JP2007193625A - Dew condensation water drainage structure in automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dew condensation water drainage structure in an automatic vending machine, capable of preventing pollution of a floor face by dropping of dew condensation water regardless of an opened/closed state of an inner door. <P>SOLUTION: A trough member 20 leading the dew condensation water dropping from surfaces 4A, 4B of the inner door 4 to a drainage mechanism is turnably installed to the inner door 4. When the inner door 4 is in the opened state, the trough member 20 is made to have a first attitude to receive and store the dew condensation water. When the indoor 4 is in the closed state, the trough member 20 is turned to a second attitude, and the stored dew condensation water is drained to the drainage mechanism 11. Thereby, the pollution of the floor face by the dropping of the dew condensation water from the inner door 4 can be prevented regardless of the opened/closed state of the inner door 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine provided with an inner door that opens and closes a product storage, and more particularly to a condensed water drainage structure in a vending machine provided with a drainage mechanism of condensed water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional vending machine. This conventional vending machine 1 includes a main body 2 containing a product storage 5 having a heat insulating structure for storing products, an outer door 3 constituting a part of the main body 2 and attached to the front side of the main body 2, and heat insulation. And an inner door 4 of the structure. The product storage 5 is mounted in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction of the main body 2 and can be pulled out from the inside of the main body 2 along the rails (not shown) laid on the ceiling to the front side for each row. It is configured.

  The product storage 5 includes a plurality of product storage units 6 that store and store beverage products D placed in containers such as bottles, cans, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles in a horizontal orientation along the vertical direction. Each product storage section 6 is provided with a product insertion port 7 that can supply the product D from the depth direction along the vertical direction. And the door body 8 which opens and closes this goods insertion port 7 is attached to the surroundings of the axial core 9 extended to an up-down direction so that rocking | fluctuation is possible.

  Each goods storage 5 functions as a cooling box or a heating box according to the kind of goods stored. In order to maintain the temperature of the product storage 5 at a temperature equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (or higher), an inner door 4 having a heat insulating structure is installed between the outer door 3 and the product storage 5 and the temperature difference from the outside of the storage. To ensure.

  By the way, for example, when almost the entire product storage 5 functions as a refrigerator as in the summer season, moisture in the air tends to condense on the surface of the inner door 4. For this reason, in the vending machine having the conventional inner door, the eaves member 10 that guides the condensed water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door 4 to the drainage mechanism installed at the lower part of the main body 2 has a full width at the lower end of the inner door 4. (See, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

  One structural example of the conventional gutter member 10 is shown in FIG. 7A. The eaves member 10 is fixed to the surface 4A of the inner door 4 through a certain gap. The bottom part of the gutter member 10 is formed obliquely, and guides the dew condensation water dripping from the surface 4 </ b> A of the inner door 4 in the closed state in which the commodity storage 5 is closed. The drain receptacle 11 is a long bowl-like shape attached to the front end of the bottom wall portion 12 of the product storage 5 via a support 14 and is condensed on a receiving tank (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body 2. It is configured as part of a drainage mechanism that drains water. An elastic member 13 made of rubber or the like that elastically contacts the inner door 4 and maintains the heat insulating property of the product storage 5 is installed at the front end of the bottom wall portion 12 of the product storage 5.

JP 2002-245526 A

  However, in the condensed water drainage structure in the conventional vending machine described above, the condensed water is discharged to the drainage receptacle 11 only when the inner door 4 is closed as shown in FIG. 7A. Therefore, at the time of replenishment of the product to the product storage 5, the condensed water dripping from the surface 4A of the opened inner door 4 as shown in FIG. When the vending machine is installed indoors, the floor surface is contaminated with condensed water.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a condensed water drainage structure in a vending machine that can accept condensed water regardless of the open / closed state of the inner door and can prevent contamination of the floor surface due to dripping of condensed water. Let it be an issue.

  In solving the above-mentioned problems, the dew condensation water drainage structure in the vending machine of the present invention is provided between the outer door constituting a part of the main body of the vending machine and the commodity storage having a cooling function inside the main body. An inner door that is installed to open and close the product storage; a gutter member that is disposed over the entire width of the lower end of the inner door and that accepts condensed water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door; and a lower part of the main body. A drainage mechanism for draining the dew condensation water stored in the collar member, the collar member being rotatable about an axis extending in a width direction of the inner door with respect to a lower end of the inner door. In addition to being attached, the flange member takes a first posture for storing the condensed water when the inner door is in an open state, and rotates from the first posture when the inner door is in a closed state. Taking the second posture of discharging the condensed water to the drainage mechanism. To.

  In the present invention, since the flange member takes the first posture of storing condensed water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door when the inner door is in the open state, the opening of the inner door such as when replenishing products to the product storage is performed. In the state, the dew condensation water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door can be reliably received and stored at the lower end of the inner door, and the floor surface can be reliably prevented from being contaminated with the dew condensation water. Further, the condensed water stored in the gutter member is discharged to the drainage mechanism when the gutter member rotates from the first posture to the second posture when the inner door is closed.

  Preferably, the flange member is swingably attached around the axis, and maintains the first posture with the weight of the flange member when the inner door is open. Thereby, it becomes possible to automatically change the posture of the eaves member to the first posture simultaneously with the opening operation of the inner door.

  In addition, an engagement piece that engages with a part of the main body during the closing operation of the inner door and rotates the posture of the flange member to the second posture is provided on the flange member, thereby enabling the closing operation of the inner door. At this time, it is possible to automatically convert the flange member into the second posture.

  As described above, according to the condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine of the present invention, the condensed water dripping from the surface of the inner door can be reliably received regardless of the open / closed state of the inner door. Contamination due to can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, portions corresponding to those of the above-described conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  1A to 1C are main part side views for explaining the condensed water drainage structure and its operation in the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a main part perspective view of the inner side in the open state of the inner door 4. 3 is a perspective view of a main part on the outer surface side in the opened state of the inner door 4, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a drain receiver 11 of condensed water, and FIG. 5 is a main body schematically showing a drain mechanism of the condensed water including the drain receiver 11 FIG.

  A gutter member 20 according to the present invention is attached to the inner door 4 that opens and closes the product storage 5 that functions as a cooling store. The eaves member 20 is formed by pressing a metal plate, and has an eaves shape extending over the entire width of the lower end of the inner door 4 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The width dimension of the flange member 20 (in the thickness direction of the inner door 4) is formed larger than the thickness dimension of the inner door 4 as shown in FIG. 1A.

  The eaves member 20 is swingably attached around a shaft member (axial core) 21 extending in the width direction of the inner door 4. The eaves member 20 rotates about the shaft member 21 in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the inner door 4, takes the first posture shown in FIG. 1A in the opened state of the inner door 4, and in the closed state of the inner door 4. Is configured to take the second position shown in FIG. 1C.

  When the flange member 20 takes the first posture, the bottom portion 20a of the flange member 20 faces the lower end surface of the inner door 4, so that the front end portion 20b and the rear end portion 20c of the flange member 20 are the surface 4A of the inner door 4. , 4B (FIGS. 1A, 2 and 3). Thereby, the dew condensation water that hangs down from the surfaces 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B of the inner door 4 can be received and stored by the gutter member 20.

  In the present embodiment, the eaves member 20 is configured to take the rotation position where the first posture is set by the weight of the eaves member 20. That is, in a state where the flange member 20 is suspended from the shaft member 21 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, the shaft member 20 maintains the first posture as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2, and 3.

  On the other hand, when the eaves member 20 takes the second posture, the eaves member 20 rotates forward (clockwise in FIG. 1A), and the rear end portion 20c is positioned lower than the bottom portion 20a (FIG. 1C). For this reason, the dew condensation water stored by the gutter member 20 is discharged | emitted to the lower drainage receptacle 11 via the rear-end part 20c. Further, in this second posture, the bottom portion 20a of the flange member 20 faces the surface 4A of the inner door 4 with a predetermined interval, and the condensed water that hangs down from the surface 4A in the closed state of the inner door 4 It is discharged to the drainage receptacle 11 through the gutter member 20 that takes the posture described above.

  The posture conversion from the first posture to the second posture is performed by the engagement action between the engagement piece 22 attached to the gutter member 20 and the drainage receiver 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the engagement piece 22 is provided on one end side of the flange member 20, particularly on one side end corresponding to the outer side of the turning radius of the inner door 4. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, the hook member 20 is rotated by a predetermined angle between the first and second postures by the engaging action with the drain receiver 11.

  With the configuration described above, when the inner door 4 is opened, the collar member 20 automatically takes the first posture shown in FIG. 1A, and when the inner door 4 is closed, the collar member 20 automatically It is converted into the second posture shown in FIG. 1C.

  The drainage receiver 11 is attached to the front end of the bottom wall 12 of the commodity storage 5 via a support 14 and extends over the entire width of the inner door 4 corresponding to the extension length of the flange member 20. Yes. An elastic member 13 made of rubber or the like that elastically contacts the inner door 4 and maintains the heat insulation of the product storage 5 is installed at the front end of the bottom wall portion 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the drain receiver 11 is divided by a cut 15. Each separated drain receptacle 11 is disposed at a predetermined angle toward the cut 15. Below the notch 15, a guide member 16 having a V-shaped cross section is installed in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the drainage receiver 11. The guide member 16 is inserted into the opening 24 as shown in FIG. 3, and is inclined toward the receiving tank 17 installed at the lower part of the commodity storage 5 as shown in FIG. The condensed water received in the receiving tank 17 is forcibly evaporated by using, for example, the heat released from the heat exchanger for cooling the interior or penetrating into the evaporating cloth material. The drainage receptacle 11, the guide member 16, the receiving tank 17, and the like constitute a drainage mechanism according to the present invention.

  The condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine of the present embodiment is configured as described above. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 18 is a square hole provided with a resin small door that guides the product discharged from the product storage 5 to the product outlet of the outer door 3. The small door normally partitions the inside and outside of the inner door 4 and opens outward when the product is discharged to guide the product to the product outlet. Reference numeral 19 denotes a stopper that defines the opening position of the outer door 3.

  In the condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine of the present embodiment, when the inner door 4 is in a closed state in which the commodity storage 5 is sealed as shown in FIG. 1C, the eaves member 20 takes the second posture. The dew condensation water that hangs down from the surface 4 </ b> A of the inner door 4 is discharged to the drain receiver 11 through the gutter member 20.

  For example, when the product D is supplied into the product storage 5, the inner door 4 is opened as shown in FIG. 1A. With the opening operation of the inner door 4, the flange member 20 is rotated to the first posture position by its own weight when the engagement between the engagement piece 22 and the drain receiver 11 is released. When the eaves member 20 takes the first posture, the condensed water dripping from the surfaces 4A and 4B of the inner door 4 is received by the eaves member 20 and stored in the eaves member 20. Thereby, dripping of the dew condensation water from the inner door 4 can be prevented, and the floor surface is not soiled with the dew condensation water.

  On the other hand, when the inner door 4 is closed after the supply of the product to the product storage 5 is completed, the engagement piece of the flange member 20 comes into contact with and engages with the drainage receiver 11 on the main body 2 side. As shown in FIG. 1C, the flange member 20 is rotated clockwise to be converted into the second posture. Thereby, the dew condensation water stored in the gutter member 20 is discharged toward the drain receiver 11.

  Further, since the engagement piece 22 is provided on one end (one end corresponding to the outside of the turning radius of the inner door 4) side of the eaves member 20, the eaves member immediately before the inner door 4 closes the commodity storage 5. 20 can be converted into the second posture, and thus, it is possible to prevent the condensed water from being discharged from the gutter member 20 during the closing operation of the inner door 4.

  The condensed water discharged to the drain receiver 11 flows along the inclination of the drain receiver 11, reaches the guide member 16 from the cut 15, and then is discharged from the guide member 16 into the receiving tank 17.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dew condensation water can be reliably guided to the drainage path regardless of the open / closed state of the inner door 4. Thereby, the contamination by the dew condensation water of the surrounding floor surface where the said vending machine is installed can be prevented. Such an effect is particularly advantageous when the vending machine is installed indoors.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the weight of the flange member 20 is used to convert the flange member 20 into the first posture shown in FIG. 1A. A torsion spring may be installed around the shaft member 21 and the flange member 20 may be rotated to the first posture by using the biasing force of the spring.

It is a principal part side view which shows the structure and effect | action of the dew condensation water drainage structure of the vending machine by embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part on the inner surface side in an opened state of the inner door 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part on the outer surface side in the opened state of the inner door 4. It is a perspective view which shows the drain receptacle 11 of condensed water. It is principal part sectional drawing of the main body 2 which shows the drainage mechanism of condensed water typically. It is a whole perspective view which shows the inner door open state of the conventional vending machine. It is a figure explaining the conventional condensed water drainage structure.

Explanation of symbols

2 Main body 3 Outer door 4 Inner door 5 Commodity storage 11 Drainage receiver 13 Elastic member 14 Supporting tool 15 Cutting 16 Guide member 17 Receiving tank 20 Gutter member 21 Shaft member 22 Engagement piece

Claims (5)

An inner door that is installed between an outer door that constitutes a part of the main body of the vending machine and a product storage that has a cooling function inside the main body and opens and closes the product storage, and a full width of the lower end of the inner door A drainage member that is disposed over the inner door and receives the condensed water that hangs down from the surface of the inner door, and a drainage mechanism that drains the condensed water that is installed in the lower part of the main body and is stored in the collar member,
The flange member is rotatably attached around an axis extending in the width direction of the inner door with respect to the lower end of the inner door,
The flange member takes a first posture in which the condensed water is stored when the inner door is in an open state, and rotates from the first posture when the inner door is in a closed state to remove the condensed water. Condensed water drainage structure in a vending machine, characterized by taking a second attitude of discharging to a drainage mechanism. The condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the flange member is swingably attached around the shaft core. The condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein when the inner door is in an open state, the flange member maintains the first posture by its own weight. The hook member is provided with an engagement piece for rotating the hook member to the second posture by engaging a part of the main body when the inner door is closed. The dew condensation water drainage structure in the vending machine according to claim 1. The condensed water drainage structure in the vending machine according to claim 4, wherein the engagement piece is provided at one end of the flange member corresponding to the outer side of the turning radius of the inner door.

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