JP3365002B2 - Vending machine product delivery device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention
The present invention relates to a merchandise dispensing device for a vending machine that dispenses commodities one by one. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional product dispensing device for a vending machine is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-76193. This product dispensing device includes a chassis forming one passage wall of a product passage, an upper dam plate and a lower dam plate, a swing link for operating both upper and lower dam plates, a solenoid forming a drive source, and a solenoid. It is configured by incorporating a coil spring provided opposite thereto. The upper and lower weir plates are rotatably mounted at respective bases on support shafts arranged vertically in the vertical direction, and are respectively rotated between a restraining position protruding into the product passage and a retreating position retracting from the product passage. Be moved. An arm portion extending rearward from the base portion extends from the upper weir plate, and a swing link is connected to a tail end of the arm portion. The swing link is swingably connected at an upper end to a plunger of a solenoid, and is swingably connected at a lower end to an arm of the upper dam plate. The arm is urged downward by a coil spring having a lower end fixed to the chassis. On the other hand, an operation pin is horizontally inserted into the middle portion of the arm portion of the upper weir plate, and the engaging portion of the base of the lower weir plate is engaged with the operation pin, and the lower weir plate is rotated. It has become so. [0003] In this configuration, the upper weir plate is in the retracted position,
When the solenoid is excited from the steady state in which the lower weir plate is in the stop position, the swing link is moved up through the plunger, the engagement between the operating pin and the lower weir plate is released, and the lower weir plate is moved to the retracted position. And the upper dam plate is turned to the stop position. Subsequently, when the solenoid is demagnetized, the upper dam plate is rotated to the retracted position via the arm portion by the urging force of the coil spring, and the operating pin engages with the lower dam plate to stop the lower dam plate. Pivoted to the position. As described above, by driving the solenoid, when the lower weir plate is turned to the retreat position, the upper weir plate is turned to the stop position, and when the lower weir plate is turned to the stop position, the upper weir plate is turned. The product is turned to the retracted position, and the products in the product path are paid out one by one. [0004] As described above, in the conventional product dispensing apparatus, the arm portion of the upper weir plate extends rearward, and the swing link is connected to the arm portion. The depth dimension of the entire device was long. On the other hand, the upper weir plate is rotated via the swing link, and the lower weir plate is rotated via the swing link and the arm portion of the upper weir plate, so that the structure is complicated, As the frequency of failures increases,
There has been a problem that the operation timing is easily shifted due to wear of the connecting portion. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a product dispensing device for a vending machine which can reduce the depth dimension of the entire device and simplify the structure. Its purpose is to provide. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a method for projecting a product into a product passage and a method for manufacturing the product in a product passage.
A stop position of the goods support from below, between a retracted position for releasing the support of the saving vital commodity from the commodity passage, the base
An upper dam plate and a lower dam plate which are rotatable around the center are arranged vertically, and when the lower dam plate is turned to the retracted position, the upper dam plate is turned to the stop position, and the lower dam is when the plate is rotated to the stop position, by Rukoto is rotated to the retracted position Kamizeki plate, housed in a state of stacked vertically within the product passageway double
In a product dispensing device of a vending machine for dispensing a number of products one by one, an upper weir plate is opened downward near a base of the upper weir plate.
Having an engaging groove and a guide surface connected to the engaging groove.
And the lower weir plate opens upward near the base of the lower weir plate
Having an engagement groove and a guide surface connected to the engagement groove.
Ri is configured vertically movable between the respective base of Kamizeki plate and lower sheathing board, during upward movement, to press the guide surface of the Kamizeki plate
To rotate the upper dam plate toward the stop position.
At the same time, by engaging the engagement groove of the upper weir plate,
Lock the plate in the stop position, and when moving down, guide the lower weir plate
To rotate the lower weir plate toward the stop position.
And engage with the engagement groove of the lower weir plate.
Ri, an actuating member for locking the stop position the lower weir plate, the upper and lower side
It has a plunger that can move forward and backward, and through the plunger
Te, features, and solenoids for vertically moving the actuating member
Characterized in that that. When the operating member is moved upward through the plunger by the solenoid, the operating member presses the guide surface of the upper dam plate.
To rotate the upper weir plate toward the stop position.
At the same time as engaging the engagement groove of the upper weir plate.
To lock the upper weir plate in the stop position. On the other hand,
When moved down, the operating member presses the guide surface of the lower weir plate
As a result, the lower dam plate is rotated toward the stop position.
And by engaging with the engagement groove of the lower weir plate,
Lock the lower weir plate in the stop position. In this way, the upper and lower weir plates can be directly rotated by the solenoid via the operating member, and the apparatus is configured without using a component extending in the front-rear direction, rotation, and a rotation member. As a result, the device can have a simple structure. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
This product dispensing device is provided below a product rack of a vending machine for canned beverages, and FIG. 1 is a cut-away side view around the product dispensing device below the product rack. As shown in FIG. 1, the product rack 1 has a case 2 in which two product storage columns 3, 3 capable of selling two types of products A, A are arranged back to back. In each product storage column 3, a product path 4 in which a large number of the same products A are stored in the vertical direction is formed. A pair of merchandise dispensing devices 5 and 5 are provided back and forth in front of and below the lower portion of the merchandise rack 1 so as to form one of the pair of merchandise passages 4 and 4, respectively. 5, the goods A in the goods passage 4 are paid out one by one to the outside. In the following description of the commodity dispensing apparatus 5,
The following is an example of what is located on the left side of the figure.
The commodity dispensing apparatus 5 will be described as "right" on the right side, "left" on the left side, "front" on the near side, and "rear" on the back side when viewed from the commodity passage 4 side (front). As shown in the side view of FIG. 2, the front view of FIG. 3, the rear view of FIG. 4, and the exploded perspective view of FIG. 5, each commodity dispensing device 5 is detachably attached to the case 2 of the commodity rack 1. A chassis 11, an upper weir plate 12 and a lower weir plate 13 rotatably attached to the chassis 11, an operating mechanism 14 for rotating the upper and lower weir plates 12, 13, and a solenoid 15 as a drive source; A coil spring 16 is provided to face the solenoid 15. When the solenoid 15 is excited and demagnetized based on the sales command, and the coil spring 16 expands and contracts in response to this, the upper dam plate 12 and the lower dam plate 13 are respectively actuated by the operating mechanism 14 at a predetermined timing. Product A in the product passage 4
It is dropped one by one sequentially from the lowest one.
In this case, the operating mechanism 14 and the solenoid 15 are attached to the right side of the chassis 11 so that they can be disposed so as to overlap with the operating mechanism and the solenoid of the other commodity dispensing device 5 provided back to back in the front-rear direction. Have been. The chassis 11 is formed by bending both sides of a plate material backward. U-shaped grooves formed at the upper and lower ends of the bent portions 21 and 21 are used to support the chassis 2 of the product rack 1 in the vertical direction. It is attached to rods 6 and 6 (see FIG. 2). The front surface of the chassis 11 is formed flat, thereby forming one passage wall of the commodity passage 4. An opening 22 is formed in an intermediate portion of the chassis 11 so that the upper and lower dam plates 12 and 13 face the product passage 4.
Both side edges of the opening 22 are cut and raised rearward, and the support shafts 31 and 41 of the upper and lower dam plates 12 and 13 are supported by the cut and raised portions 23 and 23 at both ends. Chassis 1
1 has a solenoid mounting part 2 bent backward
4 is formed, and a spring mounting portion 25 which is similarly bent rearward is formed at the lower end. It should be noted that reference numeral 26 in FIG.
Is a stopper piece for regulating the retreat position of the lower weir plate 13. The upper weir plate 12 is formed in a rectangular shape with a full width in the opening 22 of the chassis 11, and is rotatable at its base on a support shaft 31 that extends horizontally between the cut-and-raised portions 23 of the chassis 11. Supported. In this state, the upper weir plate 12 is configured to be rotatable between a restraining position protruding obliquely from above into the product passage 4 and a retracting position retracting backward from the product passage 4 through the opening 22 of the chassis 11. Have been. In this stopping position, the tip of the upper weir plate 12 abuts on the product A from obliquely below, and the weight of the product A (the weight of all the products actually stacked and stored) added in the evacuation direction will be described later. An engagement structure between the operating rod 62 and the guide members 63a and 63b;
And is held by the force of the excited solenoid 15.
When the solenoid 15 is demagnetized from this state, the upper dam plate 1
2 rotates so as to be pushed away from the restraining position to the retreat position by the weight of the product A, and automatically returns to the retreat position. On the right side of the upper weir plate 12, there is formed a notch portion 32 whose base portion is notched deeply. Engaging portions 33 extend from the base portion on both sides of the notch portion 32. Has been established. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the engagement portion 33 has an inverted “U” -shaped engagement groove 34 formed downward and a guide surface 35 extending rearward from the engagement groove 34. ing. In the engagement groove 34 and the guide surface 35,
An operation rod (described later) 62 of the operation mechanism 14 for rotating the upper weir plate 12 engages from below. That is, when the operating rod 62 is at the lower end position, the upper dam plate 12 is at the retracted position and the upper dam plate 1
The engagement between the second engagement groove 34 and the operation rod 62 is released, and the guide surface 35 thereof is in contact with the operation rod 62 (see FIG. 6). When the operating rod 62 moves upward from this state, the guide surface 35 is pushed by the operating rod 62 and the upper dam plate 12 rotates forward, and the operating rod 62 moves from the guide surface 35 to the engagement groove 34. To engage. Thereafter, when the operation rod 62 reaches the upper end position, the engagement rod 34 is completely engaged, and the front portion 36 of the engagement groove 34 is
The rotation is restricted in step 2 (see FIG. 7). And
The state in which the rotation is restricted is the stop position of the upper weir plate 12. The lower weir plate 13, like the upper weir plate 12, is formed in the opening 22 of the chassis 11 so as to have a rectangular shape with a full width, and is rotatably supported by a support shaft 41 at the base. Lower dam 1
Numeral 3 is rotatable between a stop position projecting obliquely downward into the product passage 4 through the opening 22 of the chassis 11 and a retracted position retracting rearward from the product passage 4. The lower dam plate 13 abuts the product A obliquely from below, and the weight of the product A applied in the evacuation direction is reduced by the engagement structure between the operating rod 62 and the guide members 63a and 63b and the coil spring 16 as described later. Holding with the power of When the solenoid 15 is excited from this state, the lower weir plate 13
Rotates so as to be pushed away from the restraining position to the retracted position by the weight of the product A. Near the right part of the lower weir plate 13, a cutout part 42 having a cut-out base is formed similarly to the upper weir plate 12, and on both sides of the notch part 42, the base parts are formed. An engaging portion 43 extends from the opening. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the engagement portion 43 has an engagement groove 44 formed in an arc shape facing upward, and a guide surface 45 extending rearward from the engagement groove 44. . An operating mechanism 14 for rotating the lower weir plate 13 is provided in the engagement groove 44 and the guide surface 45.
Are engaged from above. That is, when the operating rod 62 is at the upper end position, the lower weir plate 13 is at the retracted position and the lower weir plate 1
The engagement between the engagement groove 44 and the operation rod 62 is released, and the guide surface 45 is in contact with the operation rod 62 (see FIG. 7). When the operating rod 62 moves downward from this state, the guide surface 45 is pushed by the operating rod 62 and the lower dam plate 13 rotates forward, and the operating rod 62 moves from the guide surface 45 to the engagement groove 44. To engage. Thereafter, when the operating rod 62 reaches the lower end position, it is completely engaged with the engagement groove 44 (see FIG. 6). This state is the stop position of the lower weir plate 13. The solenoid 15 is formed flat and thin,
Screwed to a solenoid mounting portion 24 of the chassis 11. The plunger 51 of the solenoid 15 has a bifurcated distal end, and the upper end of the operating mechanism 14 is sandwiched between the distal ends. In this state, the plunger 51 and the operating mechanism 14 are connected to each other by the pin 52 penetrating the tip of the plunger 51 and the upper end of the operating mechanism 14. When the solenoid 15 is excited, the plunger 51 moves backward (moves upward) against the coil spring 16, and when the solenoid 15 is demagnetized, the plunger 51 moves forward (moves downward) by the urging force of the coil spring 16, and the operating mechanism 14 Will be moved up and down. The operating mechanism 14 includes a main body 61, an operating rod 62 (operating member) fixed to the main body 61, and a pair of left and right guide members 63a, 63 for guiding the movement of the operating rod 62.
3b. The main body 61 is formed in a house shape with the inside being hollowed out in a square shape.
The right half of the engaging portions 33 and 43 of the upper and lower dam plates 12 and 13 faces the portion 5. The main body 61 has an upper end connected to the plunger 51 and a lower end connected to one end of the coil spring 16 fixed to the chassis 11. Accordingly, the main body 61 is moved upward against the coil spring 16 when the solenoid 15 is excited, and is moved downward by the coil spring 16 when the solenoid 15 is demagnetized. As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion between the main body 61 and the plunger 51 is
The pin hole 61a on one side is a long hole vertically long, so that the abrupt advance / retreat of the solenoid 15 can be buffered and transmitted to the operating mechanism 14. An operating rod 62 is attached to a vertically intermediate portion of the main body 61 so as to penetrate horizontally.
The right penetrating end of the operating rod 62 is engaged with the right guide member 63a, and the intermediate portion facing the hollow opening 65 is located at the right half of the engaging portions 33, 43 of the upper and lower dam plates 12, 13. The left penetrating end engages with the left guide member 63b and also engages with the left half of the engaging portions 33, 43 of the upper and lower dam plates 12, 13. The operating rod 62, which moves up and down together with the main body 61, has two guide members 63a, 63
By b, the vertical movement is guided, and the upper end position and the lower end position thereof are regulated. The right guide member 63a is connected to the chassis 11
The two supporting shafts 3 of the upper and lower weir plates 12 and 13 supported by the cut-and-raised portion 23 from the outside.
The end portions of the shafts 1, 41 are fixed so as to pass between the support shafts 31, 41 by penetrating. Further, the left guide member 63b is provided with both notches 32, 42 of the upper and lower weir plates 12, 13.
In the state where it is inserted into
By passing through the support shafts 1 and 41, the support shafts 31 and 41 are fixed so as to pass between the support shafts 31 and 41. In addition, each guide member 63a, 6
3b has a left half projecting rearward, and a guide groove (hole) 66 for guiding the vertical movement of the operating rod 62 is formed in this portion. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each guide groove 66 has an intermediate portion formed as a long hole slightly curved rearward, and the operating rod 62 is engaged with the upper end position of the guide groove 66. In this state, the intermediate portion of the operating rod 62 releases the engagement with the lower weir plate 13 and engages with the engagement groove 34 of the upper weir plate 12.
In the state where the operating rod 62 is engaged with the lower end position of the guide groove 66, the intermediate portion of the operating rod 62 releases the engagement with the upper weir plate 12 and Dam 13
Is engaged with the engaging groove 44. Then, the operating rod 62
Is moved up and down along a gentle arc trajectory between the upper end position and the lower end position. In this case, as shown in FIG.
The load of the product A applied to the operating rod 62 through the spring is supported by the spring force of the coil spring 16 and the guide members 63a and 63b. That is, the guide members 63a and 63b which receive the load of the product A via the operation rod 62
The guide surface (the lower end front surface 66a of the guide groove 66) has an angle substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the load is applied.
Most of the load is released to the chassis 11 via the guide members 63a and 63b, and the remaining vertical component force can be supported by the coil spring 16. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, the load of the product A applied to the operating rod 62 via the upper dam plate 12 is supported by the support force of the solenoid 15 and the guide members 63a and 63b.
That is, the front surface 66b of the upper end portion of the guide groove 66 has an angle substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the load is applied, and most of the load of the product A is released to the chassis 11 via the guide members 63a and 63b, and the remaining vertical direction. Solenoid 1
5 can be supported. Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the dispensing operation of the commodity dispensing device 5 will be described. When the solenoid 15 is excited by a sales command from a steady state in which the upper dam plate 12 is in the retracted position and the lower dam plate 13 is in the stop position as shown in FIG. It is guided by the guide members 63a and 63b and moves upward. When the operating rod 62 moves upward, the engagement between the engaging portion 43 of the lower weir plate 13 and the operating rod 62 is released, and the lower weir plate 13 is moved to the stop position by the weight of the lowest product A, that is, the sales product Aa. To the retracted position. Accordingly, the sales product Aa is dropped downward. On the other hand, at the same time when the engagement between the engagement portion 43 of the lower weir plate 13 and the operation rod 62 is released, the operation rod 62
Are engaged with the engaging portions 33 of the upper weir plate 12, and the upper weir plate 12 is rotated from the retracted position to the stop position. The rotation of the upper weir plate 12 is performed momentarily before the sales product Aa is dropped downward, and the upper weir plate 12 is rotated so that the next sales product Ab is not dropped together with the sales product Aa. Is held diagonally from below. That is, the next sale product Ab is held in the product passage 4, and only the sale product Aa is paid out (the state of FIG. 7). Next, after a moment, the solenoid 15 is demagnetized, and the operating rod 62 is guided by the guide members 63a and 63b by the urging force of the coil spring 16 to move downward. When the operating rod 62 moves downward, the engagement between the engaging portion 33 of the upper weir plate 12 and the operating rod 62 is released, and the upper weir plate 12 is rotated from the restrained position to the retracted position by the weight of the next product Ab. Is done. As a result, the next-sale product Ab is dropped downward. Further, the engaging portion 33 of the upper weir plate 12 and the operating rod 62
At the same time, the actuation rod 62 is engaged with the engaging portion 43 of the lower weir plate 13, and the lower weir plate 13 is rotated from the retracted position to the stop position. The rotation of the lower weir plate 13 is performed momentarily before the next sale product Ab is dropped downward, and receives and holds the next sale product Ab whose lower weir plate 13 is dropped. That is, the process returns to the steady state of the standby for sale shown in FIG. As described above, according to this embodiment, the main body 61 and the operating rod 62 of the operating mechanism 14 which moves up and down are directly connected to the plunger 51 of the solenoid 15 and the upper and lower dam plates 12 and 13 are directly connected. Since the rotation mechanism is configured to be rotated, the structure of the operation mechanism 14 can be simplified, and the operation mechanism 14 can be provided with no rotating or rotating portion. The dimension, that is, the depth dimension of the commodity delivery device 5 can be reduced. In addition, the structure of the guide grooves 66 of the guide members 63a and 63b allows the load of the product A to be efficiently released to the chassis 11, so that even if the structure of the operating mechanism 14 is simplified, the dispensing function of the product A is not hindered. And, on the contrary, the number of failures can be reduced by simplification of the structure. As described above, according to the commodity dispensing device for a vending machine of the present invention, the structure can be simplified without impairing the dispensing function of the commodities, and the entire device can be simplified. This has the effect that the depth dimension can be reduced and, consequently, the vending machine can be made thinner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cut-away side view of a merchandise rack equipped with a merchandise payout device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the commodity dispensing device of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of the commodity dispensing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the commodity delivery device of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the commodity dispensing device of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the lower dam plate is turned to a stop position. FIG. 7 is a side view of the state in which the upper weir plate is rotated to a stop position. [Description of Signs] 1 Commodity rack 4 Commodity passage 5 Commodity payout device 12 Upper weir plate 13 Lower weir plate 14 Operating mechanism 51 Plunger 61 Main body 62 Operating rod A Product

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Masaki Tsuzuki 1311 Kawasaki-cho, Ashikaga-city, Tochigi Prefecture (56) References JP-A-4-148297 (JP, A) JP-A-5-89348 (JP, A) 67695 (JP, U) Hira 5-48876 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 11/24

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] Each of them protrudes into the goods passage and
A stop position for supporting the products in commodity passage from below, between a retracted position for releasing the support of the saving vital the product from the <br/> commodity passage, is configured to be rotatable about the base The upper and lower weir plates are arranged vertically, and when the lower weir plate is turned to the retracted position, the upper weir plate is turned to the stop position,
When the lower barrier plate is rotated to the stop position, by Rukoto rotates the Kamizeki plate to the retracted position, the upper in the product passage
One or more products stored in a stack
In the commodity dispensing device of a vending machine that dispenses pieces one by one , the upper weir plate opens downward near the base of the upper weir plate.
Having an engaging groove and a guide surface continuous with the engaging groove,
The lower weir plate opens upward near the base of the lower weir plate.
Having an engaging groove and a guide surface connected to the engaging groove.
Cage, wherein Kamizeki plate and upper <br/> downward freely configured between each base of the lower sheathing board, during the upward movement, the guide surface of the Kamizeki plate
To move the upper weir plate toward the stop position.
And engage with the engaging groove of the upper weir plate.
By locks the Kamizeki plate stop position, during the downward movement, by pressing the guide surface of the lower sheathing board, the
The lower weir plate is rotated toward the stop position,
By engaging the engagement groove of the lower weir plate, the lower weir plate is controlled.
An operating member that locks at the stop position, and a plunger that can move up and down in the vertical direction.
Through the catcher, the article dispensing device for an automatic vending machine characterized by comprising a solenoid for vertically moving said actuating member.