JP3929128B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine that has a storage section that is partitioned into front and rear by an inner door, and after the product in the front storage section is sold, the product in the rear storage section is transported to the front storage section and sold. In particular, the present invention relates to the structure of the commodity transport means for transporting the commodity.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the applicant has already proposed an application related to Japanese Patent Application No. 8-54920 as this type of vending machine.
[0003]
This vending machine has a structure in which a large number of product storage rooms, which are individually partitioned and have transparent small doors at the front opening, are arranged in multiple upper and lower stages, and the products stored in this product storage room are sold individually. ing. In addition, the product storage chamber has two storage portions that are separated from each other by an inner door and communicate with each other. Further, in the product storage chamber, product transport means including a product tray for placing products is provided, and the products placed on the product tray can be moved back and forth in the product storage chamber.
[0004]
The merchandise transporting means comprises a merchandise tray and a coil spring provided behind the merchandise tray, and the merchandise tray is biased forward while waiting in the rear storage section. When the product storage tray is made to stand by in the rear storage unit, the forward movement is restricted by closing the inner door. Thereby, the product tray is moved forward by the force from the coil spring by opening the inner door.
[0005]
When selling products using this vending machine, first, the first product is placed on the product tray, placed in the rear storage unit, the inner door is closed, and the second product is placed in the front storage unit. Store. Then, after selling the second product in the front storage section, the inner door is opened and the product tray is moved forward to transport the first product to the front of the product storage room. To sell.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional vending machine, as shown in FIG. 9, when the product A having a small floor area is placed on the product tray 104 (see FIG. 9A), the inner door 103 is opened. When the product tray 104 moves forward, the product A is arranged in the product storage chamber 101 in a state where the product A has moved by a distance S to the rear of the product tray 104 due to inertia, and it may be difficult to see the product A from the front of the product storage chamber 101. (See (b) in the figure). Since the purchaser selects the product by observing the product A from the small door 102 provided in front of the product storage chamber 101 before purchase, the purchaser moves to the back of the product storage chamber 101 as shown in FIG. The product A, which is in a position that is difficult to see, has a drawback in that the purchase efficiency is avoided and the sales efficiency deteriorates. Further, when the product A is placed in the back of the product tray 104 from the beginning, it is difficult to see. That is, since the effect (showcase effect) of displaying the product and appealing to the buyer's vision to urge purchase and promoting the product is reduced, the sales efficiency is lowered. . Here, as the product A having a small floor area, in addition to the small product whose size is generally small, for example, a product such as a bowl product is exemplified.
[0007]
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 in which merchandise is always displayed and stored in a predetermined position where it is easy to see and has a high showcase effect.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a plurality of product storage chambers that are open at the front, a small door installed at the front opening of each product storage chamber, and two storage units that divide the product storage chamber in the front and rear directions. A product made of a magnetic material in a vending machine having an inner door that forms a product and a product tray that moves the product storage chamber back and forth and transports the product placed on the upper surface. The tray is detachably attached, and the placement position of the product in the product tray is regulated.
[0009]
According to the present invention, the product placement position of the product in the product tray can be regulated by the product regulation member, and therefore the product regulation member can move the product storage chamber from the rear side to the front side. Are arranged at predetermined positions without moving backward on the commodity tray. In addition, since the product restricting member provided with the magnet is detachably attached to the product tray made of the magnetic material, the attachment position of the product restricting member can be easily changed or attached according to the shape of the product. it can.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a front view of a vending machine, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vending machine, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a product storage chamber, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an inner door, and FIG. FIG.
[0011]
In this vending machine, an inner box 2 having a front opening is provided in a vending machine main body 1 constituted by a vertically long heat insulating box, and the front opening of the vending machine main body 1 can be freely opened and closed by an outer door 3. Is. A ventilation duct 4 is formed between the vending machine main body 1 and the inner box 2, and the air cooled by the evaporator 6 in the blower 5 is circulated to the ventilation duct 4 (a dashed line arrow in FIG. 2). ), Cooling inside the cabinet. In addition, while an inner door 7 is provided at the front opening of the inner box 2, a large number of product storage chambers 8 are formed in a plurality of stages vertically and horizontally inside the inner box 2, and face each product storage chamber 8. A small door 9 of the product storage chamber 8 is provided at the site of the middle door 7. The small door 9 is formed of a transparent member, and the product A stored in the product storage chamber 8 can be observed from the front of the product storage chamber 8. Further, each of the product storage chambers 8 is formed by incorporating a large number of wires 8a vertically and horizontally so that cool air flows between the product storage chambers 8 adjacent to each other.
[0012]
In addition, a coin insertion slot 10, a bill insertion slot 11, a return lever 12, a return slot 13, a segment indicator 14 for displaying an insertion amount, and the like are installed on the front surface of the vending machine.
[0013]
The product storage chamber 8 has a partition door mechanism 81 that partitions the front and rear, and the partition door mechanism 81 forms storage portions 82 a and 82 b that store the product A in the front and rear. The partition door mechanism 81 has an inner door 812 that is pivotally supported by a substantially gate-shaped support frame 811. The rear door 82b is opened and closed by rotating the inner door 812 up and down. It has become. A torsion coil spring 814 is wound around the rotating shaft 813 to urge the inner door 812 in the opening direction. On the other hand, a solenoid 815 is provided to restrict the rotation of the inner door 812 in the opening direction, and an inner door opening / closing detector (micro switch in this embodiment) 816 for detecting the driving state of the solenoid 815 is provided. Have.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 4, the inner door 812 is made of a substantially rectangular flat plate member and is provided slightly smaller than the height and width of the product storage chamber 8. A locking plate 812a having a hole that engages with the solenoid 815 described above is erected on one of the left and right ends of the back surface of the inner door. Further, the lower end of the inner door 812 is bent in the direction of the rear storage portion 82b to form an inner door flange 812b in order to improve the strength of the inner door 812. Further, a guide member 812c is attached to the lower end of the inner door 812 from the back surface of the inner door 812 to the edge of the inner door flange 812b. This guide member 812c consists of a flat plate-like member, and consists of a guide member main body 812c1 and a pair of guide pieces 812c2 attached to one side of the end portion in the longitudinal direction. This guide piece 812c2 is a plate-like member formed by bending so that the internal angle with the guide member main body 812c1 becomes an obtuse angle (135 ° in the present embodiment), and its end is at the edge of the inner door flange 812b. It is attached to engage. Further, a notch 812d having a height enough for one thumb to enter is provided near the center of the lower portion of the inner door 812, and even if the inner door 812 is being closed or closed, a finger is formed from the notch 812d. Can be inserted.
[0015]
The solenoid 815 has a hook piece 815a having a hook at its tip and a substantially L-shaped actuating piece 815b attached to its plunger. The hook piece 815a faces the locking plate 812a protruding from the back surface of the inner door 812. When the tip of the plunger of the solenoid 815 is at the lower position, the hook piece 815a is locked in the hole of the locking plate 812a. The inner door 812 is maintained in the closed state, and conversely, when it is in the upper position, the hook piece 815a is released from the hole of the locking plate 812a, and the inner door 812 can be opened. On the other hand, the operating piece 815b has its tip opposed to the open / close detector 816, and when the plunger tip is in the lower position, the open / close detector 816 does not detect the drive of the solenoid 815. The drive of the solenoid 815 is detected.
[0016]
In this manner, the product storage chamber 8 divided into two by the partition door mechanism 81 is provided with a transfer device 83 on which the product A is placed and moved. The transport device 83 includes product placing means 831, a coil spring 832, and a spacer 833 that is a product restricting member.
[0017]
The product placing means 831 has a dish-like product tray 831a having an outer frame on the periphery, and the product A is placed on the product tray 831a. The product tray 831a is formed of a magnetic material such as an iron plate, for example. In addition, both sides of the product tray 831a are placed on rod-shaped guide rails 831b disposed at the lower portions of the product storage chamber 8, while a connecting cylinder 831c is fitted into the center of the product tray 831a. Is passed through a track wire 831d arranged across the product storage chamber 8. Thereby, the product tray 831a is slidable across the front and rear storage portions 82a and 82b. The guide rail 831b and the track wire 831d are connected and fixed to support plates (not shown) arranged in front and rear of the product storage chamber 8.
[0018]
The coil spring 832 is disposed between the connecting cylinder 831c and the support plate on the rear side of the product storage chamber 8. The coil spring 832 penetrates the track wire 831d and biases the product tray 831a forward. Yes.
[0019]
The spacer 833 which is a product restricting member is attached to the upper surface of the product tray 831a and restricts the product A placed on the upper surface of the product tray 831a from moving back and forth. The spacer 833 is attached so as to come into contact with the lower rear portion of the product A when the product A is placed at an appropriate position on the product tray 831a according to the shape of the product A. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the spacer 833 includes a rectangular parallelepiped spacer main body 833a made of, for example, resin, and a magnet sheet 833b attached to the bottom surface thereof. As a result, the spacer 833 can be adsorbed and removed on the product tray 831a made of a magnetic material.
[0020]
Next, operations of the inner door 812 and the product tray 831a in the product storage chamber 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the product storage room when the inner door is closed, FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the product storage room when the inner door is opened, and FIG. 8 is a product storage after the product tray has moved forward. It is a schematic side sectional view of a chamber.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 6, when the product tray 831a places the product A and stands by in the rear storage portion 82b, the product tray 831a is pressed forward by the compressed coil spring 832; Forward movement is regulated by the door 812. On the other hand, the inner door 812 is biased in the opening direction by the torsion coil spring 814, but the hook piece 815a connected to the solenoid 815 locks the support plate 812a to maintain the closed state.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 7, when the solenoid 815 is energized and the hook piece 815a moves upward, the inner door 812 is rotated by the torsion coil spring 814. At the same time, the product tray 831 a whose front is regulated by the inner door 812 moves forward together with the product A by the coil spring 832. At this time, the product A placed on the product tray 831a tries to move to the rear of the product tray 831a due to inertia, but the movement is restricted by the spacer 833 and the predetermined position on the product tray 831a is maintained. . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, even after the product tray 831a has moved to the front storage portion 82a, the product A is arranged at a predetermined position on the product tray 831a and is supplied from the outside through the small door 9. Observation of A becomes easy.
[0023]
According to this vending machine, since the spacer 833 is detachably attached on the product tray 831a, even if the product tray 831a is moved from the rear storage portion 82b to the front storage portion 82a, the spacer 833 is disposed. Accordingly, the product A is arranged at a predetermined position without moving backward on the product tray 831a. Further, since the product tray 831a is formed of a magnetic material and the spacer 833 includes the magnet sheet 833b, the attachment position of the spacer 833 can be easily changed or attached according to the shape of the product A. This facilitates the observation of the product A through the small door 9 from the front of the product storage room 8, thereby improving the effect (showcase effect) of inviting purchases and promoting advertisements by displaying the product, As a result, sales efficiency is improved. Furthermore, since the spacer 833 after being attached / detached can be adsorbed and stored in another appropriate part in the vending machine, it is excellent in convenience.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the vending machine of the present invention, since the placement position of the product in the product tray can be regulated by the product regulating member, the product tray has moved the product storage chamber from the rear side to the front side. Even in this case, the product can be prevented from being placed rearward from the beginning by placing the product in a predetermined position without moving backward on the product tray by the product restriction member. In addition, since the product restricting member provided with the magnet is detachably attached to the product tray made of the magnetic material, the attachment position of the product restricting member can be easily changed or attached according to the shape of the product. it can. As a result, it becomes easier to observe the product through the small door from the front of the product storage room, so that the effect of promoting the advertising and promotion of the product through the display (showcase effect) is improved. Increase sales efficiency. In addition, the product restricting member detached from the product tray can be adsorbed and stored in an appropriate part in the vending machine, and thus has excellent convenience.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the vending machine. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a product storage room. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an inner door. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the product storage room when the inner door is closed. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the product storage room when the inner door is opened. FIG. 8 is a view after the product tray is moved forward. Schematic side cross-sectional view of the product storage room of Fig. 9 [Figure 9] Schematic side cross-sectional view of the product storage room of the conventional vending machine [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine main body, 2 ... Inner box, 8 ... Merchandise storage room, 9 ... Small door, 812 ... Inner door, 812b ... Inner door flange, 812c ... Guide member, 812d ... Notch, 814 ... Torsion coil spring, 82a , 82b ... storage section, 831a ... commodity tray, 832 ... coil spring, 833 ... spacer.

Claims (1)

Multiple product storage chambers with front openings, small doors installed at the front opening of each product storage chamber, an inner door that divides the product storage chamber into front and rear to form two storage units, and front and rear product storage chambers In a vending machine equipped with a product tray that transports products placed on the upper surface after moving to
A vending machine characterized in that a merchandise regulating member provided with a magnet is detachably attached to a merchandise tray made of a magnetic material to regulate the position of the merchandise on the merchandise tray.

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