JPH09218979A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sell many kinds of articles without decreasing the total number of articles to be housed by integrating slant shelf type article columns more than one and plural serpentine type article columns having meandering article passages and vend mechanisms. SOLUTION: A 1st column group 7 composed of four series of serpentine type article columns 7a-7a and a 2nd column group 8 composed of two series of slant shelf type article columns 8a and 8a are integrated between the side plates of an article rack 6. Each article column 8a has an article passage 32 composed of shelf plates 31 inclined rearward downward and a vend mechanism 33 arranged at the downstream end of the article passage 32, namely, at the rear end part of the shelf plate 31. The upstream end of the article passage 32, namely, front end of the shelf board 31 becomes an article inserting port 34 for charging an article A, and the articles are dropped from an article ejecting port 35 at the downstream end into a drop passage 9 one by one by the vend mechanism 33.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine for selling products such as canned drinks and bottled drinks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vending machine which has been generally used, the one described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-163573 is known. A plurality of product racks are stored in the product storage of this vending machine, and a plurality of (five) product columns are built in each product rack. Each product column has a product passage formed of a top plate and a large number of curved plates, and a bend mechanism at the downstream end of the product passage. In this case, since products of the same type are stored in the same product column, products of the type corresponding to the number of product columns can be sold.

[0003]

In such a conventional vending machine, the number of product racks is restricted by the width of the vending machine, while the number of product columns is restricted by the depth of the vending machine. Therefore, the total number of product columns is restricted by the width and depth dimensions of the vending machine, and the number of types of products that can be sold at the same time is restricted. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is not possible to meet the recent demand for selling a wide variety of products, and the number of unsold products increases depending on the product. In addition, for dairy products with a short shelf life, we can only replenish the product with the number corresponding to the sales record
There was a problem that there was an empty space in the product column.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic vending machine capable of selling a wide variety of products without reducing the total number of products stored. Has an aim.

[0005]

An automatic vending machine according to claim 1 is a slant-shelf type vending machine having a product passage and a bend mechanism constituted by inclined shelf plates between left and right side plates of a single product rack. More than one product column,
A plurality of serpentine-type product columns having a meandering product passage and a bending mechanism are incorporated.

According to this structure, by appropriately combining the slant shelf type product column having a small number of products stored and the serpentine type product column having a large number of products stored, a product with a large number of sales is of the serpentine type. If the products are stored in the product column and the products that are sold less are stored in the slant shelf type product column, the types of products can be increased and the number of products can be stored according to the sales record for each type. In addition, in the slant shelf type product column, the product passage is composed of the inclined shelf plates, so dead space is less likely to occur,
Compared to the serpentine type product column, the number of products that can be stored does not decrease.

In the automatic vending machine of claim 1, it is preferable that one or more product columns of slant shelf type are arranged above a plurality of product columns of serpentine type.

According to this structure, the product insertion port of the slant shelf type product column and the product insertion port of the serpentine type product column can be collectively arranged on the upper part of the product storage. Product loading work becomes easier.

In the automatic vending machine of claim 1, it is preferable that one or more slant shelf type product columns are arranged below a plurality of serpentine type product columns.

According to this structure, the merchandise outlet in the serpentine-type merchandise column and the merchandise outlet in the slant shelf-type merchandise column can be arranged at a low position. The falling noise of can be reduced. Further, it is not necessary to provide a drop passage, which is required for a slant shelf type product column, on the side of the serpentine type product column.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This vending machine sells canned beverages such as canned juice and bottled beverages, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. As shown in the figure, the vending machine 1 includes a vending machine body 2 and a main door 3 which is attached to the front surface of the vending machine body 2 so as to be freely opened and closed.
It is composed of Inside the vending machine main body 2, there is a wide product storage 5 having a heat insulating door 4 on the front. Within the product storage 5, there are a plurality of rows of products (only one row is shown in the figure) in the left-right direction. A rack 6 is arranged.

Between the side plates of the product rack 6, four serpentine type product columns 7a, 7a, 7a, 7a are provided.
First column group 7 consisting of 2 and slant shelf type 2
A second column group 8 composed of a series of product columns 8a, 8a is incorporated. Although not shown in the figure,
The left and right side plates are actually composed of two front and rear side plates. Further, a drop passage 9 is formed between the back surface of the first column group 7 and the rear wall of the product storage 5, and a chute 10 inclined forward and downward is formed at a downstream end of the drop passage 9.
Are arranged. Each product column 8 of the second column group 8
The products A dispensed from a and 8a fall in the drop passage 9 and roll on the chute 10, and are guided to the sales outlet 12 of the main door 3 from the dispensing outlet 11 of the product storage 5.

In the drop passage 9, a large number of movable plates 13 are vertically arranged so as to be suspended from the back surface of the first column group 7, and each product column 8a of the second column group 8 is
The product A paid out from 8a falls onto the chute 10 while being braked.

Each product column 7a in the serpentine format
Has a product passage 22 constituted by a top plate 21 and a curved plate (not shown), and also has a bend mechanism 23 arranged at the downstream end of the product passage 22. The upstream end of the product passage 22, that is, the front end of the top plate 21 serves as a product insertion port 24 for filling the product A, and the products A input from the product insertion port 24 are arranged in a line in the product passage 22. They are stocked side by side and are dropped one by one onto the chute 10 from the commodity dispensing outlet 25 at the downstream end by the bend mechanism 23.

Slant shelf type product column 8a
Has a product passage 32 composed of a shelf plate 31 inclined rearward and downward, and also has a bend mechanism 33 disposed at the downstream end of the product passage 32, that is, the rear end of the shelf plate 31. The upstream end of the product passage 32, that is, the front end of the shelf board 31 is a product insertion port 34 for filling the product A, and the products A input from the product insertion port 34 are arranged in a line in the product passage 32. They are stocked side by side and are dropped one by one into the drop passage 9 from the commodity dispensing outlet 35 at the downstream end by the bend mechanism 33.

In the commodity rack 6 constructed in this way,
Slant shelf type product column 8a Each shelf board 31
And the top plates 21 of the serpentine type product columns 7a are arranged in parallel with each other with a passage gap, and a total of six product inlets 34, 24 are provided.
Are arranged in alignment with the upper part of the product rack 6. That is, the operator opens the heat insulation door 4 and opens the product rack 6
All the product columns 7a and 8a can be replenished with the product A from above.

On the other hand, six product A (in the case of the vending machine shown in the figure) are installed in each product column 8a in the slant shelf format.
Can be stored in the product column 8a.
The product A, which is a relatively small number of products sold, is stored. In addition, each product column 7a in the serpentine format
14 to 20 products (in the case of the vending machine shown in the figure) can be stored in each of the products, and the product column 7a is designed to store products A of a relatively large number of products. ing.

As described above, the product A of the varieties with high sales (selling products) A should be sold in the product column 7a of the serpentine format, and the product A of the varieties with a small sales number should be sold in the product column 8a of the slant shelf format. Thus, it is possible to take a sales form in which all the products A are sold out almost at the same time. Further, by selling the product A having a short shelf life, such as a milk drink, in the slant shelf type product column 8a, it becomes possible to appropriately sell the milk drink within the shelf life, and at the same time, the product columns 7a, 8a. Can be effectively utilized. Therefore, it is possible to finely set the number of articles to be accommodated for each of a variety of products A and to make the number of unsold products constant regardless of the type of the product A.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The product rack 6 in this embodiment includes four serpentine-type product columns 7
A first column group 7 composed of a, 7a, 7a, 7a is arranged on the upper side, and two columns of product columns 8 of slant shelf type are provided.
A second column group 8 composed of a and 8a is arranged on the lower side thereof. In this case as well, similar to the first embodiment, the first column group 7 and the second column group 8 are formed between the left and right side plates of the product rack 6. Above the second column group 8,
The sub chute 14 having the same form as the shelf board 31 is provided so that the products A in each product column 7a of the first column group 7 are dropped. Further, a drop passage 15 that connects the sub chute 14 and the chute 10 is formed between the back surface of the second column group 8 and the rear wall of the product storage 5. In this fall path 15, the sub-shoot 1
The commodities A of the first column group 7 rolling on the upper part 4 pass and the commodities A of the respective commodity columns 8a of the second column group 8 are dropped.

On the other hand, in the empty space between the second column group 8 and the chute 10, a storage shelf 16 for storing precool (prehot) products Aa is provided. Storage shelf 1
6 is arranged with a sufficient gap between the chute 10 and the chute 10 for rolling the product A.

In such a product rack 6, any of the product columns 7a of the first column group 7 and the second column group 8,
Product A paid out from 8a also has a shorter fall distance,
It is possible to reduce the noise associated with the sale of the product A. Moreover, since the space of the drop passage 15 can be small, the number of articles A to be stored does not decrease extremely as a whole.

The number of cells (the number of cells) of the serpentine type product column is almost determined by the depth of the product storage, but the number of columns (the number of cells) of the slant shelf type product column may be 1 or more. Good.

[0023]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, it is possible to sell a wide variety of products without reducing the total number of stored products.
Moreover, the products of each type can be sold out almost at the same time, and an efficient sales form can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a vending machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an automatic vending machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine 5 Product Storage 6 Product Rack 7 First Column Group 7a Product Column 8 Second Column Group 8a Product Column 22 Product Passage 23 Bend Mechanism 31 Shelf Board 32 Product Passage 33 Bend Mechanism A Product

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. One or more product columns of slant shelf type having a product passage and a bend mechanism formed by inclined shelf plates between left and right side plates of a single product rack, and a serpentine product passage and A vending machine characterized by having a plurality of serpentine-type product columns with a bend mechanism. 2. The one or more slant shelf type product columns are arranged above the plurality of serpentine type product columns.
Vending machine described in. 3. One or more product columns of the slant shelf type are arranged below the plurality of product columns of the serpentine type.
Vending machine described in.