JP2621911B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly, classifies and stores a plurality of types of products such as bottled beverages which may be damaged if not handled carefully. The present invention relates to a vending machine that selects a specific product from products based on a selection of a purchaser, conveys the product as appropriate, and pays out the product from a product payout exit.

[Conventional technology]

Since vulnerable products such as bottled beverages need to be handled with care, vending machines that handle such products are, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of upper and lower storage shelves that can laterally feed the product (A). (41), the goods (A) laterally fed from the selected storage shelf (41) of the storage shelves (41) are received by the goods receiving stand (43a), and the goods A device having a vertical transport mechanism (43) for raising and lowering to a height is used. The product (A) is raised and lowered by the vertical transport mechanism (43) without being naturally dropped, and is paid out.
The careful handling is made possible to prevent the product (A) from being damaged.

As the vending machine, it is preferable that the product (A) is stored in as many types as possible so that the product can be sold according to the wishes of the purchaser. Varieties of products (A)
In addition to the classification and storage, the tax shelf (41) in the upper and lower stages is divided into, for example, left and right two sections as shown in FIG. 3, and any of the sections is transferred to the upper and lower transport mechanism (43). Product (A).

By the way, in the vending machine shown in FIG. 3, among the products (A) stored in the storage shelf (41), any type of the product (A) is transferred to the vertical transport mechanism (43). The vertical transport mechanism (43) is provided in the middle of the two sections so that it can be received in common at the goods receiving stand (43a) and can be moved up and down (there is a small number of driving sources and it is economical). ), And the lifting stroke of the commodity receiving stand (43a) is set so as to correspond to the entire height of the storage shelf (41), that is, over the substantially entire height of the vending machine.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-described vending machine, when the product cradle (43a) of the vertical transport mechanism (43) is moved up and down to receive the product (A), the product cradle (43a) transfers the product (A). If the loss time until reaching the receivable position is long, it takes a long time until the buyer can take out the product (A), which gives the buyer discomfort and anxiety. In order to minimize the loss time, it is preferable to keep the product receiving stand (43a) at an intermediate point of its vertical stroke. The time required to raise and lower the product receiving stand (43a) by half the stroke is required, and there is a problem that the product payout time becomes longer on average.

In order to increase the number of types of goods (A) that can be stored in the storage shelf (41), it is effective to increase the number of sections of the storage shelf (41). There is a problem that it is difficult to divide into the above sections as long as the vertical transport mechanism (43) is arranged in the middle of the section and is also used.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a vending machine capable of solving the above-described problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A vending machine according to the present invention comprises a plurality of upper and lower storage shelves capable of laterally sending goods, and a commodity fed laterally from a storage shelf selected from the storage shelves. And a vertical transport mechanism for receiving and moving the storage shelf up and down to the height of the commodity payout outlet, wherein the storage shelf is constituted by a plurality of sections divided at least in the height direction and the vertical transport An endless rotating body that is driven to rotate along a closed path including a plurality of vertical paths, and a mechanism located on the vertical path so as to correspond to any of the plurality of sections, and It is characterized in that it is configured in combination with a commodity receiving table attached to the endless rotating body so as to move up and down with an elevating stroke corresponding to the height.

(Operation)

In such a vending machine, since the storage shelf is constituted by a plurality of sections divided at least in the height direction, for example, compared to a conventional vending machine simply divided into left and right, The storage shelves having many sections can be formed by the number of divided sections.

The endless rotating body is positioned on the vertical path so as to be able to correspond to any of the plurality of sections of the closed circuit in which it rotates, and corresponds to the height of the plurality of sections. Is provided with a product cradle that moves up and down in a vertical stroke, so that the product cradle can receive all the products sent out from the plurality of sections and move it up and down. The loss time required to reach a receivable position can be shortened corresponding to the division of the storage shelf in the height direction.

In addition, since all of the product receiving tables of the vertical transport mechanism are attached to the endless rotating body, the endless rotating body is commonly rotated by a drive source provided in the middle of the endless rotating body to raise and lower the same. Moving it up and down.

〔The invention's effect〕

Therefore, if the vending machine of the present invention is used, the product shelf can be multi-sectioned, so that more types of products can be stored, and the loss time when raising and lowering the product receiving stand to a position where the product can be received can be obtained. , And the time for dispensing goods can be shortened as much as possible, and moreover, only one drive source for the upper and lower conveyors is required, which is economical.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, (A) is an easily breakable product such as a bottled beverage, and the product (A) itself is constituted by a horizontal feed conveyor, and a plurality of upper and lower products capable of horizontally feeding the product (A). Classified and stored in tiered storage shelves (10).

The storage shelf (10) is composed of a plurality of sections that are divided at least in the height direction and, if necessary, also in the left-right direction (the left-right direction when the vending machine is viewed from the front). I have. Specifically, the storage shelf (1
0) is vertically divided into two parts in the height direction, and the upper part is divided into two parts left and right, so that the upper left first section (11), the upper right second section (12), and the lower third section (13) and is composed of a total of three sections.

On the right side of the third section (13), the goods (A) which are fed sideways from one of the storage shelves (10) are sent to one of two goods receiving stands (21) and (22). The lifting space (22S) of one of the product trays (21) and (22) of the vertical transport mechanism (20) for receiving and lifting the product to the height of the product payout port (30) Formed between the first section (11) and the second section (12).
An elevating space (21S) for the other product receiving stand (21) of (22) is formed.

To describe the vertical transport mechanism (22) in more detail, the vertical transport mechanism (20) includes the two lifting spaces (21).
S) and (22S) are rotated along a closed path (23) including two vertical paths (23a) and (23b) positioned to correspond to (22S), respectively, and are driven by one drive source (24). The endless rotating body (25) and the commodity receiving tables (21) and (22) provided at appropriate positions of the endless rotating body (25), that is, at positions corresponding to the lift spaces (21S) and (22S). Combined, the product cradle (21) and the upper section (1
1) and (12) are lifted and lowered with a lifting stroke corresponding to the height, and the product cradle (22) is raised and lowered with a lifting stroke corresponding to the height of the lower section (13). The endless rotating body (25) is driven to rotate so as to cause the rotation.

When using such a vending machine, the goods receiving stand (21),
(22) is made to wait in advance at an intermediate point of each up-and-down stroke in order to minimize the loss time until they reach the position where they can receive the product (A) from each storage shelf (10). When the purchaser selects the product (A), the endless rotating body (25) is rotated to drive the product receiving stand (21),
(22) The selected commodity (A) is moved from the storage shelf (10) to a position where it can be received. Thereafter, the storage shelf (10) is laterally driven to traverse the selected commodity (A), and the commodity (A) is transferred to the commodity receiving trays (21) and (22). The goods (A) at the goods receiving stands (21) and (22)
Is conveyed up and down to the height of the commodity payout port (30), and the commodity (A) is paid out from the commodity payout port (30).

In such a vending machine, the storage shelf (10) is divided into two parts in the height direction. The section of the storage shelf (10) is increased, so that a wider variety of goods (A) can be stored. Product stand (21),
The loss time until (22) reaches the position where the product (A) can be received can be shortened in accordance with the division of the storage shelf (10) in the height direction, and the product payout time can be shortened. Become like For example, if the image is divided vertically at a position at half the height of the entire height, the loss time is reduced by half. In addition, since the endless rotating body (25) is integrally and rotationally driven by the common driving source (24), the driving system is simplified, which is effective in reducing the cost of the vending machine.

The closed path (23) can be provided at the center of the vending machine.

(Another embodiment)

As shown in FIG. 2, the closed path (23) is configured to include two vertical paths (23c) and (23d) in addition to the two vertical paths (23a) and (23b). And a product receiving stand (26) that moves up and down along one of the vertical paths (23c) for receiving the product (A) from the newly installed fourth section (14) and fifth section (15). Embodiments are also conceivable. As described above, the number of the vertical paths included in the closed path (23) may be three or more, and the commodity receiving tray may be moved up and down along any of the vertical paths.

In the drawings showing the above-described embodiment, the product payout port (30) is illustrated as being individually formed. However, the product payout port (30) is formed in a horizontally long shape, and is commonly used for both. Is also good.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional vending machine. (10) ... storage shelf, (11), (12), (13) ... section, (20) ... vertical transport mechanism, (21), (22) ... commodity receiving tray, (23) ... Closed path, (23a), (23b) ... vertical path, (25) ... endless rotating body, (A) ... product.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of upper and lower storage shelves (10) capable of traversing a commodity (A), and a commodity (A) traversed from a selected storage shelf (10) of the storage shelves (10). A vending machine having a vertical transport mechanism (20) for receiving A) and moving it up and down to the height of a commodity payout port (30), wherein the storage shelf (10) is divided at least in the height direction. It comprises a plurality of sections (11), (12), and (13).
a) an endless rotating body (25) driven to rotate along a closed path (23) including the plurality of sections (11), (1).
2) and (13), which are located in the vertical paths (23a) and (23b) and can correspond to the height of the plurality of sections (11), (12) and (13). A vending machine comprising a combination of commodity receiving stands (21) and (22) attached to the endless rotating body (25) so as to move up and down with a rising and falling stroke.