JPH06131548A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic vending machine capable of uniformly cooling or heating commodities in a commodity container. CONSTITUTION:Air cooled or heated by a heat exchange 70 is circulated between the heat exchange 70 and the commodity container side. Air blown out from a blowing fan 72 is divided into right and left sides by a vertical diaphragm 74 while being regulated at its upper outflow by a horizontal diaphragm 73 and guided to the front face and one side face of each commodity container 10. Then the air on the front of each container 10 is guided to a part between respective containers 10, i.e., the other side of each container 10, and the air on one side of the container 10 is allowed to flow into respective containers 10 through the upper face of each container 10. Air between respective containers 10 is guided to the rear sides of the containers 10, allowed to flow into the lower parts of respective containers 10 and returned to the exchange 70 again. Thereby air from the exchange 70 is sent to the whole parts of respective containers 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vending machine for canned or bottled beverages.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vending machine of this type, products are stacked and stored in a plurality of vertically extending product passages, and they are dropped and carried out one by one from the lower end of the product passages. Most of them are the mainstream, but recently, as an indoor type vending machine, the actual application is 3-105.
The one described in No. 616 is also proposed.

In this vending machine, as shown in FIG. 6, inside a vending machine body 1 whose upper surface is openable and closable, a product container 2 having an opening for product insertion on the upper surface, and a product container 2
A pair of upper and lower sprockets 3 and 4 arranged on one side surface of the
An endless chain 5 attached to each sprocket 3, 4 and a plurality of push-up members 6 attached to the chain 5.
And a chain drive motor 8 connected to the lower sprocket 4 via a belt 7 for raising the commodity A stored in the commodity container 2 by the push-up members 6. Then, the product is sequentially carried out to the product outlet 1a provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 1. Although not shown, a cooler, a heater, etc. are installed on the lower surface side of the product container 2, and the air passing through them is circulated to the product container 2 side to cool or heat the product A in the product container 2. ing.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned vending machine, since the air circulating to the side of the product container 2 flows out from the lower surface side of the product container 2, the cooled or heated air is discharged from the upper part of the product container 2. However, there is a problem in that the product in the product container 2 cannot be uniformly cooled or heated because the product flows in the lower part.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine capable of uniformly cooling or heating the products in a product container.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a product container having an opening for product insertion in an upper surface inside a main body of a vending machine and one side surface of the product container. Inside the vending machine body, an endless member that vertically rotates in a vertical direction, a plurality of push-up members that are attached to the endless member and that sequentially raise the products stored in the product container and carry them out of the product container. And a heat exchanger for cooling or heating the air, the heat exchanger being arranged on the lower surface side of the product container to circulate the air between the heat exchanger and the product container side. After guiding the air blown from the heat exchanger into the machine body to the front surface and one side surface of the product container, the air on the front surface of the product container to the other side surface of the product container,
Air guiding means for guiding the air on one side of the product container to the other side via the upper surface of the product container is provided.

[0007]

According to the vending machine of the present invention, the air blown from the heat exchanger is guided to the front surface and one side surface of the product container, and then the air on the front surface of the product container is transferred to the other side surface of the product container. Since the air on one side of the product container is guided to the other side via the upper surface of the product container, the air from the heat exchanger is blown to the entire product container.

[0008]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. A product container 10 having an opening for product insertion on the upper surface in a vending machine body 1 similar to the conventional example, and a product. Container 10
A pair of upper and lower sprockets 20 and 2 mounted on the front surface of the
1, a chain 30 wound around each sprocket 20, 21, a total of eight push-up members 40 attached to the chain 30, and a motor 50 for rotationally driving one sprocket 21. Tensioning device 6 for applying tension to the chain 30
It is equipped with a commodity storage device consisting of 0 and 0.

As shown in FIG. 2, the product container 10 has a front surface and an upper surface opened, and an upper opening 10a serving as a product insertion port.
The product A can be stored in bulk.
Inside the product container 10, a bottom plate 11 inclined forward and downward is attached in a raised bottom shape, and a notch 11a is formed at the front end of the bottom plate 11 to allow passage of a push-up member 40 described later. Further, the push-up members 40 are provided on both side surfaces of the product container 10.
Is provided with a guide rail 12 for guiding. The guide rail 12 is composed of two facing plates 12a and 12b which are inclined slightly forward and extend vertically on the front surface of the product container 10 so that the roller of the push-up member 40 is moved between the facing plates 12a and 12b. It has become. A guide plate 13 extending forward and downward is attached to the upper end of the guide rail 12, and the guide plate 13
A notch 13a is formed in the to allow the push-up member 40 to pass.

Each sprocket 20, 21 has its rotating shaft 2
It is attached to the center of 0a, 21a, and each rotary shaft 20a, 2
Both ends of 1a are holes 10b provided on both sides of the product container 10,
It is rotatably inserted in 10c.

The chain 30 has a well-known structure in which the outer links and the inner links are alternately connected by pins, but the left and right outer links 31 corresponding to the mounting portions of the respective push-up members 40 are different in shape from the others. Is different. In other words, the outer link 31 has an L-shaped mounting piece 31a protruding toward the push-up member 40 side.
Is integrally formed, and a hole 31b for inserting a screw is formed in the mounting piece 31a.

The push-up members 40 are attached to the outer periphery of the chain 30 at equal intervals, and as shown in FIG. 3, the substantially triangular-shaped end pieces are bent at right angles to form side surface portions 40a, and each side surface is formed. It has a tip piece 40b that extends forward from the portion 40a and extends upward, and a roller 41 is attached to each side surface portion 40a vertically. Each roller 41 is rotatably supported around a pin 42 penetrating the left and right side surfaces 40a, and the upper pin 42 is connected to the chain 30.
And a connecting fitting 43 for communicating with. Both ends of the connecting fitting 43 are U-shaped extending toward the push-up member 40, and holes 43 a through which the pins 42 are inserted are formed at both ends thereof.
Further, each pin 42 penetrates through the push-up member 40, and then an E-ring 44 for retaining is fitted at the tip thereof. On the other hand, screw holes 43b are formed in two places on the left and right of the connecting fitting 43, and the screw 45 is passed through the holes 31b of the left and right outer links 31 of the chain 30 to be fastened to the screw holes 43b.
Is rotatably attached about the pin 42.

The motor 50 is arranged below the bottom plate 11,
The rotating shaft 50a is connected to a pulley 51 attached to the lower sprocket 21 via a belt 52 as shown in FIG.

The tensioning device 60 includes a sprocket 61 for pressing the chain 30 and an sprocket 61 for supporting the sprocket 61.
The arm 62 is biased in the chain pressing direction by a spring or the like (not shown). Also,
The support shaft 62a of the arm 62 is inserted into holes 10d provided on both side surfaces of the product container 10.

The commodity storage device configured as described above is
Although not shown, a plurality of products are provided in the width direction of the vending machine body 1 so that different types of products can be stored. The plan view of FIG. 4 (a) and the front view of FIG. 4 (b) show a portion where a total of four product storage devices are installed in one room partitioned by the heat insulation wall 1b. It is further separated into two units by the partition plate 1c. In each room, two commodity containers 10 are arranged with a space between the peripheral wall and each other, and as shown in FIG. 5, a heat exchanger 70 inside the refrigerator arranged below each commodity container 10.
A heater 71 as a heater disposed adjacent to the heat exchanger 70, and a blower fan 7 disposed in front of the heat exchanger 70.
2 and a ventilation duct 72a that covers the periphery of the ventilation fan 72
And a horizontal partition plate 73 that covers the lower surface side of each product container 10,
Vertical partition plate 74 that partitions the front of the blower fan 72 into left and right
And a vertical partition plate 75 that closes one side surface side of each product container 10 on the back side of the product container 10. That is, each partition plate 73, 74, 75 constitutes an air guiding means. The heat exchanger 70 is connected to a refrigerant circuit (not shown), and the heat exchanger 70 functions as a cooler by driving the refrigerant circuit.

In this vending machine, the motor 5 of the corresponding product storage device is pressed by pressing a product selection button (not shown).
0 operates and the chain 30 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the push-up members 40 are guided by the guide rails 12 to rise in the product container 10, and the push-up members 40 are pushed up.
Thus, the products A in the product container 10 are pushed up one by one. At that time, the drive unit 50 is rotated by one product in response to one sales request, and by this operation, the uppermost push-up member 40 passes through the notch 13a of the guide plate 13 and the product is sold. Move to the outside of the container 10. As a result, the product A waiting on the push-up member 40 is transferred onto the guide plate 13 as shown in FIG. 1, rolls on the guide plate 13 and is carried out to a product outlet (not shown). Also,
When the push-up member 40 moves to the outside of the product container 10, the push-up member 40 is released from the guide rail 12 and flips up and down, and the push-up member 40 pivots downward with its own weight about the pin 42 as shown in FIG. -Drops from the bottom 30 and descends.

The air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger 70 is blown by the blower fan 72.
Circulate between the sides. At that time, the air blown out from the blower fan 72 is branched to the left and right by the vertical partition plate 74 while being restricted from flowing upward by the horizontal partition plate 73, and is guided to the front surface and one side surface of each commodity container 10. After this, the air on the front surface of the product container 10 is kept between the product containers 10,
That is, the product container 1 is guided to the other side surface of the product container 1.
The air on one side of 0 also flows between the product containers 10 via the upper surface of the product containers 10. Then, the air between the product containers 10 is guided to the back side of the product containers 10, flows into the lower part of each product container 10, and is ventilated to the heat exchanger 70 again.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the horizontal partition plate 73, the vertical partition plate 74, and the vertical partition plate 75 are provided in the inside of the vending machine main body 1, and the space between the heat exchanger 70 and the product container 10 side is provided. After guiding the air circulating through the product container 10 to the front surface and one side surface of each product container 10, the air on the front surface of the product container 10 is guided to the product container 1
The air on one side of the product container 10 is guided to the other side of the product container 10 via the upper surface of the product container 10 on the other side of 0. The product A in each product container 10 can be uniformly cooled or heated by being blown to the entire container 10.

[0019]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, the air from the heat exchanger can be blown to the entire product containers, so that the products in the product containers can be cooled uniformly or It can be heated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an essential part of a product storage device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a product container

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure for a push-up member.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view and partial front view of the vending machine.

[Figure 5] Partial side view of the vending machine

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a conventional vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine main body, 10 ... Product container, 10a ... Opening part, 30 ... Chain, 40 ... Pushup member, 70 ... Heat exchanger, 71 ... Heater, 73 ... Horizontal partition plate, 74 ... Vertical partition plate, 75 ... Vertical partition, A ... Product.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A product container having an opening for product insertion on an upper surface inside an automatic vending machine body, an endless member that rotates in a vertical direction along one side surface of the product container, and the endless member. A plurality of push-up members attached to the member for sequentially raising the products stored in the product container and carrying them out of the product container;
A vending machine including a heat exchanger that cools or heats the air in the main body of the vending machine, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged on the lower surface side of the product container and the air is circulated between the heat exchanger and the product container side. In, after guiding the air blown from the heat exchanger in the vending machine body to the front surface and one side surface of the product container, the air on the front surface of the product container is placed on the other side surface of the product container, The vending machine is provided with air guiding means for guiding the air on the side surface of the product container to the other side surface through the upper surface of the product container.