JP3028014B2 - Vending machine product take-out device - 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 picking-up device which is mounted on a vending machine which sells large-sized bottled products, paper-packed products, etc., and which sends out products taken out of a product storage shelf to a product outlet located in front. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vending machine for selling heavy and easily breakable products such as large bottle products and paper-pack products, a horizontal product storage conveyor lined up and down in the machine, and a product. Combined with a horizontal product take-out conveyor installed facing the outlet and an elevator-type transport mechanism that links between the product storage conveyor and the product take-out conveyor in each stage, and the product was taken out from the product storage conveyor. A system in which goods are sent out to the goods take-out port through the elevator transport mechanism and the goods take-out conveyor in a soft handling manner has already been proposed by the same applicant as the present invention in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-67387.

Further, in the above-mentioned product take-out device, fixed type attitude control guides are provided on both sides of the passage of the product take-out conveyor in order to make it easy to take out the product from the product take-out port. In the course of transport on the product take-out conveyor, the product carried out by the above is changed to a vertical orientation.

[0004]

[0005] By the way, in recent years, the size and shape of product containers tend to be more and more diversified. For this reason, the fixed type attitude control guide alone cannot cope with a large-sized product of an irregular shape, and before the product completely changes to the vertical orientation on the way of being conveyed by the product take-out conveyor, the left and right postures remain in the oblique posture. Locking occurs during the attitude control guide, and often causes a transport trouble in which the transport cannot be carried out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and the above-mentioned problem is solved by adding a simple attitude control means to a product take-out device proposed above to solve the above-mentioned problems and to prevent the product from being transported without trouble. It is an object of the present invention to provide a merchandise take-out device for a vending machine which can be changed to a vertical orientation and smoothly sent to a merchandise take-out port.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a product take-out apparatus, wherein a product carrying posture is changed from a horizontal position to a vertical position on both sides of a product path with respect to a product take-out conveyor. In addition to providing a fixed attitude control guide for guiding, an attitude control flapper is provided in the entrance side passage of the conveyor so as to abut the end of the product to reverse the transport attitude from vertical to horizontal.

Further, the attitude control flapper in the above configuration can be specifically implemented by the following configuration. (1) The attitude control flapper is a vertical flapper that swings around a vertical support shaft, and the flapper is mounted on one of the side walls and is installed so as to protrude toward a passage on the conveyor by spring bias.

(2) The attitude control flapper is a horizontal flapper that swings around a horizontal support shaft, and the flapper is installed so as to be offset to a passage on the conveyor.

[0009]

In the above construction, when a product delivered from the product storage shelf is delivered to the product take-out conveyor via the elevator-type transport mechanism in the horizontal position, the product first has one end in the longitudinal direction at the entrance side of the conveyor. , And the forward movement is regulated by the braking force, and at the same time, the goods are conveyed forward on the conveyor. As a result, the product is forcibly flipped from a horizontal position to an oblique position close to the vertical position at once with the end point where the movement is regulated by the flapper as a fulcrum, and then the flapper is pushed open by the conveying force of the conveyor and rubs through it. . Products that have passed the attitude control flapper are further restrained by fixed attitude control guides arranged on both sides of the conveyor path, further deepening the reversing attitude, changing the oblique attitude to the vertical attitude, The product is sent straight out on the conveyor while keeping its orientation to the product outlet.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1: FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment corresponding to claim 2 of the present invention. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a horizontal product take-out conveyor, and 2 denotes a product storage shelf (not shown). An elevator-type transport mechanism that moves up and down in cooperation with the conveyor 1, 3 is a fixed attitude control guide disposed on both sides of the conveyor 1 along the path of the conveyor 1, and 4 is a conveyor newly added according to the present invention. The vertical flapper 5 for attitude reversal control installed at the entrance end side of 1 is a large bottle product.

Here, the attitude control guide 3 comprises guide plates 3a and 3b forming a pair of left and right side walls, and the guide plates 3a and 3b move from the exit side (front) to the entrance side (rear) of the conveyor 1. It is arranged in a divergent shape toward it.
The vertical flapper 4 is swingably supported by a vertical support shaft 4a attached to the guide plate 3a, and projects to a passage on a conveyor under the bias of a spring (torsion spring) 4b. is set up. In addition, 2a is a bucket of the elevator type transport mechanism, and 2b is a lifting mechanism.

In this configuration, when the product 5 is carried out of the product storage shelf based on the sales command, the product 5 is kept in the horizontal position as shown in the figure, and the bucket 2a of the elevator type transport mechanism 2 is kept.
And the bucket 2a tilts forward at this position and rolls out onto the conveyor 1. On the other hand, the product 5 that has rolled out of the bucket 2a first strikes the vertical flapper 4 on the entrance end side of the conveyor 1, and the right end of the product 5 receives the braking force from the flapper 4 to regulate its movement. The product 5 placed on the top moves forward with the left end (drink side) toward the front by receiving the forward (arrow P) conveying force. Thereby, the product 5
Rotates counterclockwise around the right end of which the movement is regulated by the vertical flapper 4 as shown by the chain line in the drawing, and forcibly reverses the conveying posture on the conveyor from sideways to an oblique posture close to vertical at a stretch. The vertical flapper 4 is pushed open by the conveying force of the conveyor 1 and moves further forward. Then, the product 5 which has passed through the vertical flapper 4 is further deepened in the reversing position along the fixed type posture control guide 3 to change to the vertical position, and from the product take-out conveyor 1 while maintaining that position. It is sent to a product outlet (not shown). Moreover, since the product 5 that has passed through the vertical flapper 4 has changed to an almost vertical oblique attitude, even if the product is large in size, the right and left guide pieces are required to pass through the attitude control guide 3 in the subsequent stage. There is no possibility of causing a transport trouble to be locked between the passages 3a and 3b in the middle of the passage, and the goods are smoothly delivered to the product outlet.

Embodiment 2: FIGS. 3 and 4 show a third embodiment of the present invention.
1 shows an embodiment corresponding to FIG. In this embodiment, the vertical flapper described in the first embodiment is replaced with a horizontal flapper 6 as the attitude control flapper installed on the entrance end side of the product take-out conveyor 1.
Here, the horizontal flapper 6 is swingably supported by being supported by a horizontal support shaft 6a extending over the path of the conveyor 1 and is swingably supported. Is supported by the support shaft 6a at the set position.

The operation of controlling the attitude of the product 5 with this configuration is the same as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the product 5
Pushes the horizontal flapper 6 upward and opens.

[0015]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, in addition to the fixed attitude control guides disposed on both sides of the passage, the product is located at the entrance end of the conveyor with respect to the product take-out conveyor. By adding an attitude control flapper that reverses the transport attitude of the product from horizontal to vertical, the product that has been transported to the product take-out conveyor via the elevator-type transport mechanism is forced from horizontal to vertical in the process of slipping through the flapper. The product can be smoothly sent out to the product exit while maintaining the vertical orientation without any transport trouble such as the product being pinched and locked between the fixed attitude control guides arranged in the subsequent stage. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a product take-out device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a product take-out device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor for taking out goods 2 Elevator type transport mechanism 3 Attitude control guide 4 Vertical flapper (Attitude control flapper) 5 Product 6 Horizontal flapper (Attitude control flapper)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A merchandise take-out device for a vending machine for changing merchandise carried out in a horizontal position from a merchandise storage shelf in the machine to a vertical position in the middle of conveyance and sending the product to a front merchandise outlet. A horizontal type product take-out conveyor installed in the machine in front of the machine, and an elevator type transport mechanism arranged behind it and linking between each column of the product storage shelf and the product take-out conveyor, A fixed-type attitude control guide is provided on both sides of the product path for the product take-out conveyor to guide the product from a horizontal position to a vertical position, and the product comes into contact with the end of the product at the entrance side passage of the conveyor. A product take-out device for a vending machine, comprising a posture control flapper for reversing the conveying posture from vertical to horizontal. 2. The product take-out device according to claim 1, wherein the attitude control flapper is a vertical flapper swinging around a vertical support shaft, and the flapper is mounted on one of the side walls, and is biased by a spring on the conveyor. A product take-out device for a vending machine, which is installed so as to protrude toward a passage. 3. The product take-out device according to claim 1, wherein the attitude control flapper is a horizontal flapper that swings around a horizontal support shaft, and the flapper is installed to be offset to a passage on the conveyor. A unique product removal device for vending machines.