JPH036692A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a customer to take out a commodity in a natural attitude without reducing the commodity storage efficiency by providing an elevator type commodity storage rack in a main body case under a commodity taking-out hole and sending the commodity toward the commodity taking-out hole after carrying it upward. CONSTITUTION:A serpentine commodity storage rack 7 is set in the upper part and an elevator type commodity storage rack 8 is set in the lower part; and with respect to commodities 10 stored in the commodity storage rack 7, a carrying-out mechanism 72 is operated by a selling signal to drop and carry out the commodity 10 in the lowest stage onto a commodity shoot 9, and this commodity 10 rolls out to a commodity taking-out hole 31. With respect to commodities 10 stored in the commodity storage rack 8, power supply to a solenoid 93 is stopped by the selling signal to jump the commodity shoot 9 upward by the force of a spring 94, and the commodity 10 in the highest stage is pushed out onto a commodity shoot 83 from the rack 8 by a carrying-out element 92 and is sent out to the commodity taking-out hole 31. Thus, the commodity storage efficiency is kept in a high level and the customer can take out the commodity 10 in a natural attitude.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention sells products such as soft drinks in cylindrical cans, and allows customers to take out the products from the product outlet in a natural posture without bending down. Regarding vending machines.

[Conventional technology]

Vending machines that sell products such as soft drinks in cylindrical cans are
A serpentine-shaped product storage shelf is installed inside the main case,
Many items are stored here.

As is already well known, this serpentine product storage shelf has a meandering product transfer path that runs up and down, the lower end of which serves as an ejection end with an ejection mechanism, and the upper end of which has an inlet opening. However, the products input from the input slot in a sideways position are stored in a stack in the product transfer passage, with the lowest level being locked by the unloading mechanism, and the lowest level of the products being loaded by the activation of the unloading mechanism by the sales signal. are sequentially dropped one by one, guided to a product chute, and delivered to a product takeout port.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, conventional vending machines have vertically long product storage shelves installed in order to increase product storage efficiency, and a product chute is provided below the product storage shelves, so that the product outlet is disposed at an extremely low position. For this reason, the customer is forced to take out the product in an unnatural posture of bending over, resulting in a disadvantage of poor service quality.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine with extremely excellent serviceability that allows customers to take out products in a natural posture without reducing product storage efficiency.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an automatic vending machine is provided in which a product storage shelf for carrying out products such as packaged drinks one by one toward a product outlet in response to a sales signal is housed and installed in a main body case. In the machine, a serpentine-shaped product storage shelf is installed in the upper part of the main body case, and an elevator-shaped product storage shelf is installed in the lower part of the main body case for transporting the product upward and then sending it out toward the product outlet. shall be.

[Effect]

By shortening the serpentine product storage shelf vertically, the product outlet can be installed at an appropriate height. Since an elevator type product storage shelf is installed in the main body case below the product takeout port and the products are stored, product storage efficiency is not reduced.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the invention will be described based on FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a main body case of a vending machine, and a heat insulating chamber 2 is formed inside by a heat insulating wall. Reference numeral 3 denotes an outer door provided on the front surface of the main body case 1. On the front surface of the outer door, a product ejection port 31 is provided along with a coin slot, a product sales push button, etc. (not shown). The product take-out port 31 is located at a height that allows the customer to take out the product by extending his/her hand in a normal posture. Reference numeral 4 includes an outlet 41 and a flapper 42 that swingably closes the outlet 41, and an insulating inner door that opens and closes the front surface of the heat insulating chamber 3. Reference numeral 5 indicates a heat insulating chamber for cooling or heating indoor air and circulating it. A cooling/heating device 2 maintains the interior at an appropriate cooling temperature or heating temperature, and 6 is a machine room housing a condensing unit (not shown) connected to the cooling unit of the cooling/heating bag W5 through refrigerant piping. Inside the heat insulating chamber 2, a serpentine-shaped product storage shelf 7 is installed in the upper part, and an elevator-shaped product storage shelf 8 is installed in the lower part, with the product take-out port 31 as the boundary.

The serpentine-shaped product storage shelf 7 has a lower end 71a serving as an ejection end, and a product transfer path 71 that runs vertically in a meandering manner and has an input port (not shown) at the upper end facing the front surface of the heat insulation chamber 3.
Furthermore, an unloading mechanism 72 is provided at the lower end of the product transfer path 71. Then, the cylindrical product 1 is loaded from the input port.
0 are stored in a stacked manner with the lowest one locked to the carry-out mechanism 72 and laid down on its side.

Reference numeral 9 is a product chute, and includes an unloader 92 for the product storage shelf 8 that is supported at one end by a support shaft 91 so as to be rotatable up and down, and that projects downward. Further, it is normally held at the lower position shown by the chain line by the energized solenoid 93, and rotated by the spring 94 to the upper position shown by the solid line when the solenoid 93 is de-energized.

The elevator-type product storage shelf 8 includes an elevator 81 that runs in the vertical direction and is slightly tilted backward, a fixed shelf 82 that is provided in multiple stages vertically in front of the elevator 81 and whose top surface is slightly curved to the rear, and a fixed shelf 82 that is slightly tilted backwards. It is constituted by a product chute 83 that is provided above and whose front end faces the outlet 41. In the elevator 81, a belt 87 is stretched between a pulley 85 and a pulley 86 which are rotated by a drive motor 84, and shelves 88 are protruded from the outer surface of the belt 87 at a pitch corresponding to the interval between the fixed shelves 82. has been done.

Therefore, the fixed shelf 82 and the shelf 88 adjacent to the fixed shelf 82 store products 10 different from the products 10 on the product storage shelf 7 , and the unloader 92 is placed after the product 10 on the top shelf 88 .
is located.

In the above-described configuration, the products 10 stored in the product storage shelves 7 and 8 are cooled and kept cool or heated to an appropriate temperature by the cooling and heating device 5. For the products 10 stored in the product storage shelf 7, the carry-out mechanism 72 of the designated product transfer path 71 is operated in response to a sales signal, and the products 10 in the lowest row are dropped onto the product shade 9 and carried out. This product 10 is product shoot 9
The product rolls while being guided by the front end of the product shade 83, pushes open the flapper 42 by itself, rolls out to the product removal port 31, and is taken out by the customer's hand. Unlike conventional products, this product can be easily taken out in a very natural posture.

On the other hand, the product 10 stored in the product storage shelf 8 is placed in the product chute 9 when the solenoid 93 is de-energized by the sales signal.
By springing upward by the force of the spring 94, the product 10 on the top shelf is pushed out from the shelf 88 onto the product chute 83 by the unloader 92. This product 10 is guided to the product chute 83, and, like the product carried out from the product storage shelf 7, is delivered to the product take-out port 31 and taken out by the customer's hand. When the product 10 has been carried out, the product chute 9 is returned to its original position by energization of the solenoid 93, and then the belt 86 is moved to one of the shelves 88 by the operation of the drive motor 84.
Run for the pitch. Thus, the product 10 on the second stage is now located at the top, and the product 10 is moved and placed on the empty shelf 88 from the fixed shelf 82, and the product is again on standby for sale.

As mentioned above (main case 1 contains almost the same number of products 10 as before)
These products are delivered to a product outlet 31 set at a height that is easy for customers to pick up.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, in a vending machine in which a product storage shelf for transporting products such as packaged drinks one by one toward a product outlet in response to a sales signal is housed and installed in a main body case, an upper part inside the main body case is provided. A serpentine product storage shelf is installed in the main body case, and an elevator-type product storage shelf is installed in the lower part of the main body case, which transports the product upward and then sends it out toward the product outlet, thereby increasing product storage efficiency. Service quality can be improved by maintaining the same high standard as before and installing the product outlet at a high position where customers can take out products in a natural posture.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) In a vending machine in which a product storage shelf for transporting products such as packaged beverages one by one toward a product outlet in response to a sales signal is housed and installed in a main case, a serpentine-shaped product is installed in the upper part of the main case. A vending machine characterized in that a storage shelf is installed, and an elevator-type product storage shelf is installed in the lower part of the main body case to convey the product upward and then send it out toward the product outlet.