JP2592950B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a vending machine having an improved structure for discharging goods.

(Prior Art) FIGS. 4 to 8 show a conventional vending machine. First, in FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a cabinet, on which a main door 2 is provided. The main door 2 is provided with a coin slot 3, a select switch 4, a product outlet 5, an outlet cover 6, and the like. In the cabinet 1, the fifth
As shown in the figure, a plurality of product storage units 7 are provided,
The lower part is a product drop opening 8. The peripheral side wall of the product drop opening 8 is made up of left and right side plates (only the left side plate 8a is shown),
The stopper control mechanism 9 includes a case 10 and a guide plate 11. As shown in FIG. 6, the stopper control mechanism 9 is provided with a first stopper facing each product drop opening 8.
The second stopper 13 and the second stopper 13 are made to protrude and retract. As shown in FIG. 7, the guide plate 11 has support shafts 14 protruding from upper and lower portions of left and right side plate portions 11a, 11a, and a guide piece 11 projecting obliquely upward at an upper edge portion.
forming b. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, on the left and right side plates of the drop port 8, An upper guide groove 15 (only one is shown) is formed, and a lower part has: A lower guide groove 16 (only one is shown) is formed. Thus, the guide plate 11 is configured such that its support shaft 14 is movably fitted into the guide grooves 15 and 16, respectively.
The stoppers 12 and 13 are provided so as to be able to move in the approaching / separating direction with respect to the side portion 10a where the stoppers 12 and 13 exist. This guide plate
11 is a product drop opening 8 at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG.
Is adjusted to the width dimension A, and at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Thus, it is possible to cope with the size of the width (diameter dimension) of the product for sale.

The merchandise container 7 accommodates merchandise to be sold from the upper part thereof. When a coin is inserted into the coin insertion slot 3 and an appropriate select switch 4 is operated, the lower merchandise fall port 8 is opened. It is designed to fall. That is,
After the second stopper 13 protrudes, the first stopper 12 is retracted, whereby the lowermost product falls from the drop opening 8 and is received by the delivery chute 17 (see FIG. 5). It is guided to the above-mentioned product outlet 5. After this,
The first stopper 12 is projected, and the second stopper
13 is pulled in and each product is lowered one step at a time. In this case, the product is stopped by the first stopper 12 and the guide plate 11.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above configuration, when the width of the guide plate 11 is reduced as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, in other words, each support shaft 14 of the guide plate 11 At the lower end of the upper guide groove 15,
When the product is fitted to the lower end of the lower guide groove 16, a situation may occur in which the product does not fall from the product drop opening 8. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the first stopper 12 protrudes, the lowermost product (shown by a solid line) is stopped by the stopper 12 and the guide plate 11, and the product Each product is in a state of being sequentially placed on the top. However, the state of stacking of the products is variously deformed. In some cases, the products at the second tier from the bottom come into contact with the upper portion of the guide plate 11 (the guide piece 11b), thereby causing the guide plate 11 to move in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Receives rotational power in the X direction.

In such a sales standby state, the second stopper 13 projects and the first
When the stopper 12 is retracted, the lowermost product drops, and the second and subsequent products Ha, Hb,... From the second lower stage as shown by the two-dot chain lines ha, hb,. Fall until supported. In this process, the guide plate 11 receives the rotational force in the above-described direction of the arrow X, and there is no product below the second stopper 13.
In the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line, and may be locked at an abnormal position (a position in which the stenosis is opened upward). That is, in the lower guide groove 16, the lower support shaft 14
Move in the direction of the arrow g due to the rotational force in the direction of the arrow X. In the state of the two-dot chain line, when returning to the sales standby state (the first stopper 12 projects and the second stopper 13 is retracted), the next time the lowermost product ha 'is sold, this product is sold. Will not fall.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that can reliably drop a product in a product storage unit when the product is to be sold.

[Constitution of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a product storage unit that stores sales products in order from the top and has a lower part as a product drop port, and a side part of the product drop port of the product storage unit. A stopper which is provided so as to be able to appear and disappear in the product, an upper guide groove formed in a U-shape at an upper portion of the left and right sides of the product drop opening, and a left and right side portion of the product drop opening, respectively. The stopper has a lower guide groove formed in a U-shape in which both ends are directed obliquely downward in a lower portion, and a support shaft movably fitted in each of the guide grooves in upper and lower portions of left and right edges. A guide plate which is moved in the direction of approach / separation with respect to the side where the product exists, and adjusts the width of the product drop opening to the width dimension of the product to be sold. Formed to have a shape that extends almost straight Having the features the time.

In this case, a concave portion may be further formed at the lowermost side edge of the lower guide groove.

(Operation) In a state in which each support shaft of the guide plate is fitted into a lower portion of each guide groove, even if a turning force is applied to the guide plate from a product, the lower end of the lower guide groove has a substantially straight shape. Therefore, the sliding of the support shaft is prevented, so that the guide plate is not locked at an abnormal position (a position where the guide plate is opened and constricted).

In this case, if the concave portion is formed at the lowermost side edge of the lower end of the lower guide groove, which is substantially straight, sliding of the support shaft can be more reliably prevented.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIGS. 4 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Therefore, the features of this embodiment will be described. The lower guide groove 21 basically has a U-shape whose both end portions are directed obliquely downward as in the conventional case, but is formed such that the lower end portion has a shape extending straight downward. Also, the upper guide groove 22
The upper guide groove 22 is basically formed in the same shape as that of the related art, but the upper guide groove 22 is also formed so that the lower end portion thereof extends downward.

In this configuration, when the guide plate 11 is adjusted to a position that narrows the product drop opening 8, in other words, the guide plate 11
11 each shaft 14 at the lower end of upper guide groove 22, lower guide groove
When fitted to the lower end of 21, depending on the stacking state of the products, the second stage product comes in contact with the upper portion of the guide plate 11 (guide piece portion 11 b), whereby the guide plate 11 In some cases, a turning force may be received in a direction indicated by an arrow X in FIG.

However, according to the present embodiment, even if the rotating force acts on the guide plate 11 from the product, since the lower end portion 21a of the lower guide groove 21 is straight, the second product from the bottom is the second stopper.
When the lowermost product is dropped after being stopped by 13, sliding of the support shaft 14 in the direction of the arrow g is prevented at the side edge of the lower end 21 a, so that the guide plate 11 is It is not locked at an abnormal position, that is, a position where the upper opening and lower stenosis occur (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8). Therefore, when a product is to be sold, the product in the product storage section can be reliably dropped.

In the above embodiment, the lower end portion 21a of the lower guide groove 21
And the lower end 22a of the upper guide 22 is formed to extend straight downward. However, as shown in FIG. 2 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, the lower end 23a of the lower guide groove 23 and the upper guide 24 are formed.
The lower end 24a may have a slightly inclined shape.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and differs from the first embodiment in the following points. That is, while forming the concave portion 25 at the side edge of the lower end portion 21a of the lower guide groove 21,
A concave portion 26 is formed at the side edge of the lower end portion 22a of the upper guide 22. Particularly, the concave portion 25 of the lower guide groove 21 can effectively suppress the upward sliding of the support shaft 14, and thus the support shaft 14 Can be more reliably prevented from sliding.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention can obtain the following effects.

In the vending machine according to the first aspect, the support shaft of the guide plate that adjusts the width of the product drop opening of the product storage portion according to the product width can be prevented from sliding in the lower guide groove. It is possible to prevent the guide plate from being locked at an abnormal position where the guide plate is opened upward and constricted, so that when a product is to be sold, the product in the product storage portion can be reliably dropped.

In the vending machine according to the second aspect, sliding of the support shaft can be more reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 to 8 show a conventional example, FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view, FIG. 5 is a vertical side view of a product storage section and a product take-out portion, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a guide plate, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view of a product drop opening portion. In the figure, 1 is a cabinet, 2 is a main door, 7 is a product storage portion, 8 is a product drop opening, 11 is a guide plate, 12 is a first stopper, 13 is a second stopper, 21 is a lower guide groove, 21a Is a lower end portion, 22 is an upper guide groove, 23 is a lower guide groove, 23a is a lower end portion, 24 is an upper guide groove, and 25 is a concave portion.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A product storage section for storing sales products in order from the top and a lower portion as a product drop port, and a product storage section provided on the side of the product drop port of the product storage section so as to be able to come and go to stop the sales products. A stopper, upper guide grooves formed in the shape of a letter in upper portions of the left and right sides of the product drop opening, and both ends thereof are directed obliquely downward to lower portions of the left and right portions of the product drop port. It has a U-shaped lower guide groove, and a support shaft movably fitted in each of the guide grooves at the upper and lower portions of the left and right edge portions, and moves in a direction approaching / separating from a side portion where the stopper exists. And a guide plate for adjusting the width of the product drop opening to the width dimension of the product for sale, wherein the lower guide groove is formed such that the lower end portion thereof has a shape extending substantially straight downward. Vending machine characterized by the following. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the lower guide groove has a concave portion at a lowermost side edge.