Article dispensing – With recorder – register – indicator – signal or exhibitor – Dispenser operated register
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-27
2002-10-22
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3653)
Article dispensing
With recorder, register, indicator, signal or exhibitor
Dispenser operated register
C221S289000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06467648
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product delivering device and a product delivering method of an automatic vending machine for delivering a product located at the lowest position out of a plurality of products accommodated in a product column in a downward direction at the time of selling the product in the state in which the products placed in a horizontal direction are stacked in a vertical direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in vending machines in which products such as canned drink products, PET bottle products are accommodated in a column (a product passage) in the state in which the products placed in a horizontal direction are stacked in a vertical direction, there is provided a product delivering device for delivering the product located at the lowest position in a downward direction at the time of selling the product out of the plurality of products accommodated in the lower end portion of the column. For example, such product delivering device comprises a stopper for supporting from the lower side the product to be sold next located immediately on the product to be sold at the time of selling the product while supporting from the lower side the product to be sold, and relieving the support of the product to be sold immediately after supporting the product to be sold next, and a solenoid for driving the stopper in this manner.
The column is defined with two passage walls having mutually a space and extending in a vertical direction. The product to be sold and the product to be sold next are supported with the stopper provided on one of the passage walls and the other passage wall so that the products are held in the column. This stopper is constituted in such a manner that the stopper is projected and recessed into the column by the rotation to support the product to be sold and the product to be sold next at the time of projecting into the column while, at the same time, the distance with one of the passage walls (hereinafter referred to as a passage width) can be set at a plurality of stages. Consequently, with the product delivering device having such stopper, the passage width can be increased and decreased in accordance with the size of the products to be sold so that products having various sizes can be delivered.
In the above product delivering device, a problem in that it is troublesome to set the stopper though it is possible to deliver products having various sizes. That is, in the case where the passage width is either decreased or increased in accordance with the products to be sold, the operator who accommodates the products must manually set the stopper itself at a desired position in accordance with the size of the products to be sold. in particular, in the case where a plurality of columns are arranged in a forward and a backward direction, the operator must extend his hand deep inside of the column at the time of setting the stopper of the column at the rear side, and his work becomes very troublesome. Furthermore, in order to appropriately deliver products having approximately a square configuration, and soft PET bottle products, it is necessary to appropriately attach an adapter and the work of attaching the adapter is also troublesome. On the contrary, in the case where the adapter becomes unnecessary along with the change in the product to be sold, the adapter must be detached from the stopper, and in addition, it is also troublesome to conserve and control the adapter after the detachment.
Furthermore, in the case where products having different sizes are accommodated in one column either by error or on purpose, products having large sizes are stuck in the product delivering device when the passage width is set to the size of products having smaller size with the result that a deliver error is generated. On the other hand, in the case where the passage width is set to the size of products having larger sizes, products having smaller sizes are delivered together with products having larger sizes with the result that there is a fear that larger number of products than necessary are delivered and sold.
Furthermore, in the method for relieving the support of the products immediately after supporting the product to be sold next while supporting with the stopper the product to be sold next located immediately on the product to be sold, it is necessary to prepare stoppers having sizes and configurations which conform to the configurations of the products to be handled such as the canned drink products and PET bottle products with the result that there is a problem in that the change of the products cannot be made easily because there arises a trouble of exchanging the stopper at the time of changing the products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved with a view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product delivering device and a product delivering method of an automatic vending machine, the device and the method being capable of delivering only product to be sold with certitude at the time of selling the product irrespective of the size and the configuration of the product to be sold.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a product delivering device of an automatic vending machine comprises: a stopper which projects into a product passage to support a product to be sold; an ejector which projects into the product passage to support a product to be sold next after the product to be sold; and control means for controlling a projection quantity to the product passage of the ejector; wherein the control means allows the ejector to project into the product passage to support product to be sold next upon receipt of a sales instruction, and at the same time, opens the stopper to deliver the product to be sold from the product passage to deliver the product to be sold from the product passage to the sales port thereby closing the product passage with the stopper after the delivery of the product to be sold while supplying the product to be sold next on the stopper by allowing the ejector to be recessed.
A second aspect of the present invention provides the product delivering device of the automatic vending machine according to the first aspect wherein the ejector projects into the product passage in the projection quantity in accordance with the size of the product to be sold accommodated in the product passage.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the product delivering device of the automatic vending machine according to the first aspect comprises: a stopper which projects into a product passage to support a product to be sold: an ejector which projects into the product passage to support a product to be sold next after the product to be sold; and drive means having a drive shaft for driving the stopper and the ejector with the movement into an axial direction on the basis of the rotation movement; wherein the drive means drives the stopper and the ejector to deliver the product to be sold to a sales port by constraining the product to be sold next after the product to be sold by the rotation of the driving shaft in a first direction, moves the stopper to the sales waiting position by rotating the driving shaft in a second direction and, at the same time, driving the stopper and the ejector so as to supply the product to be sold next to the sales waiting position from the product passage.
A fourth aspect of the invention provides the product delivering device of the automatic vending machine according to the third aspect wherein the stopper has a drive portion rotatably supported on a fixed system via a rotation shaft to receive a drive force from the drive means, and a rotation member formed of an opening and closing portion for opening and closing a product passage on the basis of the drive force.
A fifth aspect of the present invention provides the product delivering device of the automatic vending machine according to the third aspect wherein the ejector has a plate-like member wh
Fujimoto Hideki
Nishiyama Takashi
Usuki Hiroaki
Yokota Yoshitake
Noland Kenneth W.
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
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