CN100351873C - Goods receptacle holder and guide plate for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A commodity storage rack for an automatic vending machine, which forms a serpentine commodity channel (8) by arranging a curved arcuate body (20) between a pair of side plates (30). (21) While being continuously arranged on the bow-shaped body (20), between the said bow-shaped body (20) and the said side plate (30), set an active surface (24a) which can be in contact with each other in a tangential relationship And the bearing surface (32a), by making these action surfaces (24a) and the bearing surface (32a) contact each other, support the weight of the commodity acting on the said arch (20).

Description

Product storage racks and product guides for vending machines

technical field

The present invention relates to a product storage rack and a product guide plate of an automatic vending machine, in particular to the shape and installation structure of the product guide plate constituting a serpentine product channel.

Background technique

FIG. 8 shows a general vending machine that sells products such as bottled beverages, canned beverages, and plastic bottled beverages. In this automatic vending machine, an openable and closable outer door 2 and an inner door 3 are provided on the front opening of the main body case 1, and a product storage rack 4 and a chute 5 for delivering products are provided inside the main body case 1. As shown in FIG. 9 , a plurality of product aisles 8 extending in the vertical direction are provided on the product storage rack 4 . In each commodity lane 8, in addition to the trays 7 for inserting commodities are provided at the respective upper ends, a commodity carrying-out device 9 is provided at each lower end. In addition, the reference numeral 6 in FIG. 8 is the product take-out port provided in the outer door 2. As shown in FIG.

In this automatic vending machine, products such as bottled drinks, canned drinks, and plastic bottled drinks are put in from the tray 7 for putting in goods in a horizontal posture. The inserted products are stacked and accommodated in the product aisle 8 corresponding to the tray 7 for the input product. From this state, for example, put money into the vending machine, and press the button of the product to be purchased, then on the product unloading device 9 of the product channel 8 equipped with the designated product, the baffle plate 8a is properly driven and loaded. Commodities on the lowest level are discharged from the commodity delivery port through the chute 5 one by one.

It can also be seen from FIG. 9 that the commodity passage 8 of the automatic vending machine is configured in a serpentine shape by properly arranging a plurality of commodity guide plates 10 between a pair of side plates 12 . That is, the commodity guides 10 are each formed in a protruding curved shape toward the outside, and in a state where their heights are offset from each other, they are connected in the vertical direction to form a snake-shaped commodity passage 8 .

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an attachment structure of a product guide. In this mounting structure, roll-shaped shaft portions 10a, 10b protruding laterally are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the product guide plate 10, and the two ends of each shaft portion 10a, 10b are passed through the side plate 12. After penetrating the holes 12a and 12b, the product guide 10 is mounted between the pair of side plates 12 by, for example, caulking or expanding the diameter.

According to the product storage rack constructed as above, the products dropped from the product input tray 7 into the product passage 8 successively hit the meandering product guide plate 10, so that the impact of falling can be alleviated.

However, in such a product storage rack for an automatic vending machine, a single curved shape is used as the above-mentioned product guide plate 10, and the shaft-shaped portions 10a, 10b provided at the upper and lower ends thereof are attached to the side plates 12, respectively. Therefore, even when the weight of the product acts on the product guide plate 10 when it collides with the dropped product, the product can be sufficiently supported.

However, the operation when assembling the product storage rack may not be ideal. That is, when a single curved product guide 10 is used, a plurality of product guides 10 are required to form one product passage 8, and the assembly work is complicated.

Contents of the invention

The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned actual situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product storage rack and a product guide plate of an automatic vending machine which can sufficiently support the weight of products and which are easy to assemble.

The commodity storage rack of the automatic vending machine of the present invention forms a serpentine commodity channel by arranging curved commodity guide plates oppositely between a pair of side plates, and is characterized in that a plurality of curved parts are continuously provided At the same time as the product guide plate, an action surface and a receiving surface that can be in contact with each other are provided between the product guide plate and the aforementioned side plate, and by making these action surfaces and receiving surfaces contact each other, the weight of the product acting on the product guide plate is supported .

It is desirable to have the active and receiving surfaces contact in a tangential relationship to each other. In addition, a support piece is protrudingly provided on the side edge of the product guide plate, the outer surface of the support piece constitutes the aforementioned action surface, and a through hole that can pass through the aforementioned support piece is formed on the aforementioned side plate. It is desirable that the receiving surface is formed on the inner peripheral surface.

In addition, on the product storage rack of the above-mentioned automatic vending machine, it is ideal to provide a blocking piece, which is protrudingly provided on the side edge of the aforementioned product guide plate in a state that can pass through the aforementioned through hole together with the aforementioned supporting piece. When the front-end|tip part is bent after penetrating this through hole, the mutual separation movement of the said product guide plate and the said side plate is prevented.

In addition, the present invention relates to a commodity guide plate of an automatic vending machine, which is curved and configured to form a serpentine commodity passage by facing each other between a pair of side plates, and is characterized in that while a plurality of curved portions are continuously provided, On the side edge portion opposite to the aforementioned side plate, a support piece that can pass through the through hole formed on the side plate is protruded, and when the weight of the product acts, the outer surface of the aforementioned support piece is aligned with the inner periphery of the aforementioned through hole. face tangent.

Description of drawings

1( a ) is a side view showing a product storage rack of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1( b ) is a front view showing a product guide of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the manner in which the product guide and side plates shown in Fig. 1 are attached.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of important parts in Fig. 2 .

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing a support form of a support piece and a retainer piece of a product guide and a through hole of a side plate.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view showing a modified example of a support form of a support piece and a through hole.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a modified example of a support form of a support piece and a through hole.

Fig. 7 shows a structure for preventing a pair of side plates from moving away from each other, Fig. 7(a) is a diagram showing an example of a bridging bracket, and Fig. 7(b) is a diagram showing an example of a bridging rod.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view conceptually showing a general automatic vending machine.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the product storage rack.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure in which a conventional product guide is attached to a side plate.

Explanation of symbols: 8 commodity channel; 20 arcuate body; 21 curved part; 22 connecting part; 23 shaft-shaped part; 24 support piece; surface; 40 pipes; 41 bars.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the product storage rack and the product guide plate of the automatic vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a product guide of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The product guide plate (so-called arcuate body 20) shown here as an example is the same as that shown in FIG. On the upper side, the product channel 8 is formed between a pair of side plates 30, and is formed by a sheet of plate material (for example, a steel plate) and has a plurality of curved portions 21. In more detail, while setting three curved portions 21 that are concavely curved toward the commodity passage 8, by providing a connecting portion 22 that is concavely curved toward the commodity passage 8 between these curved portions 21, a bow-shaped Three ideal bends are formed on the body 20 . As can also be seen from FIG. 1( a ), the curved portions 21 are configured to have the same radius of curvature, and the connecting portions 22 are identical to each other and have a smaller radius of curvature than the curved portion 21 .

In addition, on the arched body 20, shaft-shaped portions 23 are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends thereof, and support pieces 24 and blocking pieces 25 are respectively provided on the left and right side edge portions thereof.

The shaft-shaped portion 23 is formed by curling the upper and lower end portions of the bow body 20 , and both end portions protrude outward from the side edges of the bow body 20 .

The supporting piece 24 is a tongue-shaped part protruding outward from the position corresponding to the connecting part 22 on the side edge of the arcuate body 20 . Each support piece 24 has the same radius of curvature as the connecting portion 22 of the bow body 20 , and has a curved shape protruding in the same direction, and the outer surface of each curved inner surface constitutes the action surface 24a. The blocking piece 25 is a tongue-like part protruding outward from the two sides of each support piece 24 on the side edge of the arcuate body 20 . As can also be seen from FIG. 1( b ), the support piece 24 has a width larger than the outer diameter of the shaft portion 23 and has sufficient strength, and the retaining piece 25 is formed with a narrow width around the radius of the shaft portion 23 . In addition, the amount of protrusion of these supporting pieces 24 and the blocking piece 25 is substantially the same as that of the shaft-shaped portion 23 , and is greater than the thickness of the side plate 30 .

In addition, on the side plate 30 on which the arched body 20 is installed, as shown in FIG. The corresponding positions of the sheet 24 and the blocking sheet 25 are made with through holes 32 . The mounting hole 31 is a circular hole slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft-shaped portion 23 of the arcuate body 20 . In contrast, the through hole 32 is an arc-shaped hole bent along the direction of the connecting portion 22 of the arcuate body 20 . The inner peripheral surface located on the inside of the curvature of the through hole 32 is a portion that faces the operating surface 24a of the arch body 20 and constitutes the receiving surface 32a, and is formed with a smaller radius of curvature than the operating surface 24a (see FIG. 4 ).

When the arched body 20 having the above-mentioned structure and the side plate 30 are assembled into a product storage rack, at first, while the two ends of the shaft-shaped portion 23 on the arched body 20 are respectively passed through the mounting holes 31 of the side plate 30, As shown in FIG. 3 , pass the supporting piece 24 and the blocking piece 25 through the through hole 32 respectively.

As from this state, on the shaft-shaped part 23, the part protruding from the mounting hole 31 of the side plate 30 is riveted and expanded to prevent falling off from the mounting hole 31 of the shaft-shaped part 23, and a pair of side plates 30 are installed between them. Establish arcuate body 20. In addition, as shown in Figure 4, the part protruding from the through hole 32 of the side plate 30 is bent on the blocking piece 25, and the bent end of the blocking piece 25 cooperates with the outer surface of the side plate 30 to prevent bowing. The body 20 and the side plate 30 move away from each other.

As mentioned above, the arched bodies 20 are disposed between the pair of side plates 30 facing each other, and the commodity passage 8 extending in a zigzag shape in the vertical direction is formed between the pair of side plates 30 and the opposing arched bodies 20 .

Here, according to the present embodiment, as described above, three continuous curved portions 21 are formed on one arched body 20 . Therefore, compared with the case of using a single curved bow 20, the number of parts used can be greatly reduced, and its assembly work can be significantly simplified.

In addition, on each bow-shaped body 20, the action surface 24a of the support piece 24 protruding from the position corresponding to the connecting portion 22 on the side edge is in a state of facing the receiving surface 32a on the through hole 32 of the side plate 30. Simultaneously, it is in the state of being prevented from moving away from each other with the side plate 30 by the blocking pieces 25 arranged on both sides of each supporting piece 24 . Therefore, when the dropped commodity comes into contact with the bow-shaped body 20, the action surface 24a of the support piece 24 will surely contact the receiving surface 32a of the through hole 32, and the mutual contact between these action surfaces 24a and the receiving surface 32a can Sufficiently support the weight of the product acting on the arched body 20 .

Furthermore, since the radius of curvature of the receiving surface 32a provided on the side plate 30 is smaller than that of the action surface 24a provided with the arched body 20, they are in contact with each other in a tangential relationship. Therefore, the situation that the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 32 is not cut due to the end edge of the support piece 24 is not brought about. On the contrary, as the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 32 is worn, the contact area between the two increases. Even in the case of long-term use, it can fully and reliably support the weight of the product.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the support piece 24 is provided on the side edge of the arcuate body 20 corresponding to the connecting portion 22 , but it is not limited thereto. For example, the same effect can be expected by providing a support piece on the side edge of the arched body 20 at a position corresponding to the middle portion of the curved portion 21 . In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 , the curved outer surface of the supporting piece 24 ′ becomes the active surface 24 a ′, and the inner peripheral surface of the curved outer side of the through hole 32 ′ provided on the side plate 30 becomes the receiving surface. face 32a'. Therefore, in order to make the two contact with a tangential relationship, it is necessary to make the radius of curvature of the receiving surface 32a' larger than that of the action surface 24a' of the support piece 24'. In this case, the receiving surface 32a' does not necessarily need to be curved, and the radius of curvature is infinite, that is, it may be a plane.

In addition, the support piece 24 provided on the arched body 20 does not necessarily need to be bent, as shown in Figure 6, a flat support piece 24" can also be provided. "The inner peripheral surface of the curved inner side is used as the receiving surface 32", which can make the two contact with a tangential relationship.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the blocking piece 25 is integrally provided on the arched body 20 , and the blocking piece 25 cooperates with the side plate 30 to prevent the arched body 20 and the side plate 30 from moving away from each other. Therefore, the above functions and effects can be achieved without increasing the number of parts, but it is not necessary to integrally arrange the blocking piece 25 on the arcuate body 20 . For example, as shown in Figure 7 (a), a pipe 40 is erected between one side side plate 30, as shown in Figure 7 (b), a bar 41 is erected between a pair of side plates 30, as through these pipes 40 and bar 41 prevent the pair of side plates 30 from moving in the direction of mutual separation, and when the weight of the product acts on the arched body 20, the action surface 24a of the support piece 24 and the receiving surface 32a of the through hole 32 can also be reliably contacted and supported. The item's weight.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, three bending parts are formed in one bow-shaped body, but it does not necessarily have to be three as long as there are plural ones.

As described above, according to the description of the first aspect of the present invention, while a plurality of curved portions are continuously provided on the product guide plate, an action surface and a receiving surface that can contact each other are provided between the product guide plate and the side plate, By making these action surfaces and receiving surfaces contact each other to support the weight of the product acting on the product guide, the weight of the product can be sufficiently supported, and the assembly work can be simplified.

In addition, according to the description of the second aspect of the present invention, the action surface and the receiving surface are brought into contact with each other in a tangential relationship, so that the occurrence of mutual cutting between the action surface and the receiving surface can be prevented in advance. And as the contact area between the two wears increases, it can fully and reliably support the weight of the product even in the case of long-term use.

In addition, according to the description of the third aspect of the present invention, a support piece is protrudingly provided on the side edge of the product guide plate, an action surface is formed on the outer surface of the support piece, and a penetrating hole that can penetrate the aforementioned support piece is formed on the side plate. The hole constitutes the above-mentioned receiving surface on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole, so it is only necessary to pass the support piece through the through hole in order to form the commodity passage, and the assembly operation can be further simplified.

In addition, according to the description of the fourth aspect of the present invention, a stop piece is provided, and the stop piece is protruded from the side edge portion of the product guide plate in the state of passing through the through hole together with the support piece, and the front end portion is inserted after passing through the through hole. In the case of bending, since the product guide plate and the side plate are prevented from moving away from each other, the active surface and the receiving surface can be reliably brought into contact without increasing the number of parts.

In addition, according to the description of the fifth aspect of the present invention, on the product guide plate of the automatic vending machine that is curved and configured to form a serpentine product channel by facing each other between a pair of side plates, a plurality of curved parts are continuously provided. At the same time, on the side edge portion opposite to the aforementioned side plate, a supporting piece that can penetrate through the through hole formed on the side plate is protruded, so that the outer surface of the aforementioned supporting piece can be aligned with the aforementioned penetrating hole under the action of the weight of the product. The inner peripheral surface of the hole is tangent, so the weight of the product can be fully supported, and the assembly work can be simplified. Moreover, it can prevent in advance that the action surface and the receiving surface cut each other. With the increase of the contact area between the wear and tear of the two, the weight of the product can be fully and reliably supported in the case of long-term use.

Claims (4)

1. A product storage rack for an automatic vending machine, which forms a serpentine product channel by arranging curved product guide plates opposite to each other between a pair of side plates, characterized in that, While a plurality of curved parts are continuously provided on the product guide plate, an action surface and a receiving surface that can contact each other are provided between the product guide plate and the side plate, and the action surface is provided on the product guide plate. The guide plate, the receiving surface is arranged on the side plate, by making these acting surfaces and receiving surfaces contact each other, the weight of the commodity acting on the commodity guide plate is supported, so that the acting surface and the receiving surface are tangent to each other contact with the relationship. 2. The product storage rack of an automatic vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a support piece is protruded from the side edge of the product guide plate, and the active surface is formed on the outer surface of the support piece, In addition, a through hole that can pass through the support piece is formed on the side plate, and the receiving surface is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. 3. The commodity storage rack of an automatic vending machine according to claim 2, wherein a blocking piece is provided, and the blocking piece is protrudingly arranged on the said through hole together with the supporting piece. The side edge portion of the product guide prevents the product guide and the side plate from moving away from each other when the front end of the retainer piece is bent after passing the retainer piece through the through hole. 4. A product guide plate for an automatic vending machine, which is curved and forms a serpentine product channel by being arranged oppositely between a pair of side plates, and is characterized in that while a plurality of curved parts are continuously provided, at the same time On the side edge portion opposite to the aforementioned side plate, a support piece that can pass through the through hole formed on the side plate protrudes, and under the condition of the weight of the product, the outer surface of the support piece is aligned with the inner surface of the through hole. tangent around.

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