JPS6029435B2 - Vending machine product storage device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a product storage device for vertically stacking and disposing products in a storage cylinder in a vending machine for cigarettes and the like.

In this type of secondary product storage device, a large number of product storage cylinders are arranged in a horizontal direction, and a pushing device is provided at the bottom of each storage cylinder to push out the lowest product one by one.

In this product storage device, in order to store products by type, it is necessary to use different storage cylinders for each product. That is, 1
The book storage tube was designed to hold only one type of product.
Therefore, two or more storage tubes are used for products that sell well, and only one tube is used for products that sell poorly, in order to balance the distribution according to sales.
This method of categorizing products has caused the inconvenience of having to visit the store repeatedly to replenish only one or two types of products. In addition, even for low-selling products that require half or less of the height of one housing tube, the entirety of one housing tube must be used, which is wasteful. The present invention improves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and provides two
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a product storage device for a vending machine that is capable of subdividing the storage so that one or more products can be dispensed, and that also makes it possible to adjust the storage capacity of the subdivided products. Therefore, the feature is that a storage cylinder is set up on a fixed base, the upper surface of the fixed base is used as a product mounting surface, products are stacked and stored inside the storage cylinder, and a product extrusion block is driven on the fixed base. In a device that pushes out the product inside the storage tube by moving it back and forth in the back and forth direction using a mechanism, a single or multiple product extrusion unit that divides the inside of the storage tube into upper and lower parts is placed in the middle of the storage tube in the vertical direction. The extrusion unit is inserted into the storage cylinder so that the upper surface inside the storage cylinder is used as the surface for placing the product, and the extrusion unit can be freely moved back and forth in the front and back directions on the Atsurei plywood and the counterfeit plywood. It consists of a product extrusion flock provided and a drive mechanism that pushes out the product inside the storage cylinder by reciprocating the extrusion block in the front and back direction.

Below, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
In the figure, 1 is a vending machine case, 2 is a product outlet opening at the lower front of the case 1, and 3 is a storage cylinder that stores products stacked vertically inside the vending machine case. One or more of the groups of 3 housing cylinders arranged side by side in this direction, one or more housing cylinders 3, are in contact with the upper cylinder 4 and the lower end of the upper cylinder 4 so as to be movable. It has a split cylinder structure consisting of a cylinder 5 and a lower cylinder 6 that is slidably attached to the lower end of the intermediate cylinder 5. The lower end of the lower cylinder 6 is fixed on a fixed base 7, and The top end is the connecting material 8
The intermediate cylinder 5 is fixed between the upper and lower cylinders 4 and 6.
It is made to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction A, and to be fixed at a required height position.

As a fixing means for the intermediate cylinder 5, there are protrusions 9 on the upper and lower ends of the intermediate cylinder 5.
, 10 are provided at the lower end of the upper cylinder 4 and the upper end of the lower cylinder 6, respectively, with holes 13 and 12 through which the protrusions 9 and 10 can be engaged and detached.
It is sufficient if they are provided at a constant pitch in the vertical and vertical directions.
may be fixed with removable screws or the like.

As is well known, a product extrusion block 13 that reciprocates in the front-rear direction B is attached to the upper surface of the fixed base 7 below the lower cylinder 6, and as this block 13 moves back and forth, the products in the lowest layer in the cylinder 6 are removed. 14 is extruded forward or backward.

In the illustrated example, the products 14 are stacked in two rows, front and back, and can be pushed out alternately in the front and back directions. A drive mechanism 50 for reciprocating the extrusion block 13 in the front and back direction is provided on the lower surface of the fixed base 7. Inside the intermediate cylinder 5 whose vertical movement can be freely adjusted, an extrusion block 15 similar to the extrusion block 13 installed at the bottom of the lower cylinder 6 and a drive mechanism 16 for reciprocating the block 15 back and forth are placed. A product extrusion unit 18 integrated with the plywood 17 is fixedly attached with screws 19 or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an example of the product extrusion unit 18 includes a product layer plywood 17 formed into a box shape to match the internal shape of the storage cylinder 5, and an upper surface 20 of the merging board 17, which is the product layer surface. A product extrusion block 15 that reciprocates back and forth guided by a groove 21 closed in the front-rear direction on the surface 20 and a drive mechanism 16 that reciprocates the extrusion block 15 are integrally combined. The drive mechanism 16 includes a geared motor 23 integrally attached to the leg portion 22 of the extrusion block 15, a pinion 25 fixed on the motor shaft 24, and a rack 26 integrally attached to the lower surface of the plywood 17 and meshing with the pinion 25. and a switch 27 for controlling the motor 23. When the motor 23 is driven, the pinion 25 runs on the rack 26, and the extrusion block 15 is guided by the groove 21 and reciprocated in the front and back direction. In addition to this, the drive mechanism 16 can also be configured with a well-known crank mechanism, a mangle rack mechanism, or the like. When the product storage cylinder 3 is configured in this way, the interior of the storage cylinder 3 is divided into upper and lower parts by the product pushing unit 18 fixed in the intermediate cylinder 5, so that the product extrusion unit 18 is vertically divided into layers. Product 14 and Product 14 to be stacked and taught on the bottom side
By adjusting the vertical movement of the intermediate cylinder 5, the storage capacity of the products 14 above the hand support unit 18 and the products 14 below the hand support unit 18 can be adjusted. It can be changed arbitrarily, and the lower product '4 can be independently delivered from the extrusion block 13 on the base 7 as before, and the upper product 14 can be independently delivered from the extrusion block 1W of the intermediate dispensing unit 18. I can do it.

To explain the specific usage, for products that sell very well, one storage cylinder 3 without an extrusion unit 18 is used as before.
Books or products that use two or more books and that do not sell well may be stored in the storage cylinder 3, which is divided vertically by the extrusion unit 18, and stored in the upper and lower parts of the extrusion unit 18.

In addition, if there are products that are easy to sell and products that are difficult to sell among the products that are not selling well, by adjusting the vertical movement of the intermediate cylinder 5 that is equipped with the extrusion unit 18 in the storage cylinder 3, it is possible to move the goods inside the cylinder 3. It is divided into a part with a larger storage capacity and a part with a smaller storage capacity, and the part with a larger storage capacity stores the products that are easier to sell, and the part with a smaller storage capacity stores the products that are easier to sell. All you have to do is store the product. If the height of the storage tube 3 is high, the extrusion unit 18
By incorporating two or more intermediate tubes 5 with interiors into one storage tube 3, it is possible to further improve the fineness of adjustment of storage distribution of products by type. In addition, the front leg at the lower end of the lower cylinder 6,
A falling chute 30 is attached to the outside of the product extrusion ports 28 and 29 formed on the rear side, and from this chute 3, the product 14 extruded by the extrusion block 13 passes from the extrusion ports 28 and 29 to the lower output port 2. It is designed so that it is released in the direction and falls.

In addition, in the illustrated example, a dropping chute 33 is integrally attached to the outside of the product ejection ports 31 and 32 formed at the front side and rear side of the lower end of the intermediate cylinder 5 so as to move up and down together with the intermediate cylinder 5,
The product in the cylinder 5 is passed through the extrusion port 31 by the extrusion block 15.
32 and is discharged through the above-mentioned lower drop chute 30 toward the outlet 2, but the drop chute 33 is connected to the extrusion ports 31, 32 on the vending machine case 1 side.
It can also be installed in accordance with the position of As before, replenishment of products into the storage cylinder 3 can be carried out through the closing portions 4a, 5a, 6a opened vertically at the front side of each cylinder 4, 5, 6.

In addition, reference numeral 34 in the figure is an out-of-stock detection switch attached to the lower part of each back wall of the lower cylinder 6 and the intermediate cylinder 5. 2nd, 3rd
The figure shows another embodiment of the vertical movement adjustment means of the product extrusion unit, in which the upper end is fixed to the green material 8 and the lower end is fixed to the fixed base 7, respectively. Only the same product extrusion unit 18 as in the example is provided, which can be adjusted vertically. In this embodiment, as a means for fixing the extrusion unit 18 at an arbitrary height, the front side plate 17a and the rear side plate 17b of the plywood 17 of the extrusion unit 18 are fixed at the front opening □ which is closed in the vertical direction of the housing tube 3. 3a
and both ends 36, 36 of the front plate extending from the rear opening part 3b and overlapping with the outside of both greens 35, 35 of the front opening □ part 3a, and overlapping with the outside of both greens 37, 37 of the rear entrance part 3b. Both ends 38, 38 of the rear side plates may be fastened to the attachment/detachment position using screws 39 or the like. The screw hole 4 and the green 3 of the storage tube 3
5, 35 are provided at a constant pitch in the vertical direction. Other parts are the same as those in the above embodiment and are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment as well, if the housing cylinder 3 is high, two or more extrusion units 18 can be incorporated. When the means for adjusting the vertical movement of the product extrusion unit 18 is configured in this way, not only is it possible to use an integrated cylinder structure for the accommodation bridge 3 instead of having a divided cylinder structure as in the above embodiment, but also the vertical movement adjustment means for the unit 18 can be adjusted. The above-mentioned embodiment has the advantage of being able to expand the permissible range, allowing the stacking of two or more types of products in one storage tube 3, adjusting the amount of counterfeits, and further providing independent dispensing. can be obtained in the same way as in the case of .

In addition, in this embodiment, if there is a case where the product falls from the front entrance part 3a and the rear closing part 3b of the storage cylinder 3, it is not shown in the illustration, but as before, rubber, bars, bars, etc. Alternatively, coil springs or the like may be placed in front of the front opening 3a and behind the rear entrance 3b to prevent the product from falling. FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the above-mentioned vertically movable product extrusion unit.
A horizontally long product extrusion unit 18 is provided with two left and right product extrusion blocks 15 arranged side by side on a horizontally long product layer plywood 17, and a drive mechanism 16 that independently drives each extrusion block 15 back and forth. , this extrusion unit 18
are provided in adjacent housing cylinders 3, 3 so that they can be vertically adjusted so that the left extrusion block 15 is located in the left cylinder 3 and the right extrusion block 15 is located in the right cylinder 3. . The fixing means for fixing the extrusion unit 18 at an arbitrary height is the same as the fixing means in the embodiment shown in FIGS. From the edge 3 of the front entrance part 3a, 3a
Both ends 36, 36 of the front side plates overlapping with the outsides of 5, 35 may be fastened to the attachment/detachment position with screws 39 or the like. Although not shown, the rear plate of the plywood 17 may also be fastened in the same manner. Further, a partition/guide plate 40 is provided upright between the left and right extrusion blocks 15, 15 on the upper surface of the plywood 17 of this extrusion unit 18, and this guide plate 40 is a partition plate 41, which partitions between the adjacent storage cylinders 3, 3. 41, and a pair of partition/guide plates 42 are also provided at the center of the lower surface of the unit 18.
, 42 are attached in a hanging manner, and a partition plate 43 that partitions the housing cylinders 3, 3 is slidably inserted between the plates 42, 42, and these guide plates 40, 42 are connected to the extrusion unit. It has both a guide function during vertical movement of 18 and a partition function.

When the product extrusion unit 18 is configured in this way, it has the advantage that it can be easily installed with fewer materials and man-hours than when the extrusion units are individually provided for the adjacent storage cylinders 3, 3. In addition, it is possible to stack different types of products in one storage cylinder 3, to adjust the stacking amount, and to independently dispense different types of products. This is the same as in the embodiment.

It goes without saying that this embodiment can be similarly applied to three or more adjacent housing cylinders. As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the storage cylinder is partitioned by a product extrusion unit whose vertical movement can be freely adjusted, making it possible to stack two or more types of products in the cylinder, and to adjust the storage capacity. As a result, it is possible to finely adjust the storage distribution of different types of products corresponding to the overall sales within one vending machine, contributing to a reduction in the number of times product replenishment is required, and also reducing storage cylinders that are rarely used. This eliminates unnecessary problems such as the occurrence of waste products, and allows all storage tubes to be used almost equally and effectively.In addition, until now, the number of storage tubes was required to be at least equal to the number of product types. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of housing cylinders compared to the number of product types, which has the advantage of helping to downsize the vending machine. It not only has a product extrusion function, but also allows for product extrusion, so after vertical movement adjustment, product extrusion can be performed immediately by simply fixing it at the required height position, making it convenient to handle. There is an effect that

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the Rollo line in FIG. 3 showing another embodiment,
3 is a front view in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a front view showing another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing one example of the product extrusion unit, and FIG. 6 is a front view in FIG. - is a sectional view taken along the line. 3...Accommodating cylinder, 15...Product extrusion block, 16...
Drive mechanism, 17... War plywood, 18... Product extrusion unit. Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage cylinder is erected on a fixed base, the upper surface of the fixed base is used as a product placement surface, the products are stacked and stored inside the storage cylinder, and the product extrusion block is moved back and forth in the front and rear directions on the fixed base by a drive mechanism. In a product that pushes out the product inside the storage tube, there is a
A single or plurality of product extrusion units are provided which are vertically movable and adjustable, dividing the inside of the storage cylinder into upper and lower parts, and the extrusion units are inserted into the storage cylinder so that the upper surface inside the storage cylinder serves as the product placement surface. A product extrusion block is provided on the mounting base plate so as to be movable back and forth in the front and rear directions, and a drive mechanism that pushes out the product inside the storage cylinder by moving the extrusion block back and forth in the front and back direction. A product storage device for a vending machine, characterized in that: