JPH0570198B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (b) Industrial application fields The present invention relates to a product delivery device for a vending machine.

(b) Conventional technology Conventionally, product transport rack devices for transporting column-shaped products placed and stored in a horizontal position in a substantially horizontal manner are provided in multiple upper and lower stages, and products are transported from the product delivery end of each product transport shelf device. There is a known vending machine in which a product is received in a product receiving shelf of an elevator device that is moved up and down in a conveyance path that extends vertically, the product is moved down, and then delivered to a product takeout port. - It is shown in the publication No. 140195. Recently, due to the installation of product storage devices with other configurations in vending machines, it is necessary to extend the product transport shelf device in the front-rear direction so that the product delivery end and the elevator device are located at the rear. In this case, a product stored in a sideways position on a product transport shelf device is transported downward in that sideways position by a product receiving shelf of an elevator device, and the product is transported downward to the lower limit of the product receiving shelf. It is necessary to send the product from the position onto the product chute and to the product takeout port.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention With this configuration, the products delivered from the product transport shelf device are delivered onto the product chute in a sideways position in the left and right direction when viewed from the front of the vending machine main body, and Since the product rolls on the product chute from the back of the main body to the product ejection port on the front of the main body, the product is easily displaced and rolled in the left and right direction on the product chute, causing a jam, especially when one end is thick and the other end In the case of column-shaped products that are formed in a narrow manner, there is a problem in that the product gets stuck on the product chute and is not delivered to the product outlet. In addition, since the product is delivered to the product outlet in a horizontally horizontal position, for example, in the case of products such as beverages in liter bottles or beer bottles, the width of the product outlet is required to be wide. Due to the large size, there is a problem in that it is easy to tamper with the product storage device inside the main body.

In view of the above, the present invention is configured to change the attitude of the product sent out from the product receiving shelf and send it to the product takeout port, thereby preventing product jamming and an automatic system that can reliably prevent mischief. It provides a product delivery device for vending machines.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a product transport shelf device which is arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages in parallel for transporting columnar products placed and stored in a horizontal position in a substantially horizontal manner, and each product transport shelf device. A conveyance path extending vertically corresponding to the product discharge end, and an elevator device for receiving the product carried out from the product discharge end into a product receiving shelf that moves up and down within the conveyance path and sending it to the product takeout port. In the vending machine equipped with the above-mentioned product receiving shelf, the product delivered from the product receiving shelf is accepted, and the product delivery passage from the product receiving shelf to the product taking out port is blocked when the product is waiting to be received, and when the product is received, the product sending passage from the product receiving shelf to the product taking out port is blocked. a posture control device that rotates to change its posture and sends out the product; a locking device that locks the posture control device in a product reception standby position and releases the lock after receiving the product; and a lock device that rotates the posture control device to a product delivery position. It is equipped with a return device that rotates the attitude control device to return, and a detection means that detects the rotation return of the attitude control device, and when the return of the attitude control device cannot be detected by the detection means, the lowermost product transport shelf The product receiving shelf is configured to be stopped at a position below the device that closes the conveyance path.

(e) Effects In the present invention having such a structure, the posture control device closes the product delivery passage while the product is on standby, and is locked and held by the lock device. When the posture control device receives the product sent out from the product receiving shelf, the locking device is released, so the posture control device rotates, changes the posture of the received product, and sends it out to the product takeout port in a vertical position in the front and back direction. do. After sending out, the attitude control device is rotated back by the return device and locked by the lock device.
If the posture control device cannot return due to mischief or the product, etc., the detection means cannot detect the return of the posture control device, so the product receiving shelf is located below the lowest product transportation shelf device in a position that blocks the transportation path. This acts to prevent tampering with the products on the product transport shelf device.

(F) Example Each figure shows an example of the present invention.
is the main body of the vending machine, and the front has a door 3 with a coin slot, a product selection button, a product takeout port 2, etc.
It is pivoted so that it can be opened and closed. Reference numeral 4 denotes a product conveyance shelf device which is provided with a conveyor 5 that rotates when a product sales command is delivered, and is arranged in the front and back direction so that the delivery end 4A, which is the product delivery side, is at the rear in the main body 1. It is installed in a substantially horizontal state, and is arranged in multiple stages above and below. Then, the columnar product A is placed and stored on the conveyor 5 in a sideways position in the left and right direction.
is conveyed to the discharge end 4A. Further, a stopper member 6 is rotatably provided at the discharge end 4A, and the stopper member 6 is connected to a locking mechanism 7 having a solenoid in a state in which the first product A at the discharge end 4A is locked during sales standby. It is prevented from rotating. When the conveyor 5 rotates, the lock mechanism 7 releases the rotation prevention state of the stopper member 6, allowing the first product to be delivered from the delivery end 4A, and when the product is delivered, a spring (not shown) is activated. It then returns to its original position and is held in a rotationally prevented state by the locking mechanism 7 to lock the next product.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an elevator device extending in the vertical direction between the delivery end 4A of each product transport shelf device 4 arranged vertically in parallel and the rear wall 1A in the main body 1;
A product receiving shelf 9 that receives products carried out from the delivery end 4A of the product transport shelf device 4 in a sideways posture in the left-right direction is provided so as to be movable up and down within the transport path 30. When the elevator device 8 is on standby for sales, the product receiving shelf 9 is positioned corresponding to the topmost product transporting shelf device 4, and when a sales command is delivered, the product transporter transports the product according to the sales command. When the product receiving shelf 9 is moved to a position corresponding to the carry-out end 4A of the shelf device 4 and the product carried out from the carrying-out end 4A is received, the product receiving shelf 9 is moved down to the lower limit position. . That is, when the elevator device 8 moves the product receiving shelf 9 to the unloading end 4A position of the product transporting shelf device 4 to be handled, the shelf detection switch 29 that detects the product receiving shelf 9 is activated to stop the product receiving shelf 9. The shelf detection switch 29 is provided corresponding to the discharge end 4A of each product transport shelf device 4. Further, when the product receiving shelf 9 reaches the lower limit position, it is tilted forward, so that the stored product A is delivered forward while lying sideways in the left-right direction.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a product receiving section 11 that receives the product A transported to the lower limit position by the product receiving shelf 9 and sent forward in a sideways posture in the left and right direction, and a product receiving section 11 that receives the product A transported to the lower limit position by the product receiving shelf 9 and sent forward, and a product receiving section 11 that receives the product A from the product transport shelf device 4 when waiting to receive the product. Outlet 2
This posture control device is equipped with a shielding part 12 that closes off a product sending passage 13 to a product receiving shelf 9, and a position control device that moves the product receiving part 11 into a receiving standby position where product A can be received from the product receiving shelf 9 and a receiving standby position where product A can be received from the product receiving shelf 9. It is pivotably supported at a delivery position whose attitude is changed so that it corresponds vertically to the outlet 2. That is, the attitude control device 10 is
The product receiving part 11 and the shielding part 12 are extended in the left-right direction to position the product receiving part 11 so as to be able to receive the products from the product receiving shelf 9, and the product delivery passage 13 is blocked by the shielding part 12. At the sales standby position, the product receiving part 11 extends in the front-rear direction vertically with respect to the product take-out port 2, and the products in the product receiving part 11 are sent out vertically to the product take-out port with the longitudinal direction extending in the front-back direction. It is rotatably pivoted at the delivery position. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the product receiving section 11 has a cross section curved to be larger than the external arc of the product A to be received, so that the contact surface with the received product A is minimized, and it is also designed to The end on the side of the elevator device 8 is positioned higher than the bottom to form a regulating portion 11A, and the product A is prevented from being shaken down when the attitude control device 10 is rotated, and the attitude change and delivery of the product A is controlled. We make it easy and reliable.

In addition, the posture control device 10 has a drive shaft 14 connected to a long arc-shaped hole 1 opened in the top plate 15 of the product delivery passage 13.
6 and protrudes upward, and is locked and held at the sales standby position by a locking device 17 provided on the top plate 15. That is, the locking device 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a lock plate 18 that locks the drive shaft 14 in the sales standby position of the attitude control device 10, a spring 19 that biases the lock plate 18 in the direction of locking the drive shaft 14, and a spring 19 that locks the lock plate 18 in the direction of locking the drive shaft 14. As shown in FIG. 3, based on the operation of a detection switch 21 that operates when the product receiving shelf 9 reaches the lower limit position, Afterwards, the solenoid 20 is energized to release the drive shaft 14 from the lock plate 18. That is, the solenoid 20 is energized by the operation of the detection switch 21 after a predetermined time period sufficient for the product A from the product receiving shelf 9 to be received into the product receiving section 11, and the drive shaft 14 by the lock plate 18 is energized.
It is designed to release the lock.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a rotating member that rotates as the product shelf 9 moves up and down, and when the product shelf 9 reaches the lower limit position, the sliding member 23 is moved in the direction of the product shelf 9 against the elasticity of the return spring 24. When the product receiving shelf 9 slides backward to a certain extent and moves upward from the lower limit position, the elasticity of the return spring 24 causes the rotation to return and the slide member 23 to slide back forward.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a movable member whose one end, the left end, is rotatably supported on the top plate 15, and the other end, the right end, is inserted into the engagement hole 23A of the slide member 23 and movably locked. , extends in the left-right direction on the rear side of the drive shaft 14 protruding above the top plate 15, and extends in the left-right direction.
4 so as to be able to engage and detach freely. Then, the posture control device 10 that has been rotated to the product delivery position is pushed forward by the elasticity of the return spring 24 by bringing the movable member 25 into contact with its drive shaft 14, so that it can return to the standby position. . That is, the movable member 25, the slide member 23, and the return spring 24 constitute a return device 26 that rotates the posture control device 10, which has been rotated to the product delivery position, back to the sales standby position.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a biasing spring as a biasing device which has one end locked to the drive shaft 14 and the other end to the slide member 23, and the posture control device 10 released from the lock plate 18 is sent out. It urges it to rotate into position.

Further, reference numeral 28 denotes a stopper provided so as to come into contact with the shielding part 12 and prevent the rotation beyond a predetermined level when the posture control device 10 is rotated to the product delivery position by the elasticity of the biasing spring 27. be.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a detection switch that operates when the posture control device 10 returns to the standby position by the return device 26, and is provided with a detection lever 29A that abuts and locks on the drive shaft 14 that is locked on the lock plate 18. axis 1
4 is engaged with the lock plate 18, it is activated to detect the return of the attitude control device 10 to the standby position.

In this configuration, when a sales command is delivered to the elevator device 8 which is in a standby state with the product receiving shelf 9 positioned corresponding to the delivery end 4A of the top product transporting shelf device 4, the elevator device 8 moves the product receiving shelf 9 to the product receiving shelf 9. lower. When the product receiving shelf 9 reaches the position corresponding to the transport end 4A of the product transporting shelf device 4 to be sold, the shelf detection switch 29 is activated and the product receiving shelf 9
is stopped, and the product A is carried out from the product transport shelf device 4 to the product receiving shelf 9. When the product receiving shelf 9 that has received this product A is lowered again and reaches the lower limit position,
The detection switch 21 is operated to stop the elevator device 8 from moving downward. When the product receiving shelf 9 reaches the lower limit position, the rotating member 22 is pressed and rotated, and the sliding member 23 is slid rearward against the elasticity of the return spring 24. By sliding the slide member 23 backward, the movable member 2
5 is moved rearward at the right end centering on the shaft support at the left end. At this time, the drive shaft 14 of the attitude control device 10
is locked to the lock plate 18, the movable member 25 releases its contact with the rear surface of the drive shaft 14 and rotates rearward, and the biasing spring 27 locks the slide member 23.
The object is in a strongly pulled state due to its backward movement.

On the other hand, when the product shelf 9 reaches the lower limit position, the rear side becomes highly inclined, so the product shelf 9
The product A inside is rolled and received by the product receiving section 11 of the attitude control device 10.

After the detection switch 21 is operated, when a predetermined time period sufficient for the product A to roll and be received from the product receiving shelf 9 into the product receiving section 11 has elapsed, the solenoid 20 is energized and the lock plate 18 is activated by the spring 19. is rotated against the elasticity of the By energizing the solenoid 20, the locking of the drive shaft 14 by the lock plate 18 is released.

Therefore, the attitude control device 10 uses the biasing spring 27
Due to the elasticity of the product, the product is urged to rotate around the shaft support in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. Rotated. At this time, the product receiving portion 11 of the posture control device 10 is in a state where it extends vertically with respect to the two directions of the product outlet, that is, in the front-back direction.
The product A in the product receiving section 11 is in a state where the posture has been changed vertically with respect to the product outlet 2, and the product A is placed in the product receiving section 11.
The product is sent out slidingly from the product outlet 2. Furthermore, when the posture control device 10 rotates, the product A in the product receiving section 11 tries to move in the direction of being shaken off from the product receiving section 11 due to the centrifugal force, but the regulating section 11A
This is prevented by

Then, when a detection sensor (not shown) detects that the product A has been delivered from the product receiving section 11 to the product takeout port 2, or when sufficient time has elapsed for the delivery of the product, the elevator device 8 operates to receive the product. Shelf 9 starts moving upward. As the product receiving shelf 9 moves upward from the lower limit position, the rotational member 22 returns to rotation due to the elasticity of the return spring 24, and the slide member 23 slides forward to return.

This return movement of the slide member 23 causes the right end portion of the movable member 25 to rotate forward. Therefore, the drive shaft 14 that is abutted and locked on the slide member 23 is pressed forward, and the attitude control device 10 is rotated back. When the attitude control device 10 is rotated back to the standby position, the drive shaft 14 is locked to the lock plate 18, the detection lever 29A is abutted and locked by the drive shaft 14, and the detection switch 29 is It detects the return of the attitude control device 10 to the standby position and outputs a signal to a control device (not shown). The elevator device 8 then moves the product receiving shelf 9 upward to a position corresponding to the delivery end 4A of the top product transport shelf device 4, stops, and returns to the standby state.

On the other hand, the posture control device 1 accompanying the upward movement of the product shelf 9
0, the posture control device 10 is prevented from returning due to mischief or the like, and even if a predetermined period of time elapses after the activation of the detection switch 21 that detects that the product receiving shelf 9 has started to move upward, If the detection switch 29 does not detect the return of the posture control device 10 to the standby position, the product receiving shelf 9 is moved to the lowest product unloading device 4.
It stops at a position corresponding to the delivery end 4A, and the conveyance path 30 is blocked by the product receiving shelf 9.

(G) Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured as described above, the product delivery passage can be blocked by the posture control device, thereby preventing mischief, and the return of the posture control device after delivery of the product can prevent mischief, etc. If the product is obstructed by the product receiving shelf, the transport path can be blocked by the product receiving shelf, thereby reliably preventing tampering with the product on the product transport shelf device. Further, by changing the posture of the product and sending it out using the posture control device, it is possible to reliably send out the product without causing jamming of the product.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the present invention, and the first
Figure 2 is a vertical side view of the vending machine, Figure 2 is a vertical side view of the vending machine with the conveyance path blocked, Figure 3
The figure is a perspective view of the rotating member, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the locking device during standby, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the locking device during product delivery operation, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the posture control device. It is. 2...Product take-out port, 4...Product transport shelf device, 9...Product receiving shelf, 10...Position control device, 13...Product delivery passage, 17...Lock device, 24...Return spring, 29...
Detection switch, 30...transport passage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A product transport shelf device arranged in parallel in multiple stages above and below that transports columnar products placed and stored in a horizontal position almost horizontally, and a transport device extending vertically corresponding to the product delivery end of each product transport shelf device. In a vending machine equipped with a passageway and an elevator device for receiving a product carried out from the product delivery end into a product receiving shelf that moves up and down within the conveyance passage and sending it out to a product takeout port, the product is delivered from the product receiving shelf. At the same time, when waiting for the product to be received, the product delivery path from the product receiving shelf to the product takeout port is blocked, and when the product is received, the posture is changed and rotated relative to the product takeout port, and the product is sent out. a control device, a lock device that locks the attitude control device in a product receiving standby position and releases the lock after receiving the product, and a return device that rotates and returns the posture control device that has been rotated to the product delivery position;
a detection means for detecting rotational return of the posture control device, and a position where the conveyance path is closed below the product conveyance shelf device at the lowest stage when the detection means cannot detect the return of the posture control device; A product dispensing device for a vending machine, characterized in that the product receiving shelf is stopped at a certain time.