JP2791245B2 - Vending machine drawer-type product storage column - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product storage column of a vending machine in which a product storage column for storing products is hung on a support rail and can be pulled out from a main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vending machine for beverage cans such as cans and bottles, a serpentine-like product passage is formed in a main body, and the beverage can is stored in the product passage, and replenishment of the product is performed in an upper portion of the product passage. Was charged one by one from the charging port.

However, since the serpentine-like passage has a small amount of commodities and the loading operation for replenishing commodities becomes complicated, a configuration in which beverage cans are collectively accommodated recently has been considered as a method of improving this. As shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-116460, a product storage column is provided in a product storage section of the main body so that it can be taken in and out.
When storing beverage cans, the product storage column is pulled out, a door provided on the side of the product storage column is opened, and the beverage cans can be stored collectively from this opening.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drawer-type product storage column is provided with a support rail 54 on the ceiling of the product storage section 51, and the product storage column 53 is mounted on the support rail 54 in the front-rear direction. It is suspended so as to be movable.
However, in the case of this configuration, the product storage column 53 is liable to roll, and the product storage column 53 comes into contact with the adjacent column 53 to make it difficult to take in and out, or the stored product may be displaced and become unloaded. Disturbance in supply and storage work increases. In order to prevent the roll from occurring, a configuration has been considered in which a swing preventing member 58 is provided on the side wall of the product storage column and this is fixed to the main body side wall.

[0005]

As described above, when the anti-sway member 58 is provided on the side wall of the product storage column 53, the main body is provided on at least one side of the product storage column 53 due to the structure for mounting the anti-sway member 58. The wall surface 56 must be facing, and if there is no wall surface, a member for mounting the anti-swing member 58 such as the partition frame 57 is required. In particular, as recently, when the types of sold products increase, the number of the product storage columns 53 also increases, and it is necessary to attach the anti-swing member 58 between the product storage columns.

Accordingly, not only the number of parts is increased and the number of assembling steps is complicated, but also there is an extremely large number of invalid spaces that cannot be used for storing goods because of the necessity of mounting a member such as a partition frame for mounting the anti-sway member. There was a drawback that the vending machine became unnecessarily large in combination with the increase in columns.

[0007] The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances,
An object of the present invention is to provide a product storage column of a vending machine which prevents a large number of product storage columns from being rolled and achieves this with a simple structure and in a space-efficient manner.

[0008]

The product storage column structure of the vending machine according to the present invention comprises a plurality of rows of support rails provided above a product storage section in a main body, and the product storage columns are mounted on the support rails in the front-rear direction. Each of the product storage columns can be pulled out of the product storage box so that each product storage column can be pulled out from the product storage, and an extension rail that expands and contracts in the front-rear direction and a slide rail that has a fixed rail are connected vertically to be integrated, and each extension An outer surface of the rail is fixed to each side wall of the product storage column, and adjacent side walls of the product storage column are connected to each other.

[0009]

The upper end of the product storage column is suspended and supported by a support rail provided at the upper part of the product storage section, and the lower portion is prevented from rolling by a slide rail, which is a swing preventing member provided between the product storage columns. In addition, there is no hindrance in taking the product storage column in and out, and there is no collapse of the product load, and the product can be easily stored in the storage column.

In addition, the slide rails are substantially one piece, and the outer surfaces of the respective extension rails are fixed to the side walls of the adjacent product storage columns to exert the anti-swing action on both sides. No need for body fittings,
The interval between the columns may be about the thickness of the slide rail.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 6, a main door 2 is provided on the front surface of the main body 1 so as to be capable of opening and closing. This main door 2
Has a display section 3 whose upper part is covered with a translucent cover, a coin insertion slot 4 is provided at the center, and a product take-out port 5 is provided at the lower part. In the display section 3, product selection buttons 7 are arranged in line with display cans 6 serving as product samples.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a heat insulating wall 1 is provided inside an insulated inner door 8 and an outer box 9 as shown in FIGS.
In the lower space, there is provided a machine room 12 for accommodating a freezing and heating device such as a cooler for cooling a beverage can and an air circulation fan.

In the product storage section 11, a plurality of product storage columns 13a to 13f are provided. For example, two sets of two front and rear rows are arranged side by side in six rows. Each of the product storage columns 13 a to 13 f is suspended and held by a support rail 14 provided on the ceiling of the product storage 11. A column door 15 is provided on one side of the product storage unit 11 so as to be openable and closable, and the storage of beverage cans is performed by opening the column door 15.

The support rail 14 is, as shown in FIG.
A long fixed rail 17 attached to the ceiling via a mounting bracket 16, an intermediate rail 19 supported on the fixed rail 17 via a large number of balls 18, and a large number of balls mounted on the intermediate rail 19. And an extension rail 21 supported through the support rail 20. And product storage column 1
Reference numerals 3a to 13f are attached to the extension rail via engagement fittings 22. Therefore, the product storage column 13a
13f are supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction along the support rail 14, and by this movement, the product storage columns 13a to 13f can be pulled out from the product storage unit 11.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 23 denotes a chute for guiding a beverage can falling from the storage portion of the product storage column 13 to the product outlet 5 by inserting a coin;
A fan device for circulating the air cooled by the cooler 25 or the air heated by a heater (not shown) into the product storage 11.

The main body wall 2 of the product storage column 13
An anti-sway rail A28 is provided on the lower side of the side wall facing the sixth side and the partition wall 27. Since the anti-sway rail A28 has substantially the same structure as the support rail 14, although not shown in detail, a fixed rail is fixed to a main body wall surface or a partition wall surface, and the intermediate rail is supported by a large number of balls on the fixed rail. The configuration includes a rail and an extension rail. By fixing the extension rail to the side surface of the product storage column, the product storage column, the main body wall surface 26, and the partition wall 27 can be moved in the front-rear direction along the anti-sway rail A27, and can be swung in the lateral direction. It is connected in a suppressed state.

Thus, the product storage columns 13 on both sides
a and 13c are arranged, and the anti-sway rail B is provided below the side wall of the product storage column 13b having no wall surface or partition frame.
29 are provided. The swing-prevention rail B29 has basically the same structure as the support rail 14 and the swing-prevention rail A28, and includes a fixed rail 30, an intermediate rail 32 supported on the fixed rail 30 via a large number of balls 31, and an intermediate rail. An extension rail 34 is also supported on the rail 32 via a number of balls 33. However, this anti-sway rail B29 is a single fixed rail 3 as shown in FIG.
The rail members including the 0, intermediate rails 32, extension rails 34, and the like are arranged left and right upside down and connected vertically by a substantially S-shaped connecting plate 35 to be integrated.

The swing-prevention rail B29 secures each extension rail 34 to a mounting bracket 36, and fixes the mounting bracket 36 to a mounting projection formed on the side wall of the opposing product storage columns 13b, 13c with rivets or the like. doing.

In the above configuration, the case where the second row of product storage columns 13b is pulled out from the left end as shown in FIG. 1, for example, to replenish beverage cans will be described.

The intermediate rail 19 of the support rail 14 is pulled out from the fixed rail 17 by the pulling operation, and
The extension rail 21 extends so as to be pulled out from the intermediate rail 19. At the same time, the intermediate rail 32 and the extension rail 34 also extend from the fixed rail 30 to the upper rail of the anti-sway rail B29, and the product storage column 13b is pulled out of the product storage unit 11 by the extension of each rail. .

At this time, the lower rail of the anti-sway rail B29 does not move. This lower rail is the extension rail 34
Extend when the product storage column 13c to which is fixed is pulled out.

After the product storage column 13b is pulled out, the column door 15 on the side is opened, and the beverage cans are collectively charged through this opening.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the upper portion of the product storage column 13 is supported by the support rail 14 and suspended, and the side of the product storage column 13 is supported by the anti-sway rail A28.
And B29, the product storage column 13 can be prevented from rolling. Therefore, there is no trouble when the product storage column 13 is taken in and out, and the product does not collapse.
It becomes easy to store the product in the column for storing the product.

Furthermore, the swing-prevention rail B29 is substantially a single part, and the outwardly facing surface of each of the extension rails 32 is fixed to the side wall of the adjacent product storage column 13 to exert the anti-sway action on both sides. Therefore, a separate attachment such as a partition frame is not required, and the number of parts is small, so that the number of assembling steps can be simplified. In addition, the structure space for the swing-prevention only needs to be the thickness width of the swing-prevention rail B29, and there is no practically invalid space, and the product storage space can be enlarged.

The two product storage columns 13 do not necessarily have to be arranged in the front-rear direction, and the column door 15 may not be formed on the side wall of the product storage column 13 but may be provided on the front surface of the column. The swing-preventing rail B29 is not limited to a combination of the fixed rail 30, the intermediate rail 32, and the extending rail 34, but may be any sliding rail that can provide a sufficient amount of drawing.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the product to be sold is not limited to beverage cans, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the upper end of the product storage column is suspended and supported by the support rail provided on the upper portion of the product storage section, and the lower portion is provided with the anti-swing member provided between the product storage columns. The slide rail prevents rolling, so there is no difficulty in loading the product due to contact or swing between the columns when the product storage column is taken in and out, and the product is not displaced. Can be easily performed. Moreover, the slide rails are substantially one part, and the outward faces of the respective extension rails are fixed to the side walls of the adjacent product storage columns, respectively, so that both sides are prevented from swinging. The number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced without the need for mounting fixtures. Further, since the spacing between the columns may be about the same as the thickness of the slide rail, there is little ineffective space, and an excellent effect such as a large space for storing goods can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an entire door opening state showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a support rail.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of a slide rail.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the main body.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side view of the main body.

FIG. 6 is an overall front view.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a conventional main body.

FIG. 8 is a conventional cross-sectional plan view.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a main body, 2 is a main door, 11 is a product storage unit, 13a
13f is a product storage column, 14 is a support rail, 29 is an anti-swing rail B, and 35 is a connecting plate.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic vending machine in which a plurality of product storage columns are hung on a plurality of support rails provided above a product storage portion in the main body so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and each product storage column can be pulled out from the product storage. In the machine, an extension rail extending and contracting in the front-rear direction and a slide rail having a fixed rail are vertically connected and integrated, and the outer surface of each extension rail is fixed to the side wall of the product storage column to be adjacent to the product storage column. A drawer-type product storage column for a vending machine, characterized in that the side walls are connected to each other.