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The present invention relates to a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained in vending machines.
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Many currently commercially available vending machines are constituted by a containment shell which supports a plurality of horizontal trays which are spaced one another along the vertical axis and on which the products which can be selected and purchased by the user are arranged in turn.
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Generally, the vending machine is closed by a front door which is transparent in order to allow the user to view the products arranged on the different trays.
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Moreover, the trays are provided with dispensing means, for example of the spiral type, which are adapted to move the selected products toward the free edge of the tray directed toward the front door.
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A drop region is defined between the free edges of the trays and the internal surface of the front door and a withdrawal compartment is arranged below such region: in practice, when the user selects the product, the movement means convey it toward the free edge of the tray and therefore toward the drop region. From there, by gravity, the product reaches the withdrawal compartment, which can be accessed from outside the vending machine by means of an access flap which is usually fitted so that it can swing on the front door.
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Typically, at the withdrawal compartment there are security means constituted for example by one or more blocking panels, which are kinematically connected to the access flap and are designed to move, when the access flap is pushed so as to allow the user to access the withdrawal compartment, to a position for the upward closure of the withdrawal compartment, so that the user cannot access the trays and especially the products arranged on the trays from the withdrawal compartment.
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Of course, when the access flap is closed, the security means are arranged so as to allow the products being dispensed to fall from the free edge of the tray into the withdrawal compartment.
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It has been observed that if delicate products which might be damaged during the fall into the withdrawal compartment are present within the vending machine and especially on the trays arranged at a higher level, it can be useful to provide dispensing devices which are capable of conveying the products being dispensed from the free edge of the tray on which they are arranged toward the withdrawal region which can be accessed by the user.
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Such withdrawal region can be constituted, as explained above, by the withdrawal compartment but also by the dispensing device proper.
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In practice, a vertically elongated movement guide is fixed to the containment shell or to the front door and is associated with an auxiliary dispensing element, which is generally arranged parallel to the free edges of the trays and at the drop region. Motor means act on the movement guide in order to place the auxiliary dispensing element at the free edge of the tray on which the product being dispensed is positioned; once such product has been accommodated on the auxiliary dispensing element, the motor means move said element towards the withdrawal region.
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The withdrawal region is usually constituted by the auxiliary dispensing element itself, which places itself at an access flap provided typically on the front door and below the trays; this allows the user to access the product supported by the auxiliary dispensing element.
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The above described vending machines, though being currently widely used, are not devoid of drawbacks.
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With particular reference to vending machines provided with the dispensing devices briefly described above, it should be noted that they often have assembly problems due to the need to arrange in a very restricted space all the components of the device and in particular the movement guide or guides, the auxiliary dispensing element and the motor means designed to move the auxiliary dispensing element along the movement guide or guides.
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These problems are further increased by the need to arrange, in the vicinity of the access flap, also the security means needed to prevent the user from accessing the products arranged on the trays.
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The aim of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained within vending machines which allows to eliminate or at least drastically reduce the drawbacks noted above.
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Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device which is compact, functional and capable of using reliable and tested kinematic mechanisms.
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Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained within vending machines which has a very simple structure and a competitive production cost, so that its use is advantageous also from an economical standpoint.
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This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained within vending machines, as disclosed in the appended claims.
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Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained within vending machines according to the present invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
- Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a vending machine;
- Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the vending machine of Figure 1, in which the containment shell has been omitted for greater clarity;
- Figure 3 is a sectional view of the vending machine, in which the containment shell has been omitted for greater clarity, taken along the plane defined by the line III-III of Figure 1;
- Figure 4 is a perspective view of a front panel of a vending machine with a dispensing device according to the invention associated therewith, in the pick-up position and in the release position;
- Figure 5 is another perspective view of a detail of the dispensing device in the pick-up position;
- Figure 6 is a perspective view of a detail of the dispensing device in the release position;
- Figure 7 is an enlarged-scale side elevation view of a portion of the dispensing device in the pick-up position;
- Figure 8 is an enlarged-scale side elevation view of a portion of the dispensing device in the release position;
- Figure 9 is an enlarged-scale sectional view of the front door with an associated dispensing device according to the invention in the pick-up position and in the release position.
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In the exemplary embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.
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Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer.
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With reference to the figures, the present invention relates to a dispensing device 10 which is associated in particular with a vending machine generally designated by the reference numeral 1.
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Typically, the vending machine 1 comprises a containment shell 2 which is closed at the front by a front door 3. The containment shell 2 generally supports a plurality of supporting trays 4, on which products 100, which said vending machine 1 can dispense, are arranged.
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Dispensing elements, such as for example spirals 4b, for the products 100 are provided on the or each supporting tray 4: the dispensing elements are designed to convey the product 100 selected by the user toward the free edge 4a of the supporting tray 4 which is directed toward the front door 3.
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The dispensing device 10 comprises a supporting framework 6, which is associated with the vending machine 1 substantially at the region located between the free edge or edges 4a of the supporting tray or trays 4 and the internal surface 3a of the front door 3 that closes the vending machine 1.
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The supporting framework 6 is associated with an auxiliary dispensing element 7 which can be moved, along a respective generally vertical movement direction, between at least a position for collecting the products to be dispensed (shown in Figure 7), in which said auxiliary dispensing element 7 is arranged at the free edge 4a of a respective supporting tray 4, and at least a position (shown in Figure 8) for releasing the product being dispensed: in this release position, the auxiliary dispensing element 7 is arranged above and proximate to a pick-up compartment 8 which can be accessed by the user.
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According to the present invention, the auxiliary dispensing element 7 comprises a first element 11 and at least a second element 12 and means for relative movement between the first element 11 and the second element 12.
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In particular, due to the action of the relative movement means, in the pick-up position the first element 11 and the second element 12 cooperate to provide a receptacle 13 for the product to be dispensed, while in the release position they provide a release region 14 which is adapted to allow the product being dispensed to fall by gravity into the pick-up compartment 8.
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With particular reference to the embodiment shown in the figures, the receptacle 13, defined by the first element 11 and by the second element 12 in the pick-up position, comprises at least a lower portion, whose concavity is directed upwardly so as to facilitate the accommodation of the product 100 in the first dispensing step.
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Advantageously, the supporting framework 6 is associated with the internal surface 3a of the front door 3.
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Moreover, it is convenient to provide that the auxiliary dispensing element 7 can lie along a main longitudinal direction which is parallel to the free edge 4a of the supporting tray or trays 4 and is parallel to the internal surface 3a of the front door 3.
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According to a preferred embodiment, the first element 11 and/or the second element 12 can move, by way of the action of the relative movement means, when they arrive at the release region, about a respective oscillation axis 101 and/or 102, such axes being substantially parallel to the main longitudinal direction of the auxiliary dispensing element 7.
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With reference to such embodiment, both the first element 11 and the second element 12 have respective longitudinal closure edges 11a and 11b which are mutually close in the receiving position.
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The relative movement means are kinematically connected to at least one among the first element 11 and the second element 12, so as to move mutually apart the respective longitudinal edges 11a and 11b in order to form between them the release region 14 when the auxiliary dispensing element reaches the release position.
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Conveniently, the auxiliary dispensing element 7 is supported, at its ends, by at least a supporting block 15 associated with a respective movement guide 16 which is arranged along the direction of movement of the auxiliary dispensing element 7.
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In particular, the first and/or second elements 11 and 12 are pivoted to the supporting block or blocks 15 so that they can rotate, following the action of said relative movement means, about the respective oscillation axis 101 and 102.
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With particular reference to what is shown in Figures 7 and 8, the movement guide 16 comprises a movement portion 16a which is substantially parallel to the direction of motion of the auxiliary dispensing element 7 and a curved release portion 16b.
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According to a particular practical embodiment, the movement means comprise means for moving at least one supporting block 15 along the movement portion 16a of the guide 16. In this practical example, the means for relative motion can be constituted by a linkage 17 provided with a first end 17a, which can move along the movement guide 16, and a second end 17b, which is pivoted, about an axis 103 which is parallel and spaced with respect to the pivoting axis 101 or 102 to the first element 11 or to the second element 12.
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In practice, the movement of the first end 17a of the linkage 17 along the curved release portion 16b of the movement guide 16 is adapted to move the first element 11 (or, equivalently, the second element 12) about the respective axis so as to move with respect to each other the respective longitudinal edges 11a and 11b in order to form between them the release region 14.
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In the illustrated embodiment, the combined rotary and translational motion of the linkage 17 pushes the second end 17b and therefore applies a torque about the respective pivoting axis.
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Between the first element 11, which can be moved by the linkage 17, and the second element 12, kinematic connection means can act which are adapted to allow, following the rotation of the first element 11 about its own axis 101, a rotation in the opposite direction of the second element 12 about the respective axis 102 in order to move mutually apart, as mentioned earlier, the corresponding longitudinal edges 11a and 11b.
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Such kinematic connection means can be constituted for example by a first gear 18a, which is supported by the first element 11 and meshes with a second gear 18b supported by the second element 12: conveniently, the first and second gears are arranged around the movement axes of the respective elements 11 and 12.
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As shown in the figures, the movement guide 16 comprises a chain element 19 associated with a movement wheel 20 which is connected to motor means 21. The chain element 19 is therefore kinematically connected to the motor means 21 by interposing the movement wheel 20, and in this case the first movable end 17a of the linkage 17 is pivoted to the chain element 19 at a connecting element.
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The curved release portion 16b is defined at the perimetric edge of a guiding (or movement) wheel 22 around which the chain element 19 winds.
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Conveniently, the guiding wheel 22 is arranged below the auxiliary dispensing element 7.
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Operation of a dispensing device particularly for dispensing products contained in vending machines, according to the invention is directly derivable from what has been described above.
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In particular, once the user has selected, by means of a user interface, the product 100 to be dispensed among those arranged on one of the trays 4 supported within the vending machine 1, a control unit actuates the motor means 21, which actuate the movement guide 16 so as to move the block or blocks 15 and therefore the auxiliary dispensing element 7 just below the free edge 4a of the tray 4 on which the product 100 selected by the user is arranged.
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When the auxiliary dispensing element 7 is in such pick-up position, the first element 11 and the second element 12 cooperate in order to form the receptacle 13, whose concavity is conveniently directed upwardly.
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At this point, the control unit can actuate the dispensing element constituted for example by the spiral 4b in order to move the selected product 100 toward the free edge 4a of the tray 4 on which it is arranged. The spiral 4b "pushes" the product 100 beyond the free edge 4a in order to make it fall into the receptacle 13 formed by the auxiliary dispensing element 7.
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Once the product 100 now being dispensed is arranged within the receptacle 13, the control unit actuates again the motor means 21 so as to move the auxiliary dispensing element 7 into the release position and therefore toward the pick-up compartment 8.
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When the auxiliary dispensing element 7 reaches the vicinity of the pick-up compartment 8, the relative movement means are actuated: in particular, the first end 17a of the linkage 17 moves along the curved release portion 16b. In this manner, the second end 17b of the linkage also moves with respect to the blocks 15: in practice, for an equal movement of the chain, the second end 17b of the linkage 17 descends to a lower level than the blocks 15, thus producing the oscillation of the first element 11 about its own oscillation axis 101.
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In practice, when the first end 17a of the linkage 17 reaches the region in which the curved release portion 16b lies, its other end 17b pushes (upwardly) the first element 11, generating a torque which tends to make the first element 11 (and consequently, by way of the kinematic connecting means, the second element 12) rotate so as to move mutually apart the respective longitudinal edges 11 a and 12a so as to form between them the release region 14.
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The product 100 being dispensed therefore falls, through the release region 14, into the pick-up compartment 8.
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At this point, the user, by acting on the access flap 30, can access the inside of the pick-up compartment 8 and recover the selected and dispensed product 100.
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As is known, the access flap is kinematically connected to a security panel 31, which is adapted to prevent access to the tray region when the access flap 30 is opened in order to collect the product 100 from the pick-up compartment 8.
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All the characteristics of the invention described above as advantageous, convenient and the like may also be omitted or be replaced with equivalents.
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The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept.
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In practice it has been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects in all of its embodiments.
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In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements.
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All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
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Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
