JP5282587B2 - Product storage column - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a product storage column that is mounted on a vending machine and transports products stored in a line in the front-rear direction from the rear to the front, whereby the products are paid out from the front end.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a product storage column that is mounted on a vending machine and transports products stored in a line in the front-rear direction from the rear to the front, whereby the products are paid out from the front end. The product storage column is a bowl-shaped case having a U-shaped cross section, and is arranged at the front end of the column case in which the products are stored in a line in the front-rear direction in a standing posture, and restrains the products in the storage position. A gate mechanism and a pusher mechanism that pushes out a product from behind are provided. The pusher mechanism is connected to a belt stretched between a pair of front and rear pulleys, a screen-like pusher that is connected to the belt and pushes the product from behind the products arranged in the last row of the column case, and a pulley on the front side. And a gear to which power is transmitted. The pusher clamps the belt from above and below between a leg piece claw projecting on the back side of the belt and a leg piece of a clip pivotally connected to the back of the pusher.

  In this product storage column, after opening the gate mechanism and releasing the restraint of the product, the pusher is moved from the rear to the front by circulating the belt through the gear and the front pulley, so that the pusher The product is paid out from the front end.

  In this product storage column, when replenishing the product, the clip is tilted by manual operation to loosen the connection between the pusher and the belt, and the pusher is slid backward to store the product in the column case. An area is secured (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, the product storage column described above is determined to be sold out and outputs a sellout signal when the product is not paid out even if the gear is rotated for a predetermined set time. Therefore, when the last product is paid out and it is requested to pay out more products from the empty product storage column (when the user selects an empty product storage column), the pusher Despite moving to the sold-out position (stroke end), the pusher tries to move further forward. In this case, since the pusher cannot move, the drive motor that rotates the gear is locked, and an overload is applied to the drive motor.

  In order to avoid such a situation, there has been proposed a commodity storage column provided with a motor lock preventing means for causing the front pulley (drive pulley) to idle when the pusher moves to the sold-out position (stroke end). Specifically, a part of the tooth belt in the peripheral area of the toothed belt that meshes with the front pulley (drive pulley) is omitted so that the drive pulley is idle at a position corresponding to the sold-out position (stroke end). The surface is flat (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-10-302140 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-154268

  However, in the product storage column provided with the motor lock prevention means described above, a part of the peripheral area of the toothed belt is lost so that the drive pulley rotates idly with respect to the belt when the pusher moves to the sold-out position. It must be a flat surface, and the pusher must be accurately positioned and attached to the flat surface, so that workability is poor and, in combination with an expensive toothed belt, the cost increases. Has a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a commodity storage column that is simple and inexpensive in that the belt is idled when the pusher moves to the sold-out position.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention has a base that extends from the rear to the front and has a regulation guide formed on the side surface from the rear to the front, and a front end of the base. A belt that is wound around a drive pulley that is supported and a driven pulley that is rotatably supported at the rear end of the base, and circulates when the drive pulley is rotated, and a regulation guide that is attached to the belt and that is attached to the belt And a pusher that moves from the rear to the front together with the belt.The pusher includes a claw that is attached to the belt from above, and a protrusion that is fitted and guided by the regulation guide. the integrally provided, the regulating guide becomes a forwardly upwardly toward the sold-out position from the last sold-out position at which the stroke end of the pusher, through the projection to be guided to the regulating guide Te lifted the pusher upwards, and the pawl in the sold-out position is characterized by being inclined so as to leave from the belt.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the belt has a mesh on which a pusher is attached.

  In the commodity storage column according to the present invention, the guide disengages the pusher from the belt at the sold-out position that becomes the stroke end of the pusher, so that the pusher stays at the sold-out position and the belt idles. Therefore, an overload does not act on the drive motor that rotates the drive pulley. Further, even when a product is replenished, it is only necessary to move the pusher backward, and there is no need to rotate the belt.

It is a front view which shows the external appearance of the vending machine with which the goods storage column which is embodiment of this invention was mounted. It is a perspective view which shows the state which open | released the outer door of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the goods storage column which is embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the belt mechanism shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the base shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the pusher shown in FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the pusher with which the belt was mounted | worn. It is a sectional side view which shows the principal part of a pusher, Comprising: The state before the start of detachment | leave is shown. It is a sectional side view which shows the principal part of a pusher, Comprising: The state immediately after the start of detachment | leave is shown. It is a sectional side view which shows the principal part of a pusher, Comprising: The state just before completion | finish of detachment | leave is shown. It is a sectional side view which shows the principal part of a pusher, Comprising: The state after completion | finish of detachment | leave is shown.

  Embodiments of a product storage column according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the product storage column 6 described here is mounted on a vending machine in which products stored inside can be visually recognized from the outside. As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine on which the commodity storage column 6 is mounted includes a box-shaped main body cabinet 1 having an open front surface and an outer door 2 that closes the front opening of the main body cabinet 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the interior of the main body cabinet 1 is defined by a partition plate 11 into an upper area that occupies about 80% and a lower area that occupies about 20%, and the upper area that occupies about 80% The lower area which comprises the chamber 12 and occupies about 20% constitutes the machine room 13. A product storage rack 3 is stored in the product storage chamber 12. The product storage rack 3 includes a product storage column 6 according to an embodiment of the present invention in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction (for example, 7 rows in the example shown in FIG. 2) and a plurality of stages in the vertical direction (for example, in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the product storage columns 6 arranged in the left-right direction are mounted on one rack 31 and the product storage columns 6 having the same height are mounted. It can be pulled out at a time from the storage position to a predetermined drawing position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bucket 4 is moved in the left-right direction (X direction) and the up-down direction (Y direction) in the front area of the product storage rack 3 to receive the product from the selected product storage column 6, A bucket device (not shown) for transporting to the transport position is provided. When the bucket 4 moves to the front of the selected commodity storage column 6, it engages with a gear 616, which will be described later, and a drive gear (not shown) that transmits a driving force to the gear 616, and a drive that drives the drive gear. A motor and a pusher (not shown) for pressing a lever 623 described later are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an inner door 5 is provided in front of the bucket device. The inner door 5 is a door that closes the front opening of the commodity storage chamber 12, and achieves energy saving by adopting a double structure of the outer door 2 and the inner door 5. The inner door 5 is configured by fitting a glass plate 51 into a frame body 52 so that a product stored in the product storage column 6 can be visually recognized from the outside. In addition, a merchandise carry-out port 53 is provided on the right side of the inner door 5 at a position substantially one third of the height direction. The product carry-out port 53 is a rectangular hole for carrying out the product from the inside of the product storage chamber 12 to the outside, and the product is carried out from the bucket 4 moved to the carry-out position toward the product carry-out port 53. ing. The product carry-out port 53 is closed by the carry-out flapper 54, and the product carried out from the bucket 4 to the product carry-out port 53 pushes the open-out port flapper 54 to open the product carry-out port 53. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a glass plate 21 is fitted into the outer door 2, and products stored in the product storage column 6 can be visually recognized from the outside via the glass plate 21 and the inner door (glass plate 51) 5. It is like that. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a product outlet 22 is provided in the middle of the outer door 2. The product take-out port 22 is a rectangular hole for taking out the product carried out from the product carry-out port 53, and is provided at a position below the product carry-out port 53. The product outlet 22 is closed by an outlet flapper 23, and the product outlet 22 is opened when the user pushes open the outlet flapper 23 from the outside.

  The product storage column 6 according to the present embodiment is configured to deliver the products stored in a line in the front-rear direction from the rear to the front, thereby delivering the products from the front end to the bucket 4. 62 and a partition 63 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the belt mechanism 61 conveys a product from the rear to the front, and includes a base 611 extending from the rear to the front. As shown in FIG. 5, a groove 611a extending from the rear to the front is formed on the upper surface of the base 611 so as to avoid a claw 617a1 described later. In addition, a regulation guide (guide groove) 611b from the rear to the front is formed on the side surface (both side surfaces) of the base 611, and a projection 617c1 described later is fitted and guided. A driven pulley 612 is rotatably supported at the rear end portion of the base 611 (see FIG. 7), and a drive pulley 613 is rotatably supported at the front end portion of the base 611 (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, a belt 614 is wound between the driven pulley 612 and the driving pulley 613. The belt 614 is formed by a braided belt, and meshes 614a through which claws 617a1 to be described later are inserted are continuously formed in a ladder shape at both edges. The drive shaft 615 of the drive pulley 613 is provided with a gear 616 to which power for rotating the drive pulley 613 is transmitted.

  The belt mechanism 61 includes a pusher 617 that is attached to the belt 614 and guided by the restriction guide 611b and moves from the rear to the front together with the belt 614.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pusher 617 includes a base portion 617a that contacts the belt 614 when attached to the belt 614, a pusher portion 617b that extends upward from the base portion 617a and supports the product from the back, and a base portion 617a. Claws 617a1 which are provided in front of the back surface and are inserted into the mesh 614a when attached to the belt 614, guide portions 617c extending downward from both side edges of the base portion 617a, and provided in front of the inside of each guide portion 617c. And an oval projection 617c1 that fits into the regulation guide 611b when attached to the belt 614.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the regulation guide 611 b described above is inclined so as to rise from the position immediately before the sold-out position that becomes the stroke end of the pusher 617 toward the sold-out position. This inclination is for detaching the pusher 617 from the belt 614 at the sold-out position. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the protrusion 617c1 comes into contact with the inclination, the detachment starts. Then, as shown in FIGS. 8-2 and 8-3, the protrusion 617c1 is guided to be inclined, the pusher 617 is lifted little by little, and the claw 617a1 is gradually removed from the belt 614. As shown in FIG. 8-4, when the pusher 617 reaches the sold-out position at the stroke end, the claw 617a1 is completely removed from the belt 614, and the pusher 617 is detached from the belt 614.

  The gate mechanism 62 closes the front end of the product storage column 6 to prevent the product from dropping due to vibration or the like, and allows the product to be paid out by opening the front end of the product storage column 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the belt mechanism 61 is disposed on the right side of the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the gate mechanism 62 includes a frame 621 formed in a narrow box shape, a gate 622 that is supported by the frame 621 and closes the front end of the product storage column 6, and a front surface of the frame 621. And a lever 623 that is pressed when the gate 622 is opened.

  The frame 621 defines a product storage area at the front right side of the product storage column 6 and rotates the gate 622 so as to open the front end of the product storage column 6 when the lever 623 is pressed. A gate opening / closing mechanism (not shown) that rotates the gate 622 so as to close the front end of the commodity storage column 6 when the lever 623 is released is accommodated.

  The partition 63 is provided continuously with the frame 621, and defines a product storage area on the right side of the product storage column 6, and is formed in a narrow box shape like the frame 621.

In the vending machine described above, when a product (a product storage column 6 in which products are stored) is selected, the bucket 4 moves to the front of the product storage column 6 in which the selected products are stored, and the drive gear. Meshes with the gear 616 and the pusher presses the lever 623.

  When the lever 623 is pressed, the gate 622 is rotated so as to open the front end of the product storage column 6 and the product can be paid out. Thereafter, when the drive gear is rotated, power for rotating the drive pulley 613 is transmitted from the drive gear to the gear 616, and the belt 614 travels so that the pusher 617 moves forward from the rear. Item 4 is paid out. When the commodity is paid out to the bucket 4, the drive gear is disengaged from the gear 616, the pusher is disengaged from the lever 623, and then the bucket 4 is moved to the commodity unloading position.

  When the bucket 4 moves to the merchandise transport position, the merchandise is carried out from the bucket 4 toward the merchandise carry-out port 53, and the merchandise pushes and opens the carry-out flapper 54. become able to.

  By the way, when the last product stored in the product storage column 6 is paid out, the pusher 617 starts to be detached from the belt 614 by the protrusion 617c1 coming into contact with the inclination as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8-2 and FIG. 8C, the protrusion 617c1 is guided to be inclined, the pusher 617 is lifted little by little, and the claw 617a1 is gradually removed from the belt 614. Then, as shown in FIG. 8-4, when the pusher 617 reaches the sold-out position at the stroke end, the claw 617a1 is completely removed from the belt 614, and the pusher 617 is detached from the belt 614.

  Therefore, when the last product is paid out and it is requested to pay out more products from the empty product storage column 6 (when the user selects the empty product storage column 6), Power for rotating the drive pulley 613 is transmitted from the drive gear to the gear 616, and the belt 614 travels. However, the belt 614 rotates idly with respect to the pusher 617, and is excessively transmitted to the drive motor that rotates the drive gear. The load will not act.

  If the product is not paid out to the bucket 4 even after the preset payout time is exceeded, it is assumed that there is no product in the selected product storage column 6 and the products in the product storage column 6 are subsequently sold out. And the product cannot be selected.

  In addition, when a product is replenished to the product storage column 6, the pusher 617 that remains in the sold-out position and tilts backward is moved backward. In this case, since the pusher 617 is tilted backward with respect to the belt surface at the sold-out position, the pusher 617 is moved rearward until the posture becomes perpendicular to the belt surface. In this state, the protrusion 617 c 1 of the pusher 617 comes out of the upwardly inclined slope of the restriction guide 611, and the protrusion 617 a 1 is engaged with the mesh 614 a of the belt 614. In this way, the pusher 617 is moved rearward, and the gear 616 or the drive pulley 613 is reversed to move the pusher 617 backward together with the belt 617, or the pusher 617 is removed once and then attached to the back. , Ensure the storage area of the goods. After the product is replenished, the belt 614 is rotated and the pusher 617 is adjusted so as to support the last product.

  According to the product storage column 6 according to the present embodiment described above, when the pusher 617 moves to the sold-out position at the stroke end and the last product is paid out from the product storage column 6, the regulation guide 611b pushes the pusher 617. Since the belt 614 is separated from the belt 614, the pusher 617 stops at the sold-out position, and the belt 614 is idled. Therefore, an overload does not act on the drive motor that rotates the drive pulley 613. In addition, when replenishing a product, the pusher 617 tilted backward at the sold-out position is moved backward until it reaches a vertical posture, and then the belt 614 is reversed, so that it is detached from the belt 614. The pusher 617 can be easily engaged with the belt 614.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 11 Partition plate 12 Commodity storage room 13 Machine room 2 Outer door 21 Glass plate 22 Commodity outlet 23 Outlet flapper 3 Commodity storage rack 31 Rack 4 Bucket 5 Inner door 51 Glass plate 52 Frame body 53 Commodity exit 54 Carrying Exit flapper 6 Commodity storage column 61 Belt mechanism 611 Base 611a Groove 611b Restriction guide 612 Driven pulley 613 Drive pulley 614 Belt 614a Mesh 615 Drive shaft 616 Gear 617 Pusher 617a Base 617a1 Claw 617c Pusher part 617c Pusher part 617c Pusher part 617c Pusher part 617c Pusher part 617c Pusher part 617c 623 Lever 63 Partition

Claims (2)

A base that extends from the rear to the front and has a side-to-front regulation guide formed on the side, a drive pulley that is rotatably supported at the front end of the base, and a base that is rotatably supported at the rear end of the base A belt that is wound around the driven pulley and circulates when the drive pulley is rotated, and a pusher that is attached to the belt and guided by the regulation guide and moves from the rear to the front together with the belt. In the product storage column
The pusher is integrally provided with a claw that is attached to the belt from above and a protrusion that is fitted and guided by a regulation guide,
The restriction guide rises forward from the position immediately before the sold- out position , which becomes the stroke end of the pusher , toward the sold-out position, and the pusher is lifted upward via the protrusion guided by the restriction guide. A product storage column , wherein the claw is inclined so as to be detached from the belt at a cutting position . The product storage column according to claim 1, wherein the belt has a mesh to which a pusher is attached.

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