EP4699113A1 - Automatic dispenser with key and display case - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is a new product dispenser comprising a box-shaped casing, at least one coin box, at least one compartment holding containers that in turn contain the products to be dispensed, at least one further closed box-shaped compartment suited to contain a more valuable product compared to the products contained in the other containers, and wherein said box-shaped compartment is closed by a door, preferably transparent, which is equipped with a lock whose key is contained in one of said containers held in the object compartment.

Description

AUTOMATIC DISPENSER WITH KEY AND DISPLAY CASE

DESCRIPTION

The present patent concerns product dispensers operating with coins, banknotes, debit cards, credit cards, chip card readers, wherein the products or articles to be dispensed are contained in generically spherical, cylindrical or oval casings made of a plastic material so as to facilitate withdrawal from the compartment, transit through the delivery chutes and dispensing through the collection outlet.

Manual, coin-operated product dispensers are known and more common, which generally comprise a compartment containing a plurality of said casings, a coin box equipped with a coin accepting device and at least one knob for operating the dispenser, which is released by the passage of the coin/s through the coin box.

Suitable gears or lever mechanisms connected to said coin box and/or to the axis of the operating knob operate the selection and dispensing mechanism of the dispenser.

There are various types of dispensing mechanisms, the most common of which include a sorting and dispensing disc generically placed on the bottom of the compartment and above the chute leading to the collection outlet.

Whenever the coin box mechanism is activated, this operation causes the rotation of said disc of the sorting and dispensing mechanism, in such a way that a spherical casing is accommodated in the hole of said disc and transported to the chute leading to the collection outlet.

The current manual, coin-operated product dispensers are designed to avoid seizures and reliably dispense an item each time the knob is operated.

Electromechanical automatic dispensers are also known, which are equipped with motors or actuators to operate the various dispensing devices.

Automatic dispensers equipped with banknote readers, microchip readers and other payment systems in general are also known. The subject of the present invention is a new automatic product dispenser suited to dispense elements in a spherical, cylindrical or oval shape, hereinafter generically referred to as containers, and containing products of various types, combined with at least one second container provided with a lock that can be opened by means of a key, and wherein said key is contained in one of said containers.

It is one object of the new dispenser to provide either a small item or, randomly, a key that enables the user to get a more valuable product.

The new automatic product dispenser comprises a box-shaped casing, at least one coin box or other device suited to accept money, at least one compartment holding said containers that in turn contain the products to be dispensed, at least one further closed box-shaped compartment suited to contain a more valuable product compared to the products contained in the other containers, and wherein said boxshaped compartment is closed by a door, preferably transparent, which is equipped with a lock whose key is contained in one of said containers held in said compartment for the containers to be dispensed.

Once inserted in said lock, the key can no longer be extracted by the customer: only the operator, using a further key that can be inserted in said key found by the customer, can extract said key and reuse it by inserting it in one of said containers to be inserted in turn into the spherical element compartment.

Said casing is preferably parallelepiped and at least part of its front surface is transparent; alternatively said casing can be cylindrical or spherical.

At the top of said casing there is the compartment for the containers holding the products to be dispensed.

Said compartment is connected to the mechanism that selects and dispenses the products contained in the compartment itself.

The coin box or other device for receiving money can be of any suitable type, that is, a type suited to receive money and enable the rotation and/or translation mechanism to be operated by the user. Mechanisms or devices are provided, which are suited to prevent or otherwise limit the reverse movement of the selection and dispensing mechanism.

The user inserts money, thus enabling the operation of the crank or handwheel that allows the purchased item to be dispensed, conveying it towards the collection outlet.

Products are dispensed at random, that is, according to the random arrangement of the containers in the compartment.

The selection and dispensing mechanisms can be of the traditional type, with a horizontal perforated disc rotating on a vertical axis, or they can be provided with a vertical disc rotating on a horizontal axis and equipped with a spoon, collection element or other specially shaped element capable of picking up a container from the compartment, or they can be a combination of said two types.

Once the dispensing operation has been completed, the customer opens the dispensed container and, if the latter contains the key, can use it to access the contents of the locked display cabinet.

Said additional closed compartment is not necessarily integrated or integral with the main dispenser, but can be located within the premises.

Furthermore, the key, once inserted, can no longer be extracted by the customer, but remains inserted in the lock. The operator uses an additional key, which can be inserted into said key taken from the customer, to extract said key and reuse it by inserting it into a container which in turn will be inserted in the container compartment.

The characteristics of the new dispenser for dispensing a purchased object and/or possibly a key to collect a second, more valuable object, are clarified in greater detail in the following description, with reference to the drawings that are attached hereto by way of non-limiting example.

Figure 1 shows a front view of the dispenser, while Figures 2a, 2b, 2c show the key (Cl) and the second key (C2) in detail. Figure 3 shows the lock (4.1) The illustrated example shows a new dispenser comprising a box-shaped casing (1), a coin box (2), a compartment (3), an internal mechanism for dispensing containers in the shape of spherical elements (S) contained in said compartment (3). The containers (S) in this case are spherical, are all equal to each other and each of them is suited to contain a small object. One or more of said spherical containers (S) contains a key for access to a more valuable object which is located in the compartment (4) and can be freely chosen.

In the lower area of said box-shaped casing (1) there is the outlet (7) for collection of the containers.

Said casing (1) is preferably parallelepiped, with a transparent front window (1.1) at the top of its front side.

Beside said compartment (3) there are further closed compartments (4), each equipped with a front glass door (4.1) and a lock (4.2) for locking said transparent door (4.1).

Through said glass door, it is possible to see the contents of the closed compartment.

The user inserts the coin or the coins in the coin box (2), thus allowing the rotation of the crank or handwheel (6) and causing a spherical container (S) to fall down.

Said container (S) can contain a simple small product, or more rarely a key (Cl) to open the lock (4.2) of the closed compartment (4).

Once the lock (4.2) has been turned and the door (4.1) opened, the key (Cl) cannot be extracted from the lock (4.2).

For the extraction of the key (Cl), that is, for the reverse rotation of the lock (4.2), a second key (C2) is required, which can be inserted in said key (Cl) and allows the simultaneous extraction of the key (Cl) and the second key (C2) from the lock (4.2).

Said second key (C2) is for the exclusive use of the operator, who will provide both for inserting a new container in the closed compartment (4) and removing both keys, and for inserting the key (Cl) in a new container (S) to be inserted in the compartment (3).

In this way, the key (Cl) can be reused for further withdrawals.

Figure 2a shows, in particular, a front view of said first key (Cl) with the second key (C2) inserted therein, while Figure 2b shows a side view of the same. Figure 2c shows the key (Cl) provided with a through hole (Cl.1) for inserting the key (C2). The key (Cl) has a rear opening (Cl.1) for inserting the second key (C2). Inserting the second key (C2) allows the lock (4.2) to be turned.

Figure 3 shows the lock (4.2), which is provided with a hole (4.2.1) for the entry of the first key (Cl). According to the invention, said compartment (3) can at least partially coincide with the box-shaped casing (1).

According to the invention, a compartment (3) can contain either a single container with a key inside it or several containers, each containing an equal or different key (Cl).

The keys (Cl) can all be the same, and this applies also to the locks (4.2), so that the user can choose the compartment (4) to open according to its contents, the latter being visible through the transparent door (Al).

Otherwise, according to the invention, each key can open only one compartment (4). In this case, according to the invention, a combination of key (Cl) and lock (4.2) can possibly be provided, so that the user can open only a certain compartment (4). In this case, the key (Cl), the lock (4.2) and the door (4.1) will have an identical symbol or colour.

Therefore, with reference to the above description and the attached drawings, the following claims are made.

Claims

1. Product dispenser equipped with payment devices or systems in general and suited to dispense containers (S), each of which contains small products of various types, characterized in that it comprises one or more compartments (3) suited to contain said containers (S) and to be combined with at least one further closed compartment (4) provided with a door (4.1) and a lock (4.2) that can be opened with a key (Cl), and wherein said key (Cl) is contained in one of said dispensed containers (S).

2. Product dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that said closed compartment/s (4) is/are integral with said product dispenser.

3. Product dispenser according to claims 1, 2, characterized in that said door (4.1) of the closed compartment (4) is transparent.

4. Product dispenser according to claims 1, 2, 3, characterized in that to extract said key (Cl) it is necessary to insert in said key (Cl) itself a further or second key (C2) that allows said lock (4.2) to rotate and consequently said keys (Cl) (C2) to be extracted.

5. Product dispenser according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said container (S) can have a spherical, oval, cylindrical shape.

6. Product dispenser according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said payment systems or devices comprise coin boxes, banknotes, debit cards, credit cards, chip card readers in general.

7. Product dispenser according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said container is hollow and can be opened.