GB2491374A

GB2491374A - Product carrier for items in an automatic carousel-type retailing, vending or retrieval machine

Info

Publication number: GB2491374A
Application number: GB1109148.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roderick Leslie Mitchell; John Charles Mcfarland
Original assignee: Automated Space Ltd
Current assignee: Automated Space Ltd
Priority date: 2011-06-01
Filing date: 2011-06-01
Publication date: 2012-12-05
Also published as: GB201109148D0

Abstract

The present invention provides a carrier 1 with specific features that support and display products in an optimum manner for the secure storage, transfer, and presentation of the products to the user within an automatic retailing, vending or retrieval machine based on a single sided carousel storage system. Multiple sub-spaces 2 can be included. The carrier 1 may be formed of an outer enclosure with inserts to divide the carrier into an array of storage spaces. The spaces 2 may be shaped to securely hold or grip the products in the carrier 1. Cut-outs 4 provide improved access to grip the product for removal. The carrier spaces 2 may have hinged caps to prevent cooling losses. The carrier 1 may also have a lighting system to illuminate the stored products.

Description

Storage Compartments for Retailing, Vending and Dispensing Machines The invention relates to the form and features of product compartments for holding and displaying dispensable retail goods in a carousel based automated retailing system.

Carousel based systems for automated retailing are known. Typically items are stored in compartments located as an endless train on a single sided carousel drive mechanism. Items stored in compartments are brought to a convenient access point by rotating the drive mechanism that moves each compartment. The compartments can contain an individual item or they can be sub-divided to multiple individual spaces to contain multiple items. There are instances where it would be advantageous to tailor the shape of a compartment or sub-divided compartment to suit the product. It may be advantageous to present a product in a favourable way to enhance or encourage the selection or collection process. It may be advantageous to accommodate awkwardly shaped or delicate items without the need for secondary packaging. It may be advantageous to include features to improve the access to be able to grip products located within the compartments. For compartments with multiple individual spaces it may be advantageous to arrange the multiple spaces such that access to grip individual products, or security to block access to adjacent products, is improved.

The present invention provides a compartment that is formed to hold a specific product in the most suitable way for that product. The compartment may contain a single space to support an item or items or multiplicity of separate spaces. Separate spaces will be separated by a barrier to keep one space physically separated from another space.

Compartments could be specially configured for any product such as, but not limited to, drinks cans, bottles, cartons, snacks, confectionary, food products, industrial products such as cutting tools, electrical products, cosmetics and fragrances, books, games, DVDs, clothing, products packaged in boxes, bags, tubs, tubes, pouches or sleeves.

The compartments can be manufactured from, typically but not exclusively, plastic injection mouldings, rotational mouldings, die-castings, or sheet metal assemblies. The compartments can be formed with a single or a multiplicity of sub-compartments shaped to securely hold and present stored goods such that they may be individually located and supported in their transfer to the access point and then presented to the purchaser in an attractive format.

The space to support a product may be shaped to provide good support for items that are not self supporting.

The space to support a product within a compartment or sub-divided compartment may slope in order to present the products at an optimum angle for visual presentation and to facilitate easy removal.

The space to support a product within a compartment or sub-divided compartments may include one or more features to prevent products from falling out such as, but not limited, an edge, lip or friction pad.

The space to support a product within a compartment or sub-divided compartments may include the integration of clips, hooks, supports or spigots within the body of the compartment or sub-divided compartments in order to positively hold a stored item while facilitating its attractive presentation The space to support a product within a compartment or sub-divided compartments may incorporate removable inserts, such as, typically but not exclusively, vacuum formed product support trays for location and presentation of stored items.

The space to support a product within a compartment or sub-divided compartments may incorporate removable inserts that are decorated to enhance the visual display of the product. Decoration may include, but is not limited to, printing or material covering.

The compartment or sub-divided compartments may include a variety of hinged cap forms that cover individual spaces for items such as, but not limited to, drinks cans or bottles, such that they may remain cold within the body of the carrier in order to improve the thermal efficiency of the machine.

The compartment or sub-divided compartments may contain lights, typically but not exclusively, LEDs, electroluminescent membrane or other illumination technology, in order to provide indication and attractive illumination to the stored item on presentation.

The compartment or sub-divided compartments may enclose the product on multiple sides. In this case features may be included that improve the ease with which the product can be gripped in order to remove it from the compartment or sub-divided compartments. Such features include, but are not limited to, cut-outs to allow finger access to the product or relief to one or more of the edges of the compartment or sub-divided compartments to allow one or more edges of the product to be accessed.

When multiple sub-divided compartments are included, the arrangement of the multiple sub-divided compartments within the compartment may be optimised to further improve the ease with which the product can be gripped in order to remove it from the sub-divided compartment or to improve the security to prevent adjacent products from being removed from the compartment. For example, but not limited to, adjacent spaces can be offset relative to each other so that finger access can be provided between adjacent products for improved access but removal of adjacent products is prevented by overlap of the access door.

A compartment can be constructed from a single piece or can be constructed from an outer enclosure with a separate or multiple separate inserts inserted into the outer enclosure to form the individual compartments. The compartment can include all the same separate inserts or a combination of different inserts. The inserts can include any of the features described that will make them suitable to support, locate or display a product in a suitable manner.

A compartment can be constructed from multiple elements joined together to form a compartment with multiple individual compartments.

Typically products are inserted and removed from the compartment or sub-divided compartments from the same side. However, the compartment or sub-divided compartments may include features that allow products to be inserted or removed from different sides.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a typical compartment body 1 with multiple sub-divided compartments 2, in this instance cylindrical, for holding items such as drink cans or bottles, or items of clothing, such as T-shirts. Typically items of clothing would be folded and rolled to achieve a semi rigid cylindrical form to aid insertion into and removal from the compartments. Clearly the size of the compartment can be specified to suit a particular product. Protruding lips 3 restricts some of the opening of the compartment 2 to prevent an item from failing out. The cut-outs 4 provide improved finger access to grip individual products to assist with removal.

Figure 2 shows a compartment body 1 with multiple sub-divided compartments 2 for holding typically tall thin rectangular items, such as DVD or games packages or books. The compartments 2 are arranged in a staggered pattern to provide improved access between adjacent products to grip individual products. The cut-outs 4 provide improved finger access to grip individual products to assist with removal.

Figure 3 shows an outer enclosure 5 of a compartment.

Figure 4 shows an insert 6 that is suitable to hold a product.

Figure 5 shows a compartment constructed from an outer enclosure 5 and multiple inserts 6 inserted into and secured into the outer enclosure 5.

Claims

Claims 1. A compartment that supports and displays products in an optimum manner for the secure storage, space efficient storage, safe transfer, presentation or removal of products to a user within an automatic retailing, vending or retrieval machine, said compartment being adapted to a single side carousel system, and having a shape tailored to the shape of the product to be supported in use.
2. A compartment according to claim 1 whereby the compartment consists of multiple separate spaces to allow products to be stored and accessed independently.
3. A carrier based on claim 1 where the compartment is constructed from an outer enclosure and one or more inserts to form the storage space or spaces.
4. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains multiple spaces that are arranged in a pattern to provide improved access to individual spaces and improved security by limiting access to spaces not intended to be accessed.
5. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains cut-outs that provide improved access to grip the product contained within the carrier for easier removal.
6. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that include one or more features to prevent stored products from falling out.
7. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that are shaped to provide good support for stored products that are not self supporting.
8. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that are sloped in order to present the stored products at an optimum angle for visual presentation and to facilitate easy removal.
9. A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that incorporate removable inserts for the location and presentation of stored products.
1O.A compartment based on claim I and claim 9 whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that incorporate removable inserts that are decorated to enhance the visual display of the stored product.
11.A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains features that allow products to be inserted or removed from different sides.
12.A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that include clips, hooks, supports or spigots to ensure the stored product is both secure and can be attractively presented.
13.A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a space or spaces that include one or more hinged caps to reduce loss of cooling for stored products such as cold drinks.
14.A compartment based on claim I whereby the compartment contains a lighting system for the illumination of the stored products.