JP2022079355A - Commodity storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve diameter enlargement while suppressing an increase in weight and a reduction in rigidity of a spiral itself.SOLUTION: A commodity storage device 10 includes a long and cylindrical device body 20 having therein a commodity storage path 24 extending along a longitudinal direction of the device, and a spiral 30 configured in an aspect of spirally winding along an extending direction of the commodity storage path 24 and arranged so as to be rotated around a central axis of the commodity storage path 24, in which, when the spiral 30 is rotated, a commodity at most downstream is dispensed by gradually shipping the commodity bounded between respective pitches of the spiral 30 toward a downstream side in a shipping direction of the commodity storage path 24. The spiral 30 is configured in a manner that a metallic hollow bar 31 is spirally wound.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a product storage device, and more particularly to a product storage device applied to a vending machine for selling a product.

Conventionally, some vending machines that sell products are designed to pay out the products stored in the product storage device of the product storage to a predetermined product take-out area. The merchandise take-out area is a space that communicates with the outside of the merchandise storage through the merchandise outlet, and the purchased merchandise can be taken out if the user inserts his / her hand from the merchandise take-out port.

The product storage device in such a vending machine is configured to include a device main body and a spiral.

The main body of the device has a long tubular shape whose vertical direction is the longitudinal direction, and is composed of a cover having an opening on the front surface and a door body for opening and closing the front opening of the cover. Such a device main body has a product storage passage inside.

The spiral is formed by spirally winding a solid metal rod along the extending direction (vertical direction) of the product storage passage. The upper end portion of this spiral is connected to a transfer motor via a transmission member, and rotates around a central axis when a driving force is transmitted from the transfer motor.

In the product storage device having such a configuration, the product is normally restrained between the pitches of the spiral, and when the spiral rotates, the product restrained between the pitches is gradually carried downward. The lowest-ranked product is paid out (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5217474

By the way, in the above-mentioned product storage device, a spiral is formed by winding a solid metal rod in a spiral shape, which causes the following problems.

In recent years, it has been required to increase the diameter of the spiral from the viewpoint of the variety of products to be sold and the versatility of sales. However, if the spiral is composed of a solid metal rod, the weight of the spiral itself increases as the extending length increases, and the rigidity of the spiral itself decreases, making it difficult to increase the diameter. It was.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product storage device capable of increasing the diameter while suppressing an increase in weight and a decrease in rigidity of the spiral itself.

In order to achieve the above object, the product storage device according to the present invention has a long tubular device body having a product storage passage extending along its own longitudinal direction inside, and an extension of the product storage passage. It is configured to be spirally wound along a direction, and is provided with a spiral rotatably arranged around a central axis in the product storage passage, and when the spiral rotates, between each pitch of the spiral. A product storage device that pays out the most downstream products by gradually carrying out the products restrained by the product toward the downstream side in the carry-out direction of the product storage passage. The spiral is a spiral metal hollow rod. It is characterized by being wound and composed.

Further, according to the present invention, in the product storage device, the product storage passage extends along the vertical direction in such a manner that the lower side is the downstream side in the carry-out direction, and the spiral extends in the vertical direction. It is characterized in that the products restrained between pitches are gradually carried out downward, and the lowest-ranked products are paid out through the opening on the lower surface of the main body of the apparatus.

Further, according to the present invention, in the product storage device, the front end portion is fixed to the first side wall component of the device main body constituting one side wall of the product storage passage along the vertical direction inside the spiral. Provided with a spiral presser member that extends and defines the maximum width of the product that can be constrained between the pitches with and from the second side wall component of the device body that constitutes the other side wall of the product storage aisle. It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, since the spiral is formed by winding a hollow metal rod in a spiral shape, the weight of the spiral itself can be reduced, and the spiral is made of a solid metal rod. Can also improve the section modulus. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in weight and a decrease in rigidity due to an increase in the extending length of the spiral itself, and it is possible to increase the outer diameter of the wound portion. Therefore, it is possible to increase the diameter while suppressing the increase in weight and the decrease in rigidity of the spiral itself.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing an internal structure of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one product storage device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one product storage device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing one product storage device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the metal hollow rod constituting the spiral shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the spiral pressing member shown in FIG. 4 together with the spiral.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the product storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view schematically showing an internal structure of a vending machine to which a product storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine 1 exemplified here is for selling a product in a cooled state, and is configured to include a main body cabinet 2, an outer door 4, and an inner door 6.

The main body cabinet 2 is formed in a rectangular shape having an opening on the front surface by appropriately combining a plurality of steel plates, and has a product storage 3 having a heat insulating structure inside. The outer door 4 is for covering the front opening of the main body cabinet 2, and is arranged so as to be openable and closable on one side edge of the main body cabinet 2. On the front surface of the outer door 4, a display window, a product selection button, a bill insertion slot, a coin slot, a return lever, an integrated display, a coin return slot, a product outlet 5, etc. are required when selling products. Things are provided. The inner door 6 is a heat insulating door for covering the front opening of the product storage 3, and is arranged so as to be openable and closable at a position inside the outer door 4. The inner door 6 is provided with a product carry-out outlet 7 for carrying the product to the outside of the product storage 3.

Further, the vending machine 1 is provided with a shooter 8 inside the product storage 3, and the temperature control unit 9 is provided in a region below the shooter 8 (hereinafter, also referred to as a “heat exchange region”). On the other hand, the product storage devices 10 are arranged side by side in an area above the shooter 8 (hereinafter, also referred to as a “product storage area”).

The shooter 8 is a plate-shaped member for guiding the product discharged from the product storage device 10 to the product carry-out port 7 of the inner door 6, and is provided in a manner of gradually inclining downward toward the front side. .. Although not explicitly shown in the figure, the shooter 8 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes (not shown) for communicating between the heat exchange area and the product storage area.

The temperature control unit 9 is for cooling the internal atmosphere of the product storage 3 to a desired temperature state, and is configured to include an evaporator 9a and an internal air blower fan 9b.

The evaporator 9a constitutes a refrigerating cycle in which a refrigerant is circulated with a compressor, a condenser, or the like (not shown) installed in the machine chamber 11, and the refrigerant passing through its own (not shown) refrigerant passage and its surroundings. The air is cooled by exchanging heat with the air inside the product storage 3 passing through the above. Here, the machine room 11 is a room defined on the lower side of the product storage 3 inside the main body cabinet 2.

In such a temperature control unit 9, when the in-compartment blower fan 9b is driven while the refrigeration cycle is in operation, the air cooled in the evaporator 9a is sent upward through the ventilation holes of the shooter 8, so that the product can be stored. The region can be kept cold.

2 to 4 show one product storage device 10 shown in FIG. 1, respectively, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view. Although a plurality of product storage devices 10 are arranged in the main body cabinet 2, since all of them have the same configuration, one product storage device 10 will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the product storage device 10 includes a device main body 20, a spiral 30, a spiral pressing member 40, and a sold-out detection unit 50.

The apparatus main body 20 is made of, for example, sheet metal or the like, and is a long cylindrical member whose vertical direction is the longitudinal direction, and includes a cover 21 and a front door 22. The cover 21 is a long member having openings 21a, 21b, 21c on the front surface, the upper surface, and the lower surface, and the vertical direction is the longitudinal direction. The front door 22 has a size sufficient to close the opening 21a on the front surface of the cover 21. In the front door 22, the lower end protrusion 221 of the right end portion is pivotally supported by the lower edge portion of the opening 21a on the front surface of the cover 21, and the upper end protrusion 222 of the right end portion closes the opening 21b on the upper surface of the cover 21. By being pivotally supported by the upper base 23, it is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the cover 21. The front door 22 opens and closes the opening 21a on the front surface of the cover 21.

In the device main body 20 including the cover 21 and the front door 22, the front door 22 has a product storage passage 24 extending along the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) by closing the opening 21a on the front surface of the cover 21. ing. As a result, the front door 22 constitutes the front wall of the product storage aisle 24, the right side portion 211 of the cover 21 constitutes the right side wall of the product storage passage 24, and the left side portion 212 of the cover 21 constitutes the left side wall of the product storage passage 24. The rear surface portion 213 of the cover 21 constitutes the rear wall of the product storage passage 24.

Further, in the illustrated example, the attachment members 25a and 25b are detachably attached to the inner surface (rear surface) of the front door 22 and the inner surface (right surface) of the left side portion 212 of the cover 21. The attachment members 25a and 25b are for appropriately adjusting the front-rear dimension and the left-right dimension of the product storage passage 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, the spiral 30 is formed by spirally winding a metal hollow rod 31 along the vertical direction (extending direction of the product storage passage 24). The spiral 30 can restrain the product between each pitch.

As shown in FIG. 6, such a spiral 30 has an upper end portion connected to a transmission member 33 of a drive unit 32 installed on the upper base 23. The drive unit 32 houses a spiral motor (not shown), which is a transport drive source, inside the drive case 32a.

The transmission member 33 rotates around its own central axis when the spiral motor is driven by a command from a control unit (not shown), and more specifically, rotates clockwise when viewed from below. The central axis of the transmission member 33 is adjusted to coincide with the central axis of the spiral 30, and the spiral 30 rotates integrally with the transmission member 33.

Therefore, the spiral 30 is integrally rotated around the central axis (rotated clockwise when viewed from below) integrally with the transmission member 33, so that the products restrained between the pitches are gradually carried out downward and at the same time. The product restrained between the lowermost pitches (lowermost product) is discharged downward from the opening (hereinafter, also referred to as a payout outlet) 21c on the lower surface of the cover 21.

By the way, a carry-out detection unit (not shown) is housed inside the drive case 32a. This carry-out detection unit detects that the transmission member 33 makes one rotation. As described above, since the spiral 30 rotates integrally with the transmission member 33, the carry-out detection unit detects that the spiral 30 makes one rotation. When the carry-out detection unit detects that the transmission member 33 (spiral 30) has made one rotation, the carry-out detection unit gives that fact to the control unit.

The spiral pressing member 40 is a long member formed by bending a sheet metal or the like so that the vertical direction is the longitudinal direction. Such a spiral pressing member 40 is configured by integrally forming a pressing base 41, a pressing lower end portion 42, and a pressing upper end portion 43.

The presser base 41 is a flat plate-shaped portion extending in the vertical direction, and the front end portion and the rear end portion thereof are curved to the right to form a curl shape. The lower end portion 42 of the presser foot is a portion in which the extended end portion thereof is bent upward after being bent toward the right from the lower end portion of the presser foot base 41. Two mounting holes 42a are formed in the lower end portion 42 of the presser foot. The presser foot upper end portion 43 is a flat plate-shaped portion extending to the left from the upper end portion of the presser foot base 41. One connecting hole 43a is formed in the upper end portion 43 of the presser foot.

The spiral presser member 40 having such a configuration is inserted into the spiral 30 from below, and the connecting member 34 penetrating the hole in the central portion of the transmission member 33 is relatively inserted into the connecting hole 43a of the upper end portion 43 of the presser. While being inserted, a mounting screw (not shown) for inserting the mounting hole 42a of the lower end portion 42 of the presser foot from the right side is screwed into the right side portion 211 of the cover 21 to be mounted. In the spiral pressing member 40 attached to the right side portion 211 of the cover 21 in this way, the surface of the pressing base portion 41 faces the left side portion 212 of the cover 21.

As a result, in the spiral pressing member 40, the lower end portion 42 of the pressing portion is fixed to the right side portion 211 (first side wall component) constituting one side wall (right side wall) of the product storage passage 24 inside the spiral 30. The maximum left and right of the product that extends along the vertical direction and can be restrained between each pitch with the left side portion 212 (second side wall component) that extends along the vertical direction and constitutes the other side wall (left side wall) of the product storage passage 24. The width is specified.

Such a spiral pressing member 40 is for restricting the spiral 30 from being displaced in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction when the spiral 30 rotates around the central axis.

The sold-out detection unit 50 includes a unit main body 51, a sold-out detection lever 52, and a sold-out detection unit (not shown).

The unit main body 51 is, for example, a box-shaped body formed of a resin material and having an opening at the front portion. The unit main body 51 is attached to the lower end portion of the rear base 26 attached to the rear surface portion 213 of the cover 21.

The sold-out detection lever 52 is made of, for example, a resin material, and is swingably attached to the unit main body 51 so as to move forward and backward with respect to the product storage passage 24. A lever spring (not shown) is interposed between the unit main body 51 and the sold-out detection lever 52. The lever spring is an urging means for urging the sold-out detection lever 52 toward the front.

As a result, the sold-out detection lever 52 is normally urged by the lever spring to move forward to the product storage passage 24. On the other hand, when the sold-out detection lever 52 is pressed by the product between the lowermost pitches in the spiral 30, it regresses from the product storage passage 24 against the urging force of the lever spring.

The sold-out detection unit is provided in the unit main body 51, and is configured by, for example, an optical sensor or the like. When the sold-out detection lever 52 advances to the product storage passage 24, the sold-out detection unit receives the light from the light emitting unit in the light receiving unit and is turned on, while the sold-out detection lever 52 stores the product. When moving backward from the passage 24, the light from the light emitting portion is blocked by the shielding plate 52a attached to the sold-out detection lever 52, and the light receiving portion is turned off without receiving the light. Then, the sold-out detection unit detects that there is a product between the lowest pitches of the spiral 30 when it is in the off state, and there is no product between the lowest pitches of the spiral 30 when it is turned on. It detects it and gives that effect to the control unit as a signal.

In the product storage device 10 having the above configuration, the product selection button provided on the outer door 4 is selected by the user, and the selected product is processed with money. A payout command is given to the product storage device 10 for storing the product.

When the payout command is given in this way, in the corresponding product storage device 10, the spiral motor is driven in response to the command from the control unit, and the central axis is rotated when the spiral 30 is viewed from below together with the transmission member 33. Rotate clockwise as the center.

By rotating the spiral 30 in this way, the goods restrained between the pitches are carried out downward, and the goods restrained between the lowest pitches are paid out downward. The product for which the product has been paid out from the spiral 30 is transported along the shooter 8, is carried out in front of the product carry-out port 7, and is in a state where it can be taken out through the product take-out port 5.

When the carry-out detection unit detects that the spiral 30 has made one rotation, the control unit to which a signal indicating that the spiral 30 has made one rotation is given by the carry-out detection unit gives a drive stop command to the spiral motor. As a result, the rotation of the spiral 30 is stopped.

By paying out the products between the lowermost pitches in this way, the sold-out detection lever 52 swings forward in a manner of advancing and moving with respect to the product storage aisle 24 by the urging force of the lever spring. However, it is in a state of regressing from the product storage aisle 24 by being pressed by the product restrained between the lowermost pitches. Therefore, the sold-out detection unit continues to be off, and it is detected that there is a product.

By the way, in the above-mentioned product storage device 10, since the spiral 30 is configured by winding the metal hollow rod 31 in a spiral shape, the weight of the spiral 30 itself can be reduced, and the spiral 30 itself is made of metal. The moment of inertia of area can be improved as compared with the one composed of solid rods. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in weight and a decrease in rigidity due to an increase in the extending length of the spiral 30 itself, and it is possible to increase the outer diameter of the wound portion to a size of about 100 to 140 mm. It is possible.

Therefore, according to the product storage device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to increase the diameter while suppressing the increase in weight and the decrease in rigidity of the spiral 30 itself. Since the diameter of the spiral 30 can be increased in this way, it is possible to restrain products of various sizes, and it is possible to improve the versatility of sales.

According to the product storage device 10, the attachment members 25a and 25b are detachably provided on the cover 21 and the front door 22 constituting the device main body 20, so that the attachment members 25a and 25b are detachably provided according to the size of the product restrained by the spiral 30. The attachment members 25a and 25b can be installed, and it is possible to prevent the product from falling from the spiral 30.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the product storage device 10 in which the product storage passage 24 extends in the vertical direction is exemplified, but in the present invention, the product storage device 24 in which the product storage passage 24 extends in the vertical direction is exemplified. The product storage device is not limited to 10, and the product storage passage may extend along the front-rear direction.

Although not particularly mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the drive unit 32 connected to the spiral 30 may be installed so as to be displaceable in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction with respect to the upper base 23. According to this, the spiral 30 can be displaced together with the drive unit 32 according to the size of the product, and the versatility of sales can be improved.

1 ... Vending machine, 2 ... Main body cabinet, 3 ... Product storage, 4 ... Outer door, 6 ... Inner door, 10 ... Product storage device, 20 ... Device main body, 21 ... Cover, 21a, 21b, 21c ... Opening, 211 ... right side, 212 ... left side, 213 ... rear surface, 22 ... front door, 23 ... upper base, 24 ... product storage passage, 25a, 25b ... attachment member, 30 ... spiral, 31 ... metal hollow rod, 32. ... Drive unit, 32a ... Drive case, 33 ... Transmission member, 40 ... Spiral presser member, 41 ... Presser base, 42 ... Presser lower end, 43 ... Presser upper end, 50 ... Sold out detection unit, 51 ... Unit body, 52 … Sold out detection lever.

Claims (3)

A long cylindrical device body that has a product storage passage that extends along its own longitudinal direction, and
It is configured to spirally wind along the extending direction of the product storage passage, and is provided with a spiral rotatably arranged around the central axis in the product storage passage.
It is a product storage device that pays out the most downstream products by gradually carrying out the products restrained between each pitch of the spiral toward the downstream side in the carry-out direction of the product storage passage when the spiral rotates. hand,
The spiral is a product storage device characterized in that a hollow metal rod is spirally wound to form a product storage device. The product storage passage extends along the vertical direction in such a manner that the lower side is the downstream side in the carry-out direction.
The spiral is characterized in that, when rotating, the goods restrained between the pitches are gradually carried out downward, and the lowest-ranked goods are paid out through the opening on the lower surface of the main body of the apparatus. Product storage device described in. The front end portion extends along the vertical direction inside the spiral in a state of being fixed to the first side wall component of the apparatus main body constituting one side wall of the product storage passage, and the other side of the product storage passage. 2. The second aspect of the present invention is provided with a spiral presser member that defines a maximum width of a product that can be restrained between the pitches of the device and the second side wall component of the main body of the apparatus. Product storage device.

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