EA010195B1 - Stacking feeder of increased capacity and product item dispensers for use thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Present invention represents the stacking feeder of increased capacity developed for use in vending machines and product item dispensers and the sample of dispensing rack cabinet using the feeder. The feeder itself implements compact storage for large number of packaged items and is able to provide a disposal unit (of vending machine or dispenser) with continuous feed of those items, non-interruptable until own complete drawdown. The devices are best suitable forhandling brick-like packaged items or even items of nearly-similar form - such as juices in aseptic carton packages, cigarette boxes, bottles with drinking water etc.Employment of the invention should improve dramatically the efficiency of usage of supermarket trade areas usually occupied by racks of packaged items,because it widely extend customer reachable area to those of shelves that reside high-above reach-by-hand area. And, alongside with that, it also allows toconvert significant amount of front-side area of those racks to an advertisement place.

Description

The present invention relates to commercial equipment, in particular, the invention is a drive intended for use in the internal structure of packaging dispensers and vending machines, as well as using this drive is a variant of the packaging dispenser rack. This option of using the drive is not exclusive, so the drive can also be used in the device of other dispensers, vending machines and other equipment. The drive provides compact storage of a large number of packages of goods and ensures their continuous, up to full emptying, sequential supply to any issuing device. In the best way, the device is adapted to work with briquetted or similarly packaged goods, such as packaged juices, bottles of drinking water, packs of cigarettes, etc.

A known number of storage devices and issuing packages of stack-type goods, such as a dispenser for cigarette packs δδ 3858757 (1975), consisting of a structure containing a vertical stack of packing goods lying on top of each other and a dredging window at the lower end of the stack where the supply of goods to the window occurs due to the natural lowering of the stack of packages as the goods are taken out of the window.

The disadvantages of this device are the small capacity of the drive and the inconvenience of using for storage of heavy packages, due to possible damage to the lower under the action of the weight of the overlying.

Also known are a number of devices for storing and dispensing packages, where the supply of goods for excavation is done mechanically, by means of a moving selector carriage. For example, the device of the vending machine CB 1207567 (1970), consisting of rows of shelves horizontally located one above the other and a selector carriage moving in a vertical plane.

The disadvantages of such devices are the complexity of the design and high cost, due to the presence of moving parts and the need for electrical or other drives to ensure the mobility of the selector mechanism.

A number of serpentine-type storage and distribution devices are known for storing and dispensing beverage bottles. For example, a device for dispensing cans ϋδ 2888145 (1959), a container for bottled beverages υδ 4998628 (1991) or a device for storing bottles of drinking water CA 2360320 (2002), consisting of rows arranged one above the other shelves and forming a similarity to serpentine, which occurs free rolling of the bottles to the product opening window at the lower end.

The disadvantages of the known devices of this type is their dependence on the shape of the packages, namely on their ability to rolling.

The number of known devices for storing and delivering goods by type of shelving with inclined shelves. For example, the rack dispenser 1Р 10234532 (1998) and the display dispenser JSC 2006012702 (2006). These devices consist of shelves with sides located one above the other and inclined towards the buyer with oblique arrays of packages of goods standing on them. Buyers make seizure of packages by pulling from the shelves of the extreme packages up and on themselves.

The disadvantages of the known devices of this type are not enough large capacity and the need to find all the shelves within reach of the buyer's hand.

The objective of this invention is to create a simple and capacious design of the storage of packages of goods that can work with briquetted or similarly packaged products, compact storage of a large number of packages of goods and ensure their consistent and continuous, up to complete emptying of the drive, flow to the issuing device, where their seizure by buyers.

The main area of application of the present invention is to be used as a storage device in the internal structure of vending machines and piece dispensers of product packages. The invention also makes it possible to make available to the buyer, including shelves of shelving, located at the height of a much larger area of reach by a person. In this case the vending machine or dispenser will have a very significant free surface, one that is not occupied by issuing devices that can be used for advertising.

The task is solved by improving the well-known construction of a stack drive consisting of a box (1, Fig. 1), containing a stack of packages (3), by supplementing it with one or more shelves (2), opening with open ends inside the box through special holes in him. The shelves are positioned relative to the stack in such a way that the additional packages of product (4) standing on them are constantly under the action of a force tending to move the entire array of packages along the shelves towards the stack (3), but at the same time are kept from falling into it by the stack itself. packages until its level falls below the level of any of the shelves. When, due to the removal of goods by consumers, the stack level will naturally fall below this level, the packages will alternately slide out of it onto the stack, placing themselves in free places in it, thereby ensuring its automatic replenishment. This process is repeated again and again each time the goods are taken out from the dispenser (and, consequently, the next lowering of the stack) by the customers, and will continue until the shelf, then the underlying ones are emptied

- 1 010195 end up, the entire drive. In this case, various embodiments of the drive construction are possible, differing, for example, in the ways of applying force to the packaging of goods on the shelves. In particular, the shelves (2) may be slightly inclined relative to the horizon (Fig. 2, 7) and the packages (4) will slide off of them under the influence of gravity, or they may be strictly horizontal (Fig. 5), and then slipping The packages are provided by applying force to them with the help of some special device (7), for example, a spring. The position of the duct (1) relative to the vertical for the operation of the device is not so significant and in different design variants, it can be either strictly vertical (Fig. 2, 5) or inclined (Fig. 7).

The salient features of the invention are precisely the introduction of shelves for placing additional packages of the goods and their arrangement relative to the stack of packages in order for the automatic replenishment mechanism described above to become possible.

As additional improvements aimed at improving the performance properties of the drive, it is proposed to make the surface of the shelves of roller gratings (6, Fig. 3) to reduce friction, to use special smoothing tongues (5, Figs. 3, 4, 6) at the ends of the shelves to prevent for jams of packages falling on the stack as they pass by those on the shelves, use a shock-absorbing elevator (Fig. 9), made in the form of a closed tape with shelves covering one of the walls of the box, and use longitudinal dividers ( 12, 13, Fig. 11) inside the box, as well as on the shelves to allow simultaneous, independent storage of several tastes or varieties of goods at once within one device, as well as adapting it to different packaging formats. The box may end with a dispenser, for example, made in the form of a fragment of it (8, Fig. 8) with a plug or stop in the lower part and a cut in the side wall, the goods are dredged out by removing the package in the direction perpendicular to the natural movement of the packages. Also, the dispenser may be separate from the drive, for example, it may be one of the shelves of the rack (15, Fig. 14). These two variants of the issuing device are not exhaustive and many implementations are possible that are compatible with the present invention.

Loading and replenishing the drive with goods is done by installing packages (4) on the shelves (2) of the drive. Moreover, with an empty stack (3), the packages will first slide into it, and then, as its level increases, will remain on the shelves, forming inclined arrays on them. It is advisable to fill the shelves consistently up, starting from the bottom.

Another objective of this invention is to increase the capacity of the well-known shelf rack with inclined shelves, which are usually used in the trading floors of supermarkets for storing and delivering packages to the buyer.

The task is solved by improving the well-known design of the shelving dispenser with inclined shelves (Fig. 12) by adding to it the drive described above, with one of the shelves (15) of the rack acting as a device for delivering packages. For this purpose, the outlet of the box (1, Fig. 13) of the hopper is located relative to the shelf of the rack (15) so that when the entire inclined array of packages (16) is shifted on the shelves, due to the removal of the next package from the shelf of the rack by buyers, the package (3) from the drive, would be installed on the free space formed in the upper part of the shelf of the rack. In this case, the package coming out of the box (3), the package on the shelf (16), the wall of the box (1) and the belt lift (9) are mutually wedged using special tapered stops (18) on the belt, which delays the outflow of the package from the box, but At the same time, it does not prevent the entire package array from moving along the shelf of the rack (15) to the place of their removal by customers. When, due to the removal of packaging from the shelf by customers, the array of packages (16) on this shelf is shifted, the new package (3) freely comes out of the storage box and is placed in the formed place at the upper end of this shelf. Thus, the replenishment of the specified shelf of the rack with goods will occur automatically, up to the complete emptying of the drive.

The invention gives the effect of a significant increase in the capacity of the shelving and the utility of the use of the space of the sales area, as it allows you to make available shelves located at a height significantly exceeding the reach of the person. The invention has a special effect when, for reasons of convenience and safety, such packages are not even placed at the maximum height available to the customer, but, as a rule, at a level not exceeding half the human height. This is the case, for example, in the case of bulk or heavy packages of goods, such as drinking water bottles, diapers, etc.

Considering the above, the orientation of the drive relative to the shelves of the rack can be different, allowing you to load both from the issuing side to the buyer and from the reverse issuing side. In the first case, the storage box will be located at the rear of the rack and its shelves will be tilted in the direction opposite to the shelves of the rack. This arrangement seems to be the most convenient in practice, as it allows the device to be positioned close to the wall, but, nevertheless, does not exhaust the possible options for the orientation of the drive relative to the shelves of the rack.

A number of drawings are attached to illustrate the above.

- 2 010195

FIG. 1 illustrates the general view of the drive and shows its most significant features, namely the presence of shelves (2) and their location relative to the box (1) and stack of packages (3). This drawing is a cutout of a part of the box to show the elements hidden behind it. Smoothing tongues (5) are also shown here and it can be seen that the surface of the shelves can be made in the form of roller gratings (6).

FIG. 2, 5 and 7 show some promising practical embodiments of the drive, differing in the position of the shelves (2) relative to the box (1) and the way in which the packages (4) slide off the stack (3).

FIG. 2 shows a side view in section of a variant of the device, in which the shelves (2) are located at a small angle to the horizon, and the box (1) is made vertical. Here, the sliding of the packages (4) from the shelves to the stack occurs under the action of gravity.

Further, FIG. 3 and 4 are local types of incision and serve to illustrate the effect of smoothing tongues (5), which in this case are made in the form of wedges suspended from the pointed end and made such that the wedge fills the space formed by the faces of the packages (4) on the shelves and packages in the box (3). FIG. 3 that when lowering the stack level, the tongue (5) does not prevent the packages (4) from sliding off the shelves inside the box, but at the same time, as shown in FIG. 4, he does not allow them to catch on with the corners when the packings in the box fall down, passing by the packs standing on the shelves. Also in FIG. 3 and 4, the enlarged fragments of the shelf (2) are visible, the surface of which is made in the form of a roller grille (6) to reduce friction, which facilitates the sliding of the packages (4) along the shelves (2) under the action of their own weight and reduces their angle of inclination.

FIG. 5 shows a variant of the device in which the shelves (2) are horizontal, and the duct (1) is vertical and slipping of the packages (4) from the shelves here is ensured by the application of an external force using a special device (7), for example, a spring, as shown in the drawing. Since the shelves and the stack are made mutually perpendicular here, the planes of the faces of the packages in the stack and on the shelves will be parallel and the packages will slide off the shelves to the stack with fewer obstacles.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged detail view, where it can be seen that the smoothing tongues (5) in this embodiment of the device can be flat.

FIG. 7 shows another possible variant of the location of the shelves, in which the shelves (2) are perpendicular to the duct (1), while the structure itself is inclined relative to the vertical at a certain angle. Thus, the slippage of the packages (4) from the shelves to the stack here, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, occurs by gravity. This option has the advantages of the previous two: the parallelism of the faces of the packages and the simplicity of the design, and can be used, for example, in wall hanging dispensers.

FIG. 8 shows a variant of the drive, in which the box ends with a dispenser (8), which is a continuation of the box (1), its small fragment, rejected at some angle, with a plug or abutment at the lower end and a cut-out in the side wall. The removal of packages from it is carried out by removing the packaging in the direction perpendicular to the direction of its natural movement in the box.

FIG. 9 and 10 shows a device where a shock-absorbing elevator is applied to ensure smooth lowering of the packages in the box and prevent their deformation. The elevator is a closed tape (9) with shelves (10) covering one of the walls of the box and thrown over the rollers (11). At the same time, the tape shelves can be made automatically folding as they move back up. Just as shown in FIG. 14, the tape may have additional stops (18) that serve for wedging and, consequently, stopping the elevator until the customer removes the package from the dispenser, which in this variant is one of the shelves (15) of the rack.

FIG. 11 shows a variant of the drive using longitudinal dividers (12) and (13) on the shelves and in the box to realize the possibility of simultaneous storage and independent supply to the dispenser of different formats and with different contents (tastes). With the same purpose, it is also possible to combine individual drives with the same external dimensions by connecting them into blocks. However, some of these individual drives, or all of them at once, can be adapted to work, each with its own standard packaging of products — a package of a certain volume and / or a manufacturer of products.

FIG. 12 shows a rack consisting of racks (14) with two inclined shelves (15) with restrictive sides (17). In the upper part of the rack there is a storage unit described above consisting of a box (1) and shelves (2), while the supply of packages (3) of goods from the drive is made to the second shelf (15) of the rack, to its upper end.

FIG. 13 shows the same rack sectional side view. In this case, a variant of the drive is shown with a shock-absorbing elevator consisting of a tape (9) with shelves (10) thrown over the rollers (11). Here it is assumed that buyers will approach the rack on the left and take out the extreme packages (16) of the goods from the shelves (15) of the rack, pulling them up and over. Spontaneous

- 3 010195 the dumping of packages from the shelves of the rack is prevented by bumpers (17). At the same time, only one of them is replenished from the drive, which in this case will serve as a dispenser.

FIG. 14 shows in details how the wedging occurs, namely the lower face of the package (3) coming out of the box (1) rests against the side edge of the outer package (16) on the shelf of the rack, while the package (3), the package (16), the wall of the box (1) and the belt lift (9) are mutually wedged by means of special wedge-shaped stops (18) on the belt, which delays the exit of the package (3) from the box, but at the same time does not prevent the entire package array (16) from moving along the shelf rack to the place of their excavation by buyers. When, due to the removal of the packaging by the buyer, the array of packages (16) is shifted down and to the side, the new package (3) freely comes out of the drive and is placed in the formed place at the upper end of this array.

FIG. 12 shelves of the drive (2) and the rack (15) are tilted in different directions. The surfaces of all shelves are made in the form of roller gratings (6). Also, the shelves and storage box are wide enough to accommodate several rows of product packages, while on the shelves and in the box it is possible to use any of the previously mentioned improvements, such as longitudinal dividers on the shelves, tongues, shock-absorbing elevator and their combinations.

Bibliographic data

Patent I83858757, A 47E 1/08; Packing 1g Ktsyagb N, 1975.

Patent CB 1207567, C 07E 11/06, 8cip11g 1 Tyotak; 81yug1 Abbot Nibkop, 1970.

Patent I82888145, And 47E 1 / 08N, Egeb Kpoy bokeryb. 81top Nekeville, 1959.

Patent I8 4998628, A 47 E 1 / 08N, Kokk E Ktsyagb, 1991.

Patent CA 2360320, A 47 E 1 / 08H, A 47 E 7/28, bicheipekke. Voyoppack, 2002.

Patent 1P 10234532, 8kag Tashdisi, 1998.

Patent application AO 2006012702, Maccieep, Mshststs 2006.

Claims (11)

CLAIM 1. Stacked storage unit of increased capacity, storing and delivering packages of goods to the issuing device, consisting of a box (1) containing a stack (3) of packages of goods, characterized in that one or more shelves (2) are added to accommodate additional packages (4) of goods on them, located perpendicular to the box or at an angle to it and leaving open ends inside it through special openings in it, while the shelves are located relative to the stack of packages in such a way that when the level is lowered Single below its regular shelf occurs by slipping automatic replenishment of new packages (4) from the shelves in the stack. 2. The drive according to claim 1, characterized in that the shelves are located at an angle to the horizon and sliding of the packages from the shelves to the stack occurs spontaneously, under the action of gravity. 3. The drive according to claim 1, characterized in that the shelves are arranged horizontally and sliding of the packages from the shelves to the stack occurs under the action of an external force applied to them by means of a special device (7). 4. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that in order to reduce friction of the surface of the shelves made in the form of roller gratings (6). 5. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that special smoothing tongues (5) are used to prevent the packages of goods in the stack (3) from getting stuck when they are lowered down and passing by the packages (4) standing on the shelves. 6. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the shelves and the stack may have one or more longitudinal dividers (12, 13) to enable simultaneous storage and independent supply to the device issuing packages of various formats and variations of tastes of the product. 7. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the box ends with a unit delivery device (8), which is a continuation of the box or its fragment tilted at an angle, with an emphasis at the lower end and a notch in the side wall that allows making a notch packaging from it in the direction perpendicular to the natural movement of the packaging. 8. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that in order to prevent deformation and damage to the packages in the stack under the action of the weight of the superior, the packages are lowered using a special shock-absorbing elevator, made in the form of a closed tape (9) with shelves (10) , thrown over the rollers (11) and located along one of the walls of the box. 9. Rack-dispenser of packages of goods, consisting of one or several inclined shelves (15), arranged one above the other with packages of goods (16) standing on them, characterized in that in the upper part of the rack there is at least one drive for any from PP.1-8, and the supply of packages from which it is made to one of the shelves of the rack, while the stack (3) of packages in the drive and the array of packages (16) on the shelf of the rack are arranged so that when removing the package from the shelf of the rack, The packages on this shelf are automatically replenished. I eat feed of new packages from the drive and install them in the free space in it. - 4 010195 10. Shelving dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that the surface of the shelves of the rack is made in the form of roller gratings. 11. Rack dispenser according to any one of paragraphs.9-10, characterized in that the drive is located in such a way that its shelves (2) are tilted to the side opposite to the shelves of the rack (15) and its goods are loaded on the same side that and seizure of packages by buyers.