Design of Posture Control Device 

－Reducing Jam of a Can in Rack of Vending Machine－

Abstract

Due to diversification of beverage products, higher functionality is required of canned beverage vending machines, while vending machine manufacturers urgently need to reduce development time and costs. Vending racks for vending machines are conventionally developed by making a prototype and conducting vending operation tests, but this is an inefficient sequential method. In this study, we attempted to speed up the development process and reducing problems in the field by optimal parameter design of the damper segment, focusing on the falling behavior of canned products in the vending racks, behavior which the damper segment is intended to stabilize. Falling cans were photographed with a high-speed video camera, their instantaneous tilt angles were measured, and the S/N ratio was calculated with tilt angle treated as a smaller-is-better characteristic. Design parameters that minimized the tilt angle were found,manufacturing was able to begin in a relatively short time, and problems in the field were reduced by about a half.