JP4324321B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to a hinge structure of an inner door in the vending machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The main body of the vending machine is basically composed of a cabinet having a front opening and a product storage mechanism mounted therein, and a door body that opens and closes the front of the cabinet. The door body is equipped with a product selection button, coin slot, product outlet, etc., and has an outer door that is substantially responsible for the user interface function and heat insulation, and seals the front of the cabinet to prevent cold air inside the cabinet. And an inner door capable of preventing leakage. The outer door and the inner door are connected to the left end (or right end) in front of the cabinet so as to be rotatable via hinges, respectively, and can be opened and closed independently around the hinges.
[0003]
Further, as the product storage mechanism, a drawer-type product storage column that stores products such as paper-packed beverages is known (see reference numeral 12 in FIG. 1). A plurality of product storage columns are arranged in the left-right direction in the cabinet. When a product is loaded, one product storage column is pulled forward (front) from the open cabinet, and the right side (or left side) of this column. Goods are stored directly from the opening.
[0004]
In a vending machine equipped with this kind of product storage column, when installed in a corner or the like where the maximum opening angle of the outer door is limited to 90 degrees, the center of the inner door is pivoted to one side of the inner door. If only one hinge portion is set at the end, the maximum opening angle of the inner door is limited to less than 90 degrees when the inner door contacts a part of the outer door. In such an incompletely opened state of the inner door (opened less than 90 degrees), the inner door becomes an obstacle and the product storage column on the most hinge side cannot be pulled out.
[0005]
In order to improve this point, conventionally, a folding inner door 70 schematically shown in FIG. 7 and an arm pivoting inner door 80 schematically shown in FIG. 8 have been adopted. That is, in the folding type, the inner door 70 having a hinge part (first hinge part) 73 on one side end (left side end), the narrow part 71 having a small lateral width on the hinge part 73 side, and the hinge part 73 are The inner door 70 is divided into a wide portion 72 having a large lateral width on the opposite side, and a second hinge portion 74 is interposed between the narrow portion 71 and the wide portion 72, whereby the inner door 70 is connected to the first and second hinges. Thus, the inner door 70 can be opened 90 degrees even when the maximum opening angle of the outer door 75 is limited to 90 degrees.
[0006]
Further, the arm rotation type connects the upper and lower portions of the left end of the inner door 80 and one end portion (first connection portion 82) of the rotation arm 81 via a pin or the like. By connecting the end portion (second connection portion 83) and a portion slightly away from the left end of the inner door 82 in the closed state at the top of the cabinet 86 in the right direction (inward) via a pin or the like, The rotating arm 81 can be rotated from the second connecting portion 83, and the inner door 80 can be rotated from the first connecting portion 82.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described inner folding-type inner door 70 has a problem that the cool air in the cabinet leaks from between the narrow portion 71 and the wide portion 72 and the airtightness of the inner door 70 is impaired.
[0008]
On the other hand, in the above-described arm-rotating type inner door 80, for example, when the inner door 80 is opened, the rotating arm 81 is first rotated by an appropriate angle around the second connecting portion 83, and then the first connecting portion 81 is centered For example, a procedure is required for opening and closing the inner door 80, and the rotation range of the second connecting portion 82 around the first connecting portion 83 is as wide as about 180 degrees. This also impairs the operability.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to allow the inner door to be opened 90 degrees even when the maximum opening angle of the outer door is limited to 90 degrees. The object is to provide a vending machine with good airtightness and operability.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention of claim 1 includes a cabinet that opens forward and a door that opens and closes the front of the cabinet, the door having heat insulation and an outer door. In a vending machine having an inner door capable of sealing the front, a first hinge portion that allows the inner door to rotate about a substantially lateral end of one of the left and right sides of the inner door, and a first hinge portion side of the inner door A second hinge part that enables the inner door to turn around a position spaced from the one side end in the left-right direction of the inner door by a predetermined distance; and a connecting member that connects the first hinge part and the second hinge part. The first hinge part is characterized in that the connecting member is rotatably connected to the cabinet, and the second hinge part is characterized in that the connecting member and the inner door are rotatably connected to each other.
[0011]
According to the present invention, since the inner door can be rotated in two stages around the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion, even if the maximum opening angle of the outer door is limited to 90 degrees. The inner door can be opened 90 degrees. Further, since the inner door is not divided, the airtightness of the inner door is not impaired, and no special procedure or operation is required for opening and closing the inner door.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined interval corresponds to a substantially thickness dimension of the outer door. According to the present invention, the interval between the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion is set to the minimum necessary to be close to the outer door opened 90 degrees and the inner door opened 90 degrees, and on the hinge section side in the cabinet. The resulting dead space (see symbol C in FIG. 6) can be minimized.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the first hinge portion is provided with an elastic member that urges the connecting member in the opening direction. According to the present invention, the open state of the connecting member can be maintained by the elastic member.
[0014]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, an elastic member for urging the inner door in the opening direction is provided on the second hinge portion. According to the present invention, the open state of the inner door can be maintained by the elastic member.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 to 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view showing a vending machine in an open state, FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional explanatory view showing a closed state of an inner door, FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion A in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an explanatory front view of the inner door, FIG. 5 is an explanatory horizontal view showing the state where the inner door is opened around only the first hinge portion, and FIG. It is horizontal cross-section explanatory drawing which shows the state which opened the door 90 degree | times.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the main body of the vending machine 1 includes a cabinet 10 that opens only at the front, and a door body 20 (90 degrees) that opens and closes a front open portion (hereinafter simply referred to as “open portion”) 11 of the cabinet 10. It is basically composed of an open state.) As shown in FIG. 2, the cabinet 10 is formed of an outer box 10a, an inner box 10b (shown for convenience by a solid line), and a heat insulating material 10c filled between the outer box 10a and the inner box 10b. ing.
[0017]
In the cabinet 10, four drawer-type product storage columns 12 as a product storage mechanism are arranged as an example in the left-right direction. In FIG. 1, the leftmost product storage column 12 is forward (front) from the cabinet 10. Is pulled out via the rail mechanism 12a. A product (not shown) such as a beverage in a paper pack is directly stacked and stored in the column 12 from the right open portion 12b of the column 12 pulled out in this way.
[0018]
The door body 20 is provided with an unillustrated product selection button, a coin slot, a product outlet, and the like, and has an outer door 21 that substantially performs a user interface function and heat insulation. And an inner door 22 (not shown) forming a back plate of a product display room (not shown) provided in the outer door 21. The outer door 21 can be opened and closed by rotating around a hinge portion 21a provided at the left end thereof. The inner door 22 can be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism described in detail below. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23 denotes a handle of the inner door 22 (shown only in FIG. 2 for convenience), and 13 denotes a seal member that hermetically seals between the inner door 22 and the cabinet 10.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the hinge mechanism of the inner door 22 includes a first hinge portion 30 provided corresponding to the left end of the inner door 22 in the closed state, and a right direction from the left end of the inner door 22. The second hinge part 40 provided corresponding to the part separated by the interval B (see FIG. 3) on the inner side, and a connecting plate as a connecting member for connecting the first hinge part 30 and the second hinge part 40 50. The distance B is substantially the length between the first hinge part 30 and the second hinge part 40, and the distance B is set to be slightly longer than the thickness dimension of the outer door 21.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 4, the first hinge portion 30 includes two sets of connecting pins 31 and hinges 32 having cylindrical pin receivers 33 in the upper and lower directions. A cylindrical pin receiver 51 which is concentrically stacked on the pin receiver 33 of the hinge 32 and forms a part of the first hinge portion 30 is continuously provided. The hinge 32 is fixed to the outer box 10a of the cabinet 10 with screws 34 (see FIG. 3), and the connecting pin 31 is passed through each pin receiver 51 of the connecting plate 50 and the pin receiver 33 of each hinge 32, thereby connecting the connecting plate. 50 is rotatably connected to the cabinet 10 via the first hinge part 30.
[0021]
The second hinge part 40 is also provided with two sets of upper and lower sets of connecting pins 41 and hinges 42 having pin receivers 43 in the same manner as the first hinge part 30. A pin receiver 52 that is concentrically stacked under the receiver 43 and forms a part of the second hinge portion 40 is continuously provided. The hinge 42 is fixed to the surface of the inner door 21 with a screw 44 (see FIG. 3), and the connecting pin 41 is passed through the pin receiver 43 of each hinge 42 and each pin receiver 52 of the connecting plate 50, thereby connecting the connecting plate 50. The inner door 22 and the inner door 22 are connected to each other via the second hinge portion 40 so as to be rotatable.
[0022]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 60 denotes a torsion coil spring provided as an elastic member provided in the first hinge portion 30 as an elastic member for biasing the connecting plate 50 around the first hinge portion 30 in the opening direction. 2 is a torsion coil spring as an elastic member provided on the two hinge portions 40 for urging the inner door 22 in the opening direction around the second hinge portion.
[0023]
Next, the opening operation of the inner door 22 when the vending machine 1 is installed in a corner and the maximum opening angle of the outer door 21 is limited to 90 degrees will be described. First, when the stopper (not shown) is removed from the closed inner door 22 in FIG. 2 and the handle 23 is pulled, the inner door 22 rotates around the first hinge portion 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the first hinge portion 30 of the inner door 22 is in contact with the corner on the left end back side (upper right side in the drawing) of the outer door 21 in the vicinity of the connecting plate 50 or the second hinge portion 40. When the rotation about only the center is restricted, the inner door 22 further rotates about the second hinge portion 40 and opens 90 degrees as shown in FIG. Therefore, no special procedure or operation is required for the opening operation of the inner door 22, and this also applies to the closing operation of the inner door 22. Note that the opening operation of the inner door 22 described above is performed almost automatically without the manual operation via the handle 23 by the action of the torsion coil springs 60 and 61. It also keeps the device open. Therefore, a stopper and work for keeping the inner door 22 in an open state are unnecessary, and workability at the time of product loading is improved.
[0024]
Since the inner door 22 can be opened 90 degrees as described above, there is no problem in pulling out the leftmost product storage column 12 as shown in FIG. Further, as described above, since the distance B between the first hinge portion 30 and the second hinge portion 40 is adjusted to the substantially thickness dimension of the outer door 21, the inner door 22 opened 90 degrees is opened 90 degrees. Due to the proximity to the door 21 (see FIG. 6), it is possible to minimize the dead space C (shown wide for convenience) generated on the left side in the cabinet 10.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention of claim 1, when the maximum opening angle of the outer door is limited to 90 degrees, the inner door rotates from the first hinge portion when the inner door is opened. If this rotation is restricted in contact with the outer door, the inner door can be opened 90 degrees without any special procedure or operation, such as the inner door further rotating from the second hinge part. Similarly, no special procedure or operation is required when the door is closed. Moreover, since the inner door is not divided, the air tightness of the inner door with respect to the cabinet is also ensured.
[0026]
According to the present invention of claim 2, the interval between the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion is set to the minimum necessary to be close to the outer door where the inner door is opened 90 degrees and the inner door is opened 90 degrees. Dead space can be minimized. As a result, the width of the vending machine can be reduced and the installation size can be reduced.
[0027]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the open state of the connecting member can be maintained by the elastic member, so that a stopper and work for maintaining the connecting member become unnecessary, and workability at the time of product loading is improved.
[0028]
According to the present invention of claim 4, since the open state of the inner door can be maintained by the elastic member, a stopper and work for maintaining this are unnecessary, and workability at the time of product loading is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a perspective explanatory view showing a vending machine in an open state. FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional explanatory view showing a closed state of an inner door. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion A in FIG. Front explanatory view of the door [FIG. 5] Horizontal cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state where the inner door is opened around only the first hinge part [FIG. 6] Horizontal cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state where the inner door is opened 90 degrees [FIG. ] Explanatory view schematically showing a conventional center-folded inner door. [FIG. 8] Explanatory view schematically showing a conventional arm-rotating inner door.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine, 10 ... Cabinet, 11 ... Front opening part, 12 ... Merchandise storage column, 20 ... Door body, 21 ... Outer door, 22 ... Inner door, 30 ... 1st hinge part, 40 ... 2nd hinge part 50 ... connecting plates 60, 61 ... torsion coil springs

Claims (4)

In a vending machine comprising a cabinet that opens front and a door body that opens and closes the front of the cabinet, the door body has an outer door and an inner door that has heat insulation and can seal the front of the cabinet.
A first hinge portion that allows the inner door to turn about the substantially left and right side edges of the inner door, and a predetermined distance inward in the left-right direction of the inner door from one side end of the inner door on the first hinge portion side A second hinge part that enables the inner door to be pivotable about a location; and a connecting member that connects the first hinge part and the second hinge part;
The first hinge portion connects the connecting member to the cabinet so as to be rotatable,
The second hinge portion connects the connecting member and the inner door so as to be rotatable with respect to each other. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined interval corresponds to a substantially thickness dimension of the outer door. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an elastic member for urging the connecting member in the opening direction is provided on the first hinge portion. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an elastic member for urging the inner door in the opening direction is provided on the second hinge portion.

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