / closing plate that is movably mounted to open and close the lower surface of the product storage unit, a support member that supports the opening / closing plate from below, and a product locking member that protrudes and retracts in the product storage unit in the width direction,
The second product from the bottom is held in the product storage portion by locking the product locking member protruding into the product storage portion to the second product from the bottom of the product storage portion, and opening and closing by the support member in this state By releasing the support of the plate, the opening / closing plate is rotated in the opening direction, and the lowest product is dropped from the product storage unit. And a sold-out detecting means for detecting sold-out of the product in conjunction with the open / close plate rotated to the predetermined position. Thus, when the last product in the product storage unit is unloaded, the opening / closing plate is rotated by the urging means to a position above the support position of the support member, and the sold-out of the product is detected in conjunction with the opening / closing plate. Therefore, there is no need for a special detector for detecting sold-out that comes into contact with the product.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the commodity delivery device according to the first aspect, the urging means is urged in an opening direction when the opening / closing plate is located on an opening side of a predetermined rotation position, When the opening / closing plate is located closer to the closing side than the predetermined rotation position, the opening / closing plate is provided so as to bias in the closing direction. Thus, in addition to the function of claim 1, when the opening / closing plate rotating in the opening direction exceeds a predetermined rotation position, the opening / closing plate rotating in the closing direction is urged in the opening direction by the urging means. When the rotation position is exceeded, the shutter is urged in the closing direction, so that the opening and closing operations of the opening / closing plate are reliably performed.

[0007]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a product carrying device, FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow YY in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the opening / closing plate, and FIGS. is there.

[0008] This product carrying device is used in a vending machine for commodities enclosed in cans, bottles, paper packs, plastic bottles or the like, and has a configuration in which a plurality of products A are stacked and stored one by one in the vertical direction. A product storage unit 1, an unloading unit 10 for unloading the products A in each product storage unit 1 one by one from below, and a microswitch 20 as sold-out detection means
And

Each of the product storage units 1 is divided in the width direction by a total of two by a partition plate 2, and each of the product storage units 1 between the partition plates 2 is separated.
Are separated from each other by a carry-out unit 10. The partition plate 2 is bent in a U-shaped cross section from the back side of the product storage unit 1 to the front, and both side surfaces in the width direction of the U-shaped portion form one side surface of the left and right product storage units 1. Although only one carry-out unit 10 and two merchandise storage units 1 on both sides thereof are shown in the figure, a large number of the merchandise storage units 1 and the carry-out units 10 are actually arranged in parallel.

The carry-out unit 10 includes a pair of open / close plates 11 for opening and closing the lower surface of each product storage unit 1, a pair of product locking plates 12 protruding and retracting in each product storage unit 1, each open / close plate 11 and each product. A motor 13 for driving the locking plate 12,
These are accommodated in a unit case 14 which also serves as a partition wall of each product storage unit 1. Each of the opening / closing plates 11 is disposed below each of the product storage units 1, and one end of each of the opening / closing plates 11 is rotatably supported in the unit case 14 via a support shaft 11 a, and a micro switch 20 is operated at one end thereof. Projection 11b is provided. Each product locking plate 12
Are disposed above the respective opening / closing plates 11, and the upper ends thereof are rotatably mounted on a mounting plate 15 in the unit case 14 via a support shaft 12a. The motor 13 is disposed above each product locking plate 12, and a shaft 13 a connected to a rotating shaft thereof extends to a lower end of the unit case 14.
At the lower end of the shaft 13a, a substantially semicircular rotary plate 16 as a support member for opening and closing each open / close plate 11 is attached.
When the rotary plate 16 is positioned over both of the open / close plates 11 as shown in FIG. 3, each open / close plate 11 is supported by the rotary plate 16 from below and held in a closed state.
6 rotates to one of the open / close plates 11 and the other open / close plate 11
Is rotated downward so that the lower surface of the product storage unit 1 is opened. Also, a cam 17 is provided in the middle of the shaft 13a so as to protrude and retract each product locking plate 12. When the cam 17 is at the neutral position as shown in FIG. When the cam 17 rotates to one side, one product locking plate 12 protrudes into the product storage unit 1, and when the cam 17 rotates to the other, the other product locking plate 12 protrudes.

As shown in FIG. 5, a spring 18 as a biasing means is attached to each opening / closing plate 11 in a tensioned state. One end of the spring 18 is connected to the opening / closing plate 11 and the other end is connected to the device. It is connected to the main body. That is,
The one-side connection point S1 of the spring 18, the rotation center O of the opening / closing plate 11, and the other-side connection point S2 of the spring 18 are fixed to a predetermined rotation on the opening side of the opening / closing plate 11, as shown in FIG. At the position L1, they are located on a straight line, and as shown in FIG.
When the opening / closing plate 11 is located on the more open side than the opening / closing plate 11 as shown in FIG.
When is located closer to the closing side than the turning position L1, it is urged by the spring 18 in the closing direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5C, the opening / closing plate 11 is rotated by a spring 18 to a predetermined position L3 above the position L2 supported by the rotating plate 16.

The microswitch 20 is arranged at the lower part of the product storage unit, and is mounted in the carry-out unit 10.
One end of a vertically movable interlocking plate 21 is in contact with the switch pressing portion 20 a of the microswitch 20, and the other end of the interlocking plate 21 has a protrusion 11 of the opening / closing plate 11.
b comes into contact with each other. That is, when the opening / closing plate 11 rotates above the position supported by the rotating plate 16, the protrusion 11 b of the opening / closing plate 11 is locked to the interlocking plate 21, and
Moves downward, and the switch pressing portion 20a of the microswitch 20 is pressed by the interlocking plate 21.

Next, the operation of the commodity unloading device of this embodiment will be described. First, when the product A in the product storage unit 1 on the left side in the figure is selected, the motor 13 of the unloading unit 10 is operated, and the shaft 13a rotates clockwise in the plane direction as shown in FIG. As a result, the rotating plate 16 starts to move toward the opening / closing plate 11 on the right side in the figure while rotating, and the cam 17 rotates the product locking plate 12 on the left side in the figure to the inclined state, so that To protrude. as a result,
The product locking plate 12 is locked to the lower end of the second product A from below, and the second product A from below is held by the product locking plate 12. Next, as the rotation of the shaft 13a proceeds,
As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating plate 16 completely moves to the right opening / closing plate 11 side in the figure, and the left opening / closing plate 1
1 is released, the opening / closing plate 11 is opened by the weight of the lowest order product A, and the lowest order product A is dropped from the product storage unit 1 and carried out. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the urging force of the spring 18 acts on the opening / closing plate 11 in the opening direction beyond the rotation position L1 as shown in FIG. 5 (b), so that the opening / closing plate 11 is reliably opened. Thereafter, when the motor 13 rotates in the reverse direction and the shaft 13a reverses, the rotating plate 16 moves to the left opening / closing plate 11 side again in the drawing, and the left opening / closing plate 11 in the drawing is closed. At this time, the urging force of the spring 18 acts on the opening / closing plate 11 in the closing direction beyond the rotation position L1 as shown in FIG. 5 (c), so that the closing operation of the opening / closing plate 11 is reliably performed. When the cam 17 rotates to the neutral position,
The product locking plate 12 is immersed in the unit case 14, and the product A held by the product locking plate 12 falls onto the opening / closing plate 11 and is brought into a carry-out standby state. When the motor 13 rotates in the opposite direction in the above operation, the opening / closing plate 11 and the product locking plate 12 of the product storage unit 1 on the right side in the drawing operate.

When the last product A in the product storage section 1 is unloaded, the opening / closing plate 11 is rotated by a spring 18 to a position above the support position of the rotating plate 16 as shown in FIG. The switch pressing portion 20a of the micro switch 20 is pressed by the projection 11b of the plate 11 and the interlocking plate 21, and the sold out is detected. The opening / closing plate 11 rotates to a position above the supporting position of the rotating plate 16 every time when the remaining product A is carried out, but the second product A from below is released from the product locking plate 12. Is dropped on the opening / closing plate 11, the opening / closing plate 11 is rotated by the rotating plate 1 due to the weight of the product A.
In order to return to the support position of 6, for example, by detecting the state of the microswitch 20 after a predetermined time has elapsed after the product A is unloaded, the sold-out detection can be reliably performed. In the embodiment, the product storage unit 1 on the left side in the figure is used.
Is shown, but the product storage unit 1 on the right side in the figure has the same structure.

As described above, according to the commodity discharging apparatus of the present embodiment, the opening / closing plate 11 is moved by the spring 18 to the rotating plate 1.
6 to a predetermined position above the supporting position,
Since the sold-out detection microswitch 20 is operated in conjunction with the opening / closing plate 11 rotated to the upper position, a dedicated detector for sold-out detection is not required unlike the related art, and the number of parts and the number of assembly steps are reduced. Can be reduced. Further, since a space for providing a dedicated detector under the product storage unit 1 is not required, the microswitch 20 can be disposed below the product storage unit 1, that is, near the opening and closing plate 11. An interlocking mechanism with the microswitch 20 can be simplified. Further, when the opening / closing plate 11 rotating in the opening direction exceeds a predetermined rotation position, the spring 18 urges the opening direction, and when the opening / closing plate 11 rotating in the closing direction exceeds the predetermined rotation position, the closing direction is closed. , The opening and closing operations of the opening and closing plate 11 can be reliably performed.

[0016]

As described above, according to the commodity discharging device of the first aspect, since a dedicated detector for detecting sold-out is not required, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps of the sold-out detecting means can be reduced and the structure can be reduced. Can be simplified, which is extremely advantageous for practical use.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a merchandise unloading device.
In addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the opening operation and the closing operation of the opening / closing plate can be reliably performed, reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a product unloading device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of a main part of the product unloading device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the opening / closing plate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product unloading device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product unloading device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the product unloading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Product storage part, 11 ... Opening / closing plate, 12 ... Product locking plate, 1
6 ... rotating plate, 18 ... spring, 20 ... micro switch, A ... product.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An article storage section for vertically stacking and storing articles, an opening / closing plate attached to a lower end side of the article storage section so as to be vertically rotatable and opening and closing the lower surface of the article storage section.
A product support member that supports the opening / closing plate from below, and a product locking member that protrudes and retracts in the product storage portion in the width direction, and the product locking member protruding into the product storage portion is the second product from below the product storage portion , The second product from the bottom is held in the product storage section, and the support of the opening and closing plate by the support member is released in this state, whereby the opening and closing plate is rotated in the opening direction, In a product carrying device configured to drop a product from a product storage unit, a biasing unit configured to rotate the opening / closing plate to a predetermined position above a position supported by a support member; and an opening / closing plate rotated to the predetermined position. A product delivery device comprising: sold-out detection means for detecting sold-out of the product in conjunction therewith. 2. The urging means is urged in the opening direction when the opening / closing plate is located on the opening side of a predetermined rotation position, and the opening / closing plate is located on the closing side of the predetermined rotation position. 2. The product discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the device is provided so as to be urged in a closing direction.