JP2000076529A - Coin return opening of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve serviceability to a customer by making improvement in such a manner that coins ejected from a coin mechanism to a coin return opening can be received with the palm of one's hand turned up. SOLUTION: A return opening body 13 being in a box type structure attached to the inside of a coin taking out opening 2a opened in the outer door 2 of an automatic vending machine, a hopper 17 that is attached to an upper part of the return opening body as a coin storage mechanism which is incorporated in the return opening body and temporarily receives and stores coins ejected from a coin mechanism and a flapper 12 provided with a shutter part 12a which usually blocks an outlet 17a opened in the bottom part of the hopper and releases the outlet according to a pushing operation from the front and when coins are taken out, the coins from the hopper are directly received by a palm by inserting the tip of a hand inserted into the coin taking out opening with the palm tuned up between the flapper 17 and the bottom face of the return opening body and opening the shutter while pushing the flapper in this state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coin return slot of a vending machine for receiving coins paid out as change from a coin mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a vending machine is provided with a coin return port for receiving coins paid out from a coin mechanism as change when purchasing goods. FIG. 5 is a front view of the vending machine. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cabinet of the vending machine, 2 denotes a front outer door, and a display on which the outer door 2 is provided with a product sample 3, a product selection button 4, and the like. It has a chamber 5, a product outlet 6, a bill slot 7, a coin slot 8, an operation panel 10 provided with a return lever 9, and the like, and a coin return slot 11. Further, although not shown, the back surface of the outer door 2 The building is equipped with a bill validator (a bill validator) and a coin mechanism (a coin sorter).

[0003] When money (banknotes or coins) is inserted and a product is purchased, if there is change, coins of the change are paid out from a coin mechanism to a coin return slot. Also, when the return lever is operated during the purchase of the product, the inserted coin is similarly returned to the coin return slot. Next, FIG. 6 shows a general conventional structure of the coin return slot 11 employed in a vending machine. That is, behind a coin outlet 2a opened to the outer door 2, a pocket-shaped return opening body 13 having a box-shaped structure with an open top surface and an open front surface is mounted in combination with a flapper 12, and the return opening body 13 is provided. Communicates via a coin shooter 15 with a coin mechanism 14 mounted thereon.

In such a configuration, the flapper 12 always hangs down at the position of the chain line to close the coin outlet 2a. And
When a refund command is given to the coin mechanism 14, the coin 16 is paid out to the return port main body 13. Here, in order to take out the coins 16 paid out to the return opening main body 13, the flapper 12 is pushed open as shown in the figure, and the tip of the hand is inserted into the coin return opening. The coin 16 mounted on the (curved) is scraped toward the user and grasped.

[0005]

By the way, the coin return opening of the conventional structure described above is difficult to take out coins due to the narrow opening of the coin outlet 2a. It is difficult to grab coins at once, and coins are often dropped down. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the serviceability to customers by improving the structure so that the returned coin paid out from the coin mechanism to the coin return slot can be received with the palm facing upward. An object of the present invention is to provide a coin return slot for a vending machine.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a return opening body having a box-shaped structure mounted inside a coin outlet opening to an outer door of a vending machine; It is built into the inside of the return port main body and temporarily accepts and holds coins paid out from the coin mechanism, and is composed of an assembly with a coin holding mechanism that ejects coins by external operation, and palms up when removing coins A hand is inserted into the coin return slot, and the coin is directly received from the coin holding mechanism by the palm (claim 1). Specifically, the coin holding mechanism is configured in the following form. .

(1) As a coin holding mechanism, a hopper mounted on the upper surface side of the return port main body, and a shutter which normally closes an outlet opened at the bottom of the hopper and opens the outlet by a pushing operation from the front are provided. It has a front flapper, and when removing coins, insert the tip of the hand inserted into the coin outlet between the flapper and the bottom of the return port main body, open the shutter while pushing the flapper in this state, and receive coins from the hopper. (Claim 2).

(2) As a coin holding mechanism, there is provided a coin receiving member having an L-shaped cross section which is pivotally supported at the upper end and is swingably incorporated in the return opening main body. First, the coin receiving member is pushed backward and tilted to receive the coin (claim 3). (3) In the above item (2), a swingable flapper is provided in front of the coin receiving member (claim 4).

According to the above configuration, the coins paid out from the coin mechanism fall just before falling into the bottom surface of the return opening main body.
It is received by a hopper or a coin receiving member and temporarily stored here. Then, when removing the refunded coin, insert the palm into the return slot with the palm facing up.In the configuration of (1), the shutter is opened by pushing the flapper with shutter. The coins stored in the hopper slide down and are delivered to the palm. In the configurations (2) and (3), the coin receiving member tilts the swingable coin receiving member to the forwardly inclined posture, and the coin moves onto the palm. Therefore, even if there are a plurality of refund coins, the coins can be easily received without dropping them.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment. In the drawings of the respective embodiments, the same members corresponding to FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. [Embodiment 1] FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2 show an embodiment corresponding to claim 2 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the coin return port is constituted by the following assembly. That is, a coin outlet 2 having a front opening to the outer door 2
a, a return opening body 13 having a box-shaped structure attached to the back side of the outer door 2 and receiving a coin 16 paid out from a coin mechanism 14 and temporarily storing the coin 16, and an outlet of the hopper 17. The structure is such that the flapper 12 having the shutter 12a that opens and closes is assembled. Here, the hopper 17 has a shape in which the back surface including a coin outlet 17a opened at the bottom has an arcuate surface, and a flange 17b projecting right and left from the upper surface of the hopper is screwed to the upper end of the return opening main body 13 and assembled. It is attached.

On the other hand, the flapper 12 is a bucket body with a shutter portion 12a projecting from the front wall thereof, and the shutter portion 12a is formed in an arc surface so as to overlap the back surface of the hopper 17, and the shutter portion 12a A square hole 12b having the same shape as the outlet 17a of the hopper 17 is opened at the front end of the hopper 17, and the flapper 12 is pivotally supported by engaging the upper end shaft portion 12c with the upper edge of the return opening main body 13. ing.

In this configuration, the flapper 12 is always in the hanging position, and the front wall of the flapper 12 closes the coin outlet 2a opened to the outer door 2. At the same time, the shutter portion 12a is in the hanging position.
Block the outlet 17a of the hopper 17. Then, when coins 16 are paid out from the coin mechanism 14 based on the refund command, the coins pass through the coin shooter 15 to the hopper 1.
It falls into 7 and is held here. Here, in order to remove coins from the coin return slot, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), insert a hand into the coin outlet 2a from the front of the outer door 2 with the palm facing upward, and touch the fingertip with the shutter of the flapper 12. The flapper 12 is simultaneously pushed inward while being inserted between the portion 12a and the bottom surface of the return opening main body 13. As a result, the flapper 12 swings rearward as shown in FIG. 1 (b), so that the square hole 12b of the shutter portion 12a overlaps the outlet 17a of the hopper 17, and the coins 16 stored in the hopper 17 move the slope of the hopper. It slides down and is sent out on the palm. Therefore, the refund coin can be easily and reliably received with the palm facing upward. Note that coins that have accidentally fallen on the bottom surface of the return opening main body 13 can be grasped by the same method as the conventional method described with reference to FIG.

Embodiment 2 FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show an embodiment corresponding to claim 3 of the present invention. In this embodiment, a coin receiving member 18 for temporarily storing coins paid out from a coin mechanism is incorporated inside the return opening main body 13 having a box-shaped structure. Here, the coin receiving member 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a bucket having an L-shaped cross section as shown in the figure, and has a structure in which a shaft portion 18a protrudes from an upper end thereof and a projection 18b protrudes from a front end of a bottom wall portion. The upper end shaft portion 18a is swingably supported on the side wall in the vicinity of the upper edge rear portion of the return opening main body 13 and is provided with a biasing spring (torsion coil spring) 19 at a stopper 20 disposed forward. It is spring-loaded so as to press it. In this embodiment, the return opening body 13 is provided with a front wall 13a so as to cover the upper half of the front surface.

With such a configuration, the coin receiving member 18 is always on standby in a posture in which the bottom wall portion is substantially horizontal as shown in FIG. Then, when the coin 16 is paid out from the coin mechanism based on the refund command, the coin is transferred to the coin shooter 15.
, Land on the bottom wall of the coin receiving member 18 and is held at this position. In this state, the coin receiving member 18 is held in the standby posture by receiving the spring force of the urging spring 19.

Here, in order to take out the coin from the coin return slot, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a hand is inserted into the coin outlet 2a from the front of the outer door 2 with the palm facing upward, and the fingertip is inserted into the protrusion. 1
8b, the coin receiving member 18 is pushed backward. As a result, the coin receiving member 18 swings about the upper end shaft portion 18a and changes to a forwardly inclined posture, and the coin 16 placed on the bottom wall portion slides down and moves onto the palm. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the refund coin can be received with the palm up.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 4 shows an applied embodiment of the above-described embodiment 2 corresponding to claim 4 of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the return port body 1 in the second embodiment is used.
3 instead of the front wall 13a.
2 is pivotally supported on the upper edge of the return port main body 13, and a stopper 20 which is also used as the coin receiving member 18 is provided in front of the return port main body 13.

The method of taking out the refund coin from the coin return slot having the above-described configuration is the same as that of the second embodiment. In particular, by providing the flapper 12 in front of the coin receiving member 18, for example, the coin receiving member 18 Even when one or two coins are left behind on the bottom wall, only the flapper 12 can be pushed open to grasp the coins without tilting the coin receiving member 18.

[0018]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, the coin dispensed from the coin mechanism to the coin return slot is not squeezed and grasped by hand as in the conventional structure, and the palm is held. It is possible to easily receive coins upward, thereby improving serviceability to customers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a coin return slot corresponding to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) and (b) are side sectional views showing states immediately before and immediately after receiving a coin from the coin return slot, respectively.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of components of the coin return slot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a coin return slot corresponding to the second embodiment of the present invention, and (a) and (b) are side sectional views showing a standby state and a coin receiving state, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a coin return slot according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a vending machine having a coin return slot.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing a configuration of a conventional coin return slot and a coin receiving operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Outer Door of Vending Machine 2a Coin Outlet 11 Coin Return Port 12 Flapper 12a Shutter Part 12b Square Hole 13 Return Port Main Body 14 Coin Mechanism 15 Coin Shooter 16 Coin 17 Hopper 17a Hopper Outlet 18 Coin Receiving Member 19 Biasing Spring 20 Stopper

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A coin return port of a vending machine for receiving coins refunded from a coin mechanism, the return having a box-shaped structure attached inside a coin outlet opening in an outer door of the vending machine. It comprises an assembly of a mouth body and a coin holding mechanism for temporarily receiving and holding coins paid out of the coin mechanism by being incorporated into the inside of the return opening body, and discharging coins by an external operation. A coin return slot of a vending machine, wherein a hand is inserted into a coin return slot with a palm facing upward, and coins are received directly from the coin holding mechanism by a palm. 2. A coin return port according to claim 1, wherein the coin holding mechanism is a hopper mounted on the upper surface side of the return port main body, and an outlet normally opened at the bottom of the hopper is closed, and a pushing operation from the front is performed. A front flapper with a shutter that opens the outlet by inserting a tip of a hand inserted into the coin outlet between the flapper and the bottom surface of the return port main body when removing coins. A coin return port of a vending machine, wherein the coin is opened to receive coins from a hopper. 3. The coin return slot according to claim 1, further comprising a coin receiving member having an L-shaped cross-section, which is pivotally incorporated into the return slot main body by pivotally supporting an upper end thereof, as a coin holding mechanism.
A coin return port for a vending machine, wherein the coin receiving member is pushed backward and tilted with the tip of a hand inserted into a coin outlet when coins are taken out to receive coins. 4. The coin return port of a vending machine according to claim 2, further comprising a swingable flapper in front of the coin receiving member.