JPH07200940A - Commodity carrying-out device of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a commodity carrying-out device of automatic vending machine which securely carries a commodity out of a commodity storage box at a proper attitude and reduces leak of cool air in the commodity storage box as much as possible when the commodity is carried out. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a commodity column 5 which is stored in the commodity storage box 4, a commodity carry-out opening 12 formed in the bottom part of the commodity storage box 4 facing right below the commodity column 5, a hinged door type door body 13 which opens and closes the commodity carry-out opening 12, an opening and closing means 14 which opens and closes the door body 13 between a horizontal position where the commodity carry-out opening 12 is closed and a slanting position where the door body 12 is slanted downward around a support shaft 31, and a control means 19 which places the opening and closing means 14 in operation to rotate the door body 13 to the slanting position after receiving a commodity A fallen from the commodity column 5 at the horizontal position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention is based on a sales order,
The present invention relates to a product unloading device of an automatic vending machine that carries out products such as frozen foods from a product storage to a sales outlet side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a product unloading device for an automatic vending machine of this type, for example, a device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-147781 is known. This vending machine has a so-called spiral bend mechanism (spiral) built into the product storage. By rotating the spiral, products such as frozen foods dropped and dropped can be slid on the chute and stored. It is designed to be carried out from the carry-out port of the warehouse to the sales outlet side. In this case, the product is a product such as spaghetti or curry rice, and if the product is to be cooked in the microwave after being carried out from the product storage, it is necessary to carry the product out in an appropriate posture. Therefore, in the above-described conventional technique, the chute is provided immediately below the spiral as close as possible, and the attitude control plate against which the tilt end of the product just before falling hits is provided so as to correct the tilt of the product.

[0003]

In such a conventional product unloading device, a chute is provided close to a spiral,
And, even if the attitude control plate is provided, as long as the chute is tilted, the product loses its attitude until it separates from the lower end of the spiral and falls on the chute, and it also falls on the chute and bounces, There was a problem that collapsed. Also, when slipping on the chute and passing through the carry-out port of the product storage, the posture tends to be collapsed because it passes through the carry-out port so as to break through. On the other hand, a light door is provided at the carry-out port of the product storage so that the products sliding on the chute can pass through, and the door closes the carry-out port by its own weight. For this reason, this portion has a structure in which heat insulation is insufficient and cold air easily leaks.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to reliably carry out a product from a product storage container in an appropriate posture, and to prevent cold air leakage in the product storage container due to the transfer as much as possible. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product discharge device for an automatic vending machine, which can be reduced in number.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a product column housed in a product storage and a product formed at the bottom of a frozen product storage so as to face directly below the product column. The carry-out port, a hinged door type door body that opens and closes the product carry-out port, and the door body is opened and closed between a horizontal position that closes the product carry-out port and an inclined position that tilts the door body downward about a support shaft. Operate the opening and closing means and the opening and closing means to open the door
And a control means for rotating the article received from the article column in a horizontal position to an inclined position after receiving the article.

In this case, the tilting base portion of the door body is formed in an arc shape, and the support shaft is eccentrically attached to the arc surface of the tilting base portion, so that the tilting base portion and the edge portion of the article carrying-out port are provided. It is preferable that a seal member is interposed.

Further, in these cases, a comb-teeth-shaped receiving stand for receiving the carried-out goods is further provided ahead of the door carrying-out direction, and the plurality of teeth of the receiving stand are arranged in the carrying-out direction. It is preferable to extend in a direction orthogonal to each other, and to draw a curved line in the carry-out direction so as to be arranged downward.

[0008]

[Operation] The product dropped from the product column drops onto the door of the product carrying-out port, which faces directly below the product column. In this state, the door body is in the horizontal position, and when the door body receives the product,
The control means operates the opening / closing means to rotate the door body to the inclined position. When the door body is rotated to the inclined position, the product carry-out port of the product storage is opened, and the product slides on the door body and is carried out forward. In this case, the door body that receives the product also serves as the chute of the product and the opening / closing door of the product carry-out port, and the door body can receive the product horizontally directly below the product column and can smoothly receive the received product. It can be carried out. Further, since the door body has a structure for opening and closing the product outlet by the opening / closing means, it can have high heat insulation performance including sealing property, and further, it is opened only when the product is carried out. In a product storage for keeping warm and cold, leakage of cold air (warm air) in the cold storage can be suppressed as much as possible.

In this case, the tilting base portion of the door body is formed in an arc shape, and the support shaft is eccentrically attached to the arcuate surface of the tilting base portion. Since the seal member is interposed, the seal member expands and contracts in the radial direction as the door body opens and closes. Therefore, the settling of the seal member is suppressed, and the life of the seal member can be kept long.

Further, in these cases, a comb-teeth-shaped receiving stand for receiving the conveyed goods is further provided at the end of the door body in the carrying-out direction, and the plurality of teeth of the receiving stand are arranged in the carrying-out direction. Since it extends in the orthogonal direction and is arranged in a downward direction by drawing a curve in the carry-out direction, the product carried out from the door body is not supported on each tooth of the comb tooth-shaped cradle but on the cradle. When the product is transported, the posture of the product is properly maintained together with the lid body.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An article carrying-out device for an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
This vending machine sells boxed frozen food such as curry rice. FIG. 1 is a cut side view of the vending machine and FIG. 2 is a cutting plan view thereof. As shown in both figures, this vending machine 1 is composed of a vending machine body 2 and a main door 3 that opens and closes the front surface of the vending machine body 2, and the vending machine body 2 stores a wide range of products therein. The case 4 is formed.

Eight product columns 5 are housed inside the product storage 4, and each product A is stored in this product column 5.
Each of them is housed so as to be inserted into the gap of the spiral 6 provided therein. The eight product columns 5 are
It is supported by a column 7 standing upright in the center of the product storage 4,
The pillar 7 is moved along a track-shaped revolution locus. Eight product columns 5 are connected to and supported by the column 7, and eight product columns 5 are also provided.
A moving mechanism 8 for moving the vehicle along the orbit is provided alongside, and the eight product columns 5 are appropriately moved using the motor 9 as a power source when the product A is loaded and when the product A is sold. .

At the bottom of the product storage 4 of the vending machine body 2,
A cooling unit 10 for cooling the inside of the product storage 4 is housed, and the cooling air in the product storage 4 is passed through the ducts 11, 11, 11, 11 formed at the four corners of the product storage 4 from the cooling unit 10. Is supplied.

Further, at the bottom of the product storage 4, there is provided a product carry-out port 12 for carrying out the product A from the product storage 4, and the product carry-out port 12 is opened and closed in the form of an open door. An opening / closing door 13 is provided. Immediately below the opening / closing door 13, an opening / closing mechanism 14 for tilting the opening / closing door 13 downward.
Is provided. Further, below the opening / closing door 13, a conveyor 15 for transferring the product A slipped off from the opening / closing door 13 to the front main door 3 side is arranged, and further below the conveyor 15, the products A are placed. A microwave oven 16 for cooking (warming) is provided. On the other hand, in front of the conveyer 15 and the microwave oven 16, the elevator is located inside the main door 3 and moves the product A up and down between the position of the conveyer 15, the position of the microwave oven 16 and the position of the sales outlet 17. A mechanism 18 is provided.

Product A dropped from product column 5
Is once received by the opening / closing door 13, and is sent to the conveyor 15 by the opening / closing mechanism 14 tilting the opening / closing door 13 downward. The product A sent to the conveyor 15 is sent to the elevator mechanism 18 at the front by the conveyor 15, is once lowered by the elevator mechanism 18, and is then delivered to the moving lid 71 of the microwave oven 16. The product A delivered to the movable lid 71 is sent into the microwave oven 16 by closing the movable lid 71. The product A cooked in the microwave oven 16 is again delivered from the moving lid 71 to the elevator mechanism 18, and the elevator mechanism 1
8 is lifted and conveyed to the position of the selling port 17.

As shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing door 13 is provided with an opening / closing mechanism 14 for opening / closing the opening / closing door 13.
4 is a controller 1 for controlling the operation of the opening / closing mechanism 14.
9 is connected. When the opening / closing mechanism 14 is operated by the controller 19, the opening / closing door 13 is rotated between a horizontal position that closes the product outlet 12 and an inclined position that opens the product outlet 12. The opening / closing door 13 in the inclined position is
It tilts downward, its front end faces the conveyor 15, and functions as a chute for sliding off the product A.

The open / close door 13 is a thick heat-insulating door having a heat-insulating material filled therein, and is rotatably attached to the edge portion 12a of the commodity outlet 12 by a support shaft 31. A peripheral portion of the upper surface of the opening / closing door 13 is a step portion, and a packing 32 for maintaining airtightness between the opening and the closing door 13 is attached to the peripheral portion. Further, a smooth synthetic resin 33 or the like is adhered to the upper surface of the opening / closing door 13 excluding the peripheral portion in order to make the product A slip smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base portion 13a of the opening / closing door 13 is formed in an arcuate cross section so that the rotating opening / closing door 13 does not interfere with the edge portion 12a of the article carrying-out port 12 supporting the opening / closing door 13. The seal member 34 having a large number of fins is interposed in this portion. In addition, the base 1 of the opening / closing door 13
The support shaft 31 provided at 3a is a base portion 13a of the opening / closing door 13.
The arc surface of the base portion 13a is configured to expand and contract the seal member 34 in the radial direction when the opening / closing door 13 is opened and closed. That is, the seal member 34 is expanded and contracted by the opening and closing of the opening / closing door 13 so as not to cause a settling. As a result, the sealing property of this portion can be maintained permanently.

As shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing mechanism 14 has one end rotatably attached to the opening / closing door 13 and a link 41 for supporting the opening / closing door 13 from below, and the link 41 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction thereof. It is composed of a crank 42 for rotating and a motor 43 for rotating the crank 42. The open / close door 13 in the horizontal position is rotated to the inclined position via the link 41 by the half rotation of the crank 42 by the motor 43, and is rotated from the inclined position to the horizontal position by the subsequent half rotation of the crank 42.

The controller 19 drives the motor 43 of the opening / closing mechanism 14 in synchronization with the rotation of the spiral 6, that is, in synchronization with the rotation stop signal of the spiral 6, or a product (not shown) is placed on the opening / closing lid 13. When A is detected, the motor 43 of the opening / closing mechanism 14 is driven.

The conveyor 15 is a pair of conveyor pulleys 5.
1, 51, a conveyor belt 52 hung between the two conveyor pulleys 51, 51, and a motor 53 that runs the conveyor belt 52. Product A sliding down from the open / close door 13 and placed on the conveyor belt 52
Are conveyed forward by the traveling of the conveyor belt 52. In this case, projecting pieces 52a, 52a are provided at two locations on the surface of the conveyor belt 52 so that the product A can be pushed out to the maximum forward (FIGS. 5 and 6).
reference).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the elevator mechanism 18 includes a pedestal 61 on which the product A is placed and a pedestal 61.
And an elevating device (not shown) for moving up and down. The pedestal 61 is composed of a comb-tooth-shaped main body 62 in which each tooth 62a is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and a product receiving portion 63 erected at the front end of the main body 62. Goods A can be transferred to and from the movable lid 71 of the microwave oven 16 described later (see FIG. 7). Each tooth 62a of the main body 62 is formed in the shape of a round bar, and is arranged in a downward curve so as to draw a curve. The tip of the product A sent from the conveyor 15 has each tooth 62a.
It does not support a.

In the elevator mechanism 18, the pedestal 61 is
From the home position in the delivery position with the conveyor 15, it is lowered to the delivery position with the movable lid 71 of the microwave oven 16, and from this position, it is raised to the position of the sales outlet 17,
Furthermore, a series of lifting operations to return to the home position are repeated. Note that reference numeral 64 in the drawing is an optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the product A on the receiving table 61.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the movable lid 71 of the microwave oven 16 has a lid main body 72 for opening and closing the front opening of the microwave oven 16, and a comb-like shape horizontally provided in the lower middle portion of the lid main body 72. And a mounting table 73, and is opened and closed by a device (not shown). The comb-teeth-shaped mounting base 73 and the comb-teeth-shaped main body 62 of the receiving base 61 are configured so as to be able to pass through each other by a gap therebetween, and with respect to the mounting base 73 moved to the open position, The pedestal 61 comes down, and the pedestal 7
After passing 3, the product A is placed on the placing table 73 so as to be left behind. On the other hand, when the pedestal 61 rises from the lower side with respect to the product A on the platform 73 and passes through the platform 73, the product A is picked up by the pedestal 61. The product A delivered to the platform 73 is the lid main body 72.
It is sent into the microwave oven 16 with the closing of the lid.

Here, the selling operation of the product A will be described with reference to FIG. When the product purchaser presses the selection button, the moving mechanism 8 operates to revolve the product column 5, and the product column 5 in which the corresponding product A is stored is moved to the product outlet 12
Move it directly above. When this movement is completed, the spiral 6 in the product column 5 rotates, the lowest product A is dropped downward, and the dropped product A is placed on the open / close door 13 that closes the product outlet 12. Received horizontally.
When the product A is received on the opening / closing door 13, the opening / closing mechanism 14
Operates to tilt the opening / closing door 13 from the horizontal position to the tilted position. Due to this tilt, the product A slides down on the surface of the opening / closing door 13 and reaches the conveyor 15. The product A placed on the conveyor 15 is pushed forward by the conveyor 15 and delivered to the cradle 61 of the elevator mechanism 18 waiting at the home position. Also, during this time, the opening / closing door 13
Returns to the horizontal position from the inclined position and closes the product outlet 12.

When the optical sensor 64 detects that the product A is placed on the pedestal 61, the elevator mechanism 18 is activated, and the pedestal 61 is lowered while the product A is placed. At this time, the movable lid 71 of the microwave oven 16 has moved to the open lid position, and the pedestal 61 passes the movable lid 71 so as to deliver the product A to the platform 73 of the movable lid 71. When the product A is placed on the platform 73, the moving lid 7
1 moves to the closed position, stores the product A in the microwave oven 16, and closes the front surface of the microwave oven 16. Here, the product A is heated (cooked) for a certain period of time.

When the cooking of the product A is completed, the moving lid 71
However, the pedestal 61 at the lower end position starts to move up again to the open position, and then passes through the platform 73 of the movable lid 71 to receive the product A. Cradle 6 that received product A
1 further rises and reaches the position of the sales outlet 17.
Here, when the optical sensor 64 detects that the product A is taken out, the pedestal 61 descends again and returns to the home position. Reference numeral 20 in the figure is a foreign matter removing mechanism, and this foreign matter removing mechanism 20 kicks off the foreign matter when the commodity purchaser who takes out the commodity A places the foreign matter on the cradle 61. The foreign matter removing mechanism 20 actually operates when the optical sensor 64 continues to detect an object on the pedestal 61 at the position of the selling opening 17 for a predetermined time regardless of the product A and the foreign matter. It is supposed to do.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing door 13 of the product carrying-out port 12 serves as a receiving part for receiving the dropped product A and a chute for the product A, so that the product A is temporarily leveled. After receiving the product, the product A is tilted so that the product A is slid off. Therefore, the product A dispensed from the product column 5 is received in a proper horizontal posture immediately below the product column 5, and in this state, it is smooth. Be delivered to. Therefore, the product A can be carried out in a state where the product A is held in an appropriate posture, and the product A is conveyed by the conveyor 15, the elevator mechanism 18, and the moving lid 71 in the proper posture, cooked in the proper posture, and then sold. be able to. Further, since the opening / closing lid 13 has a structure for opening / closing the product outlet 12 by the opening / closing mechanism 14, it is possible to provide sufficient heat insulation performance and to minimize the opening time.
It is possible to extremely reduce the leakage of cold air in the product storage 4.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this example,
Since the microwave oven provided with the rotary table is used, the elevator mechanism and the transport mechanism around the microwave oven are different from those in the first embodiment. As shown in both figures,
The elevator mechanism 18 is provided with a conveyer 21 capable of carrying forward and backward goods in place of the cradle 61 of the first embodiment. On the other hand, the microwave oven 16 has a rotary table 22.
Is provided, and a shelf plate 23 that can move forward and backward is provided so as to penetrate the microwave oven 16.
Further, the lid 24 of the microwave oven 16 is configured to be opened and closed in a left-right direction or a vertical direction in a sliding door form.

Here, the selling (conveying) operation of the characteristic portion of the second embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG. Product A sent from the conveyor 15 on the vending machine body 2 side
Is the conveyor 2 of the elevator mechanism 18 on the main door 3 side
1 and is placed at a predetermined position on the conveyor 21. Then, the conveyor 21 descends and conveys the product A to the position of the microwave oven 16. Prior to this transportation, the lid 24 of the microwave oven 16 is opened and the shelf plate 23 is moved forward. When the product A descends to the position of the microwave oven 16, the conveyor 21 runs in the reverse direction, and the product A is sent into the microwave oven 16 to be delivered to the shelf board 23.
When the product A is placed on the shelf board 23, the shelf board 23 moves backward.
As a result, the product A is pulled deep into the microwave oven 16, but hits the stopper 25 provided on the inner wall of the microwave oven 16 and is left behind from the retracted shelf plate 23. Then, when the shelf plate 23 completes the backward movement, the product A is dropped on the turntable 22. on the other hand,
The conveyor 21 which has delivered the product A to the shelf board 23 further descends and stops.

When the cooking of the product A is completed, the shelf board 23 pushes the product A out of the microwave oven 16 and delivers it to the conveyor 21 in a completely reverse procedure. The conveyor 21 that has received the product A rises and stops at the position of the selling port 17, and waits for the product A to be taken out. When the product A is taken out, the conveyor 21 descends again, returns to the home position, and enters the standby state.

In this embodiment, the elevator mechanism 18 is provided with the conveyor 21 and the microwave oven 16 is provided with the shelf plate 23 which is configured to be movable back and forth. Therefore, as compared with the microwave oven 16 having the rotary table 22, The product A can be taken in and out smoothly.

In both of the embodiments, the vending machine equipped with the spiral type product column has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the invention can be applied to other vending machines equipped with a temperature-adjustable product storage. Absent.

[0034]

As described above, according to the product carrying apparatus of the present invention, since the lid of the product carrying-out port which is configured to be openable and closable doubles as a product receiving portion and a chute, the product storage container. From the above, it is possible to reliably carry out the product in an appropriate posture, and it is possible to minimize the leakage of cold air in the product storage accompanying the carrying out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cut side view of an automatic vending machine in which a product transport device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a cutting plan view of an automatic vending machine in which the product transport device according to the first embodiment is incorporated.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view around the opening / closing lid of the product carrying device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view around a seal member.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view around the elevator mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view around the elevator mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship between a receiving base of an elevator mechanism and a mounting base of a movable lid.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a delivery state of products between the elevator mechanism and the movable lid.

FIG. 9 is a cutting side view of the vending machine showing an operating state of the product transport device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cutting side view of an automatic vending machine in which the product transport device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

FIG. 11 is a cutting side view of an automatic vending machine showing an operating state of the product transporting device according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine 4 Merchandise Storage 5 Merchandise Column 12 Merchandise Outlet 13 Opening / Closing Lid 14 Opening / Closing Mechanism 19 Controller 31 Spindle A Commodity

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A product column housed in a product storage, a product outlet formed at the bottom of the product storage so as to face directly below the product column, and a swing door type for opening and closing the product outlet. Door body, an opening / closing means for opening and closing the door body between a horizontal position for closing the product outlet and a tilted position for tilting the door body downward about a support shaft, and operating the opening / closing means. And a control means for rotating the door body to a tilted position after receiving a product dropped from the product column in a horizontal position, and a product discharge device for a vending machine. 2. The tilt base of the door body is formed in an arc shape, and the support shaft is eccentrically attached to the arc surface of the tilt base, and the tilt base and the edge portion of the commodity outlet. The product discharging device of the automatic vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a seal member is interposed between and. 3. A comb-teeth-shaped pedestal for receiving the conveyed goods is further provided at the end of the door body in the unloading direction, and the plurality of teeth of the cradle are orthogonal to the unloading direction. The article unloading device for a vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the article unloading apparatus extends in a direction and is arranged downward in a curved line in a unloading direction.