JPS588026B2 - Stotska - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a packaged frozen food sales showcase.

The conventional way of selling frozen foods is to stack a wide variety of products according to type in a showcase for sale.

In such conventional sales methods, when replenishing the decrease in products due to sales, the replenishment products are often stacked on top of the remaining products, and the remaining products near the bottom of the showcase are stored for a long time. They could not be replaced and there was a food hygiene problem.

In addition, when it comes to preserving frozen foods, it is necessary to maintain the frozen state even when they are not being sold, which is wasteful. Water contained in packaging cases (especially those made of paper) adheres and freezes, causing adjacent parts of the packaging case to stick to each other. There were also problems such as the packaging case being torn and the contents exposed.

Furthermore, showcases need to make it easy to see the stacked products, and although most showcases have lids that can seal the inside of the showcase, they are always open and the stacked products cannot be seen easily. The area near the top was exposed to the atmosphere and had not yet reached the storage temperature of frozen foods.On the other hand, it was necessary to maintain the freezing temperature with the showcase open, which resulted in poor equipment efficiency. There was a huge loss in terms of this, and power was wasted.

As mentioned above, there are many problems related to the sale and storage of frozen foods, and it has traditionally been difficult to sell frozen foods using vending machines.In particular, it has been difficult to sell frozen foods using vending machines. This is because there are many technically difficult problems in the design of product dispensing mechanisms, and no one that can be put to practical use has yet emerged.

This invention relates to a showcase that was developed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and allows for reliable removal of products even though they are constantly frozen, eliminates product residue that lasts for a long time, and makes storage easier. In addition to making it possible to sell products in the specified order, it also reduces power loss as much as possible, eliminating wasted energy, and also enables application to vending machines, which allows products to be sold in a frozen state just for storage. The aim was to reduce the amount of waste in maintaining products, to store them and sell them at the same time, and to increase sales and make effective use of showcases.

The present invention will be explained below based on an illustrated embodiment in which the invention is applied to a vending machine.

In the figure, 1 is the main body of the vending machine, 2 is a refrigeration system installed in the lower part of the main body 1, and 3 is a chamber for storing products A, which are divided and arranged in plurality for each product. A lid 5 is provided across the chamber 3 and for storing the product A. The lid 5 is formed of a transparent plate and is provided as a part of the upper wall of the chamber 3 so as to be openable and closable.

Reference numerals 6 and 7 denote sprocket wheels provided in pairs in the front and rear in each storage chamber 3, which are mounted on shafts 8 and 9, respectively, and one of them is on the drive side, and a chain 10 is installed between the sprocket wheels 6 and 7. The holder, which will be described later, and three walls of the storage chamber 3 form an independent storage section.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a plate-shaped holder that is fixed to the link plate of the chain 10, and is set at an appropriate constant interval to store the product A and at a height that does not contact the inner wall of the storage chamber 3, preferably as described below. To facilitate the removal of product A,
Ribs are formed on the plate surface to reduce the contact area between the product A and the holder 11, and the entire outer area including the holder 11 erected on the chain 10, which is the transport body, is surrounded by the wall 1a of the main body 1. This is how the chamber 3 is constructed.

The holders 11 are arranged in a radial shape in the rotating portion of the transfer body 10, and are opened in a mutually open manner so that the product A frozen in the holder 11 is gradually separated.

12 is a ratchet gear that rotates together with the sprocket wheel 6; 13 is a notch that engages with the ratchet gear 12; the engagement between the notch 13 and the ratchet gear 12 restricts the rotation of the chain 10; When the ratchet gear 12 is released, the chain 10 is allowed to rotate in the direction of arrow B.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a product takeout port provided by opening the front end of the storage chamber 3, and is a wall located at the turning portion of the chain 10 in order to take out the product A after being separated from the expanded holder 11 from the storage chamber 3. 1a, and moreover, a product outlet 14 is opened in the wall 1a between the holder 11 in a substantially horizontal position on which the product A is transferred and placed, and the adjacent holder 11 in the upward rotating position. has been done.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a lid that covers the outlet 14, and is provided on the main body 1 so as to be openable and closable.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a partition wall that separates the product outlet 14 from the storage chamber 3, which allows the holder 11 to pass through, prevents the dissipation of cold air in the storage chamber 3, and prevents theft of the product.

Although not shown in the figure, a coin sorting device is built into the main body 1, and in response to an electrical signal from coin sorting, the notch 13 is opened via a solenoid, etc., and the sprocket wheel 6 (
Or 7) is driven by 1.

In addition, a mechanism is interposed in the drive power transmission system to rotate and stop the sprocket wheel 6 by one pitch of the holder 11, so as to prevent excess products from being sent to the product outlet 14. This is what is being done.

17 is the outlet 14 for removing the holder 11 at the product outlet 14;
The guide rail supports the holder 11 horizontally so as to face it correctly, and prevents the holder 11 from wobbling when taking it out, making it easy to take it out.

By arranging the above-mentioned mechanisms in multiple rows for different or the same type of products as shown in the first diagram, and providing independent drive systems for each, it is possible to display and sell many types of products at once.

The one shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same numbers as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are attached to the same parts. The chain is wound in a triangular shape, but the chain can also be wound in a rectangular shape or the like, and the overall shape when winding the chain is not limited to the above.

The embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above operates as described below.

First, when you insert a coin into the coin slot corresponding to the product you want to purchase, an electrical signal is sent out through a coin sorter.
The notch 13 is removed from the ratchet gear 12 by a solenoid or the like, and at the same time, a drive source switch such as a motor is turned on, and power is transmitted to the sprocket wheel 6 (or 7) via the 1-pitch feed mechanism of the holder 11, and the transfer body and The chain 10 rotates in the direction of arrow B.

Due to this rotation of the chain 10, the holder 11 on which the product A is placed faces the product take-out port 14 via the guide rail 17, and the purchaser opens the lid 15 and takes out the product A.

Sales will be made in the same manner for storage units that store other products in parallel.

At this time, the holder 11 facing the product outlet 14 is held horizontally by the guide rail 17, but at the part where the chain 10 engages with the sprocket wheels 6 and 7,
Since the holders 11 are fixed to the link plates, they are opened at the front and the distance between each holder 11 is widened, so when the chain 10 is in a horizontal state, the front holder 11 and the rear holder 11 are separated.
Even if the products in between are bound together, they can be forcibly peeled off, making it easy to take out the products.

When the chain (transfer body) 10 goes around in this way,
By linking a counting device to the one-pitch feeding mechanism of the holder 11, it is possible to display a sold-out indication, or to stop the machine by turning off the power source of the refrigerator, etc., easily using conventionally known techniques. .

To replenish product A, open the lid 15 and place the product between the holders 11. At this time, remove the 1-pitch feeder from the power transmission system, disengage the notch 13, and connect the sprocket wheel 6. It is preferable that storage can be performed easily and quickly by driving only a chisel.

Furthermore, if the vending machine is installed in a place where it cannot be monitored, it is necessary to provide a locking device on the lid 5 and other control sections.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the products A are stored by placing them between the holders 11 provided on the chain 10, so the products A are sold in the order in which they are stored. This makes it possible to always sell fresh frozen foods.

In addition, since the product A is placed between each holder 11, especially in the case of a paper packaging case, the products A are not directly adjacent to each other but are separated by the holders 11, so that the product A is not directly adjacent to the other product A, but is separated by the holders 11. The problem has been resolved.

Furthermore, although the product outlet 14 communicates with the atmosphere, by providing a partition wall 16 that blocks the storage chamber 3 from the atmosphere, wasteful dissipation of cold air is prevented and maintenance costs are reduced. be.

Furthermore, since we intentionally did not use a dispensing device for product A, and instead allowed the purchaser to take out product A himself, the overall mechanism was simplified, and product A could be taken out more reliably, resulting in a compact device. It was.

Furthermore, by arranging the heat exchange section 4 to cross each of the storage chambers 3 and installing it within the winding space of the chain 10, dead space can be utilized and it is also possible to make the device smaller and more compact. It is something.

Although the above explanation has been given with reference to an embodiment applied to a vending machine, the present invention is not limited to this, and the product A can be circulated by constantly rotating the chain 10 or by rotating only when necessary by pressing a button, and can also be used as a stocker. It's okay.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a notch 13 and a ratchet gear 12 for preventing rotation of the chain 10 may be provided on the sprocket wheel 7 side.

When a coin is inserted into the coin slot, the locking device (not shown) on the lid 15 is released, the notch 13 is removed from the ratchet gear 12, and the chain 10 is rotated by opening the lid 15. The product A may be taken out one by one.

The present invention includes a transfer body in which product holders are erected and fixed at regular intervals, a means for winding and supporting the transfer body in an endless manner and being driven, and a holder for the endless transfer body, In a storage chamber comprising a plurality of rows of storage chambers having walls surrounding an outer area and a heat exchange section for freezing the storage chambers, the transfer body has a holder for holding a product consisting of frozen food. A wall that is erected and fixed at regular intervals in the circumferential direction so that the holders are radially expanded in a radial shape in a rotating portion of the transfer body, and that surrounds the rotating portion,
The rotating part of the transfer body is characterized by a product ejection port that can be opened and closed freely in the wall between the holder in a substantially horizontal position where the product is transferred and placed and the adjacent holder in the upward rotating position. The product frozen in the holder is gradually separated,
It is advantageous in that the separated product can be taken out from the outlet.

Regarding this point, frozen foods are legally required to be packaged and frozen at -18°C or below, and for this reason, products wrapped in paper or resin film may stick to the holder when frozen. If the product is forcibly removed from the holder when taking it out, there is a problem that the packaging film may be torn or the product label attached to the film may peel off.

On the other hand, in the present invention, since the holders gradually expand in a mutually opening manner in the rotating part of the transfer body, the product frozen in the holder is gradually separated, and the packaging film of the product, etc. There is no risk of it being torn or damaged.

Moreover, the product take-out port is opened in the wall located in the rotating part, so that the product can be taken out after being separated from the holder, and the product can be taken out when the holder is in the expanded position. It is wide and its removal operation is extremely easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall external view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the same, Fig. 3 is an overall external view showing another embodiment, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the same, and Fig. 5 is an overall external view showing an embodiment of the invention. The figure is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing still another embodiment. 1... (Stotsuka) main body, 1a... wall, 3... storage room, 6.7... sprocket wheel, 10...
Chain (transfer body), 11... Holder, 14... Product outlet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transport body in which product holders are erected and fixed at regular intervals, means for winding and supporting the transport body in an endless manner and driving it, and a wall that includes the holder of the endless transport body and surrounds an outer area. a plurality of rows of storage chambers, and a heat exchange section that freezes the storage chambers, wherein the transfer body has a holder for holding a product made of frozen food, which is fixed in the circumferential direction of the transfer body. The holders are erected and fixed at intervals, and the holders are arranged in a radial shape in the rotating part of the transfer body and are expanded in a mutually opening shape. A frozen food sales showcase characterized in that a product outlet is opened and closed in a wall between a holder placed in a substantially horizontal position and an adjacent holder in an upwardly rotating position.