JP5071051B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a can. The present invention relates to a vending machine that handles products such as bottles and plastic bottles, and more particularly to an assembly structure of a serpentine type product storage rack mounted on a vending machine.

First, FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of a vending machine that is an object of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a main body cabinet of a vending machine, 2 is an outer door, 3 is a heat-insulating inner door, and a cooling / heating unit (not shown) is placed in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1 together with a serpentine product storage rack 4. Is installed. In addition, 5 is a merchandise carry-out shooter, 6 is a merchandise take-out port, and 7 is a refrigerator for cold storage in a warehouse.
Here, in the large selection vending machine of multi-selection, the product storage rack becomes a large heavy item, so the rack is divided into front and rear parts and mounted in the warehouse in consideration of handling during assembly and maintenance. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Next, the structure of the serpentine type product storage rack 4 adopting the divided structure is shown in FIGS. The product storage rack 4 in the illustrated example is divided into a front rack 4A and a rear rack 4B, each of which is an independent assembly. The front rack 4A is a triple serpen rack (triple rack), and the rear rack 4B is a double serpen rack ( (Double rack).
Here, the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B are rails that define a pair of rack side plates 8 that are erected on the left and right sides, and meandering product storage passages 9 that are laid between the rack side plates 8 and lined up in the front and rear rows ( 10), and a top tray laid inside the rack in a manner connecting the upper end inlet of the product storage passage 9 of each rack and the product inlet opening opened in the front of the front rack 4A. 11 and a bend mechanism 12 incorporated on the lower carry-out end side of each commodity storage passage 9. Further, among the top trays 11 described above, the top tray 11A corresponding to the product storage passage 9 of the front rack 4A is installed in the front rack 4A from the beginning, but corresponds to the product storage passage 9 of the rear rack 4B. The top tray 11B is laid so as to skew between the racks across the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B. The front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B are suspended and supported on the ceiling in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1 via suspension brackets 4A-1 and 4B-1 (see FIG. 5) provided at the top of the rack, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of the top tray 11 mounted on the serpentine product storage rack 4 (see, for example, Patent Document 2). This top tray 11 is a U channel type tray in which side walls 11b are erected on the left and right edges of the bottom plate 11a along the longitudinal direction. The products on the tray are arranged on the bottom plate 11a according to the size (length) of the input products. A left / right movable top guide 11c for adjusting the width of the rolling passage is provided. Further, in order to variably set the distance between the rear end of the top tray 11 and the uppermost rear rail defining the product storage passage 9 in accordance with the diameter size of the product, the top tray 11 is attached to the rack side plate 8. It is guided and supported so as to be movable and adjustable in the front-rear direction along a provided irregular groove (not shown).
The serpentine-type product storage rack 4 having the above-described configuration is well known, and in order to replenish products to the rack, the product 13 (cans, bottles, plastic bottle products) is placed on the top tray 11 from the front of the rack in a laterally inverted posture. In As a result, the product 13 is transferred to the slope of the top tray and moves backward, falls from the end of the product 13 into the product storage passage 9, and is stored in a vertical line.
JP-A-10-162234 JP 2003-242556 A

By the way, the above-described serpentine type commodity storage rack of the conventional structure has the following problems in the assembly work of the rack. That is, in order to construct the product storage rack 4 in the cabinet of the main body cabinet 1 with the vending machine of FIG. 3, the rear rack 4B is first mounted and set in the back of the cabinet as the work procedure, and then the front rack 4A is accommodated and superimposed on the front surface of the rear rack 4B. In this rack assembly state, in order to lay the long top tray 11B leading to the product storage passage 9 of the rear rack 4B in the rack, the product input port opened from the front of the cabinet 1 to the front surface of the front rack 4A. It is inserted and inserted so as to be skewered between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B, and is locked and fixed at a predetermined position.
However, as shown in FIG. 7A, if there is a slight left-right step Δh between the rear edge of the front rack 4A and the front edge of the rear rack 4B, the top tray inserted into the front rack 4A. When the rear end of 11B reaches the joint between the rear rack 4B, the rear end corners of the left and right side walls 11b of the top tray 11B are the front end edges of the side plates 8 of the rear rack 4B as shown in FIG. If it hits, it will be blocked. Note that, as described above, the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B are separately suspended and supported on the ceiling of the cabinet via the hanging metal fittings 4A-1 and 4B-1 (see FIG. 5) provided on the tops thereof. In addition, in the assembled state before the top tray 11B is laid, the above-described step Δh is likely to occur at the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B due to the deviation of the rack posture.

For this reason, when the above-described catching occurs when laying the top tray 11B, conventionally, the rack hanging posture is corrected, and the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B is abutted without any step. The top tray 11B is pushed to a predetermined position. However, since this work takes time, an improvement measure is desired. Such assembling problems also occur during maintenance work (rack disassembly and reassembly) performed at the installation site of the vending machine.
Further, in the product storage rack shown in FIG. 5, the top tray 11B (the second tray from the top shown in FIG. 5) corresponding to the front product storage passage 9 defined in the rear rack 4B is placed in the product rack. When the movement is adjusted back and forth in accordance with the diameter size, the rear end of the top tray 11B moves through the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B. That is, in the state where the distance between the rear end of the top tray 11B and the rail of the product storage passage 9 is set according to the large diameter product, the rear end of the side wall 11b (see FIG. 6) of the top tray 11B. Is located on the front rack 4A side (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, the stored product is changed to a product with a small diameter size, and the distance between the rear end of the top tray 11B and the rail of the product storage passage 9 is set according to the small size product accordingly. When the top tray 11B is pushed in from the front of the rack, the side wall 11b of the top tray passes through the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B. Therefore, if any level difference remains in the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B, the rear end of the top tray 11B becomes the level difference between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B as described above. The setting operation cannot be performed smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. The purpose of the present invention is to assemble a split-type serpentine-type product storage rack, even if a slight level difference remains in the seam between the front rack and the rear rack. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vending machine having an improved top tray structure so that the step can be corrected (self-alignment) while the tray is pushed into the rack from the front, so that the top tray can be easily laid.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a vending machine in which a serpentine-type product storage rack mounted in a product storage is divided into a front rack and a rear rack and is stored in the storage. A serpentine-shaped product storage passage is formed between the side plates for storing products in a vertical line, and a U-channel top tray is formed by connecting an upper end inlet of the product storage passage and a product input opening opened in front of the front rack. The top tray that is laid in the rack across the front rack and the rear rack is connected to the tray in the product storage passage of each rack through the top tray. An R-shaped tray insertion guide projecting laterally from the left and right corners at the rear of the bottom plate is provided (Claim 1), and specifically, the tray insertion guide is configured in the following form. That.
(1) The tray insertion guide of the top tray is a substantially semi-circular tab-like protrusion protruding sideways from the side edge of the tray bottom plate.
(2) In the preceding item (1), the protruding height of the tray insertion guide is set to be larger than at least the protruding width of the side wall standing along the left and right side edges of the top tray .

  According to the above configuration, even when the top tray leading to the product storage passage of the rear rack is inserted and laid from the front of the front rack, even if there is a slight level difference in the seam between the front rack and the rear rack, In the process of pushing the top tray, the R-shaped tray insertion guide formed on the side edge of the rear end pushes away the protruding part of the rack, and the level difference between the racks is corrected (self-alignment). Can greatly improve. In addition, since the step at the joint between the front rack and the rear rack is corrected after the rack is assembled, the setting work is also performed by moving the top tray linked to the rear rack back and forth according to the diameter size of the product. It can be performed smoothly without being caught.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the examples shown in FIGS. 1 (a) is a perspective view of the entire top tray, FIG. 1 (b) is an enlarged plan view of a portion A in FIG. 1 (a), and FIG. 1 (c) is an end face as viewed from the direction P in FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of the self-alignment function of the rack with the top tray structure of FIG. 1, and the members corresponding to FIGS. .
That is, the top tray 11B laid between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B in the divided serpentine product storage rack 4 shown in FIG. 5 is replaced with the top tray 11B of the embodiment shown in FIG. R-shaped tray insertion guides 11d are newly formed at the left and right corners of the rear end of the tray bottom plate 11a. The tray insertion guide 11d is a substantially semi-circular tab-like protrusion protruding laterally from the side edge of the tray bottom plate 11a, and its protruding height H is greater than the protruding width d of the tray side wall 11b rising from the side edge of the bottom plate 11a. It is set slightly larger, and the tip of the protrusion protrudes outward from the side wall 11b by Δd.
Next, the self-alignment function of the rack by the tray insertion guide 11d will be described with reference to FIGS. That is, the rear end of the top tray 11B inserted from the front of the front rack 4A in a state where a step Δh is formed at the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B mounted in the cabinet as described in FIG. Is inserted into the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B (see FIG. 2A), the rear rack 4B in which the semicircular tray insertion guide 11d formed at the rear end corner of the top tray 11B protrudes into the joint. The side wall 8 is pushed away to the side and passes through the joint (see FIG. 2B). As a result, the butting between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B is corrected, and the top tray 11B can be pushed and laid in a predetermined position without being obstructed by the step Δh, so that the assembly workability can be improved.

After the rack assembly is completed as described above, the step Δh between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B is corrected, so that the setting is made according to the product diameter of the top tray 11B linked to the rear rack 4B. Work can be performed smoothly without being caught in the seam, and workability is improved. That is, the top tray 11B is mounted on the rack so that the distance between the rear end of the top tray 11B and the rail of the product storage passage 9 (see FIG. 5) is changed from the passage width of the large-diameter product to the passage width of the small-diameter product. When the rear end of the left and right side walls 11b of the top tray 11B passes through the joint between the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B when the rear tray is pushed in from the front and adjusted for movement, the front rack 4A and the rear rack 4B Since the level difference Δh is corrected, the setting operation described above can be performed smoothly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram of the top tray by the Example of this invention, (a) is a rear perspective view of the whole top tray, (b) is the A section enlarged plan view of (a), (c) is the arrow P of (b). End view from the direction FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of a self-alignment function by a tray insertion guide provided on the top tray of FIG. 1, respectively, before and after the top tray inserted from the front of the rack passes through the joint between the front rack and the rear rack. Plan view showing the state of Overall configuration of vending machine The structure perspective view of the division | segmentation type | mold serpentine type goods storage rack mounted in the warehouse of FIG. Side view showing the rack internal structure of FIG. Conventional configuration diagram of the top tray in FIG. It is explanatory drawing showing the behavior at the time of laying the top tray of a conventional structure straddling a front rack and a rear rack, (a), (b) is the top tray inserted from the rack front, respectively. A plan view showing a state immediately before passing through the seam step between the two, and a state in which insertion is hindered by the step.

Explanation of symbols

1 Main Cabinet of Vending Machine 4 Serpentine Type Product Storage Rack 4A Front Rack 4B Rear Rack 8 Rack Side Plate 9 Product Storage Path 11 Top Tray 11B Top Tray 11a Tray Bottom Plate 11b Side Wall 11d Tray Insertion Guide

Claims (3)

A vending machine that divides a serpentine-type product storage rack mounted in the product storage into a front rack and a rear rack and stores it in the storage, and stores the products in a meandering manner between the left and right side plates of the rack In addition to defining a storage passage, a U-channel top tray is laid by connecting the upper end inlet of the product storage passage and a product input opening that opens in front of the front rack, and the input product is routed through the top tray. In what was sent to the product storage passage of each rack,
An automatic vending machine provided with an R-shaped tray insertion guide extending laterally from the left and right corners at the rear of the tray bottom plate for the top tray laid across the front rack and the rear rack. . 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the tray insertion guide of the top tray is a substantially semicircular tab-like protrusion protruding sideways from the side edge of the tray bottom plate. 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the protruding height of the tray insertion guide is set to be larger than at least the protruding width of the side wall standing along the left and right side edges of the top tray .

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