KR100389994B1 - A Goods Taking-Out Device of Vending Machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to secure a sales opportunity as much as possible, and also a product dispensing device of a vending machine that can quickly and reliably take out a product discharged downward from a product storage compartment at a product outlet installed at a relatively high position. To provide.

At the time of sale, the goods take-out of the vending machine which carries out the goods S discharged downward from one of the some discharge openings 37a provided in the front-back direction at the lower end part of the goods storage 31 to the goods discharge opening 3; By the apparatus 32, the goods S discharged | emitted from the predetermined | prescribed discharge opening 37a located higher than the goods discharge opening 3 among the some discharge opening 37a are guided to the goods discharge opening 3 by the front. When the goods S are disbursed from the discharge plate 37a other than the predetermined discharge port 37a among the plurality of discharge ports 37a, which are provided below the guide plate 39 and the product storage box 31 to be carried out. It is provided with the conveyor apparatus 41 which carries out the operation | movement, and collect | receives the goods S discharged | emitted and conveys it to the inclination upper part front, and carries it out to the goods extraction opening 3.

Description

A Goods Taking-Out Device of Vending Machine

The present invention relates to a product dispensing apparatus of a vending machine for carrying out a product dispensed downward from a product storage box at the time of sale to a product dispensing outlet installed at a relatively high position.

The present applicant has already proposed this kind of product carrying apparatus in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 11-66749, for example. In this product dispensing apparatus, a belt conveyor is applied as a conveying apparatus which conveys the dispensed product toward a product ejection opening, and is arrange | positioned under the product storage container which accommodates a product. The belt conveyor is inclined forwardly upward and extends, and has a belt having a depth dimension substantially the same as the depth of the goods storage, a belt which is wound on the rotation shafts of the front end and the rear end of the frame, and is inclined upwardly; And a drive mechanism or the like for rotationally driving the belt via the rotary shaft. The belt has a wide width corresponding to the width of the product storage, and a plurality of protrusions are attached to the surface at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the belt to support the product from the rear side during conveyance of the discharged product. .

On the other hand, the product storage | extension all extends in the up-down direction, and has the some goods channel | path installed in the front-back direction. Each product passage is accommodated in a state where a plurality of products of the same item are stacked in the vertical direction. In addition, a product dispensing device is provided at the lower end of each product passage, and the product dispensing apparatus of the product passage which stores the product selected at the time of operation is operated, so that only the lowest product is lowered from the dispensing outlet of the lower end of the product passage. Is dispatched to.

By the goods dispensing apparatus having the above belt conveyor, the goods disbursed from the goods passage at the time of sale are carried out to the goods dispensing opening as follows. In other words, when a product is selected by the purchaser, the belt is first rotated by the drive mechanism. Subsequently, the selected product is discharged downward from the discharge port of the product passage and falls on the rotating belt. Then, the product is conveyed to the front of the inclined upper part in one of the projections, and the movement to the rear is stopped, and the product is taken out to the product outlet.

In the said goods taking-out apparatus, all goods discharged | emitted from each goods channel | path of a goods storage at the time of sale fall once on a belt, and are conveyed to a belt conveyor, and it is carried out to a goods taking-out port. For this reason, when it is impossible to carry out goods, for example because of a malfunction of a belt conveyor, it becomes impossible to sell the whole goods in a goods storage. As a result, a product cannot be sold to the purchaser who tried to purchase any of the products of the product storage, and misses a sales opportunity. Moreover, in the said goods carrying-out apparatus, the goods discharged | emitted from the goods channel | path fall on the rotating belt, and when goods fall on a belt, it is easy to loosen on a belt and conveyance is carried out in an unstable state. For this reason, the dispensed product may slide beyond the protrusion which should originally support the product, and may go to the rear protrusion. In this case, even if a product is disbursed from the merchandise passage on the side of the merchandise ejection outlet, it takes time for the merchandise to be taken out after dispensing. Therefore, there exists a room for improvement in this goods conveying apparatus in the point mentioned above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is possible to secure a sales opportunity as much as possible, and also to quickly and reliably take out goods discharged downward from the product storage compartment at a product outlet installed at a relatively high position. An object of the present invention is to provide a product dispensing apparatus for a vending machine.

1 is a front view showing a vending machine incorporating the product discharging device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front view showing a state in which the main door of the vending machine of Figure 1 is removed.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a portion of the interior of the vending machine of Figure 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view showing the product discharging device.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation control of the product discharging device when foreign matter enters the main body of the vending machine by mistake.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: vending machine

3: product outlet

4: vending machine body

26: product outlet

27: exit door

28: outlet door switch (export completion detection means)

31: product storage

32: goods taking out device

37: goods passage

37a: outlet

39: information board (guide means)

41: conveyor apparatus (conveying means)

44: suit

45: drive mechanism

46: drive motor

47: Compression Compression

54: Front Sprocket

55: rear sprocket

56: chain

S: Product

The product dispensing apparatus of the vending machine according to the present invention is an automatic device for discharging goods dispensed downward from one of a plurality of dispensing outlets installed side by side in the front-rear direction at the lower end of the product storage compartment in the vending machine body at the time of sale. As a product dispensing device of a vending machine, the product is discharged from a predetermined outlet on the front side located above the product outlet, among the plurality of outlets, and guided forward to the product outlet, and below the product storage compartment. And a conveying means for operating the product when the product is dispensed from the outlets other than the predetermined outlets among the plurality of outlets and receiving the dispensed goods and transporting them to the front of the inclined upper part. It features.

According to this configuration, the goods dispensed from the predetermined outlet on the front side positioned above the product outlet at the time of sale are carried out to the product outlet by being guided forward by its own weight by the guide means, The goods disbursed from the dispensing ports other than the exit are received by the conveying means operated when the goods are dispensed and conveyed to the inclined upper part front, and are carried out to the merchandise dispensing port. Therefore, even if the conveying means fails to carry out a product due to a breakdown or the like, it is possible to continue selling the product carried out by the guide means and to secure a sales opportunity. In addition, since the guide means only needs to be able to guide the product forward by its own weight, the guide means can be easily configured with a simple structure such as having an inclined surface forward downward. Moreover, since the goods carried out by a conveying means are conveyed to the inclination upper part front, the goods can be carried out to the goods dispensing outlet installed in the comparatively high position.

In this case, when the export completion detection means which detects whether the carrying out of the goods to the goods outlet is complete, and the completion | finish of carrying out of the goods to the goods outlet by the carrying out completion detection means at the time of carrying out goods by the conveyance means are detected. It is preferable to further comprise a stop means for stopping the operation of the conveying means.

According to this configuration, the stop means stops the operation of the conveying means when the completion of carrying out of the merchandise to the product dispensing opening is detected at the time of discharging of the merchandise by the conveying means. In this way, since the operation of the conveying means is stopped after the completion of the removal of the product to the product outlet, the operation of the conveying means is continued until the product is taken out, and the operation of the conveying means is stopped after the product is taken out. The operation and stop of the conveying means can be controlled appropriately. Thereby, the conveying means is not operated unnecessarily, and as a result, the life of the conveying means can be extended.

In these cases, operation start time setting means for setting the time from the predetermined time point at which the product is released to the operation of the conveying means in correspondence with the plurality of discharge outlets, and the discharge outlet from which the product is dispensed and the product is dispensed. It is preferable to further comprise an operation start means for starting the operation of the conveying means when the set time corresponding to elapses from a predetermined time point.

According to this configuration, the time from the predetermined point of time (e.g., the point at which the product is selected by the purchaser, the time point at which the product is released, etc.) indicating the dispensing of the product to the start of the operation of the discharging means (hereinafter "operation start time" And the operation of the conveying means when the operation start time corresponding to the dispensing outlet for which the merchandise is dispensed and the dispensing product has elapsed from a predetermined time point is set. It is possible to wait for the posture to stabilize and to start the return of the product. That is, for example, when the product is large, it takes time for the attitude of the product to stabilize, depending on the distance between the dispensing outlet and the conveying means, for example, and so on. It can convey in a posture, and can prevent the conveyance error and delay of conveyance time by conveying in an unstable attitude.

In addition, in these cases, it is preferable that the goods storage is comprised by the some goods storage installed side by side in the left-right direction, and the conveying means is provided for every goods storage.

According to this configuration, since the conveying means is provided for each of the plurality of product storage compartments arranged side by side in the left and right direction, even if one of the plurality of conveying means fails, the product cannot be taken out by this. Sales may continue with respect to the goods stored in the goods storage box corresponding to the conveying means by other conveying means. Therefore, in addition to the product discharging device of claim 1, more sales opportunities can be secured.

In this case, the conveying means is provided with the chute inclined forward and upward, and the front sprocket and the rear sprocket, respectively, rotatably provided near the front and rear ends of the chute, respectively, at the front and rear ends of the chute, and the chain wound thereon. A pair of left and right drive mechanisms each having a drive, a drive source for rotationally driving at least one of the front sprocket and the rear sprocket of the pair of drive mechanisms at the time of sale, and a state spanned between each chain of the pair of drive mechanisms; At the same time, it is preferable to have a product pressing rod that presses the product dropped onto the chute from the rear while moving the chute upward along the chute with the rotation of the chain at the time of sale.

According to this structure, the goods discharged downward from the goods storage at the time of sale fall onto the chute, and are thereby slid backwards, and are supported in contact with the goods pressing rods at the rear side. And when a pair of right and left drive mechanisms are driven by a drive source, as the chain wound by these front sprocket and rear sprocket rotates in a predetermined direction, the goods pressing rod moves to the inclined upper part front along a chute | shoot. As a result, the goods falling onto the chute and supported by the goods pressing rod are pressed from the rear by the goods pressing rod, and are moved to the inclined upper front portion along the chute and carried out to the goods taking-out port. Since the article pressing rod is attached in a state spanned between the chains of the left and right pairs of drive mechanisms, that is, both ends of the article pressing rods are attached to the left and right chains respectively, the discharged goods are slid backward on the chute and the goods Even if the pressure rod contacts the pressure rod, most of the product pressure rod does not bend, so that the product can be reliably stopped and appropriately supported at the contacted position. Therefore, the product can be carried out quickly and reliably to the product ejection outlet provided in the relatively high position by the conveyance means of the said structure.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring drawings. 1 to 3 show a vending machine incorporating a product discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these figures, the vending machine 1 is provided at a position where the product outlet 3 of the main door 2 is relatively higher than that of a general vending machine, so that the product is not bent by the purchaser. It is what is called a barrier-free type which can take out. The vending machine 1 is provided with the said main door 2 and the box-type vending machine main body 4 by which the front surface is opened and closed by the main door 2. As shown in FIG.

As shown in Fig. 1, a merchandise display 12 having a plurality of merchandise samples 11 is provided in the upper half of the front face of the main door 2, and a merchandise sample (in front) of the merchandise display 12 is provided. A selection button 13 for selecting a product is arranged every 11). In addition, a coin inlet 14 for injecting coins, a bill inlet 15 for injecting paper money, a return lever 16, and an injector are placed on the right side of the merchandise display 12 on the front surface of the main door 2. A money indicator 17 and the like for displaying the amount of money are provided. Moreover, the said product outlet 3 of the rectangular shape with a front shape long horizontally is provided in the front surface of the main door 2 below the goods display 12. As shown in FIG. In addition, a control circuit (stopping means, operation start time setting means, and operation start) having a microcomputer on the back of the main door 2 that performs various controls in the vending machine main body 4, including the product discharging device 32 described later. Function as a means (not shown) is provided.

The product outlet 3 is provided with a outlet port 21 for opening and closing the front face thereof and a product receiving part 22 for receiving the product S carried out to the product outlet 3. The outlet door 21 is rotatable about the upper end, and always closes the product outlet 3 in a vertically lowered state, and at the time of taking out the product S, the lower end of the outlet door 21 is lifted by the purchaser. The product ejection opening 3 is opened by being raised. In addition, above the outlet door 21, an outlet door switch 21a for detecting the open / closed state of the outlet door 21 is provided. On the other hand, the front wall of the product receiving part 22 is rotatable about the lower end part, and is always in a standing position on the back side of the outlet door 21 and at the same time receives the goods S carried out, and receives the goods ( The upper end portion is pulled forward by the purchaser at the time of taking out S), so that the product S is easily inclined forwardly.

As shown in Fig. 2, the inside of the vending machine main body 4 is divided into two insulating partition walls 23 and 23 facing each other at intervals in the left and right direction, and the left and right side walls in the vending machine main body 4 are divided. The three product storage chambers 24, 24, and 24 are partitioned in the vending machine main body 4 by this. Moreover, the heat insulating door 25 which can be opened and closed is provided in the lower half of the front surface of the vending machine main body 4 between the said main doors 2. Three product outlets 26, 26, 26 corresponding to each product storage chamber 24 are provided in this heat insulation door 25 side by side in the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 3, each product outlet 26 is provided at a position slightly higher than the product outlet 3, and each product outlet 26 has an outlet door 27 for opening and closing its front face. Is installed. Each outlet door 27 is rotatably comprised about an upper end part, the product outlet 26 is always closed in the vertically lowered state, and it is exchanged with the outlet chute 65a mentioned later at the time of sale, The product discharge opening 26 is opened by being pushed open by the weight of the product S sliding forward. Further, at the upper end of each of the outlet doors 27, an outlet door switch 28 (carrying completion detection means) for detecting the open / close state of the outlet door 27 is provided. It is detected by the discharging door switch 28 that the discharging door 27 is in the open state or the closed state, and the discharging door 27 in the closed state is once opened, and then closed again, whereby It is detected that the carrying out of the goods S to the goods taking-out port 3 through the exit 26 is completed.

Each product storage room 24 of the vending machine main body 4 has a product storage compartment 31 for storing the product S, and a product S discharged downward from the product storage compartment 31 at the time of sale. Cooling and heating apparatus which has the goods carrying-out apparatus 32 carried out to the blower outlet 3, the evaporator 33a for cooling the goods S in the goods storage 31, and the heater 33b for heating ( 33) The back is built.

The goods storage 31 is formed by connecting three columns 35 extending in a vertical direction formed in a tubular shape in a rectangular metal plate having a vertically long right and left right and left in a front and rear direction (left and right directions in FIG. 3). Inside and outside of the column 35, two front and rear goods penetrating goods passages 37 and 37 extending in the vertical direction are formed. In addition, an upper portion of the product storage 31 is provided with a product inlet 31a that opens to the front surface and is connected to each product passage 37. Each product passage 37 is accommodated in a state in which the products S of the same item, such as various canned beverage products and PET bottle products, fall horizontally and are stacked in the vertical direction. In addition, in each column 35, a product dispensing device 38 for dispensing only the lowest product S downwards at the time of sale is provided at each lower end of the product passage 37. Moreover, the dispensing opening 37a of the lower end of the goods channel | path 37 regulated by each goods dispensing apparatus 38 can be set and changed manually according to the magnitude | size of the goods S. FIG.

In addition, each column 35 extends downward to a lower position as it is inwardly corresponding to the inclination of the conveyor apparatus 41 of the goods discharge apparatus 32 mentioned later. That is, the foremost column 35 and the innermost column 35 extend so that each outlet 37a, 37a is located approximately at the upper end and the lower end of the product outlet 26, while the central column Reference numeral 35 extends so that the outlet 37 is located approximately in the center of the up-down direction of the foremost and innermost columns 35 and 35 outlets 37a and 37a. Thus, each column 35 corresponds to the inclination of the conveyor apparatus 41, and falls by making the fall distance from each column 35 to the goods extraction apparatus 32 of the goods S discharged | emitted as short as possible, The shock received by the product S at the time is reduced, and at the same time, more products S can be stored in the product storage 31.

In addition, the front column 35 is opened and closed at the outlet opening 37a of the front goods passage 37 (hereinafter, referred to as the "frontmost goods passage 37"), and the outlet 37a. The guide plate 39 (guide means) which carries out the goods S discharged | emitted from the front to the goods extraction port 3 is provided. The guide plate 39 is configured to be rotatable about the rear end, and always closes the outlet 37a in a substantially horizontal state, and when the product S is dispensed from the outlet 37a at the time of sale. By opening by pushing by the weight of the goods S, the discharge opening 37a is opened in the state inclined forward and downward. Therefore, the goods S discharged from the outlet 37a of the foremost goods passage 37 at the time of sale are forwarded by the weight on the guide plate 39 which opened the outlet 37a in the state which inclined forward downward. It slides to and is carried out to the goods extraction opening 3. That is, in this case, the goods S are carried out to the goods extraction opening 3 without the goods carrying out apparatus 32 operating. Although not shown, a coil spring is provided on the rotation shaft of the guide plate 39, and the guide plate 39 always closes the outlet 37a by the pressing force of the torsion coil spring, and at the same time, After being driven to open the outlet 37a by S), the outlet 37a is automatically closed.

In the goods storage 31 comprised as mentioned above, only the lowest goods S are discharged below from the goods passage 37 which accommodates the goods selected by the buyer at the time of sale. The goods S discharged from the foremost goods passage 37 are guided to the guide plate 39 and carried out to the goods outlet 3, while the goods S retrieved from the goods passage 37 other than the foremost goods passage 37. (S) falls on the chute 44 of the goods discharge apparatus 32 mentioned later.

The goods carrying-out apparatus 32 is the said guide plate 39, the conveyor apparatus 41 (transport means) which conveys the goods S at the time of sale, and the sales position which describes this conveyor apparatus 41 at a predetermined position (it mentions later). Or the support 42 held in the maintenance position). The conveyor apparatus 41 is arrange | positioned under the goods container 31, receives the goods S which were discharged | emitted from the goods storage 31 at the time of sale, and fell, and conveyed this to the inclined upper part front, and goods Take it out to the outlet 3.

The conveyor device 41 is able to rotate about the rotary shaft 43 below the rear end portion between the sales position (see FIGS. 3 and 4) inclined forward and upward, and the maintenance position, which is substantially horizontal. It is always held at the sales position by the support 42, and is held at the maintenance position at the time of maintenance in the vending machine main body 4, for example. As shown in Fig. 4, the conveyor device 41 is inclined forward and upward, and a chute 44 which receives the discharged goods S on its upper surface, and a pair of left and right, respectively arranged at left and right ends of the chute 44, respectively. Between the drive mechanism 45 (only one shown), the drive motor 46 (drive source) for driving these drive mechanisms 45, and the respective chains 56 to be described later of both drive mechanisms 45. And a stop control switch 48 for controlling the stop of the drive motor 46 by being switched on / off by the attached product pressing rod 47 and the product pressing rod 47. 44 and the like are accommodated in the housing case 49 having a predetermined shape.

The chute 44 is inclined forward and upward, and has a base frame 51 having a substantially rectangular planar shape. The base frame 51 has a rectangular shape on the base frame 51 via a plurality of conical coil springs 52. The chute plate 53 is attached. Therefore, the goods S discharged from the goods storage 31 at the time of sale fall on the chute plate 53, and at the time of the fall, the goods S are received from the chute plate 53 by the coil spring ( 52) can be alleviated. Thereby, the deformation | transformation of the goods S can be prevented, and the foaming when the goods S are carbonated drinks can be suppressed. In addition, the base frame 51 and the chute plate 53 are provided with a plurality of through holes (not shown) which penetrate in the vertical direction. The cooling and warm air by the cooling and warming device 33 are the through holes. The product S is circulated up and down through the product discharging device 32 to cool or warm the product S in the product storage 31.

Each of the drive mechanisms 45 includes two front sprockets 54 (hereinafter, referred to as "upper sprockets 54a" for convenience) provided at the front end of the chute 44 so as to be rotatable at intervals in the vertical direction. The lower front sprocket is referred to as the "lower sprocket 54b", the rear sprocket 55 rotatably installed at the rear end of the chute 44, and the front sprocket 54 and the rear sprocket 55 thereof. It has a chain 56 wound on it. The upper sprocket 54a, the lower sprocket 54b, and the rear sprocket 55 of the two drive mechanisms 45 are respectively connected via connecting shafts 57a, 57b, 57c in which the corresponding sprockets extend in the left and right directions, respectively. It rotates synchronously. Moreover, the drive gear 58 which consists of a spur gear is fixed in the middle of the connecting shaft 57b which connects lower sprocket 54b, and this drive gear 58 rotates by the drive motor 46 in a predetermined direction. Driven. In addition, this drive gear 58 may be comprised integrally with the lower sprocket 54b.

The drive motor 46 is disposed below the chute 44 and is connected to the drive gear 58 via a plurality of gears 59a (only one shown) and the intermediate gear 60 in the gear box 59. It is. As a result, the drive motor 46 is operated at the time of sale, so that the drive gear 58 is driven to rotate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4, and the lower sprocket 54b of the both drive mechanisms 45 is counterclockwise. Rotate Thus, by rotating both lower sprockets 54b, the chain 56 of both drive mechanisms 45 rotates counterclockwise, using these lower sprockets 54b as a motive sprocket.

In addition, the drive motor 46 dispenses the goods S from a predetermined point of time, for example, by the time when the goods S are dispensed by the start time setting means and the control circuit (not shown) as the start operations means. The operation is controlled to start when the preset operation start time corresponding to the discharge port 37a of the product passage 37 to be elapsed. Thereby, waiting for the attitude | position of the dispensed goods S to stabilize on the chute plate 53 is made, and conveyance of the goods S is started. This is because, for example, depending on the distance in the vertical direction between the discharge outlet 37a and the chute plate 53, etc., when the product is large, it usually takes time for the attitude of the product S to stabilize, thus starting operation. It is for conveying goods S in a stable posture by making time longer. Thereby, the conveyance error and the delay of conveyance time by conveying the goods S in an unstable attitude can be prevented. In addition, you may use the time etc. which the selection button 13 was pressed by the purchaser as said predetermined time point.

Four product pressing rods 47 are attached between each chain 56 of both drive mechanisms 45 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the chain 56 in the state spanned by these. Therefore, as described above, the chain 56 of the two drive mechanisms 45 rotates counterclockwise at the time of sale, so that each product pressing rod 47 is moved around the chute 44 by half of FIG. Move clockwise.

The stop control switch 48 is provided in the vicinity of the drive motor 46, and is switched on and off by the product pressing rod 47 via the rotatable link 61. That is, the link 61 is always positioned at the predetermined position indicated by the solid line in Fig. 4 by being pressed by the torsion coil spring 62, thereby pressing the switch button 48a of the stop control switch 48, thereby. The stop control switch 48 is turned on or off. On the other hand, when one of the product pressing rods 47 passes below the link 61, the link 61 is rotationally driven against the torsion coil spring 62 to the switching position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The pressing of the switch button 48a by the link 61 is released, thereby bringing the stop control switch 48 into the off or on state.

Then, a predetermined stop condition to stop the drive motor 46 is established, and the stop control switch 48 is switched on and off by the product pressing rod 47 via the link 61 as described above. In this case, a control signal is output from the control circuit as the stop means (not shown) to the drive motor 46, and the drive motor 46 is stopped based on this. Thereby, the rotation of the chain 56 of both drive mechanisms 45 also stops, and with this, each goods pressing rod 47 stops in a predetermined position (standby position), respectively. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, above the front-rear middle portion of the chute plate 53, between the upper sprocket 54a and the lower sprocket 54b, below the link 61 and near the rear sprocket 55. Four product pressure rods 47 stop at four places, respectively. In particular, the product pressing rod 47 stationary above the chute plate 53 is positioned so as to be immediately below between the two front and rear outlets 37a and 37a of the central column 35, as shown in FIG. Stop. Thereby, the goods S discharged | emitted from all the discharge ports 37a fall reliably on the chute plate 53, without touching all the goods press rod 47. As shown in FIG.

The housing case 49 accommodating the chute 44 and the like described above is constituted by a bottom wall 63, a pair of left and right side walls 64 (only one shown), a front wall 65, and a rear wall 66. The upper half of the upper and front surfaces is open. The carrying chute 65a which is inclined upward rearward and extended to the front end of the chute 44 is provided in the upper part of the front wall 65. This carrying chute 65a is conveyed to the front end of the chute 44. After receiving the received goods S, they are slid forward and taken out to the goods outlet 3.

Next, the operation | movement of the goods discharge apparatus 32 at the time of sale is demonstrated. As mentioned above, the conveyor apparatus 41 of the goods discharge apparatus 32 is always hold | maintained at a sale position, and each goods press rod 47 is located in the standby position shown in FIG. When money is input by the purchaser and the selection button 13 of the desired product is pressed, the product dispensing device 38 of the product passage 37 for storing the product is operated so that only the lowest product S is discharged. It is dispensed downward through).

When the product S is dispensed from the discharge opening 37a of the foremost goods passage 37, the product S is guided to the guide plate 39 and slides forward by its own weight and falls onto the carrying chute 65a. do. Then, it slides forward by own weight according to the carrying-out chute 65a. And the goods S are carried out to the goods extraction opening 3 by pushing forward the opening door 27 by the weight. Therefore, in this case, the goods S are quickly and reliably taken out to the goods outlet 3 without the conveyor apparatus 41 operating, and the sale of the goods S is completed.

The product pressing rod 47 on the chute plate 53 (hereinafter, denoted by "47A" is attached to this product pressing rod) except for the discharge port 37a of the foremost goods passage 37 mentioned above is also provided. When the goods S are dispensed from the outlet 37a of the goods passages 37, the goods S fall onto the chute plate 53, and then slide slightly back, and the goods pressure rods on the rear side ( 47A) and are supported. On the other hand, when the goods S are dispensed from the outlet 37a of the goods passage 37 behind the goods pressing rod 47A, the goods S fall onto the chute plate 53, and then the suit It slides backward toward the rear end of the plate 53 and is supported in contact with the inclined plate 4a in the vending machine main body 4 at the rear side. In addition, when the product S is discharged | emitted from the discharge opening 37a of the innermost goods channel | path 37, it falls once on the inclination plate 4a, and slides forward and is replaced with the chute plate 53. As shown in FIG. .

Then, after a predetermined time (operation start time) has elapsed since the product S was dispensed, the drive motor 46 is operated to convey the product S to the inclined upper portion forward along the chute plate 53. Specifically, for example, when the goods S are dispensed from the goods passage 37 immediately after the foremost goods passage 37, that is, from the outlet 37a of the goods passage 37 in the second row from the front, the goods are dispensed. After about 1.5 seconds have elapsed from the time point, the drive motor 46 is controlled to start operation. On the other hand, when the product S is discharged from the product passage 37 other than that, that is, from the discharge opening 37a of the goods passage 37 of the 3rd to 6th rows from the front, after about 1.0 second has passed since the delivery time point, The drive motor 46 is controlled to start operation. The start time of operation of the drive motor 46 by such control is such that the distance in the vertical direction between each discharge port 37a and the chute plate 53 and the discharged goods S become a stable posture on the chute plate 53. It is set in consideration of the time until. Thereby, as mentioned above, the goods S can be conveyed in a stable state, and the conveyance error and delay of conveyance time can be prevented.

When the drive motor 46 is operated in this way, the chain 56 of both drive mechanisms 45 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, whereby all the product pressure rods 47 also counterclockwise around the chute 44. Move in the direction of In this case, the goods pressing rod 47A moves forward along the chute plate 53, and the goods S supported thereon are pushed from the rear to be conveyed to the inclined upper front along the chute plate 53, It is exchanged with the carrying-out chute 65a. On the other hand, the product pressing rod 47 (hereinafter referred to as "47B") located near the rear sprocket 55 also moves forward along the chute plate 53, and the inclined plate ( The article S supported by 4a) is pressed from the rear by the article pressing rod 47B, and is conveyed in the same manner to the above, and is replaced by the carrying-out chute 65a. Thereafter, the product S is carried out to the product ejection opening 3 while pushing the opening door 27 to open, and the sale of the product S is completed. In this case, when the opening of the outlet door 27 is detected by the outlet door switch 28 and the stop control switch 48 is switched on / off a predetermined number of times (for example, twice), the control is performed. The control signal is output from the circuit to the drive motor 46, and the drive motor 46 is stopped based on this. As a result, each product pressing rod 47 stops at the standby position in preparation for the next sale.

Next, about the operation | movement of the goods removal apparatus 32 in the case where several goods S are continuously purchased, when (1) goods (S) in the same goods storage room 24 are continuously purchased, (2) different The case where goods S in two goods storage rooms 24 and 24 are each purchased continuously, and the case where goods S in three other goods storage rooms 24, 24 and 24 are each purchased continuously. Briefly explain.

First, when the goods S in the same goods storage room 24 are continuously purchased, the goods S firstly selected by the goods discharging device 32 via the goods discharging opening 26 and the goods discharging opening 3 After being taken out, the next product can be selected. In this case, whether the first selected product S has been carried out or not is determined by the opening / closing of the outlet door 27 by the outlet door switch 28. (2) When the products S in the other two product storage chambers 24 and 24 are continuously purchased, respectively, the products (by the product carrying out device 32 of each of the product storage chambers 24) in the selected order. S) is each carried out to the product outlet 3. (3) In the case where the products S in the three other product storage rooms 24, 24, and 24 are continuously purchased, respectively, the first and second selected products S are similarly to the above ②, and the products S are After this is carried out and the carrying out of the first selected product S is detected, the third selection is made possible. That is, out of the three conveyor apparatuses 41 in the vending machine main body 4, up to two operate simultaneously. As a result, the conveyor apparatus 41 can be stably operated while suppressing the overall power consumption of the vending machine 1.

Next, in the case of waiting for a sale while referring to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the goods in the case where a foreign material enters into the goods storage chamber 24 in the vending machine main body 4 from the outside via the goods outlet 3 by mistake. Operation control of the carrying-out apparatus 32 is demonstrated. In addition, this process is performed every predetermined time (for example, several seconds) at the time of waiting for sale. In this process, first, in the vending machine 1 in a waiting state for sale, whether or not money has been input (step 1, hereinafter referred to as "S1"), and whether the outlet door 21 is open ( Step 2) and whether the exit door 27 is open (step 3) is discriminated. In addition, whether or not money has been injected is determined by detecting whether or not money has been introduced into a money identifying device (not shown) provided on the back side of the coin inlet 14 or the like by the control circuit. Incidentally, whether the outlet door 21 and the outlet door 27 are in the open state is determined by detecting the on / off states of the outlet door switch 21a and the outlet door switch 28 by the control circuit, respectively. do.

When the determination result of step 1 is YES, that is, when the money input is performed, it is assumed that the vending machine 1 is in a selling state and the program is terminated. In addition, if the result of the determination in Step 2 or Step 3 is no, that is, when the outlet door 21 or the outlet door 27 is closed, there is no possibility that foreign matter may enter the product storage chamber 24. Quit.

On the other hand, when the determination result of step 1 is no, and when the determination result of step 2 and step 3 is YES, although no money is put in, although the entrance door 21 and the exit door 27 are opened, It is assumed that some foreign matter enters the product storage chamber 24 by mistake, and the conveyor apparatus 41 is operated (step 4). In this case, the conveyor apparatus 41 is operated until the stop control switch 48 is switched on / off a predetermined number of times (step 5), after which the conveyor apparatus 41 stops (step 6). Thereby, even when a foreign matter enters the goods storage chamber 24 by mistake, the foreign matter can be carried out to the goods outlet 3. In this way, by removing the foreign matter to the product outlet 3 in advance, it is easy to find the foreign matter to the purchaser, and it is possible to call attention to the purchaser.

As described above in detail, according to the product carrying-out apparatus 32 of this embodiment, the goods S discharged | emitted from the discharge opening 37a of the foremost goods passage 37 are carried out by the guide board 39 by itself. By sliding forward, the goods S taken out from the outlets 37a other than the foremost goods passages 37 are conveyed to the inclined upper front by the conveyor apparatus 41 while being carried out to the goods outlets 3. It is carried out to the goods extraction opening 3. Therefore, even if the conveyor apparatus 41 breaks down and the goods S cannot be taken out by this, sales of the goods S carried out by the guide plate 39 requiring no power can be continued. You can also secure sales opportunities. Moreover, the goods S discharged | emitted below from the goods storage 31 by this goods dispensing apparatus 32 can be carried out to the goods discharge opening 3 provided in the comparatively high position.

In addition, when the carrying out of the goods S by the conveyor apparatus 41 is carried out, when the completion of carrying out of the goods S to the goods extraction opening 3 is detected, the conveyor apparatus 41 which is in operation is stopped, and the goods S Control the operation and stop of the conveyor device 41 appropriately so that the conveyor device 41 continues to be operated until) is taken out, while stopping the operation of the conveyor device 41 after the goods S have been taken out. can do. Thereby, the conveyor apparatus 41 is not operated unnecessarily, and as a result, the lifetime of the conveyor apparatus 41 can be extended.

Moreover, since the conveyor apparatus 41 is provided in every three goods storage 31 installed side by side in the left-right direction, one conveyor apparatus 41 of three conveyor apparatuses 41 will fail, and the goods by this Even if the carrying out of (S) becomes impossible, the other conveyor apparatus 41 which has not broken down can continue to sell the goods S accommodated in the goods storage 31 corresponding to the conveyor apparatus 41. have. Moreover, since the goods pressing rod 47 which presses the goods S from the back at the time of sale is attached in the state spanned between the chains 56 of a pair of right and left drive mechanisms 45, the goods S sent out Even if the chute 44 slides backward and comes into contact with the product pressing rod 47, the product pressing rod 47 is not bent in most cases, so that the product S can be reliably stopped, and the It can be appropriately supported. Therefore, the said conveyor apparatus 41 can carry out goods S quickly and reliably to the goods extraction opening 3 provided in the comparatively high position.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It can implement in various aspects. For example, a belt type conveyor device or the like may be used instead of the conveyor device 41 of the present embodiment. In addition, in embodiment, only the goods discharged | emitted from the discharge opening 37a of the foremost goods passage 37 are carried out by the guide board 39 to the goods discharge opening 3, However, it is not limited to this, It is rather than the product discharge opening 3; In the vicinity of the dispensing opening 37a (for example, the dispensing opening of the second merchandise passage from the front) located at the upper side, the one configured in the same manner as the guide plate 39 is provided, whereby the dispensing product S is dispensed. You may carry out to (3). In addition, the detailed structure of the goods carrying apparatus 32 disclosed by embodiment is an illustration to the last, and it can change suitably within the scope of this invention.

As described in detail above, the product dispensing apparatus of the vending machine of the present invention can secure a sales opportunity as much as possible, and also quickly and at the product outlet provided at a relatively high position, the product discharged downward from the product storage. It can carry out the effect reliably.

Claims (8)

As a product dispensing device of a vending machine, at the time of sale, a product discharged downward from one of a plurality of discharge outlets installed side by side in the front-rear direction at the lower end of the product storage compartment in the vending machine body to the front product discharge port, Guide means for carrying out goods to the goods outlet by guiding the goods discharged from a predetermined outlet on the front side positioned above the goods outlet, out of the plurality of outlets; The product is provided below the product storage compartment and operates when a product is discharged from a discharge outlet other than the predetermined discharge outlet among the plurality of discharge outlets, and the received product is received and conveyed to an inclined upper front side. And a conveying means for carrying out to the outlet. 2. The carry-out completion detecting unit according to claim 1, further comprising: carry-out completion detecting means for detecting whether or not the carry-out of the product to the product outlet is completed; Further, when carrying out the goods by the said conveying means, when the said carrying out completion detection means detects the completion of carrying out of the goods to the said goods outlet, the stop means which stops the operation | movement of the said conveying means is further provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Product taking out device of vending machine. The operation start time setting means according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: operation start time setting means for setting a time from the predetermined time point at which the product is released to the operation of the conveying means in correspondence with the plurality of discharge outlets; And an operation initiation means for starting the operation of the conveying means when the set time corresponding to the dispensing outlet for which the product is disbursed and the product has elapsed from the predetermined time point. Goods take out device. According to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the product storage is composed of a plurality of product storage spaced side by side in the left and right directions, And said conveying means is provided for every said product storage device. The said conveying means is a chute inclined forward and upward, A pair of left and right drive mechanisms which are respectively provided at the left and right ends of the chute, and each of which has a front sprocket and a rear sprocket rotatably installed near the front and rear ends of the chute, and chains wound thereon; A drive source for rotationally driving at least one of the front sprocket and the rear sprocket of the pair of drive mechanisms upon sale; The goods which dropped onto the chute while being attached in a state spanned between the respective chains of the pair of drive mechanisms while moving up the chute along the chute along the rotation of the chain at the time of sale from the rear A product dispensing device for a vending machine, comprising: a product pressure rod for pressing. According to claim 3, wherein the goods storage is composed of a plurality of goods storage side by side installed side by side, And said conveying means is provided for every said product storage device. The chute according to claim 3, wherein the conveying means comprises: a chute inclined forward and upward; A pair of left and right drive mechanisms which are respectively provided at the left and right ends of the chute, and each of which has a front sprocket and a rear sprocket rotatably installed near the front and rear ends of the chute, and chains wound thereon; A drive source for rotationally driving at least one of the front sprocket and the rear sprocket of the pair of drive mechanisms upon sale; The goods which dropped onto the chute while being attached in a state spanned between the respective chains of the pair of drive mechanisms while moving up the chute along the chute along the rotation of the chain at the time of sale from the rear A product dispensing device for a vending machine, comprising: a product pressure rod for pressing. The chute according to claim 4, wherein the conveying means comprises: a chute inclined forward and upward; A pair of left and right drive mechanisms which are respectively provided at the left and right ends of the chute, and each of which has a front sprocket and a rear sprocket rotatably installed near the front and rear ends of the chute, and chains wound thereon; A drive source for rotationally driving at least one of the front sprocket and the rear sprocket of the pair of drive mechanisms upon sale; The goods which dropped onto the chute while being attached in a state spanned between the respective chains of the pair of drive mechanisms while moving up the chute along the chute along the rotation of the chain at the time of sale from the rear A product dispensing device for a vending machine, comprising: a product pressure rod for pressing.