JPH0578876B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a product aisle width regulating device at an exit portion of a product aisle of a vending machine.

(b) Conventional technology Conventionally, a product aisle is formed that extends vertically between vertically installed left and right side panels and stores products in a line, and one product is placed at the exit of the product aisle for each sales order. In a vending machine equipped with a product dispensing device that controls the dispensing of each product, the product is placed opposite the product dispensing device across the product aisle so that the width of the product aisle at the exit can be changed depending on the size of the products to be stored and sold. In addition to providing a regulating plate, the regulating plate is configured to move forward and backward in the direction of the product dispensing device to ensure the locking and dispensing of the product. This is shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-37680.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In the former prior art, the regulation plate is made to move forward and backward by a link mechanism, and in the latter, it is made to be able to move forward and backward by a stepped slide groove, and both have openings in the side plates. Since the fixing pin is inserted into the locking hole and locked and supported, there is a problem in that it takes time and effort to confirm the forward/backward position of the regulating plate and to change the position.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a product aisle width regulating device for a vending machine that allows the forward and backward movement of the regulating plate to be changed in multiple stages, and also allows for easy confirmation of the changing operation and position.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention forms a product passage that extends vertically between left and right side panels vertically and stores products in a line, and stores the products at the exit of the product passage. In a vending machine in which a product dispensing device and a regulation plate are disposed opposite to each other across an aisle, and the regulation plate is provided so as to be movable in the direction of the product dispensing device depending on the product to be stored and sold, the top and bottom of both sides of the regulation plate are A locking rod protruding from each part and a control groove through which the locking rod is inserted are provided with step-like openings on both sides, and are overlapped to cover the regulation plate from the product aisle side and moved up and down. A second part provided so as to be movable forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device.
By rotating the regulating plate and the downwardly protruding operation part of the regulating plate rotatably supported by the regulating plate in the direction of the left and right side plates, the pressing part provided at the upper part moves up and down. a switching member that moves up and down the second regulating plate by abutting against a locking piece of the second regulating plate; one end of the switching member is engaged with the switching member such that the pivot support of the switching member is located between the switching member; It is provided with a spring member that locks onto the regulation plate and urges the operating portion of the switching member so that it can be held in any rotational position on one side plate side or the other side plate side.

(E) Function: Rotatably provided on a regulating plate that moves forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device, the operating portion of the switching member protruding downward from the regulating plate is rotatably switched to one side plate side or the other side plate side. As a result, the pressing portion of the switching member operates the locking piece of the second regulating plate to move the second regulating plate up and down. By this vertical movement, the second regulating plate, whose control groove is supported by the locking rod of the regulating plate, is further moved forward and backward from the regulating plate toward the product delivery device due to the stepped shape of the control groove. Further, the switching member is held at each position by the bias of a spring member tensioned with the shaft support interposed between the regulating plate and the switching member.

(F) Embodiment Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a product storage shelf installed in a vending machine, which is formed in a curved shape between a pair of vertically installed left and right side plates 2 and 3. The traveling members 4 are arranged vertically in a row facing each other to form a product passage 5 which extends vertically while being bent. This product passage 5 is configured to be able to store cylindrical products with the largest diameter to be stored, stacked in a line in a horizontal position. and an exit section 6 at the lower end of the product aisle 5.
Between the side plates 2 and 3, there is provided a product delivery device 7 which operates every time a sales command is sent and controls the delivery of the lowest order products one by one.

Further, at a position facing the product delivery device 7 across the product path 5, a regulation plate 8 is provided so as to be movable forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device 7. That is, the regulating plate 8 is provided with locking rods 9 and 10 that protrude from the upper and lower parts of both sides 8A and 8B, respectively, and the upper locking rods 9 are connected to the upper guide openings in the side plates 2 and 3 of the outlet section 6. Groove 1
1, and the lower locking rod 10 is inserted into the lower guide groove 12 so that it can move forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device 7.

The upper guide groove 11 includes a first locking groove 11A that locks the upper locking rod 9 when the regulating plate 8 is in the retracted position and supports it vertically, and a first locking groove 11A that locks the upper locking rod 9 when the regulating plate 8 is in the advanced position. A second locking rod 9 that locks and supports the locking rod 9 so as to be movable up and down.
and a moving groove 11C that slopes low toward the second locking groove 11B to communicate the lower end of the first locking groove 11A and the upper end of the second locking groove 11B. The lower guide groove 12 has a first locking groove 12A that locks the lower locking rod 10 when the regulating plate 8 is in the retracted position and is highly inclined toward the product delivery device 7; A second lock groove 12B that locks the lower locking rod 10 at the advanced position and slopes high toward the product delivery device 7, and a first lock groove 12A.
It is constituted by a moving groove 12C that slopes low toward the second lock groove 12B so as to communicate the upper end with the upper end of the second lock groove 12B.

13 is the side parts 8A, 8B of the regulation plate 8 and the side plates 2, 3.
This is a second regulating plate that is provided with control grooves 14 opening stepwise in the upper and lower parts of both side parts 13A and 13B interposed between the It is inserted and supported, and can move forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device 7 by moving up and down, and is attached to the regulation plate 8 so as to overlap the regulation plate 8 so as to cover it from the product passage 5 side.

That is, the second regulation plate 13 has a first regulation groove 14A that is highly inclined in the direction of the product delivery device 7 and that engages the locking rods 9 and 10 at its upper end, and a first regulation groove 14A that
A control groove 14 consisting of a second regulation groove 14B extending vertically with the upper end communicating with the lower end of the both sides 13
A, 13B are provided at the upper and lower parts respectively, and when the first regulating groove 14A is in the lower position due to its own weight, the upper end of the first regulating groove 14A is locked by the locking rods 9, 10, and is moved to the backward position, and is pushed upward again. When it is moved to the upper position, the lower part of the second regulating groove 14B is locked by the locking rods 9 and 10, and the lever is moved to the extended position.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a switching member rotatably supported on the back surface of the regulation plate 8, which connects the lower operating section 15A to the regulation plate 8.
It projects downward through an opening 8D opening in the lower surface 8C and an opening 13D opening in the lower surface 13C of the second regulating plate 13 corresponding to the lower side of the lower surface 8C. By rotating 15A toward both sides 8A and 8B, the locking piece 13E, which is the upper surface of the second regulating plate 13, protrudes and retracts upward from the slit 8F opened in the upper surface 8E.
A pressing portion 1 that engages with the member and moves the second regulating plate 13 up and down.
5B is provided. The switching member 15 has the operating portion 15A so that its rotation range is regulated by the opening 13D of the second regulating plate 13.
When it is locked to the end of the opening 13D on the side part 8A side, the pressing part 15B is projected upward from the slit 8F,
Further, at a position where the operating portion 15A is locked to the end of the opening 13D on the side portion 8B side, the pressing portion 15B is recessed downward through the slit 8F. Therefore, when the operating portion 15A is locked to the end of the opening 13D on the side portion 8A side, the pressing portion 15B is pressed against the second regulating plate 13.
is moved upward, and the second regulating plate 13 is advanced toward the product delivery device 7 with the locking rod 10 positioned at the lower part of the second regulating groove 14B, and
When the operating portion 15A is locked to the end of the opening 13D on the side portion 8B side, the pressing portion 15B is retracted below the slit 8F, and the second regulating plate 13 is engaged with the upper end of the first regulating groove 14A due to its own weight. Position the stop rod 10 and move to the backward position. The switching member 15 is also provided with a push-down portion 15C that comes into contact with the lower surface portion 13C of the second regulating plate 13 and presses down the second regulating plate 13 when the operating portion 15A is rotated toward the side portion 8B. ing.

16 locks one end to the upper surface portion 8E of the regulation plate 8,
A spring member whose other end is latched to a fixed piece 15E provided below the shaft support 15D of the switching member 15 and stretched, and the operating portion 15A of the switching member 15 is latched to the end of the opening 13D on the side portion 8A side. It is biased so as to be able to be held in either the position where the operation part 15A is locked at the end of the opening 13D on the side part 8B side. That is, in the spring member 16, the fixed piece 15E side moves beyond the shaft support 15D by the rotation operation of the operation part 15A, and the operation part 15A is moved through the opening 13 on the rotation side.
It is biased in the direction of locking the D end.

On the other hand, the running member 4 located directly above the second regulation plate 13 is rotatably supported at its upper end and suspended, and its lower end can come into contact with the upper part of the second regulation plate 13 on the product passage 5 side. It is made to correspond to the movement of the regulating plate 8 and the second regulating plate 13 in the direction of the product delivery device 7 and can be rotated.

In this configuration, the advancing and retracting operations of the regulating plate 8 will be explained first. When the lower part of the regulating plate 8 is operated to move the lower locking rod 10 along the shape of the lower guide groove 12, the upper locking rod 9 can also be moved along the upper guide groove 11. , it can be set in either of two positions: an advanced position and a retracted position. Moreover, the first lock groove 12A and the second lock groove 12
B are highly inclined in the direction of the product delivery device 7, and the movement dimension for disengaging the locking rod 10 from the first lock groove 12A and the second lock groove 12B to the movement groove 12C is determined by the product delivery device 7. Since the space between the device 7 and the second regulating plate 13 is larger than the allowance dimension obtained by subtracting the size of the stored product, the regulating plate 8 cannot be moved forward or backward when storing the product.

Next, when moving the second regulating plate 8 forward or backward, move the operating portion 15A of the switching member 15 that protrudes downward from the side portions 8A, 8.
By rotating it toward the B side, it can be moved forward and backward in the direction of the product delivery device 7, and can be held by the spring member 16. That is, when the second regulating plate 8 is placed in the direction of the product delivery device 7,
The operating portion 15A is positioned toward the side portion 8A. As a result, the pressing portion 15B protrudes upward from the slit 8F, and pushes the locking piece 13E of the second regulating plate 13 upward. Therefore, the second regulating plate 13 is connected to the locking rods 9 and 10.
The locking rods 9 and 10 are positioned in the second regulating groove 14B of the control groove 14, respectively, and the product is advanced toward the product delivery device 7. Further, when the second regulating plate 8 is to be moved to the backward position, the operating portion 15A is rotated toward the side portion 8B. By this operation, the second regulating plate 13 normally moves downward and backward under its own weight, but even if the downward movement is insufficient, the rotation of the switching member 15 causes the pressing part 15C to move towards the second regulating plate 8. It can come into contact with the lower surface portion 13C and be forcibly pressed down. Therefore, the second regulating plate 13 is connected to the locking rods 9 and 10.
The locking rods 9 and 10 are respectively positioned at the upper ends of the first regulating grooves 14A of the control grooves 14, and are in the retracted position.

That is, the forward and backward movement by the regulating plate 8 and the second regulating plate 13
By the combination of advancing and retreating, the product passage 5 formed between the product delivery device 7 and the second regulating plate 13
You can switch between different types of intervals.

(G) Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured as described above, the width of the product aisle can be changed simply by rotating the operating section to either side of the left or right side plate, so that the switching operation is easy. It is extremely easy to do, and the position of the operating section differs greatly depending on the setting position.
This provides effects such as being able to easily confirm the position of the setting state.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, and the first
The figure is a vertical side view of the product storage shelf with the regulation plate and the second regulation plate set in the retracted position, and Figure 2 is the longitudinal side view of the product storage shelf with the regulation plate and the second regulation plate set in the extended position. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the regulation plate and the second regulation plate, Fig. 4 is a rear view of the regulation plate portion with the second regulation plate set in the advanced position, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the regulation plate with the second regulation plate set in the retracted position. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the set regulation plate portion. 2, 3...Side plate, 5...Product passageway, 7...Product delivery device, 8...Regulation plate, 8A, 8B...Side part,
9, 10...Latching rod, 13...Second regulation plate, 13
A, 13B...Side part, 13E...Locking piece, 14...
...Control groove, 15...Switching member, 15A...Operation section, 15B...Pushing section, 15D...Spindle support, 16
...Spring member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A product passageway extending vertically between the left and right side plates and storing products in a line is formed, and a product delivery device and a regulation plate are installed opposite to each other across the product passageway at the exit of the product passageway. In addition, in a vending machine in which a regulation plate is provided so as to be movable toward the product dispensing device depending on the product to be stored and sold, a locking rod protruding from the upper and lower parts of both sides of the regulation plate, and the locking rod are provided. A second regulation is provided with a control groove through which a rod is inserted, opening in a step-like manner on both sides, and overlapped so as to cover the regulation plate from the product passage side, and is movable up and down in the direction of the product delivery device. board and
When the control plate is rotatably supported by the regulation plate and protrudes downward from the regulation plate, the control plate is rotated in the direction of the left and right side plates, whereby the pressing part provided at the upper part moves up and down, thereby causing the second regulation. A switching member that comes into contact with the locking piece of the plate and moves the second regulating plate up and down, and one end of the switching member is engaged with the switching member and the other end is engaged with the regulating plate so that the pivot portion of the switching member is located between them. A product aisle width regulating device for a vending machine, comprising a spring member that biases an operating part of a switching member so that it can be held in any rotational position on one side plate side or the other side plate side.