Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Hidekazu Yajima

Masaki Nakayama

Yoshio Yasaka

Akira Sugawara

Seiji Ebukuro

Takeo Igarashi

Satoshi Ishikawa

Toshiyuki Takahashi

Hiroshi Ogomori

Hiroshi Kobayashi

Toshio Itaya

A product housing apparatus for a vending machine, for housing therein a plurality of products arranged in the longitudinal direction, the product housing apparatus comprising: a product passage defined by a product rack horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction and left and right partition walls which face each other while leaving a space therebetween in the lateral direction, are extended upward from the product rack, and are extended parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction, the plurality of products being housed in the product passage in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction and being abutted against each other; and a convex member which is provided between the left and right partition walls of the product rack so as to extend along the product passage and locks the plurality of products so as to be held in a laid state and in a position inclined on the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction. By virtue of this constitution, inexpensive product housing apparatus and product housing method for a vending machine are provided which can house, in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction, various products including, for example, thin products, bagged products, and wrapped products, in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction, and, at the same time, can properly and surely deliver the products.

Product housing apparatus and product housing method for vending machine

Disclosed is a product carry-out apparatus for a vending machine, adapted for carrying a product, which has been delivered downward from a product housing within a vending machine body at the time of selling, in a diagonally upward and forward direction and then carrying out the product to a product take-out port. The apparatus comprises: a conveyor which is rotatable about the rear end between a forward and upward inclined position for selling and a substantially horizontal position for maintenance and, at the time of selling, at the position for selling, receives, on its upper surface, the product delivered from the product housing and carries the product in a diagonally upward and forward direction; and a support for holding the conveyor at the position for selling or at the position for maintenance. By virtue of this construction, the space defined by the product housing and the carrying mechanism can be easily increased according to need while maintaining the number of products housed in the product housing, and, thus, changing the setting of the delivery port of the product housing and the maintenance of the product housing and the carrying mechanism can be easily performed.

Product carry-out apparatus for vending machine

A product carry-out apparatus for a vending machine is provided which comprises: a chute which is provided below the product housing and is inclined in an upward and forward direction; a pair of left and right drive mechanisms which are provided respectively at left and right both ends of the chute and comprise front and rear sprockets respectively rotatably provided around the front and rear ends of the chute, and each have a chain put and wound on the front and rear sprockets; a drive source, such as a motor, for rotatively driving at least one of the front and rear sprockets; and a product pushing rod which is mounted over a portion between the chains respectively in the pair of drive mechanisms and, in addition, pushes a product, dropped onto the chute, from behind while being moved above the chute along the chute upon the rotation of the chain. By virtue of the above construction, the product carry-out apparatus for a vending machine can quickly and surely carry out a product, which has been delivered and dropped from a product housing, to a product take-out port provided at a relatively high position.

An apparatus for selecting a product in a vending machine by inputting a contemplated product number selected from product numbers assigned to respective types of products, comprises: a ten key for inputting a product number; a correction button which is operated in the course of or after the operation of the ten key to permit the product number to be re-input; an OK button which is operated after the completion of the operation of the ten key to establish the selection of the product; LED which can light up the ten key, the correction button, and the OK button separately from one another; and a control circuit for controlling LED in such a manner that the ten key, the correction button, and the OK button are successively lighted up according to the operating procedure. By virtue of this constitution, according to the apparatus for selecting a product in a vending machine, for example, when a purchaser buys a product in a vending machine by inputting a product number, advantageously, the purchaser can easily, quickly and clearly understand the operation for buying the product and consequently can smoothly and quickly buy the contemplated product.

Apparatuses for selecting product in vending machine

There is disclosed a vending machine in which a plurality of article columns are slant to be directed to a plurality of vending mechanisms, respectively. Each of the article columns is composed of a plurality of shelves for accommodating a row of articles. Each of the article columns is provided with a vending mechanism, so that articles of different kinds can be sold dependent on the number of the article columns. For this structure, at least one vending mechanism is set for an arbitrary one of article selection buttons. Thus, when the number of the article columns for accommodating the same kind of articles is set in accordance with the sales amount of the articles, different kinds of articles are sold out at an approximately same time.

Vending machine

There is disclosed a vending machine in which a plurality of article columns are slant to be directed to a plurality of vending mechanisms, respectively. Each of the article columns is composed of a plurality of shelves for accommodating a row of articles. Each of the article columns is provided with a vending mechanism, so that articles of different kinds can be sold dependent on the number or the article columns. For this structure, at least one vending mechanism is set for an arbitrary one of article selection buttons. Thus, when the number of the article columns for accommodating the same kind of articles is set in accordance with the sales amount of the articles, different kinds of articles are sold out at an approximately same time.

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Saitama, Japan

Hidekazu Yajima