Product storage device and automatic vending machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10657508-B2
Application number	US-201715854255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2017
Priority date	Aug 4, 2015
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

A product storage device includes: a main gate that is swingably provided to advance and move away from a product storage column, that advances to an advanced position, and that allows a downstream-most product to be taken out; a sub-gate that is swingably provided in association with the main gate; a sliding member that regulates the main gate from moving away and retracting from the product storage column; and a lever that allows the sliding member to be present at a regulation position, that switches to a regulation posture which regulates the sliding member from returning to the regulation position, and that then, when the main gate moves away from the product storage column in response to a take-out operation, switches to a standby posture when the main gate advances to the product storage column to allow the sliding member to return to the regulation position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A product storage device comprising:
a main gate that is swingably provided to advance to and move away from a product storage column for storing products in alignment, the main gate being located, in a normal state, at an advanced position which is on a dispensing slot side of a downstream-most product present at a downstream-most side in the product storage column, and moving away from the product storage column, to allow the downstream-most product to be taken out through the dispensing slot;
a sub-gate that is swingably provided in association with the main gate to advance to and move away from the product storage column, the sub-gate being arranged such that, when the main gate advances to the product storage column, the sub-gate moves away from the product storage column, and when the main gate moves away from the product storage column, sub-gate advances to the product storage column and regulates a product disposed next to an upstream side of the downstream-most product from moving toward the dispensing slot;
a sliding member that is slidable in a storing direction of the product storage column, the sliding member, when being disposed at a regulation position, regulating the main gate from moving away and retracting from the product storage column;
a lever that is swingably provided together with the main gate, the lever being arranged such that, when in a standby posture, the lever allows the sliding member to be present at the regulation position, when the sliding member slides from the regulation position, the lever switches to a regulation posture which regulates the sliding member from returning to the regulation position, and then, when the main gate moves away from the product storage column in response to a take-out operation of taking out the downstream-most product, the lever switches to the standby posture while the sub-gage advances to the product storage column to allow the sliding member to return to the regulation position; and
a switching member that is movable between a vendition position and a restocking portion, the switching member being arranged such that, when the sliding member slides from the regulation position, the switching member allows the lever to switch to the regulation posture,
wherein in the vendition position, when the main gate, which moved away from the product storage column in response to the take-out operation of taking out the downstream-most product, again advances to the product storage column, the lever is allowed to switch to the standby posture, and in the restocking position, when the sliding member slides from the regulation position, the sliding member is maintained in a state of having slid from the regulation position and the lever is regulated from switching to the standby posture.

2. The product storage device according to claim 1 , wherein the sub-gate is deformable such that in case of advancing to the product storage column, the sub-gate undergoes elastic deformation contacting with a product that moves toward the upstream side from the dispensing slot, and allows a movement of the product.

3. The product storage device according to claim 1 , wherein the product storage column includes a rail member for supporting a lid attaching portion of a container of a product having a constriction between the lid attaching portion, to which a lid is detachably attached, and a body part, to thereby support the product in an uprightly-suspended state.

4. The product storage device according to claim 1 , wherein the main gate includes
a first main gate that is swingably provided in a manner to advance to and move away from the product storage column, the first main member being arranged such that the first main member, in the normal state, advances to the advanced position on the dispensing slot side of the downstream-most product, and in case of moving away from the product storage column, allows the downstream-most product to be taken out through the dispensing slot, and
a second main gate that is swingably provided to advance to and move away from the product storage column, the second main gate being arranged such that the second main member, in the normal state, advances to a position on the dispensing slot side of the first main gate, and in case of moving away from the product storage column, allows the downstream-most product to be taken out through the dispensing slot,
the sliding member regulates, when being at the regulation position, the first main gate from moving away and retracting from the product storage column, and
the lever is swingably provided along with the first main gate, the lever switching, when the sliding member slides from the regulation position, to the regulation posture for regulating the sliding member from returning to the regulation position, and then advancing, when the first main gate moves away from the product storage column in response to the take-out operation of taking out the downstream-most product, to the product storage column and switching to the standby posture to allow the sliding member to return to the regulation position.

5. The product storage device according to claim 1 , further comprising a linking unit that is provided between the switching member and the main gate, the linking unit, when the switching member is present at the vendition position, causing an amount of advancement of the main gate to the product storage column in the normal state to be increased greater than an amount of the advancement when the switching member is present at the restocking position.

6. A product storage device comprising:
a main gate that is swingably provided to advance to and move away from a product storage column for storing products in alignment, the main gate being located, in a normal state, at an advanced position which is on a dispensing slot side of a downstream-most product present at a downstream-most side in the product storage column, and moving away from the product storage column, to allow the downstream-most product to be taken out through the dispensing slot;
a sub-gate that is swingably provided in association with the main gate to advance to and move away from the product storage column, the sub-gate being arranged such that, when the main gate advances to the product storage column, sub-gate moves away from the product storage column, and when the main gate moves away from the product storage column, the sub-gate advances to the product storage column and regulates a product disposed next to an upstream side of the downstream-most product from moving toward the dispensing slot;
a sliding member that is slidably provided in a storing direction of the product storage column, the sliding member, when being disposed at a regulation position, regulating the main gate from moving away and retracting from the product storage column;
a detecting unit that detects a swing of the main gate at the advanced position, in a direction of moving away; and
a control unit configured such that, when the detecting unit detects the swing of the main gate in a state where the sliding member is present at the regulation position, the control unit determines that a product in the product storage column is selected and makes the sliding member slide from the regulation position.

7. The product storage device according to claim 6 , further comprising a lever that is swingably provided along with the main gate, and arranged such that, when in a standby posture, the lever allows the sliding member to be at the regulation position,
wherein when the sliding member slides from the regulation position, the lever switches to a regulation posture for regulating the sliding member from returning to the regulation position, and then when the main gate moves away from the product stor

Assignees

• Fuji Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nakajima Norio
• Erikawa Hajime
• Fukuda Katsuhiko
• Makino Michihiko
• Sakatoku Takuya
• Kakiuchi Takuma

Classifications

• G07F7/005

  Details or accessories · CPC title

• G07F11/42

  the articles being delivered by motor-driven means · CPC title

• G06Q20/18 Primary

  involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals · CPC title

• G07F11/38

  in which the magazines are horizontal · CPC title

• G07F11/64

  in which the articles are individually suspended from stationary supports · CPC title