CN108734859B

CN108734859B - Cigarette automatic handover machine

Info

Publication number: CN108734859B
Application number: CN201810289072.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大野雄喜
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-14
Filing date: 2018-04-03
Publication date: 2021-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-03
Also published as: CN108734859A; JP2018181003A; JP6841143B2

Abstract

The automatic dispensing machine for cigarettes of the present invention includes a commodity rack that can be accommodated in a box-shaped main body with an open front surface and can be pulled forward from the main body by a rail mechanism that is retractable in the front-rear direction, and stacks the cigarettes in the up-down direction. It is stored on the product delivery mechanism and has a plurality of left and right two rows of product lanes in the front-rear direction in which the filling ports of cigarettes face the left and right directions, and the product racks deliver the products in the left and right two rows of the product lanes. The delivery port of the mechanism is arranged so as to be opposed to each other at intervals so that the delivery port of the mechanism becomes a drop output path of the cigarette; The upper area of the front opening of the main body is closed, and it is arranged to be vertically movable. By lowering the door to the front side of the outlet unit, the rail mechanism allows the commodity rack stored in the main body to be pulled forward.

Description

Automatic cigarette delivering machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an automatic cigarette dispensing machine installed in a convenience store, and more particularly, to an automatic cigarette dispensing machine that dispenses selected cigarettes based on a signal from a payment device that performs payment using a medium for placing an order of cigarettes selected by a customer.

Background

Cigarettes as hobby goods are sold in front of stores such as convenience stores in addition to the following cigarette vending machines: after money is put in, the product displayed in the product display room at the front door (japanese: front ドア) is selected by the selection button, and the cigarettes stored in the product storage shelves are automatically output. In a convenience store or the like that sells cigarettes before the store, in general, cigarettes are placed on a commodity shelf provided in a cash register (on the back side) provided with a checkout device. The commodity frame is provided with commodity shelf plates which are arranged in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction, and cigarettes are stored in the commodity shelf plates in a manner of being arranged in the front-back direction at a plurality of storage positions which are formed by dividing the partition members in the left-right direction. In this case, the cigarettes stored in the plurality of storage positions of the commodity shelf are visually recognized from the front and are removable, the cigarettes stored in the commodity shelf are removed by a clerk who receives a verbal order from a customer and are subjected to settlement processing, that is, after the barcode of the cigarettes is read by a barcode reader attached to the settlement device, money prepaid by the customer is registered in the settlement device, and when change is required, the cigarettes are delivered to the customer together with the change.

Here, since there are many kinds of cigarettes, many cigarettes of different kinds are arranged vertically and horizontally on the commodity shelf. Therefore, the clerk who received the order must search for the cigarettes stored in the commodity shelf in the vertical and horizontal directions. In this case, the staff of the convenience store is mostly a worker, and it is extremely difficult to immediately find the product corresponding to the order from the product shelf. Therefore, it takes time from the receipt of the order to the settlement, and the customer is allowed to wait for the order during this time, which causes discomfort to the customer. It is said that the customer cannot settle the bills until the bills are sold out, and therefore, the mental burden of the clerk cannot be estimated.

The following automatic cigarette dispensing machines are also known: in order to reduce the burden on the clerk, an ordering terminal operable by the customer is provided, and light emitting elements are provided for a plurality of storage positions of each commodity shelf, and when the customer orders using the ordering terminal, the light emitting elements at the storage positions of the cigarettes ordered are turned on (for example, patent document 1).

In the invention disclosed in patent document 1, when a customer orders a product from an ordering terminal, the light emitting elements at the corresponding storage positions in the commodity shelf are turned on, and therefore, a clerk can immediately take out a cigarette. Therefore, the invention disclosed in patent document 1 has an advantage that the mental burden of waiting for a customer to a store clerk can be reduced. However, since the cigarettes stored in the commodity shelf are in a state where they can be taken out by anyone, it is undeniable that the cigarettes may be swallowed by a malicious person.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to adopt a configuration of a commodity shelf of a cigarette vending machine such as the following well-known ones: the commodity shelf is arranged in the shell, a commodity delivering mechanism for outputting cigarettes is additionally arranged on the commodity shelf, and the corresponding commodity delivering mechanism is driven according to the order from the ordering terminal so as to deliver the cigarettes.

The cigarette vending machine is provided with: a box-shaped vending machine body, the front surface of which is open; and a front door rotatably attached to one end of the vending machine body via a hinge mechanism, for opening and closing a front surface of the vending machine body. A large number of commodity racks for vertically stacking and storing cigarettes are provided in the vending machine main body and on the rear surface side of the front door. The commodity shelf has a commodity passage for vertically stacking and storing cigarettes on the commodity delivering mechanism, and the commodity passages are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction. The commodity passage on the vending machine body side is arranged in a manner that the cigarette loading opening faces the front, the commodity passage on the front door side is arranged in a manner that the cigarette loading opening faces the rear, and the cigarettes can be loaded in the commodity passages in the commodity racks by opening the front door. With the structure of the commodity shelf of the cigarette vending machine, the hand can not touch the cigarettes sold before the store.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2010-160731

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the cigarette vending machine, generally, in order to store more products, a product rack on the vending machine body side occupies the width of the vending machine body in the left-right direction and is disposed at a position close to the inside of the vending machine body, and a product rack on the front door side is disposed on the back side of the front door in a protruding manner. Such a merchandise rack on the front door side is accommodated in the vending machine body with the front door closed, and rotates together with the front door when the front door is opened and closed. In this way, when the front door is opened and closed, the rotation trajectory of the end portion of the product rack on the side opposite to the hinge mechanism of the front door (also referred to as the opposite end portion of the hinge mechanism) is set in a state in which the product rack is housed in the vending machine body (that is, in a state in which the product rack protrudes into the vending machine body), and therefore, the opposite end portion of the hinge mechanism is positioned closer to the inside of the vending machine body than the hinge mechanism, and rotates so as to bulge outward when passing through the vicinity of the side wall of the vending machine body opposite thereto. Therefore, in order to ensure that the opposite end portions of the hinge mechanism do not interfere with the side walls of the vending machine main body and the front door is smoothly opened and closed, the commodity shelf on the front door side is disposed in a state in which a predetermined space is provided between the commodity shelf and the end portion on the opposite side of the hinge mechanism of the front door. As a result, in a state where the front door is closed, an escape space for preventing the opposite end portions of the hinge mechanism of the commodity shelf from hitting the side wall of the vending machine main body needs to be formed between the side wall of the vending machine main body and the commodity shelf on the front door side, and therefore, the following problems occur: the width of the commodity shelf at the front door side in the left-right direction is narrowed, and the number of commodity channels must be reduced.

Further, when cigarettes are loaded into the commodity shelf on the vending machine body side of the cigarette vending machine and the commodity lane on the hinge mechanism side of the commodity shelf on the front door side, the front door must be opened greatly (for example, 120 degrees), and therefore, there is a problem that the installation place is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an automatic cigarette dispensing machine which solves the above-described problems, has an antitheft function, and is not limited in installation location.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized by comprising: a box-shaped body whose front surface is open; a rail mechanism which is laid on the top surface of the main body and is freely retractable in the front-rear direction; a commodity shelf which is capable of being stored in the main body and pulled out forward from the main body by the rail mechanism, and which has a plurality of commodity lanes in the front-rear direction, the commodity lanes being arranged in two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction across the rail mechanism, and which is used for storing cigarettes stacked in the up-down direction on the commodity delivering mechanism, the commodity lanes in the two rows being in a form in which loading ports of the cigarettes face the left direction and the right direction, respectively, and the commodity shelf being arranged in a form facing each other at intervals so that delivering ports of the commodity delivering mechanisms of the two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction become falling output paths of the cigarettes; a take-out unit provided in a form of closing a lower region of the front surface opening of the main body, and including a take-out port for cigarettes delivered from the commodity passage; and a door which is located above the outlet unit and is vertically movably disposed in a manner that an upper region of the front surface opening of the main body is closed, and allows the commodity shelf stored in the main body to be drawn out forward by a rail mechanism when the door is moved downward.

The invention according to claim 2 provides the automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to claim 1, wherein the door is composed of an upper door and a lower door, engaging portions which can be engaged with and disengaged from each other are provided at a lower end portion of the upper door and an upper end portion of the lower door, and the lower door moves up and down in conjunction with the up-and-down movement of the upper door.

The invention according to claim 3 is the automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper part includes a liquid crystal display.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The automatic teller machine according to claim 1 of the present invention includes: a box-shaped body whose front surface is open; a rail mechanism which is laid on the top surface of the main body and is freely retractable in the front-rear direction; a commodity shelf which is capable of being stored in the main body and pulled out forward from the main body by the rail mechanism, and which has a plurality of commodity lanes in the front-rear direction, the commodity lanes being arranged in two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction across the rail mechanism, and which is used for storing cigarettes stacked in the up-down direction on the commodity delivering mechanism, the commodity lanes in the two rows being in a form in which loading ports of the cigarettes face the left direction and the right direction, respectively, and the commodity shelf being arranged in a form facing each other at intervals so that delivering ports of the commodity delivering mechanisms of the two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction become falling output paths of the cigarettes; a take-out unit provided in a form of closing a lower region of the front surface opening of the main body, and including a take-out port for cigarettes delivered from the commodity passage; and a door which is located at an upper portion of the outlet unit and is vertically movably disposed in a manner that an upper region of the opening on the front surface of the main body is closed, and which is lowered to allow the commodity shelf stored in the main body to be pulled out forward via the rail mechanism, thereby enabling cigarettes sold in front of a store to be stored in the main body and preventing a hand from touching the cigarettes. Further, by operating the commodity delivery mechanism of the commodity passage in response to the order from the order placing terminal, the clerk can immediately deliver the cigarettes delivered to the output port of the automatic cigarette delivery machine to the customer by taking out the cigarettes. Therefore, the effect of assisting the clerk, that is, the effect of reducing the mental burden of waiting the customer for the clerk can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a store clerk support system including an automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cigarette automated teller machine of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the main body of fig. 2, wherein (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is an exploded perspective view thereof.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rail mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the commodity shelf.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the merchandise stand of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a partially exploded view showing the lower column set of fig. 6 in an enlarged manner.

Fig. 8 shows the upper door, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

Fig. 9 shows the lock mechanism of the upper door, and (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

Fig. 10 shows the lower door, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

Fig. 11 shows the outlet unit, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

Fig. 12 shows the guide mechanism part, wherein (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

Fig. 13 is an exploded view showing the guide mechanism portion of fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the suspension mechanism.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of main parts of the suspension mechanism of fig. 14, where (a) is a pulley portion, (b) is a rear perspective view showing a relationship between the belt and the locking capsule, and (c) is a main part perspective view showing a connection between the belt and the locking capsule.

Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 12.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the guide mechanism portion housed in the main body.

Fig. 18 is a schematic side view showing a relationship between the upper door, the lower door, and the outlet unit fixed to the main body.

Fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating supplement of cigarettes to the cigarette automatic teller machine, (a) is a perspective view of the cigarette automatic teller machine in a normal state, (b) is a perspective view of the cigarette automatic teller machine in a state in which the upper door and the lower door are lowered, and (c) is a perspective view of the cigarette automatic teller machine in a state in which the commodity shelf is pulled out from the main body.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A main body; 2. an upper department; 3. a lower department; 4. a door; 5. a take-out port unit; 6. a commodity shelf; 7. a guide mechanism section; 8. a guide member; 9. a suspension mechanism; 25. a locking fitting; 28, 33, a locking portion commodity storage passage; 61. a right lane; 61A-61C, right lane group; 62. a left lane; 62A-62C, a left lane group; 63. a partition member; 64. a commodity handing-out mechanism; 91. a locking member; 92. a pulley; 93. balancing weight; 94. a belt; 611. a commodity lane; r, a track mechanism.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a store clerk support system including an automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to the present invention. The left and right sides refer to the left and right sides as viewed from the front of the automatic teller machine.

In fig. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an automatic cigarette dispensing machine provided in a cashier (back side), and is used in a convenience store or the like provided with a checkout device 200 provided in the cashier. The cigarette automatic dispensing machine 100 includes: a box-shaped body 1 whose front surface is open; a door 4 including an upper door 2 and a lower door 3 disposed to close the front opening of the main body 1; and a take-out unit 5, the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 being configured to be slidable in the vertical direction, the take-out unit 5 being fixed in a state of being housed inside the main body 1. Further, a commodity shelf 6 is disposed inside the main body 1, and the commodity shelf 6 is capable of being housed in the main body 1 and pulled out forward from the inside of the main body 1 (see fig. 5 and the like described later) by a rail mechanism R (see fig. 4 described later) which is laid on the top surface of the main body and is extendable and retractable in the forward and backward directions.

The checkout apparatus 200 is configured by an electronic cash register including a money handling machine 200A and a register control unit 200B, which are used as an automatic change machine. The checkout apparatus 200 includes a coin loading port 201, a coin discharge port 202, a coin return port 203, a bill loading port 204, and a bill discharge port 205 at the front end of a rectangular parallelepiped money handling machine 200A, and a touch panel type input/output screen 206 is provided on a register control unit 200B, and a barcode reader 207 is connected to the register control unit 200B.

In fig. 1, reference numeral 300 denotes a receipt registration terminal for cigarettes sold by a customer before the receipt shop, and is provided in the vicinity of the checkout apparatus 200. The order entry recording terminal 300 includes a touch panel type display screen 301, numeric keys 302, a confirmation button 303, and an order form issuing unit 304 on an operation surface of a customer, and includes a display screen control device for controlling switching of a screen displayed on the display screen 302 in accordance with an operation of the customer, a printer for issuing an order form, and the like. Further, the numeric keys 302 and the confirmation button 303 are auxiliary components: when a trouble occurs in the display screen 301, a number is input via the numeric keys 302 by observing the cigarette pack, the list printed with the number, and the like, and then the order is placed by operating the confirmation button 303.

In the clerk support system shown in fig. 1, when a customer operates the display screen of the order entry terminal 300 to select a desired cigarette, an order sheet printed with a barcode attached to a cigarette pack by a printer built in the order sheet issuing unit 304 is issued. The customer takes the order form to pass to a clerk at the checkout counter and pays for the money. The clerk reads the barcode of the received order form with the barcode reader 207, and inserts the money into the coin inlet 201 or the banknote inlet 204 and temporarily retains the money. When the barcode of the order is read by the barcode reader 207, the checkout apparatus 200 displays the amount of cigarettes corresponding to the barcode of the order and the total amount of money put in on the input/output screen 206, and when the amount of money paid by the customer matches (or is accepted by) the total amount of money put in on the input/output screen 206, the current amount calculation button is operated to register the type and amount of cigarettes and the total amount of money put in, thereby drawing the money temporarily held in the money handling machine 200A, and when change is necessary, the change amount is calculated and the money is paid from the money handling machine 200A. When the customer stops placing an order, the money temporarily held in the money handling machine 200A is returned. When the current amount calculation button is operated, the barcode data read by the barcode reader 207 is transmitted to the cigarette automatic teller machine 100, and the cigarette automatic teller machine 100 hands out the cigarettes corresponding to the barcode data from the product rack to the takeout port 50 of the takeout port unit 5. Therefore, the clerk takes out the cigarettes delivered to the outlet 50, and if there is change, delivers the cigarettes to the customer together with the change. In this way, in the staff assistance system shown in fig. 1, the labor and time required for a staff to find cigarettes can be saved as in the conventional device.

The structure of the cigarette automated teller machine 100 shown in fig. 1 is shown in fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an exploded view showing a main part of the automatic cigarette dispensing machine 100 in an exploded manner. As shown in fig. 2, the cigarette automatic dispensing machine 100 includes: a box-shaped body 1 whose front surface is open; a door 4 including an upper door 2 and a lower door 3 disposed to close the front opening of the main body 1; a take-out port unit 5 which is fixed in a state of being accommodated in the main body 1; two

commodity racks

6, 6 are configured to be able to be housed in the main body 1 and to be able to be pulled out forward from the inside of the main body 1 by a rail mechanism R that is laid on the top surface of the main body 1 and is extendable and retractable in the front-rear direction. Further, reference numeral 7 denotes a guide mechanism portion for slidably moving the upper door 2 in the vertical direction, and reference numeral 8 denotes a guide member for slidably moving the lower door 3, and each is disposed in the vicinity of an opening portion in the main body 1.

As shown in fig. 3, the main body 1 is constructed in a box shape with an open front surface by welding an outer box made of a steel plate, that is, a top plate 12, left and right side plates 13, 14, and a back plate 15 to a base 11 as a bottom plate, and is reinforced by reinforcing

members

17, 17.

Reference numerals

18A and 18B (see fig. 2B) denote rail mounting members for laying a rail mechanism R on the top surface of the main body 1, the rail mounting member 18A is fixed to the front end side of the top plate 12, the rail mounting member 18B is fixed across the rear end of the top plate 12 and the upper end of the back plate 15, and the reinforcing member 18C across the

rail mounting members

18A and 18B is fixed to the top plate 12. A fixing metal fitting 15A is fixed to the back plate 15, and a screw hole for fixing the screw of the outlet unit 5 is formed in the fixing metal fitting 15A.

A rail mechanism R to be laid on the top surface of the main body 1 is shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the rail mechanism R includes a fixed rail R1, a movable rail R2, and an engagement rail R3 formed of a thick steel plate, the fixed rail R1 is laid in the front-rear direction so as to straddle

rail mounting members

18A and 18B provided on the top surface of the main body 1, and the movable rail R2 is supported by the fixed rail R1 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction, and the engagement rail R3 is supported by the movable rail R2 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The fixed rail R1, the movable rail R2, and the engaging rail R3 have substantially the same length. The rail mechanism R is a known rail mechanism disclosed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2010-97445.

Fig. 5 to 7 show the commodity shelf 6 accommodated in the main body 1 by the rail mechanism R. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the commodity shelf 6, fig. 6 is an exploded view of the commodity shelf 6 of fig. 5, and fig. 7 is an exploded view of a lower column group.

As shown in fig. 6, the commodity shelf 6 includes: a top plate 601 having a groove 6011 extending in the front-rear direction at the center; the front chassis 602 and the rear chassis 603 each having a rectangular flat plate shape are screwed between the bottom surface of the U-channel-shaped engaging rail R3 and the recessed groove 6011 by fitting the U-channel-shaped engaging rail R3 into the recessed groove 6011 of the top plate 610, and the top plate 601 and the engaging rail R3 are integrated. The front shelf 602 and the rear shelf 603 are fixed by screws and fixed to the front and rear edges of the top plate 601. The commodity shelf 6 has a right lane 61 and a left lane 62 in two left and right rows via an engagement rail R3 (rail mechanism R). A pair of front and

rear rollers

691, 691 supported by the guide plate 69 are attached to lower portions of the right and left cargo rails 61, 62 in a manner projecting in the left-right direction, and the

rollers

691, 691 are configured to abut on a swinging stop member 19 shown in fig. 17 described later. In fig. 6, the guide plate 69 is omitted.

The right lane 61 and the left lane 62 have substantially the same structure, and the right lane 61 will be described below, and the left lane 62 will be described below with respect to different points.

The right lane 61 is divided into upper and lower 3-story right lane groups 61A to 61C. A commodity passage 611 is formed in the right passage group 61A to 61C, and the commodity passage 611 is divided into a plurality of (7 in this example) partition members 63 (in fig. 6, the state in which the front-most partition member 63 is disassembled) in the front-rear direction by a plurality of (6 in this example) partition members 63 provided at intervals between the front shelf 602 and the rear shelf 603. Each commodity passage 611 is used to accommodate cigarettes stacked in the vertical direction in the commodity delivering mechanism 64 disposed at the lower portion, one (right side) in the horizontal direction of each commodity passage 611 is formed as an open cigarette loading port, and the other (left side) in the horizontal direction is closed by a flat plate-shaped side wall plate 65 (see fig. 6 and 7). That is, the commodity passage 611 is used to store cigarettes in a stacked manner in a space defined by the

partition plates

63, 63 and the side wall plates 65 adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction.

The partition member 63 is made of 1 thin steel plate spanning the right lane groups 61A to 61C of the upper and lower 3 tiers, and has hook-shaped engaging claws 631 formed in a plurality of tiers in the upper and lower direction so as to protrude toward the left edge (edge on the front end side in the cigarette feeding path direction of the commodity delivering mechanism 64), and 3 notches 632 are provided in the upper and lower direction in the commodity delivering mechanism 64 so as to avoid interference with the mounting base 640. Further,

protrusions

633, 634 formed to protrude are provided at upper and lower ends of the partition member 63, respectively.

The commodity carrying-out mechanism 64 is for pushing out the cigarettes stacked and stored on the lowermost surface from the direction of the delivery path in the right-left direction, and as shown in fig. 7, includes: a main body case 641 for stacking cigarettes and placing them on the placement surface 642; a pusher 643 that pushes the rear end in the feeding path direction of the cigarettes stacked and placed on the lowermost surface of the placement surface 642 of the main body case 641 and feeds the cigarettes forward in the feeding path direction; a commodity supporting member 644 which supports the front portion in the delivery path direction of the cigarettes placed on the placement surface 642 of the main body case portion 641, and rotates downward to stably deliver the cigarettes when the cigarettes are pushed out by the pusher 643 and delivered to the delivery port in the front in the delivery path direction; a sold-out detection lever 645 for detecting the presence or absence of cigarettes placed on the placement surface 642 of the main body housing portion 641; and the like. The commodity delivering mechanism 64 is detachably attached to the mounting base 640 by providing claw groove portions (not shown) on the bottom surface of the main body case 641, which engage with the

claw portions

640a and 640b provided on the mounting base 640 mounted on the front frame plate 602 and the rear frame plate 603. Further, a plurality of notches 640c are formed at the right end of the mounting base 640 on which the commodity carrying out mechanisms 64 are juxtaposed, the notches being positioned between the adjacent commodity carrying out mechanisms 64. The notch 640c is used to allow insertion of a portion opposing the notch 632 of the partition member 63.

The side wall plate 65 is made of synthetic resin and is mounted on the front frame plate 602 and the rear frame plate 603. A plurality of locking slits 651 are formed in the plate surface of the side wall plate 65 in the front-rear direction. The locking slit 651 is used to lock and fix the hook-shaped engagement claw 631 of the partition member 63. In addition, a regulating piece 66 (see fig. 7) is supported at a lower portion of the side wall plate 65 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the regulating piece 66 regulates a gap (height of the delivery opening) between the regulating piece 66 and the mounting surface 641 of the commodity delivery mechanism 64, and allows the passage of only the cigarettes pushed out to the delivery opening by the commodity delivery mechanism 64.

The partition member 63 is attached by inserting (pushing leftward) the 3 notches 632 into the notch 640c of the attachment base 640 of the commodity delivering mechanism 64 of 3 stages while facing the notch 640c, and then sliding the notch upward to insert the projection 633 provided at the upper end into the slit 6012 of the top plate 601. Then, when the hook-shaped engaging claws 631, which are provided in a plurality of stages up and down, are pushed in leftward directions using the slit 6012 as a guide and inserted into the locking slits 651 of the side wall plate 65 and then lowered, the hook-shaped engaging claws 631 are locked and fixed to the locking slits 651.

Further, the crank-shaped support rod 67 (shown in fig. 6 in a state in which the front-most partition member 63 is disassembled) rotatably disposed at the loading port of the commodity channel 611 in the right channel groups 61A to 61C on the upper and lower 3 levels is used to prevent the commodities stacked in the vertical direction on the commodity channel 611 from being poured forward, as is well known (for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2007-and-249882).

The left lane 62 is also divided into upper and lower 3-level left lane groups 62A to 62C in the same manner as the right lane 61, and the left lane groups 62A to 62C are divided into a plurality of commodity lanes 611, and the commodity lanes 611 are divided into a plurality (7 in this example) in the front-rear direction by a plurality of partition members 63 provided at intervals between the front shelf plate 602 and the rear shelf plate 603 in a rectangular flat plate shape. The commodity channels 611 of the left channel groups 62A to 62C are also used to store cigarettes stacked in the vertical direction on the commodity delivering mechanism 64 disposed at the lower portion. In this case, the left lane 62 differs from the right lane 61 in the following point: one (left side) in the left-right direction of each commodity passage 611 of the left passage group 62A to 62C is formed as an open cigarette loading port, the other (right side) in the left-right direction is closed by a flat-plate-shaped side wall plate 65 (see fig. 6), and the commodity carrying-out mechanism 64 provided in each commodity passage 61 of the left passage group 62A to 62C operates to push out the cigarettes stored in a stacked manner from the left side toward the output path direction in the right side direction. In this way, the delivery ports of the

commodity delivery mechanisms

64 and 64 of the left lane 62 and the right lane 61 are arranged in a facing manner. The left lane 62 and the right lane 61 are disposed at a predetermined interval therebetween, and a cigarette drop path 600 is formed therebetween (see fig. 6).

Further, a lock mechanism of a well-known type (for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2006-119789) which is constituted by a handle 681 provided in a front frame plate 602 of the commodity frame 6 so as to be able to be pulled up by a mounting metal fitting 680, a lock metal fitting 683 which is rotatable about a shoulder screw 6830 (see fig. 5) at a front end of an engagement rail R3, and a slide plate 682 connecting the handle 681 and the lock metal fitting 683 is configured such that the lock metal fitting 683 is engaged with the rail mechanism R1 and locked in a state where the commodity frame 6 is stored in the main body 1, and the lock metal fitting 683 is rotated via the slide plate 682 by pulling up the handle 681, whereby the commodity frame 6 can be pulled out from the main body 1 by releasing the lock.

In this way, the commodity shelf 6 is accommodated in the main body 1 and is drawn out forward from the inside of the main body 1 by the rail mechanism R, and has the commodity passage 611 in the front-rear direction, two left and right rows of the commodity passages 611 are arranged with the rail mechanism R therebetween, the commodity passage 611 accommodates cigarettes stacked in the vertical direction on the commodity delivering mechanism 64, and the loading ports of the plurality of cigarettes face in the left and right directions, respectively, and the commodity shelf 6 is arranged in a state of facing each other at a distance so that the delivering ports of the commodity delivering mechanism 64 of the two left and right rows of the commodity passages 611 become the falling delivery path 600 (see fig. 6) of the cigarettes. The wire harness between the electrical components mounted on the commodity shelf 6 (the motor as the drive source of the pusher 643 of the commodity discharge mechanism 64, the sold-out detection switch) and the control unit disposed at the lower portion in the main body 1 is disposed so as to hang down in a U-shape in the space between the rear surface of the commodity shelf 6 and the back plate 15 of the main body 1. In this case, in order to protect the wire harness, it is possible to wind it via a guide member disclosed in, for example, japanese patent laid-open No. 2012-43325.

The door 4 including the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 disposed to close the front opening of the main body 1 will be described below. Fig. 8 shows the upper door 2 of the door 4, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, (b) is a rear perspective view thereof, and fig. 9 shows the lock mechanism provided in the upper door 2, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, (b) is a rear perspective view thereof, and fig. 10 shows the lower door 3, (a) is a front perspective view thereof, and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

As shown in fig. 8, the upper door 2 of the door 4 includes a rectangular frame-shaped thin box-shaped steel-plate door frame 21 having an open back surface. The front side of the door frame 21 has a window 22, and the front surfaces of the left and

right flanges

210, 210 are covered with the trim frame 20 (fig. 8 (a) shows a state in which the trim frame 20 on the front side is disassembled, and the flange 210 on the front side is shielded by the trim frame 20). A liquid crystal display 23 having a display surface facing the window 22 is mounted in the door frame 21 whose back surface side is covered with the cover 24. The left and

right flanges

210 and 210 of the door frame 21 are provided with 3 locking portions 211a in a shape of a so-called "flask-shaped hole" in which narrow grooves having a width smaller than the diameter of the circular hole communicate with the upper portion of the circular hole having a large diameter in the vertical direction. Further, pull-tab portions 24 made of synthetic resin are provided at four corners of the front surface of the door frame 21. Each tab 24 includes a finger hook recessed from the front edge of the rectangular frame shape to the rear side, and each tab 24 is fitted into an opening 240 bored in the plate surface of the door frame 21. The tab portion 24, which is the lower right tab portion in the front view, of the 4 tab portions 24 is formed in such a manner that the front surface and the back surface of the tab portion 24 communicate with each other (that is, a communication opening is formed) by eliminating the finger hook portion and the lower edge of the front edge of the rectangular frame shape, and a groove portion 240a is formed in the opening 240, and the groove portion 240a allows rotation of a finger 270 of a lock release lever 27 shown in fig. 9 described later. A hook-shaped engaging portion 28 is formed on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 so as to extend toward the back surface side and be bent upward, and a rubber 29 as an impact absorbing material is provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall.

On the back side of the opening 240, a lock metal 25 (see also fig. 9) constituting a lock mechanism for locking the upper door 2 at a predetermined position is attached to the door frame 21 via an attachment metal 26. The attachment fitting 26 is made of a sheet metal having a substantially Z-shaped cross section, and is disposed in a state of being placed on the bottom wall of the door frame 21, and then the leg piece 261 facing the back side is fixed to the right flange 210 of the door frame 21. In this case, the other leg 262 of the attachment fitting 26 facing forward is positioned on the left side of the left edge of the opening 240 of the door frame 21 and outside the opening 240. The leg 261 has a hole 261a extending in the vertical direction. The lock metal fitting 25 is made of an elongated sheet metal having a substantially concave cross section, and has one end 251 (right end in front view, hereinafter also referred to as tip end) protruding outward from the right side wall of the door frame 21 and the other end 252 disposed so as to be positioned inside the upper door 2 by penetrating a hole 261a provided in the leg piece 261 of the mounting metal fitting 26 and a hole 21a (see fig. 8 a) provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21, and is attached to the mounting metal fitting 26 via a shoulder screw S (see fig. 9 b) at a substantially central portion in the left-right direction so as to be rotatable about the shoulder screw S as a fulcrum. The tip end 251 of the lock metal 25 has an inclined surface 251a projecting outward from the upper edge toward the lower edge. The lock metal fitting 25 is provided with a coil spring SP that is biased so that the tip end 251 side thereof abuts against an upper edge of a hole 261a provided in the leg 261 of the attachment metal fitting 26 or an upper edge of a hole 21a provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21.

Here, in the case where the coil spring SP is provided, it is not necessary that the other end 252 side of the lock metal fitting 25 is normally long as shown in the drawing, but in this embodiment, the lock metal fitting 25 is set long as shown in the drawing so that the position of the fulcrum shaft (shoulder screw S) of the lock metal fitting 25 is located closer to the tip end 251 side than the left-right center, and the tip end 251 side is set so as to abut against the hole 261a provided in the leg 261 of the attachment metal fitting 26 or the upper edge of the hole 21a provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21 in the no-load state (the state where the coil spring SP is not provided). Thus, even when the coil spring SP is damaged or detached, the lock metal fitting 25 secures the upper edge of the hole 261a provided in the leg 261 of the attachment metal fitting 26 or the hole 21a provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21 from the side of the tip end 251 by its own weight as described above.

A support leg piece 263 (see fig. 9 a) formed by cutting (japanese: cut り and cut こし) so as to face the other leg piece 262 facing the front side is provided on the front surface side of the attachment metal fitting 26, and a lock release lever 27 is provided rotatably attached to the support leg piece 263 and the leg piece 262. The lock release lever 27 is pivotally supported at a base end portion 271 so that it can rotate about rotation shafts 2631 and 2621 provided on the support leg 263 and the leg 262 of the attachment metal fitting 26, and a finger 270 extending forward from the base end portion 271 faces the tab portion 24 through a communication opening of the tab portion 24 provided so as to be fitted into the front-view right lower opening 240 of the door frame 21, and an engagement piece 272 extending rearward from the base end portion 271 is attached to the attachment metal fitting 26 so as to be positioned below the other end 252 of the lock metal fitting 25. Further, the engagement piece 272 abuts the lower side of the other end 252 of the attachment lock fitting 25, and the lock release lever 27 is configured to be stationary at the standby position (illustrated position). Therefore, when a finger is hooked on the hand 270 facing the tab portion 24 (the outline obtained by combining the space of the tab portion 24 and the groove portion 240a of the opening 240 is indicated by the one-dot chain line in fig. 9 a) in the front view right-bottom of the door frame 21 and pulled down, the lock release lever 27 is pivoted about the pivot shafts 2631 and 2621 (counterclockwise when viewed from the right side surface in fig. 9 a), and the engagement piece 272 pushes up the other end 252 of the lock attachment 25. Thereby, the distal end 251 of the lock metal 25 is rotated in a state where it is inserted into the hole 261a provided in the leg piece 261 of the attachment metal 26 and the hole 21a provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21.

The upper door 2 of this structure is attached to a guide mechanism 7 disposed in the main body 1 from the front of the main body 1, but the attachment of the upper door 2 to the guide mechanism 7 will be discussed later.

As shown in fig. 10, the lower door 3 of the door 4 is made of a thin box-shaped steel plate having a rectangular frame shape and an open upper surface and a back surface.

Rollers

31, 31 are provided at upper and lower portions of left and right side walls of the lower door 3. A hook-shaped engaging portion 32 that protrudes toward the front surface side and is bent downward is formed at the upper end of the lower door 3, and a rubber 33 that is an impact absorbing material is provided at the bottom wall of the lower door 3. The lower door 3 is attached to a guide member 8 disposed in the main body 1 from the front of the main body 1. The mounting of the lower door 3 to the guide member 8 is discussed later.

Next, the outlet unit 5 fixed in the form of being housed in the main body 1 will be described with reference to fig. 11. Fig. 11 shows the outlet unit 5, in which (a) is a front perspective view thereof and (b) is a rear perspective view thereof.

As shown in fig. 11, the outlet unit 5 is composed of an assembly of a front frame 51 configured to close the front opening of the main body 1 and an outlet frame 52 disposed on the back of the front frame 51. The front surface frame 51 is made of a thin box-shaped steel plate having a rectangular frame shape, and includes

flanges

511 and 511 that extend outward from the left and right side walls and have end portions bent rearward (rear surface side). An opening 514 is formed in an upper plate surface region of the front surface frame 51, and a window 513 closed by a cover 512 is formed in a lower plate surface region of the front surface frame. The outlet frame 52 is composed of left and

right side plates

521, 521 and a bottom plate 522. The front region of the bottom plate 522 of the outlet frame 52 is formed by bending downward, and has a rear end higher than a front end. The rear end of the bottom plate 522 is bent vertically, and is fixed to a fixing metal fitting 15A provided in the back plate 15 (see fig. 2) by screws. The space surrounded by the left and

right side plates

521, 521 and the bottom plate 522 is communicated with the cigarette drop route 600 defined between the left lane 62 and the right lane 61 of the two

commodity racks

6, 6 stored in the main body 1, and the cigarettes delivered from the commodity lanes 611 of the two

commodity racks

6, 6 and dropped to the rear area of the bottom plate 522 are gathered in the front area of the bottom plate 522. The outlet unit 5 is disposed in a state of being housed in the main body 1 by fixing bent portions of the left and

right flanges

511 and 511 to a guide mechanism portion 7 disposed in the main body 1.

Next, the guide mechanism 7 for sliding the upper door 2 in the vertical direction and the guide member 8 for sliding the lower door 3 will be described with reference to fig. 12 to 17.

The guide mechanism 7 is gate-shaped as shown in fig. 12. The guide mechanism 7 is housed in a front end portion of the main body 1 as shown in fig. 17. As shown in fig. 13 in which the guide mechanism 7 is disassembled, the door includes left and right outer frames 71 as door posts, an inner frame 72, and an upper frame 73 as a crossbar. Further, the left and right doorposts have the same configuration, and therefore, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in fig. 16, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 12, the width of the inner frame 72 is smaller than the width of the outer frame 71 with respect to the width of the outer frame 71, and the inner frame 72 is formed in a direction in which the

flanges

711, 721 on the back side face each other. In a state where the

flanges

711 and 721 are tightly joined, the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72 are joined together so as to embrace each other, thereby forming a housing space inside. In this case, the back surface side of the internal storage space is closed by the

flanges

711 and 721, and the front surface side is open. The upper ends of the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72 are fixed to the upper frame 73 at predetermined intervals, thereby forming a door-shaped configuration. Further, a plurality of (6 in the embodiment) slit-shaped locking holes 723 are formed in the front surface of the inner frame 72 on the front right side in the vertical direction (see fig. 12 (b)). The locking hole 723 is engaged with the tip end 251 of the lock metal fitting 25 provided in the upper door 2. The uppermost locking hole 723 of the locking holes 723 is formed shorter than the other locking holes 723, and the top end 251 of the lock metal 25 is engaged with the locking hole 723 to lock the top door 2 at the raised position.

A suspension mechanism 9 for suspending the upper door 2 and a guide rail 74 extending in the vertical direction is disposed in the space between the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72. As shown in fig. 14, the suspension mechanism 9 includes a locking member 91 that locks and fixes the upper door 2, and a belt 94 having one end connected to the locking member 91 and the other end connected to a counterweight 93 via a pulley 92. The left and

right pulleys

92, 92 are connected by a connecting shaft 95, and both ends of the connecting shaft 95 are pivotally supported by the left and right outer frames 71. The belt 94 is a toothed belt as shown in fig. 15, and a toothed pulley is also used as the pulley 92. In fig. 15, the belt 94 is shown with only a part of the belt teeth on the one end side to which the locking member 91 is connected, but the teeth are formed to the other end to which the weight 93 is locked.

As shown in fig. 15, the locking capsule 91 is made of a rectangular steel plate extending in the vertical direction, and

rollers

911 and 911 facing forward and

rollers

912 and 912 facing the side surface are attached to the upper and lower ends, respectively. Further, 3 screw holes 914 are vertically bored in the front flange 913 of the locking capsule 91. The 3 screw holes 914 correspond to the 3 locking portions 211a of the left and

right flanges

210, 210 provided on the door frame 21 in the upper door 2 shown in fig. 8. As can be seen from fig. 15 (c), the holding piece 915 formed with the holding band 94 and the fixing piece 916 for screwing the fixing metal fitting 96 by the screw 917 are cut and raised in the upper portion of the locking capsule 91, and the fixing metal fitting 96 is fixed by sandwiching the band 94 between the holding piece 915 and the fixing metal fitting 96. The portion of the fixing metal fitting 96 where the clip band 94 is fitted between the holding pieces 915 of the locking member 91 has teeth that engage with the teeth of the band 94, and the fixing metal fitting 96 is screwed to the fixing piece 916 by the screw 917 in a state where the teeth of the fixing metal fitting 96 and the holding pieces are engaged with each other, whereby the locking member 91 is suspended from the band 94 in a state where the band 94 is prevented from coming off.

The counterweight 93 coupled to the other end of the belt 94 is also suspended from the other end of the belt 94 by the same structure. Further, a pair of upper and lower rollers 931 facing the front surface side are provided on the front surface and the rear surface of the counterweight 93. The weight of the counterweight 93 is balanced with the weight of the upper door 2 side attached to the locking member 91 suspended to one end of the belt 94 via the pulley 92, and is set to be slightly lighter than the weight of the upper door 2 side.

The guide rail 74 is used to guide the locking member 91 suspended from the belt 94, and is fixed to the outer frame 71 forming the door post by screws. As shown in fig. 16, the guide rail 74 includes two

projections

741 and 741 configured to sandwich the roller 912 provided in the locking capsule 91 from the front and the rear, and a projection 742 configured to sandwich the roller 931 provided on the front surface of the counterweight 93 between the inner frame 72 and the same. Further, the end of the flange 711 of the outer frame 71 is bent toward the inside of the housing space in a manner of holding the rear roller 931 of the counterweight 93. Therefore, in a state where the suspension mechanism 9 and the guide rail 74 are disposed in the housing space between the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72, the locking capsule 91 and the weight 93 of the suspension mechanism 9 smoothly move up and down along the guide rail 74.

The guide member 8 is used to slidably move the lower door 3 in the up-down direction. The guide member 8 is made of a thick steel plate having a cross section in the shape of japanese コ, and is fixed to the inner frame 72 of the gate-shaped guide mechanism 7 in such a manner that the

rollers

31, 31 provided on the left and right side walls of the lower door 3 are accommodated in the space in the shape of japanese コ.

The guide mechanism 7 is assembled as shown in fig. 12 before being housed in the main body 1. In the guide mechanism portion 7 assembled as shown in fig. 12, the front flange 913 of the locking member 91 of the suspension mechanism 9 disposed in the accommodating space between the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72 is exposed to the front surface, and the screw hole 914 bored in the front flange 913 is also exposed to the front. After the guide mechanism 7 assembled in this manner is housed in the main body 1, flanges 710 and 720 (see fig. 16) provided on the bottom surfaces of the outer frame 71 and the inner frame 72, which are the doorposts, are screwed to the base 12, and are housed in the main body 1 (fig. 17). In this case, the guide member 8 is located on the rear side (rear surface side) of the front flange 913 exposed to the front surface of the locking member 91 of the suspension mechanism 9.

As shown in fig. 17, the guide mechanism 7 is housed in the main body 1, and then the outlet unit 5 is housed and installed in the main body 1. The outlet unit 5 is attached by fixing the left and

right flanges

511 and 511 to the guide mechanism 7. In this case, the left and

right flanges

511 and 511 extending outward from the left and right side walls of the outlet unit 5 are passed between the door posts of the guide mechanism 7 in a state of being bent inward. The front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 is set to be smaller than the interval between the

guide members

8, 8 fixed to the left and right guide mechanism portions 7, and to be capable of passing between the

guide members

8, 8. In a state where the front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 is positioned on the rear side (rear surface side) of the

guide members

8, 8 by passing between the

guide members

8, 8 in this manner, the bent portions at the distal ends of the left and

right flanges

511, 511 are fixed by screws to fixing pieces 722 (see fig. 16) provided below the rear surface of the inner frame 72 of the guide mechanism portion 7 so as to protrude toward the rear surface side. The screwing operation can be performed through the window 513 closed by the cover 512 of the front surface frame 51 or the front surface opening of the main body 1. The rear end of the bottom plate 522 of the outlet frame 52 is fixed by screws to the fixing member 15A provided on the back plate 15 of the main body 1, and the outlet unit 5 is housed in the main body 1.

Next, the lower door 3 is mounted and fixed to the

guide members

8, 8 of the inner frame 72 fixed to the left and right

guide mechanism portions

7, 7. That is, after the lower door 3 is lifted up above the guide members 8, the lower roller 31 of the

rollers

31, 31 provided on the left and right side walls of the lower door 3 is fitted into the space shaped like japanese character コ of the

guide members

8, 8 and is lowered, and the upper roller 31 is also fitted into the space shaped like japanese character コ of the

guide members

8, 8. Thus, the lower door 3 is positioned at the lowered position so as to overlap the front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 in the front direction with the

guide members

8 and 8 held. In this case, a hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided at the upper end of the lower door 3 projects toward the front surface side.

Finally, the upper door 2 is attached and fixed to the locking capsule 91 of the suspension mechanism 9 disposed in the housing space of the guide mechanism portion 7 as follows. That is, the screw hole 914 formed in the front flange 913 exposed to the front surface of the locking member 91 of the suspension mechanism 9 is screwed with the headed screw in a state where the head of the screw is spaced apart from the front flange 913. Then, the locking portions 211a of the "flask-shaped hole" shape, which are inserted into the left and

right flanges

210, 210 of the door frame 21 in the upper door 2, are hooked to the screws. In this case, since the diameter of the circular hole of the "flask-shaped hole" shaped locking portion 211a is larger than the diameter of the head of the screw, and the width of the narrow groove communicating with the circular hole is formed smaller than the diameter of the head of the screw and larger than the diameter of the screw, the upper door 2 is lowered after the head of the screw penetrates the circular hole of the "flask-shaped hole" shaped locking portion 211a, and the upper edge of the narrow groove is brought into contact with the screw. When the screws are fastened after the locking portions 211a of the upper door 2 are hooked to the screws screwed to the front flanges 913 of the locking members 91 in this way, the upper door 2 is mounted and fixed to the locking members 91. The upper door 2 attached and fixed to the locking capsule 91 is located at a position forward of the lower door 3 attached and fixed to the guide member 8, and does not interfere with the lower door 3 when the upper door 2 is raised or lowered.

Here, in this embodiment, when the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 are fixed to the body 1, the hook-shaped locking portion 28 provided on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 in the upper door 2 is positioned below the hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided at the upper end of the lower door 3, and the lower door 3 is raised or lowered following the raising or lowering of the upper door 2 by the locking portion 28 of the upper door 2 being hooked to the locking portion 32 of the lower door 3. Therefore, when the upper door 2 is mounted and fixed to the locking capsule 91, the upper door 2 is mounted and fixed to the locking capsule 91 in a state where the locking capsule 91 is lowered to a position overlapping the lower door 3 located at the lowered position in the front-rear direction. That is, the upper door 2 is attached and fixed to the locking member 91 in such a manner that the hook-shaped locking portion 28 provided on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 and the hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided on the upper end of the lower door 3 in the upper door 2 are in a relationship that the locking portion 28 of the upper door 2 is located below the locking portion 32 of the lower door 3.

In this form, that is, in a state where the locking capsule 91 is lowered to a position overlapping the lower door 3 located at the lowered position in the front-rear direction, and in a state where the upper door 2 is fixed to the locking capsule 91, when it is assumed that the tip end 251 of the lock metal 25 provided on the back surface of the tab portion 24 on the front-view right-lower side of the upper door 2 enters the lowermost locking hole 723 of the slit-shaped locking hole 723 (see fig. 12 (b)) provided on the front surface of the inner frame 72 on the front-view right side, the lock metal 25 is in a horizontal state, and the inclined surface 251a of the tip end 251 of the lock metal 25 crosses the locking hole 723. In the process of raising the upper door 2 in this state, when the inclined surface 251a of the lock metal fitting 25 comes into contact with the upper edge of the locking hole 723, the lock metal fitting 25 rotates (clockwise in the main view) about the fulcrum shaft (the shoulder screw S (see fig. 9 b)) and comes out of the locking hole 723, and the tip end 251 of the lock metal fitting 25 rises while sliding on the surface of the inner frame 71, and when the 2 nd locking hole 723 from the lowermost surface is reached, the lock metal fitting 25 enters the locking hole 723 due to the biasing force of the coil spring SP and assumes a horizontal posture, but when the inclined surface 251a of the lock metal fitting 25 comes into contact with the upper edge of the locking hole 723 due to further raising of the upper door 2, the lock metal fitting 25 rotates (clockwise in the main view) and comes out of the locking hole 723, and when the upper door 2 is raised in this way, the lock metal fitting 25 sequentially engages with the plurality (from bottom to 5 th) of locking holes 723, but is removed each time it passes through the engaging hole 711. When the upper door 2 reaches the raised position, the tip end of the lock metal fitting 25 enters the uppermost locking hole 723, and the tip end 251 of the lock metal fitting 25 abuts against the hole 261a provided in the leg 261 of the mounting metal fitting 26 or the upper edge of the hole 21a provided in the right side wall of the door frame 21 by the biasing force of the coil spring SP to be maintained in the horizontal posture, and in this state, engages with the locking hole 723, thereby locking the upper door 2 at the raised position. In releasing the lock of the upper door 2 by the lock metal fitting 25, the finger is hooked on the hand 270 of the lock release lever 27 of the tab portion 24 facing the lower right in the front view of the upper door 2 and pulled down, and the lock metal fitting 25 rotates (clockwise in the front view), whereby the tip end 251 of the lock metal fitting 25 is disengaged from the uppermost locking hole 723, and the lock by the lock metal fitting 25 is released. In this case, in order to assist the rotation of the lock fitting 25, it is preferable to slightly raise the upper door 2.

Fig. 18 shows a state in which the opening on the front surface of the main body 1 is closed by the upper door 2, the lower door 3, and the outlet unit 5. Fig. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the front surface opening of the main body 1 is closed by the upper door 2, the lower door 3, and the outlet unit 5. As can be seen from the figure, the upper door 2, the lower door 3, and the front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 are shifted in position in the front-rear direction without overlapping in the vertical direction, and the lower door 3 is disposed so that the upper door 2 is located before the front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 and the upper door 2 is located before the lower door 3. Further, in fig. 18, W is a wire harness provided in the liquid crystal display 23 of the upper door 2. Although not shown, a power supply unit, a control unit, and the like are disposed behind the outlet unit 5. The control unit includes a control unit that controls the entire cigarette automated teller machine 100, and the control unit is provided with a ROM that stores various execution programs, a RAM that stores various data, a CPU that executes various execution programs using various input signals, and the like, and the commodity handing-out mechanism 64 provided in the commodity lane 611 of the commodity shelf 6 is drive-controlled in accordance with the execution programs stored in the ROM.

The automatic cigarette dispensing machine 100 having this configuration is provided in a cashier (back side) as shown in fig. 1 and is used for assisting a clerk. Fig. 19 (a) shows a state in which the upper door 2 is lifted to close the front opening of the main body 1, as in the automatic cigarette delivery machine 100 shown in fig. 1. In a state where the upper door 2 is raised to the raised position, the front surface opening of the main body 1 is closed in a state where the hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided at the upper end of the lower door 3 is engaged with the hook-shaped locking portion 28 provided at the bottom wall of the door frame 21 in the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 is suspended from the upper door 2. When cigarettes are supplied to the commodity shelf 6 disposed in the main body 1 from this state, the upper door 2 is unlocked by the lock metal fitting 25 by hooking a finger on the grip 270 of the lock release lever 27 of the tab portion 24 facing the lower right of the front view of the upper door 2. Then, in a state where the hand 270 is in contact with the tab portion 24 (that is, in a state where the lock of the upper door 2 by the lock metal 25 is released), the hand is put on an appropriate tab portion 24 (for example, the tab portion 24 on the left lower side in the front view of the upper door 2) of the tab portions 24 at the four corners of the upper door 2, and the upper door 2 is lowered. In this case, the upper door 2 is attached and fixed to the engaging member 91 suspended from one end of the belt 94 having the weight 93 suspended from the other end thereof via the pulley 92, and the weight of the weight 93 is set to be slightly lighter than the weight of the upper door 2 side, and therefore, the door can be lowered by applying only a slight force. In addition, the lower door 3 is lowered as the upper door 2 is lowered. When the lower door 3 is lowered so as to overlap the front surface frame 51 of the outlet unit 5 and the rubber 33 provided on the bottom wall of the lower door 3 abuts the base 1, the lowering of the lower door 3 is stopped, and then the upper door 2 is lowered so as to overlap the lower door 3. In this case, the hook-shaped locking portion 28 provided on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 in the upper door 2 is spaced apart from the hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided on the upper end of the lower door 3. When the rubber 29 provided on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 of the upper door 2 is lowered until it abuts against the base plate 11, the front surface of the commodity shelf 6 housed in the main body 1 is opened (see fig. 19 (b)).

In this state, after the handle 681 provided on the front shelf plate 602 of the commodity shelf 6 is pulled up to release the lock of the commodity shelf 6 in the storage state in the main body 1, the commodity shelf 6 is pulled out forward of the main body 1 by the rail mechanism R (see fig. 19 (c)), and cigarettes are loaded (replenished) in the left-right direction to the commodity passage 611 arranged in two left-right rows in the commodity shelf 6 via the rail mechanism R. After the cigarettes are replenished, the commodity shelf 6 is stored in the main body 1 via the rail mechanism R, and then the upper door 2 is raised by hooking the hand to the tab portion 24 of the upper door 2 (for example, the left and right tab portions 24 on the upper side of the front view of the upper door 2). The hook-shaped locking portion 28 provided on the bottom wall of the door frame 21 in the upper door 2 is close to the hook-shaped locking portion 32 provided on the upper end of the lower door 3 due to the rise of the upper door 2, and when the locking portion 28 of the upper door 2 is engaged with the locking portion 32 of the lower door 3, the lower door 3 also rises as the upper door 2 rises. When the upper door 2 is raised to the raised position, the upper door 2 is locked to the raised position by the lock fitting 25.

The lock metal 25 provided in the upper door 2 is configured to engage with one of slit-shaped locking holes 723 (see fig. 12 (b)) provided in the front surface of the inner frame 72 on the right-hand side in the front view to prevent the upper door 2 from falling when the left and right bands 94 are unexpectedly cut while the upper door 2 is being lowered. That is, when the left and right tapes 94 are cut while the upper door 2 is being lowered, the upper door 2 is rapidly lowered and the hand is separated from the tab portion 24 of the upper door 2, and therefore, the hand is also separated from the hand grip 270 of the lock release lever 27. Thus, when the locking hole 723 and the locking hole 723 to be opposed to each other are not opposed to each other at the time point when the left and right belts 94 are cut off, the lock metal 25 to which a force to restore the horizontal posture is applied by the biasing force of the coil spring SP engages with the locking hole 723 (abuts against the lower edge of the locking hole 723) and stops the upper door 2 from falling when the locking hole 723 is brought into the horizontal posture. Therefore, the upper door 2 can be prevented from falling down onto the base 11 and the upper door 2 and the liquid crystal display 23 mounted on the upper door 2 can be prevented from being damaged.

As described above, the automatic cigarette dispensing machine 100 according to this embodiment includes: a box-shaped body 1 whose front surface is open; a rail mechanism R which is laid on the top surface of the main body 1 and is extendable and retractable in the front-rear direction; a commodity shelf 6 which is capable of being housed in the main body 1 and pulled out forward from the inside of the main body 1 by the rail mechanism R, and which has a plurality of commodity channels 611 in the front-rear direction, the plurality of commodity channels 611 being provided in two rows of left and right commodity channels 611 with the rail mechanism R interposed therebetween, and which houses cigarettes stacked in the vertical direction on the commodity delivering mechanism 64, the two rows of left and right commodity channels 611 being configured such that the loading ports of the plurality of cigarettes are directed in the left direction and the right direction, respectively, and the commodity shelf 6 being disposed in such a manner as to be opposed to each other at intervals such that the delivering ports of the commodity delivering mechanism 64 of the two rows of left and right commodity channels 611 become the falling cigarette output paths 600; a take-out port unit 5 provided in a form of closing a lower region of the front surface opening of the main body 1, and including a take-out port 50 for cigarettes delivered from the commodity passage 611; and a door 4 which is located above the outlet unit 5 and is vertically and vertically movably disposed so as to close an upper region of the opening on the front surface of the main body 1, and which allows the commodity shelf 6 stored in the main body to be drawn forward via the rail mechanism R by lowering the door 4 toward the front side of the outlet unit 5, whereby cigarettes sold in front of the store can be stored in the main body 1 and prevented from being touched by a hand. Further, by operating the commodity delivering mechanism 64 of the commodity passage 611 in response to the order from the ordering terminal, the clerk can take out the cigarettes delivered to the take-out port 50 of the automatic cigarette delivering machine 100 and immediately deliver the cigarettes to the customer. Therefore, the effect of assisting the clerk, that is, the effect of reducing the mental burden of waiting the customer for the clerk can be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the outlet unit 5 has been described as an outlet unit constituted by an assembly of the front surface frame 51 and the outlet frame 52 disposed on the back of the front surface frame 51, but the front surface frame 51 and the outlet frame 52 may be separately attached to the main body 1, and in the present invention, the outlet unit 5 may be an outlet unit for taking out the cigarettes delivered from the commodity racks 6 from the main body 1, and is not limited to the embodiment.

Claims

1. An automatic cigarette dispensing machine is characterized by comprising:

a box-shaped body whose front surface is open;

a rail mechanism which is laid on the top surface of the main body and is freely retractable in the front-rear direction;

a commodity shelf which is capable of being stored in the main body and pulled out forward from the main body by the rail mechanism, and which has a plurality of commodity lanes in the front-rear direction, the commodity lanes being arranged in two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction across the rail mechanism, and which is used for storing cigarettes stacked in the up-down direction on the commodity delivering mechanism, the commodity lanes in the two rows being in a form in which loading ports of the cigarettes face the left direction and the right direction, respectively, and the commodity shelf being arranged in a form facing each other at intervals so that delivering ports of the commodity delivering mechanisms of the two rows of commodity lanes in the left-right direction become falling output paths of the cigarettes;

a take-out unit provided in a form of closing a lower region of the front surface opening of the main body, and including a take-out port for cigarettes delivered from the commodity passage; and

a door located above the outlet unit and vertically movably disposed in a manner to close an upper region of the opening on the front surface of the main body,

by lowering the door, the commodity shelf stored in the main body is allowed to be pulled out forward by the rail mechanism.

2. The automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to claim 1,

the door is composed of an upper door and a lower door, the lower end of the upper door and the upper end of the lower door are respectively provided with an engaging part which can be mutually engaged or disengaged, and the lower door moves up and down in linkage with the up-and-down movement of the upper door.

3. The automatic cigarette dispensing machine according to claim 1,

the upper door has a liquid crystal display.