JP4599460B1 - Small vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

[Purpose] To make a vending machine with a small size and a very simple configuration that sells food and drink products packed in cans, bottles, PET bottles, etc.
[Composition] A plurality of storage gaps S in which a plurality of product containers 9 are stacked in the up-down direction and stored, and a container located at the bottom of the containers 9 mounted and stacked at the lower end of each storage gap S And a drive source 6 for rotating the drum A in the axial circumferential direction. In the drum A, side plate portions 4 are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the receiving surface portion 3 having an arc shape in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and on the front side in the forward rotation direction of the drum A, the receiving surface portion 3 Protruding pieces 32 protruding in the circumferential direction are formed.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a small-sized vending machine that sells products such as foods and drinks packed in cans, bottles, plastic bottles, etc., and has a very simple configuration.

  As shown in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-44757), Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 3422778), Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-79775), etc. A product is stored, and a container containing food and drink at the lowest position is paid out by a dispensing device according to a sales order. This dispensing device is roughly divided into two types of mechanisms that use a door such as a rotating drum and a flapper.

JP 7-44757 A Japanese Patent No. 3422778 JP2007-79775

  First, in a device using a door such as a flapper, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the mechanism is complicated and provided to prevent two beverage containers from being dispensed simultaneously. The side of the product must be pressed with a stopper, especially when the product is contained in a container made of a soft material such as plastic such as a plastic bottle or paper such as a milk pack. Otherwise, the product will slide, and in some cases, two or more items may be paid out at the same time. Moreover, extremely high accuracy is required to prevent this.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a rotating drum is used, and this type has a simple payout mechanism, so that there are few failures and maintenance is easy. However, in the conventional type, in the case of the drum system, the drum is rotated to drop the product from the container receiving member. At that time, the entire edge of the drum pushes up the upper product while rubbing, so it is large. In addition to the need for driving force, there was a risk of damaging the packaging and printing of products. Therefore, the present invention pays attention to a drum-type payout mechanism that is simple in structure, has few failures, and is easy to maintain. As a result of further research, the opening degree of the drum is small, and a protrusion is formed on the end of the drum. By providing a section, the purpose is to reduce the load on the drive source when the drum edge is pushed up to a higher-level product, reduce the load on the drive source, and suppress the occurrence of scratches on product packaging and printing. It is.

  Therefore, the inventor has intensively studied in order to solve the above problems, and as a result, the invention of claim 1 is stored in a plurality of storage gaps that are stacked and stored in the vertical direction with the product container lying down, The drum comprises a drum for housing a container located at the lowermost part of the container that is mounted and stacked at the lower end of each storage gap, and a drive source that rotates the drum in the axial circumferential direction. Side plate portions are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the receiving surface portion constituted by a support receiving plate having an arcuate cross section orthogonal to the front side of the drum in the forward rotation direction of the supporting surface plate of the receiving surface portion. A projection piece projecting in the circumferential direction is formed, and the projection piece is formed with an insertion end portion that is bent inward of the drum with respect to a tangent at a position near the tip. Thus, the above-mentioned problem has been solved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the projection piece is a small vending machine formed in a flat triangular shape that is bilaterally symmetrical from the center in the longitudinal direction of the end side of the receiving surface portion. Solved the problem. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the projecting piece has a flat right triangular shape having a substantially linear inclined side from one end side to the other end side along the longitudinal direction of the end side of the receiving surface portion. The above-mentioned problem was solved by using a small vending machine formed.

  The invention of claim 4 is the compact vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the protruding piece is formed to protrude substantially in the center along the longitudinal direction of the edge of the receiving surface portion. . According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the protruding piece is formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the edge of the receiving surface portion, and a small automatic having a hollow portion formed in the center in the longitudinal direction. By using a vending machine, the above problems were solved. The invention according to claim 6 is the compact according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the tip of the protruding piece is formed in a substantially arc shape. By using a vending machine, the above problems were solved.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the small vending machine according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, wherein the protruding piece is a separate member from the support receiving plate of the receiving surface portion. By solving the problem, the above problems were solved.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, since the receiving surface portion of the drum is provided with a protruding piece protruding along the circumferential direction of the receiving surface portion on the front side in the forward rotation direction, the width direction of the receiving surface portion In spite of the small size and compactness, the product container can be discharged in a stable operation state without the drum being caught by the product container stored in the storage gap. In particular, since the drum is provided with the protruding piece, first, a product container accommodated in the drum and a product container located immediately above and disposed in the storage gap are firstly provided. While inserting from the protrusion piece, the main body portion (receiving surface portion) of the drum rotates in the circumferential direction, and the product container stored in the drum is discharged.

  For this purpose, the side (front side) that first comes into contact with the product container positioned immediately above the product container stored while the receiving surface of the drum rotates in the circumferential direction is guided by the projecting piece, and is adjacent to the product container vertically. Therefore, the drum itself can be rotated in the circumferential direction for the dispensing operation only by receiving a very weak resistance from the weight of the commodity container. In this way, the drum can dispense the stored product containers one by one in an extremely stable operation, and the product container stored in the storage gap is not accidentally dropped. It can be temporarily stopped. In addition, it is possible to prevent two commodity containers from being accidentally paid out at the same price for one commodity.

  Furthermore, even if a forward rotation stop command is issued to the drive source for rotating the drum, the drive source cannot be stopped simultaneously with the stop command, or the drive source is a type that does not stop unless it rotates a certain angle. However, the tip of the protruding piece can come into contact with the vicinity of the lower end of the container in a laid state, and the tip of the protruding piece can enter the lower end of the laid-down container relatively smoothly. Therefore, even if there is a slight excess of the rotational operation during the normal rotation of the drum, it is possible to prevent the coating film on the container from being scraped or the wound film or label from being peeled off.

  In the drum, when the angle connecting the tip of the projecting piece constituting the receiving surface portion, the rear side of the support receiving plate, and the rotation center of the drum is 180 degrees, the front side and the rear side of the support receiving plate The angle connecting with the rotation center can be made extremely smaller than 180 degrees, and thereby, the rotation angle for one time for discharging the commodity container stored in the drum can be set small. Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, since the tip of the protruding piece is formed to be bent inside the drum, the end of the receiving surface is stored in the product container immediately above the product container stored in the drum. The contact angle at the time of contact with the product container (ie, the case), that is, the entry angle between the product containers adjacent to each other vertically becomes smaller with respect to the horizontal direction at the substantially top portion of the drum. The resistance received from the weight of the container can be reduced, and the coating film of the product container and the product container stored in the drum on the storage gap side can be scratched or the film or label adhered to the surface can be peeled off. It is possible not only to prevent this, but also to reduce the driving force for rotating the drum to save power and energy.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the projection piece is formed in a substantially flat triangular shape along the longitudinal direction of the edge of the receiving surface portion, so that the effective width of the support receiving plate constituting the receiving surface portion is substantially increased. Can be increased. In the invention of claim 3, since the protruding piece is formed so as to gradually become a substantially linear inclined side from one end side to the other end side along the longitudinal direction of the end side of the receiving surface portion, In the payout operation, it is possible to reduce the resistance when the protruding piece is inserted between the product container stored in the drum and the product container directly above the product container and stored in the storage gap, and the payout operation Can be improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the protruding piece is formed so as to protrude substantially in the center along the longitudinal direction of the end side, so that the drum can have a very simple structure. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the projection pieces are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the end side, and a depression is formed in the center in the longitudinal direction, whereby the projection piece of the drum is a paper with a straw. The protruding piece can be brought into contact with only the container without coming into contact with the straw storage part of the product such as a container. The drum rotates well without interfering between the drum and the straw container housing portion of the product container, and the drum is suitable for the delivery of the product such as a paper container with a straw.

  In the invention of claim 6, the orthogonal cross section of the protruding piece is formed in a substantially arc shape, so that the product container stored in the drum, and the product container stored immediately above the product container and in the storage gap portion, The drum can be inserted smoothly between the two to improve the rotation of the drum and to prevent the coating film on the product container from being scratched or the film or label attached to the surface from being peeled off. It is. In the invention of claim 7, by providing the protruding piece as a separate member with respect to the support receiving plate of the receiving surface portion, it is only necessary to fix the protruding piece to the symmetrical shape in the width direction of the receiving surface portion. In addition, the protruding piece and the receiving surface portion can be formed of different materials, and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved and the manufacturing can be performed at a low price.

(A) is a cross-sectional plan view showing the internal state in the present invention, (B) is a longitudinal side view showing the internal state of the housing in the present invention. (A) is a longitudinal front view showing the inside of the housing in the present invention, (B) is a front view of a product container separated from a drum connected to a drive source, and (C) is connected to the drive source. It is a front view of the state where the goods container was stored in the drum. (A) is a perspective view of a drum having a protruding piece of the first embodiment and a product container, (B) is a front view of a drum connected to a drive source, (C) is an enlarged view of Xa-Xa arrow of (B). End view, (D) is an enlarged end view taken along the line Xb-Xb of (B). (A) is a perspective view of the drum having the projecting piece of the second embodiment, (B) is a front view of the drum connected to the drive source, (C) is an enlarged end view as viewed from the arrow Xc-Xc of (B), (D) is an enlarged end view taken along the line Xd-Xd in (B). (A) is a perspective view of a drum having a projecting piece of the third embodiment, (B) is a front view of a drum connected to a drive source, (C) is an enlarged end view as viewed from the arrow Xe-Xe in (B), (D) is an enlarged end view taken along the line Xf-Xf in (B). (A) is a state diagram in which the insertion end portion has reached the vicinity of the top portion, (B) is an enlarged view of (A) portion of (A), (C) is a state diagram in which the insertion end portion has reached the top portion, (D ) Is an enlarged view of part (a) of (C). (A) is a perspective view of a drum having a protruding piece of the fourth embodiment and a product container, (B) is a front view of a drum connected to a drive source, and (C) and (D) are actions in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 5E is an enlarged view of the (c) part of (D). (A) is the perspective view of the drum which used the protrusion piece as another member, (B) is the Xg-Xg arrow expanded sectional view of (A), (C) is the (D) section enlarged view of (B). (A) to (C) are between the product container in which the drum is normally rotated from the initial drum stop state and the protruding piece is stored in the drum, and the product container stored in the storage space immediately above the product container. It is a stroke diagram until it inserts in. In (A) to (C), the drum rotates in the forward direction between the product container in which the drum rotates in the forward direction and the protruding piece is stored in the drum, and the product container in the storage space immediately above the product container. It is a process diagram until the product container stored in the drum is paid out. (A) thru | or (C) is a process figure until it discharges | emits a merchandise container and an empty drum receives and stores the merchandise container in a storage space | gap part. (A) thru | or (C) the effect | action of the state which the gravity center of a product container moves and inclines when it tries to receive and store the product container accommodated in the storage space | gap part by the drum which has a protrusion piece in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 4D is an operation diagram in a state where the center of gravity is moved and tilted by the drum having the projecting pieces in the third embodiment. (A) thru | or (C) are stroke diagrams until it discharges a container by making the state which the drum inverted into an initial stop state. (A) is a side view of a state in which a product container is stored in a drum as a plastic bottle, and (B) and (C) are stroke diagrams until the product container is discharged from the drum. (A) is a perspective view of a drum having a fan-shaped side plate and a protruding piece as another member, (B) is an enlarged view of (A) of (A), (C) is a side view of the drum, (D) ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow Xh-Xh in (C), (E) is a view taken along arrow Xi-Xi in (C), and (F) is an enlarged view taken along arrow YY in the (f) part of (C). (G) is a perspective view of a protrusion piece, (H) is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow Xj-Xj in (G), and (I) is a view taken along arrow Xk-Xk in (F). (A) is a side view of a drum having a fan-shaped side plate and a protruding piece as a separate member, (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line Xm-Xm in (A), and (C) is Xn- in (A). Xn arrow view. (A) is a side view of a drum having a fan-shaped side plate and a protruding piece as a separate member, (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow Xp-Xp in (A), and (C) is Xq- in (A). Xq arrow view. (A) is a side view showing a mechanism for transmitting a rotation to a drum by a worm gear and a wheel gear by erecting a motor in the present invention, and (B) is an Xs-Xs arrow view partially omitted from (A). .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of the present invention is mainly composed of a casing 1, a storage gap S, a drum A, a drive source 6, a conveyance path 7, a compressor 8, and a sales command means [FIG. (See (B)). The housing | casing 1 is formed in the substantially cube or the rectangular parallelepiped, and is a thing of the shape put together in small and compact. Specific sizes are about 50 cm in height, about 30 cm in width, and about 25 cm in depth, but a slight change in size is sufficiently acceptable. The storage gap S, the drum A, the drive source 6, the conveyance path 7, the compressor 8, and the sales command means (not shown) are efficiently accommodated inside the housing 1.

  The storage space S is configured such that a product container 9 containing beverages, foods, etc. as products is laid down horizontally and stacked and stored in this state in the vertical direction [FIG. 1 (B). FIG. 2 (A)]. A plurality of storage gaps S are provided in a row in the housing 1 with the partition plate 2 interposed therebetween. The partition plate 2 is composed of a plurality of sheets. One storage gap S is composed of two partition plates 2 and 2 and stores containers of various sizes by appropriately setting the interval between adjacent partition plates 2 and 2. be able to.

  Further, in the plurality of storage gaps S, S,..., The storage gaps S located at both ends can be constituted by the inner wall of the casing 1 and the partition plate 2 (see FIG. 1B). The dimension in the width direction of the storage gap S is preferably slightly larger than the maximum width of the commodity container 9 to be stored, as long as the containers stacked in the vertical direction can be smoothly lowered. . Although not particularly illustrated, each storage gap S may be formed by forming an independent case by the partition plate 2 and mounting the case in the housing 1.

  A drum A is mounted at the lower end of each storage gap S (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the drum A includes a receiving surface portion 3, side plate portions 4 and 4, and rotation support shafts 5 and 5, and the whole is a synthetic resin such as metal or plastic. Formed from. The receiving surface portion 3 is formed by cutting a cylinder along the axial direction into a substantially halved cylindrical shape, and a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is formed in an arc shape.

  Side plate portions 4 and 4 are formed at both longitudinal ends of the receiving surface portion 3. The side plate portion 4 is formed in a substantially disc shape, and is fixed to both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the receiving surface portion 3. As a fixing means, welding is performed in the case of metal. When the drum A is made of synthetic resin, it may be integrally formed. The rotation support shafts 5 and 5 are mounted at the center position in the diameter direction of the both side plate portions 4 and 4 and on the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the receiving surface portion 3. The side plate portion 4 is a disc, and the rotation support shaft 5 is fixed to the center of the diameter. That is, the rotation support shaft 5 is the rotation center P in the circumferential direction of the drum A, and the diameter center of the side plate portion 4 is also the rotation center P.

  Further, the side plate portions 4 and 4 may be formed in a fan shape as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17. When the side plate portion 4 is formed in a substantially fan shape, the fan-shaped arc-shaped edge corresponds to the arc shape in the circumferential direction of the support receiving plate 30 [FIGS. 15A, 15C, (See (D), FIG. 16 (B), FIG. 17 (B)). By forming the side plate portions 4 and 4 in a substantially fan shape, it is possible to further save the raw materials used for the side plate portion 4 when the disc shape is used, and to reduce the weight of the drum A. You can also.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B) and FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), the receiving surface portion 3 is composed of a support receiving plate 30 and a protruding piece 32. The support receiving plate 30 has a substantially halved cylindrical shape in which a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is an arc shape (see FIGS. 3A and 3D). As for both sides in the width direction of the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3, the side on the front side during forward rotation is referred to as a front side 31a, and the side on the opposite side of the front side 31a is always the rear side during forward rotation. This is referred to as the side 31b.

  The shape connecting the rotation center P in the circumferential direction of the drum A, the front side 31a and the rear side 31b is substantially "C" or "H" or triangular (specifically, flat triangular). Specifically, the opening angle θ of the so-called receiving surface portion 3 connecting the rotation center P, the front side 31a, and the rear side 31b is 180 degrees or less (see FIGS. 3C and 3D). . As described above, the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3 has an arcuate cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the radius of curvature R is variously set according to the container size of the product container 9.

Projection pieces 32 are formed on the front side 31a as shown in FIGS.
The projecting piece 32 is formed so as to project in an arc shape from the front side 31 a along the circumferential direction of the receiving surface portion 3. That is, in the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3, the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a partial arc that forms a circle, and the protruding piece 32 is also a part that forms a circle. A cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the front side 31a of the protruding piece 32 is formed in a substantially arc shape. The projecting piece 32 is an extended portion from the front side 31a of the support receiving plate 30, and the support receiving plate 30 and the projecting piece 32 are integrally formed from the same member. The protruding piece 32 itself has the same radius of curvature R (including substantially the same) as the support receiving plate 30. The size of the radius of curvature R is determined by the size of the product container 9 so as to be stored in the storage gap S. The radius of curvature R is set according to various sizes of product containers 9 such as cans, bottles, plastic bottles or cylindrical beverage packages stored in the drum A.

In the configuration of the drum A, when an angle connecting the rotation center P and the front side 31a and the rear side 31b of the support receiving plate 30 is referred to as a support angle θ, the support angle θ is normally 180 degrees. It is as follows. Specifically, it is about 45 degrees to 180 degrees or less. Preferably it is about 90 to about 170 degrees, more preferably about 120 to about 140 degrees. A line connecting the tip of the protruding piece 32, the rear side 31b, and the rotation center P exists on a straight line (see FIG. 3C, FIG. 4C, FIG. 5C, etc.). In the embodiment of the drawing, the support angle θ is about 135 degrees. That is, as long as it is within the above range, it is sufficient if the receiving surface 3 has a size that allows the container to be stored stably. As described above, the angle θ connecting the front side 31a, the rear side 31b, and the rotation center P of the support receiving plate 30 is naturally less than 180 degrees. By adopting such a configuration of the drum A, the drum A holds the product container 9 accommodated in the drum A in a stable state, and also reliably ensures that the product container 9 is discharged from the drum A. It can be dropped from the stored state.

There are various shapes of the protruding pieces 32. In the first embodiment of the protruding piece 32, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a trapezoidal shape or a half shape is provided at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a of the receiving surface portion 3. A protruding piece 32 having a circular shape or the like is formed. In the first embodiment, the front side 31a has a shape that occupies most of the portion formed linearly along the longitudinal direction (see FIGS. 3B and 3D). Then, a protruding piece 32 having a triangular shape, a square shape, a rectangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, a semicircular shape, or the like is formed to protrude from the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a formed in a straight line. See FIGS. 3B and 3C]. In the third embodiment, the shapes of the front side 31a and the protruding piece 32 can be clearly distinguished.

In the second embodiment of the protruding piece 32, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the protruding piece 32 is formed in a flat triangular shape along the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a. In 2nd Embodiment, the protrusion piece 32 is formed over the whole longitudinal direction of the front side 31a, and the front side 3
The central portion 1a in the longitudinal direction is the highest position of the protruding piece 32 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C), and both longitudinal ends of the front side 31a are the lowest positions of the protruding piece 32 [FIG. B), (D
)reference〕. In the second embodiment, since the front side 31a is integrated with the protruding piece 32 over the entire length, the front side 31a is almost included in the protruding piece 32. A line connecting both ends in the longitudinal direction of the piece 32 in a straight line becomes the front side 31a, and the front side 31a is indicated by a virtual line [see FIGS. 4A and 4B].

In the third embodiment of the protruding piece 32, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the protruding piece 32 is formed in a flat right triangle along the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a. That is, the protruding piece 32 having a straight inclined side 32b from one end in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a toward the other end.
Is formed. The protruding piece 32 is formed over the entire longitudinal direction of the front side 31a as in the second embodiment, and one end in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a is the highest position of the protruding piece 32 [FIG. B) and (C)], the other end in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a is the lowest position of the protruding piece 32 (see FIGS. 5B and 5D). In the third embodiment, since the front side 31a is integrated with the protruding piece 32 over its entire length, the front side 31a is almost included in the protruding piece 32. A line connecting both ends in the longitudinal direction of the piece 32 in a straight line becomes the front side 31a, and the front side 31a is indicated by a virtual line [see FIGS. 5A and 5B].

The protruding pieces 32 in the second embodiment and the third embodiment described above are formed over the entire length along the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a. Therefore, for example, when the product container 9 is a container such as a cylindrical can juice [see FIG. 12 (A)], the product container 9 stored in the drum A and the product container 9 are stacked immediately above the product container 9. In addition, when the protruding piece 32 is inserted between the next-order product container 9 accommodated in the storage gap S, the following process flow is performed. First, the tip of the protruding piece 32 is inserted between the product containers 9 and 9 stacked vertically adjacent to each other.

  Then, as the insertion of the projection piece 32 proceeds, the insertion operation is performed while the insertion area of the projection piece 32 between the product containers 9 and 9 gradually increases (see FIG. 12B). Therefore, the resistance against the insertion operation of the protruding piece 32 between the product containers 9 and 9 is low at the beginning, and the surface coating of the product container 9 is not damaged by gradually inserting the product into the product container 9. Further, the liquid inside the product container 9 is swayed around the position where the protruding piece 32 is inserted, moves inside the container, and moves to a position where the position of the center of gravity G of the product container 9 deviates from the center. The product container 9 is inclined along the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 12C). Due to the inclined state of the product container 9, the protruding piece 32 can be easily moved along the circumferential direction of the drum A while being further inserted. 12C and 12D show that the distribution weight is non-uniform and the position of the center of gravity G is shifted.

In the fourth embodiment of the projecting piece 32, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the projecting pieces 32 are formed at both side portions in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a, and a recess is formed between the projecting pieces 32 and 32. The hollow part 33 used as a state is provided. Also in the fourth embodiment, the shapes of the front side 31a and the protruding piece 32 can be clearly distinguished. Further, the shape of the protruding piece 32 can be a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a trapezoid, a semicircular shape, or the like, as in the second embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, as described above, the protrusions 32 are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the support receiving plate 30 along the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a, and are recessed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the front side 31a. Part 33
Is formed.

  With such a configuration, the straw portion storage portion 91 of the product container 9 stored in the drum A can be accommodated in the recess portion 33 (see FIGS. 7B and 7C). The forward rotation of the drum A can be smoothly performed. When the drum A rotates directly above the product container 9 stored in the drum A and on the lower surface side of the product container 9 stored in the storage gap S, the straw storage unit 91 is received in the recess 33 [FIG. 7 (D), (E)], the protruding piece 32 can be prevented from coming into contact with the straw portion accommodating portion 91. Accordingly, the straw portion accommodating portion 91 and the drum A of the product container 9 can be prevented from being peeled off from the product container 9 by the rotation of the drum A without interfering with each other.

  Further, the projection piece 32 of the first to fourth embodiments described above may have an insertion end portion 32a at the tip portion thereof. The insertion end 32a is a flat portion and is configured to be easily inserted between the product containers 9 and 9 adjacent in the vertical direction. The insertion end portion 32a is formed by being slightly inclined toward the inside of the drum A with respect to the tangent line La at an appropriate position of the tip portion of the projection piece 32. [See FIGS. 3 to 5 and FIGS. 6B and 6D]. Here, a root portion of the insertion end portion 32a with respect to the protruding piece 32 is referred to as a root portion 32 '. The insertion end portion 32a is formed as a horizontal and flat surface. Then, by forward rotation in the discharging operation of the drum A, the tip end portion of the protruding piece 32 is viewed from the rotation center P of the drum A, and the insertion end portion 32a has reached the vicinity of the substantially uppermost position in a substantially horizontal plane. (See FIGS. 6 (C) and 6 (D)).

  The insertion end portion 32a will be described in more detail. If the tangent line at the base portion 32 'of the insertion end portion 32a formed on the projection piece 32 is La, the tangent line is La and the insertion end portion. The angle α is defined by the extending direction line Lb from the base portion 32 ′ of 32a. Then, in a state where the insertion end portion 32a has reached the uppermost position (may be substantially the uppermost position) of the drum A, the extending direction of the insertion end portion 32a coincides with the horizontal line Hh at the uppermost position of the drum A ( The angle α is set so as to include substantially the same (see FIGS. 6C and 6D). Accordingly, when the insertion end portion 32a reaches the top position (including substantially the top position) of the drum A (side plate portion 4) in the stroke in which the drum A performs the normal rotation in the dispensing operation of the commodity container 9. The extending direction of the insertion end 32a is horizontal (including substantially horizontal) (see FIGS. 9C, 6C, and 6D).

  The angle α is actually a slight angle, and the insertion end portion 32a is configured such that the drum A rotates and the product container 9 stored in the drum A, and the stored product container 9 It can be inserted very smoothly and easily between the product container 9 accommodated in the storage gap S immediately above. That is, the insertion end portion 32a is becoming closer to the horizontal line Hh as it approaches the uppermost position, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, due to the positive rotation in the discharging operation of the drum A. The product container 9 accommodated in the drum A is squeezed into the lower part of the product container 9 immediately above the product container 9 stored in the drum A, and the drum A rotates while pushing the product container 9 slightly. Payout (see FIG. 10).

  As shown in FIG. 8, there is an embodiment in which the protruding piece 32 is a separate member from the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3. In this embodiment, a band plate member having a substantially arc-shaped projection piece 32 is used. The protruding piece 32 as a separate member is formed of a synthetic resin material such as plastic or nylon or a metal plate material, and includes an insertion portion 321 and an attachment base portion 322. The mounting base portion 322 is a portion fixed to the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3, and the fixing means is fixed by a fixing tool 34 such as a screw or a rivet, or fixed by an adhesive.

  Further, as long as the support receiving plate 30 and the protruding piece 32 are the same metal material, a fixing means by welding may be used. The insertion part 321 is mounted so as to protrude from the front side 31a. The insertion portion 321 has the same radius of curvature R as the support receiving plate 30 of the drum A, like the protruding pieces 32 of the first to fourth embodiments. Further, the insertion portion 321 of the projection piece 32 as a separate member is formed with the insertion end portion 32a at the distal end portion of the insertion portion 321 as described above. In this case, the insertion portion 321 has the same configuration as the insertion portion 321 described above. In the case where the projecting piece 32 is a separate member, it is applied to the first to fourth embodiments.

  Further, as a modification of the projection piece 32 which is a separate member from the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3, the thickness is further increased than the thickness of the projection piece 32 disclosed in FIG. A thick film may be used (see FIGS. 15 to 17). The portion of the insertion end portion 32a of the insertion portion 321 of the protruding piece 32 as a separate member is not particularly thin at the base portion, and gradually increases in thickness as the insertion portion 321 moves toward the insertion end portion 32a. It is formed to be thin. Further, the insertion end portion 32 a is formed so as to slightly bite inwardly of the circumferentially extended portion in the circumferential direction of the support receiving plate 30 of the receiving surface portion 3.

  A mounting surface 322 a is formed on the protruding piece 32 and has the same polarity radius as the outer peripheral surface of the support receiving plate 30, and is joined to the outer peripheral surface of the support receiving plate 30 in a close contact state. It is like that. Further, a stepped portion 322b is formed at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the protruding piece 32 as shown in FIGS. 15 (G) and 15 (H). When the protrusion 32 is fixed to the support receiving plate 30, the stepped portion 322 b is engaged with the circumferential edge of the support receiving plate 30, so that the protruding region of the protrusion 32 from the end edge is engaged. In order to be accurately determined, the protrusion 32 serves as a position relative to the support receiving plate 30.

  The cross-sectional shape in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the drum A at the tip of the protruding piece 32 may be formed in a substantially arc shape (see FIGS. 6B and 6D). In this embodiment, the tip of the protruding piece 32 is formed in a substantially semicircular shape, so that when the protruding piece 32 is inserted between the vertically adjacent product containers 9, 9, In addition to preventing scratches, insertion is performed smoothly. In this embodiment, in the case of the protruding piece 32 having the insertion end 32a, the cross section of the tip of the insertion end 32a is formed in a substantially arc shape.

  The rotation support shaft 5 is formed by being fixed to or integrally formed with the side plate portions 4 and 4, and serves as the rotation center P of the drum A. Both rotation support shafts 5 and 5 are formed so as to coincide with each other [FIGS. 3 (C), (D), 4 (C), (D), 5 (C), (D). Etc.]. A drive source 6 such as a motor or a solenoid is connected to either one of the rotation support shafts 5 and 5 and is rotated by the drive source 6 so that the drum A rotates forward and backward [FIG. B), FIG. 4B, FIG. 5B etc.]

  The drive shaft 61 of the drive source 6 and the rotation support shaft 5 are directly connected via a joint member 62 along the axial direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the drive source 6 is installed so that the drive shaft 61 is vertical, and the drive shaft 61 is installed so as to be perpendicular to the rotation support shaft 5. There is also. In this case, a gear mechanism in which the drive shaft 61 and the rotation support shaft 5 are engaged with the worm gear 63 and the wheel gear 64 is mounted (see FIG. 18B). Specifically, a worm gear 63 is attached to the drive shaft 61, a wheel gear 64 is attached to the rotation support shaft 5, and the rotational force of the drive source 6 is transmitted to the rotation support shaft 5 of the drum A, so that the drum A is It is intended to rotate.

  Thus, by interposing the gear mechanism composed of the worm gear 63 and the wheel gear 64 between the drive source 6 and the rotation support shaft 5, when the drive source 6 uses a motor or a solenoid, the output is small. Even if it exists, rotation transmission can be performed favorably and power consumption can be suppressed. Further, the gear mechanism by the worm gear 63 and the wheel gear 64 can reduce noise during driving. Further, when the drive source 6 is a motor, the motor is in an upright state along the axial direction, so that the mounting space for the motor can be shortened in the horizontal direction. A direction can be shortened and the housing | casing 1 can be made still more compact. In addition, at the portion of the rotation support shaft 5 of the drum A that is connected to the drive shaft 61 of the drive source 6, the rotation support shaft 5 is formed in a hollow tube shape, and the peripheral wall portion thereof is axially arranged. Are formed so that the long grooves 51, 51,... And the joint member 62 can be engaged with each other so that reliable rotation transmission from the drive shaft 61 can be performed. Yes.

  There are two rotation methods for paying out the merchandise in the rotation of the drum A. One of them is a method in which the drum A rotates continuously, that is, the drum rotates 360 degrees. In the present invention, the rotational configuration of the drum A is mainly used. This method is easy to operate. Another method is repetitive rotation combining forward rotation and reverse rotation. That is, the normal rotation direction is the rotation direction when the container is discharged from the state where the container is stored in the drum. The reverse rotation direction of the drum A is a rotation direction in which the next container enters the receiving surface portion 3 and is stored while returning to the original position from the state where the container is discharged and empty. The rotation direction is opposite to the normal rotation direction described above. That is, in the drum A, the rotation direction for discharging the container and the rotation direction for storing the container are opposite to each other. That is, in this method, one rotation (360) is not performed, and the normal rotation angle is less than 180 degrees.

  When the opening angle θ of the support receiving plate 30 of the drum A is small, the rotational operation angle necessary for paying out the product container 9 can be reduced. It may be determined from the viewpoints of strength, prevention of theft of goods, and stable storage of goods. In the drum A, the length of the receiving surface portion 3 in the longitudinal direction, that is, the distance between the side plate portions 4 and 4 is laid sideways along the length direction of the product container 9 such as a bottle, can or plastic bottle. Thus, it is sufficient that the length of the drum A is made slightly longer than the height of the product, and the length of the drum is usually 1 mm or more larger than the length of the container.

  Rotating support shafts 5 and 5 are fixed to the side plate portions 4 and 4 of the drum A. The rotation support shafts 5 and 5 are provided at positions that become the rotation center P of the drum A, and the drum A rotates forward and backward by the rotation support shafts 5 and 5. One of the rotation support shafts 5 and 5 of the drum A is connected to the drive source 6 (see FIGS. 2B and 2C). The drive source 6 is a motor, a solenoid, or the like, and is particularly preferably of a type that can appropriately control the rotation angle. Specifically, a stepping motor that can control the rotation angle of the shaft is used as the drive source 6.

  Next, the operation of paying out the automatically sold products in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Each of the storage gaps S, S,... Of the casing 1 is stacked in a vertical direction in a state where a plurality of product containers 9, 9,. 2 (A)]. Further, in one storage gap S, 5 can be stored in a relatively large product container 9, and 6 or 7 can be stored in a small product container 9. Then, the purchaser inserts a coin from an insertion slot (not shown) and selects a desired beverage product via a selection means such as a push button (not shown).

  The drive source 6 of the storage gap S in which the selected product container 9 is stored starts from a stopped state (initial state) [see FIG. 9A], and the drum A rotates forward about the rotation center P. Start forward rotation in the direction. Here, the forward rotation direction of the drum A is a clockwise direction in the present invention for convenience of explanation (see FIGS. 9 to 11). And while the protruding piece 32 of the drum A is inserted between the product container 9 stored in the drum A and the product container 9 stored immediately above the product container 9 and stored in the storage gap S, the drum A The product container 9 housed in the storage gap S is supported by the protruding piece 32 and the support receiving plate 30 so as not to fall, and continues to rotate forward [FIGS. 9B, 9C, 10A]. (See (B)). Further, when the drum A continues to rotate forward and the drum A rotates from the initial state to about 180 degrees, the commodity container 9 falls from the receiving surface portion 3 of the drum A (see FIG. 10C).

  The product container 9 that has been stored directly in the storage gap S immediately above the dropped product container 9 is supported by the protrusion 32 of the drum A or the support receiving plate 30 so as not to fall, and the storage gap S It can be kept in a state of being stored inside, and can be prevented from dropping together with the product container 9 dropped from the drum A, preventing two products from dropping at a time, and only for the price of one product Two products are not provided by mistake. Further, the protruding piece 32 abuts on the commodity container 9 to be kept next to the commodity container 9 that has dropped, and prevents the commodity container 9 from being accidentally dropped. The drum A, which has been dropped out of the product container 9 and emptied, further rotates in the forward direction, and receives the product container 9 stored in the storage gap S and then reserved in the receiving surface 3 (see FIG. 6).

  In the present invention, the operation of the protruding piece 32 when the drum A performs the payout operation will be described with reference to FIG. The protruding piece 32 is stored in the drum A when inserted between the product container 9 stored in the drum A and the product container 9 stored in the storage gap S immediately above the product container 9. The projecting piece 32 comes into contact with the product container 9 positioned immediately above the product container 9 and acts to push the product container 9 upward (see FIGS. 12A and 12B).

  The pushed up product container 9 inevitably loses balance, the contents of the product container 9 flow, and the position of the center of gravity G moves. When the center of gravity G moves from the center of the product container 9 in the longitudinal direction, the product container 9 tends to incline along the longitudinal direction around the contact point with the protruding piece 32 (see FIG. 12C). . The product container 9 is further pushed up in an oblique state by the protruding piece 32. With respect to the product container 9 in the inclined state, the protruding piece 32 becomes easier to bite and insert.

  In detail, when the content of the product container 9 is a beverage, air is present in the product container 9 and the beverage is shaken by the rotation of the drum A, and the position of the center of gravity G of the product is not fixed. It becomes stable. As the beverage moves, the center of gravity G of the product container 9 inevitably moves. For this reason, even if the tip of the protruding piece 32 is immediately below the center of gravity G of the product at first, the product container 9 is shaken by the rotation operation of the drum A, and the center of gravity G is easily moved. The container 9 is always inclined along the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 12C). As a result, when the product container 9 is pushed up in parallel, the tip of the protruding piece 32 is easily inserted into the lower surface side of the product container 9 when pushed up obliquely, and a large drive for rotating the drum A is obtained. No force is required, and the probability of scratching the coating film, printing, or label of the product container 9 is extremely reduced.

In addition, the protruding piece 32 causes the tip of the protruding piece 32 to come into contact with the protruding piece 32 and the lower end surface of the product container 9 in a laid-down state so as to refrain from the next position of the product container 9 that has been dropped from the drum A. There is an advantage that the distance Ka to the position of the contact can be reduced. This is because the protruding piece 32 is formed so as to protrude in the circumferential direction from the front side 31a, and the protruding piece 32 is brought into a state where the commodity container 9 to be kept next and the front side 31a of the drum A come close to each other. This is because it can come into contact with the product container 9 relatively quickly (see FIG. 9B).

  In the present invention, in the process of purchasing merchandise, the merchandise container 9 stored in the drum A is moved downward in the inclined delivery path when the drum A rotates in the forward direction in the dispensing operation and the merchandise container 9 falls. It slides toward it and is sent to the vicinity of the payout port 11 of the housing 1. Thereafter, the purchaser opens the cover 11a of the payout opening 11 of the housing 1 and takes out the product (product container 9). When the drum A is rotated forward and the stored product container 9 is dropped, the forward rotating drum A is emptied, and the next product container 9 is dropped on the receiving surface 3 of the drum A. Then, it is stored and stopped, that is, it is in an initial state (see FIG. 9A).

  The drum A returns to the initial state by stopping the reverse rotation, and waits for the next payout command to be issued. FIG. 13 shows an embodiment starting from a state in which the drum A is reversed in the initial state of the payout operation. In this embodiment, in the initial state, the drum A is reversed, that is, the opening side of the support receiving plate 30 is facing downward, and the commodity container 9 is not stored (see FIG. 13A). FIG. 14 shows a state in which, in the present invention, the protruding piece 32 can be paid out from the drum A without peeling off the film wound around the surface of the PET bottle by making the cross section of the tip arc. .

A ... drum, 3 ... receiving surface part, 31a ... front side, 31b ... rear side, 32 ... projection piece,
32a ... Insertion end, 33 ... Depression, 4 ... Side plate, 6 ... Drive source, 9 ... Product container,
S: Storage cavity.

Claims (7)

A plurality of storage gaps that are stacked and stored in the vertical direction in a state in which the product container is laid down; a drum that stores a container located at the bottom of the container that is mounted and stacked at the lower end of each storage gap; and The drum comprises a drive source for rotating the drum in the axial direction, and the drum has side plate portions formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the receiving surface portion constituted by a support receiving plate having a circular cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A protrusion piece projecting in the circumferential direction of the support receiving plate of the receiving surface portion is formed on the front side in the forward rotation direction of the drum, and the protrusion piece of the drum is tangent to the tangent at the tip end position. A small vending machine having an insertion end formed to be bent inward .   2. The small vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the protruding piece is formed in a flat triangular shape that is symmetrical from the center in the longitudinal direction of the end side of the receiving surface portion. In Claim 1, The said protrusion piece is formed in the flat right triangle shape which has a substantially linear inclined side toward the other end side from the one end side along the longitudinal direction of the edge side of the said receiving surface part. A small vending machine. 2. The small vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the protruding piece is formed to protrude substantially in the center along the longitudinal direction of the end side of the receiving surface portion . 2. The small vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the protruding pieces are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the edge of the receiving surface portion, and a recess is formed in the center in the longitudinal direction. .   The small vending machine according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, wherein a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tip of the protruding piece is formed in a substantially arc shape. Machine.   The small vending machine according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, wherein the protruding piece is a separate member from the support receiving plate of the receiving surface portion.

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