JPS5949635B2 - Vending machine product storage shelf - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a so-called serpentine-type multi-selection product storage shelf for a vending machine that handles can and bottle products.

Due to the recent trend of diversifying products, such as the drinks contained in canned products, many multi-selection machines that can handle a variety of products in one vending machine are now on the market.

Such multi-selection machines are handled by increasing the number of product shelf columns mounted on the vending machine, but in this case, the conventional product shelf configuration results in a large vending machine.

On the other hand, since the installation space for vending machines is limited by the road conditions in front of stores, there is a market demand for compact machines that require less installation space and can sell a wide variety of products.

The conventional structure of the serpentine type product storage shelf is shown in FIG. 1.

In the figure, I and I[ are product passageways extending in the vertical direction formed by meanderingly arranging rail segments 2 between the left and right side plates of the shelf 1, and the product input slots 3 connected to the upper ends of the passageways are located on the front side of the shelf. It opens toward the front, and furthermore, on the exit side at the bottom end, there is a well-known product delivery mechanism 4 such as a star wheel type for six 1i9I.
, is deployed facing the n.

These make up two independent product storage columns in the front and back, and the products 5 stored in a row in the product guide IMI and II.
are carried out one by one by the operation of the carrying-out mechanism 4 based on the sales command.

It is well known that the products to be carried out are taken out through a chute (not shown) common to all the aisles located below the product shelf to a product outlet opened in the main body cabinet of the vending machine.

By the way, as mentioned above, in the conventional serpentine product shelf, each product aisle I, I [is formed across the entire upper and lower part of the shelf, and in order to increase the number of product selections, the product aisle has to be changed from one row to one row. This is done by increasing the number of aisles lined up one after the other, from two rows to three rows.

Depending on the number of rows of product aisles lined up in front and back within the product shelf, products with one row of aisles are classified as single serpen, two rows, and three aisles.
Double the column ones.

Various efforts have been made to make the shelf structure more compact, with names such as triple serpens.

Recently, due to market demand, force serpens with four rows of product aisles have also appeared.

However, as is clear from the illustrated structure, a product shelf with multiple columns arranged in front and back of multiple product aisles spanning the entire upper and lower area takes up space in proportion to the number of selections, making it difficult to store multiple products. In order to be able to sell vending machines, it is natural that the vending machine becomes large in size, which creates the problem of installation space.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to configure a greater number of independent product storage columns than the conventional one so that more items of products can be sold within the same occupied space. To provide a new multi-selection product storage shelf that is skillfully constructed so that products can be smoothly carried out to a chute connected to a product take-out port.

According to the present invention, a product shelf having a meandering product path with multiple rows of front and rear rows is divided into two levels, upper and lower, and each row of product paths in the upper level is provided with a product slot that opens toward the front of the shelf. In addition, a product carry-out mechanism is installed on the exit side, and the last row of product passages in the lower row are designated as product carry-out passages, and the exits of the product passages in each of the upper rows are converged and connected to this passage, and each of the lower rows except the last row is The product aisles in the rows are achieved by constructing each row as an independent product storage channel, opening the product input between the upper and lower tiers, and arranging a product delivery mechanism on the exit side.

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the illustrated embodiments.

First, FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a double serpen, in which product passages are formed in two rows in the front and back within one shelf, as in FIG. 1.

Product shelf 1 is divided into two levels, upper and lower, as shown by ranges A and B, and product aisles I, II and I', n' are formed in the upper and lower shelves, respectively, in two rows in the front and back. .

Among these, the product aisles I and II in each row in the upper shelf A are opened with product input ports 3 facing the front of the upper part of the shelves so as to constitute independent product storage columns, and a product delivery mechanism 4 is provided on the exit side. is being deployed.

On the other hand, in the lower tier B, the rear aisle W of the product aisles I' and II' is used as a dedicated aisle for carrying out products, and the exits of the upper tier product aisles ① and ① are merged and connected here.

On the other hand, the product aisle 1' in the front row, excluding aisle ■', has a product input port 3' and a product delivery mechanism 4 so as to constitute an independent product storage column. It is located in the middle of the lower stage B and opens toward the front.

Furthermore, the rear passageway ■' of the lower tier B and the exit of the rear passage MII of the upper tier A are connected vertically, but the exit of the front passageway ■ of the upper tier A merges and connects with the passage W from the side. A flapper 6 is installed at this merging connection point to guide the products falling from the passageway 1iRI to the passageway ■'.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3, this flapper 6 is made into a shape that also serves as a rail segment constituting a meandering passage 5, and its upper end is hinged so that it can swing freely. In addition, the lower end is locked to the tip of the exit rail segment of the passage III.

With this configuration, the product 5 carried out from the product aisle (3) is guided by the flapper 6 at the solid line position as shown by the chain line, and smoothly transfers and falls into the aisle W, without entering the aisle I.

On the other hand, the goods carried out from the aisle I push open the flapper 6 to the position shown by the chain line, and are transferred to the aisle W under the guidance of the flapper 6.

Therefore, it is possible to skillfully prevent troubles in which the goods 5 to be carried out cannot be carried out, such as getting caught at the merging connection point.

According to the product shelf of the above configuration, although the double serpentine occupies the same space as the conventional product, the product aisles I, It, and I' can be used as independent product storage aisles, so the number of selections is 3''.

On the other hand, the number of selections in the past is 2'', so to make 3 selections, it is necessary to combine a single serpen in addition to the double serpen as shown in Figure 1, which occupies the shelf space. The space becomes larger.

In addition, by using the meandering passageway in the back row of the lower tier B as a dedicated passageway for carrying out products from the aisles I and I[ in each row of the upper tier A, the products to be carried out along with the lower tier I' pass through the common chute to the product take-out exit. It is possible to carry out the products, and there is no problem with the loading work, and even though there is a large drop from the upper stage A until the products land on the chute, the meandering path ``Because it rolls, the falling speed can be kept low, reducing the shock of falling and preventing damage to the product.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the embodiment of FIG. 2 is further expanded to increase the number of selections.

The figure shows a so-called force serpent system in which four rows of product aisles are formed in the front and back of the product shelf.

As in the previous embodiment, the product shelves are divided into upper and lower two stages A and B, with product aisles I to ■ constituting independent product storage aisles in the upper stage A, and product aisle I' in the lower stage B. ~ ■ A banquet is being formed.

In the lower row B, the last row of aisle ■ (the aisle is dedicated to carrying out products), and the aisles EI' to ■' of each row except aisle It is equipped with a product delivery mechanism 4, and a through 8 in the last row.
The exits of the rows NI to ■ of the upper stage A are merged and connected to IV'.

In this embodiment, 7 selection columns can be constructed from the force serpen product shelf.

In this way, if the number of product aisles in the front and rear rows is expressed as n, the number of selections (2n-1) can be obtained as a general formula.

Note that the upper shelf A and the lower shelf B may be divided into one product shelf, or the upper shelf A and the lower shelf B may be made as separate parts and assembled by stacking them one above the other.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a concrete implementation structure of the product shelf.

The illustrated example is a combination of a double serpen and a single serpen, arranged one behind the other, and the same members as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals.

Note that 7 is a common delivery chute leading to the product take-out port, and 8 is a product holding plate installed on the opposite side of the product passage facing the product delivery mechanism 4.

In this embodiment, in particular, the product lines 1i9I, n,
The exits of In are individually connected to the EI [Ik of the last row in the lower stage.

Then, upper passages I and I merge into passage ■' from the side.
Flappers 6 similar to those described in FIG. 3 are individually installed at the merging points of I.

By separating the convergence connection points for each aisle in this way, the products to be carried out from each aisle in the upper row can be continuously rolled on the rail toward the aisle in the lower rear row, which is a dedicated aisle for unloading. It is possible to carry out the work by holding it in place, and the carrying out posture can be maintained appropriately.

This will prevent problems such as products getting stuck in the middle of the aisle.

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of selections is increased and more items can be sold even though the product occupies the same space as a conventional product shelf.

Moreover, when it comes to taking out products, the product can be guided to a common chute and taken out from the product takeout port, as in the past, making it possible to provide vending machine product shelves with high practical value that meet market demands. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a conventional serpentine-shaped product shelf, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts in Figure 2, and Figures 4 and 5 are respectively FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. ■〜■・・・・・・Upper product aisle, 1′～W・・・・・・
...Lower product aisle, 3,3'...Product inlet, 4...Product delivery mechanism, 5...Product,
6...Flapper.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The shelf is divided into two upper and lower stages, and each of the upper and lower stages has a meandering product aisle with multiple rows of front and back lines extending in the vertical direction, and each row of the product aisle in the upper row has a meandering product aisle. It is equipped with a product input port that opens toward the front of the shelf and a product delivery mechanism on the exit side, and the last row of product aisles in the lower row is used as a dedicated product delivery route, and the exits of the product aisles in each of the upper rows are connected to this aisle. Moreover, the product aisles in each of the lower rows, except for the last row, are each independent product storage aisles, with the product input ports opening toward the front of the shelves midway between the upper and lower rows, and a product delivery mechanism is provided on the exit side. A product storage shelf for a vending machine characterized by being configured with: 2. A product storage shelf for a vending machine according to claim 1, in which the exit of each product aisle in the upper tier is individually connected to the product carry-out aisle in the last row of the lower tier. 3. In the product storage shelf according to claim 1 or 2, the product is carried out at a location where the exit of the upper product passage joins and connects from the side with the product carry-out passage in the last row of the lower tier. A vending machine product storage shelf equipped with a flapper that guides products falling toward a dedicated aisle. 4. The product storage shelf for a vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the flapper itself has a shape that also serves as a rail segment constituting a dedicated product carry-out path.