JPH08138134A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an automatic vending machine in which a remote control box can be arranged in a narrow space. CONSTITUTION: A front door 4 fitted to the front of an automatic vending machine main body so that it can freely be opened/closed, a holder 13 provided at the back of the front door 4 and the remote control box 12 which is freely attachably/detachably supported by the holder 13 are provided. The remote control box 12 is supported by the holder 13 so that the widest surface 60 becomes vertical to the back of the front door 4. The remote control box 12 is supported by the holder 13 in a state where it can move between a withdrawal position close to the back of the front door 4 and a projecting position protruded from the withdrawal position. When the front door 4 is closed, a withdrawal means 66 moves the remote control box 12 to the withdrawal position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine equipped with a remote control box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic vending machine of this type is described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-163569 (G07F5 / 22), in which data on the price of a product to be sold is set in a controller of the automatic vending machine. In addition, a remote control box is provided as an operation device for outputting data such as sales records from the storage means of the vending machine to a printer or a display device.

This remote control box has a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape like a notebook, and has a display section such as a liquid crystal and a plurality of operation buttons on its widest surface. This display section displays the details of the operation when the remote control box is being operated, and also displays an alarm if the vending machine is abnormal even when the remote control box is not being operated. It is carried out. On the other hand, a holder is provided on the back side of the front door of the vending machine, and the widest side of the remote control box is the front door so that the display surface of the remote control box can be seen when the front door is opened. It is stored detachably in the holder in parallel with the back side.

[0004]

By the way, the front door of the vending machine has a function of displaying products, and a sample can is displayed on the upper part. Also, a poster is stretched behind a transparent plate provided under the front door, and the poster can be seen through this transparent plate. This poster has the front door open and is stretched from the back of the front door, and even if the transparent plate is damaged, the plate can be replaced from the back of the front door. Therefore, if a device such as an electric component is placed on the back of the poster space, it will be an obstacle when the poster is put up or the plate is replaced. Therefore, consideration is given to arranging electrical components and the like in other places as much as possible.

On the other hand, a flange is provided at the periphery of the front door of the vending machine so as to project rearward, and components such as electric components, coin mechanism, and holder are arranged in a space surrounded by the flange. However, as mentioned above, the display part is provided with a sample can or a poster space, so the part excluding this display part is a space for arranging parts such as electrical equipment, coin mechanism, holder etc. Has become. Recently, there is a demand to increase the poster space, and the space for arranging parts such as holders is becoming smaller.

By the way, the space for arranging the holder requires a space for mounting the holder and a space for gripping the remote control box housed in the holder. Therefore, if the space for arranging the holder storing the remote control box is reduced, the holder may not be attached, or the remote control box may be difficult to grasp and it may be difficult to remove the remote control box from the holder.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine in which a remote control box can be arranged in a narrow space.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine of the present invention comprises a front door (4) which is attached to the front of a vending machine body (1) so as to be openable and closable. A holder (13) provided on the back side of the front door,
The remote control box (12) is detachably supported by the holder. The remote control box is supported by the holder such that the widest surface (60) is substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the front door.

Further, the remote control box is supported by the holder so as to be movable between a retracted position near the back surface of the front door and a projected position projecting from the retracted position, and Retracting means (66) for displacing the remote control box to the retracted position when the front door is closed may be provided.

[0010]

[Operation] The remote control box is supported by the holder so that the widest surface is substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the front door, so the widest surface of the remote control box is approximately parallel to the front door. The remote control box can be stored on the back side of the front door in a smaller space than when it is placed in the.

Further, since the remote control box is supported by the holder so as to be movable between a retracted position which is close to the back surface of the front door and a projected position which is projected from the retracted position, the remote control box can be taken out or taken out. When storing, the remote control box can be set to the protruding position so that the remote control box can be easily grasped. Further, when the front door is closed, the remote control box is in the retracted position by the retracting means, so that it does not hinder the closing operation of the front door.

[0012]

[Example] Next, the first vending machine of the present invention
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the vending machine of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cutaway sectional view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the holder. FIG. 4 is a front view of the holder with the remote control box stored therein. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the state of the remote control box, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part in a state where the remote control box is taken out. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the state of the remote control box, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part in a state where the front door is about to be closed. The operation buttons of the remote control box are shown only in FIG. 6, and are omitted in other figures.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 1 of the vending machine is a box, in which products for sale such as canned juice and canned beer are stored, and the products are cooled or heated. A heat insulating door 2 is attached to the vending machine body 1 by a hinge so as to be openable and closable, and closes the front surface of the vending machine body 1 to block cold air or warm air inside the vending machine body 1 from outside air. . The heat insulating door 2 is located slightly behind the front end of the vending machine body 1, and a narrow space is formed in front of the heat insulating door 2. Further, the front door 4 which is a main door arranged in front of the heat insulating door 2 is
The left end portion is attached to the vending machine body 1 by a hinge and is configured to be openable and closable.

The front door 4 has a rectangular shape, and a rib 5 is provided on the periphery of the front door 4 in an elongated shape. A display unit 7 for displaying the sample cans 6 and the like is formed on the upper portion of the front door 4. A transparent plate such as a plastic plate is attached to the front surface of the display unit 7, and a selection button 8 is provided below each sample can 6. An A3 size poster space 10 is arranged on the lower left side of the display unit 7, and a transparent plate such as a plastic plate is attached to the front surface of the poster space 10.

On the right side of the poster space 10, a remote control box 12 and a holder 13 for housing the remote control box 12 are arranged on the back surface of the front door 4.
Reference numeral 15 is a money insertion port, 16 is a banknote processing machine, 17 is a coin mechanism, 18 is a return port for change, etc., 19 is a safe, 20 is a product outlet, and 21 is a printer. Further, a large number of rectangular electrical components 22 are arranged around the product outlet 20. These cash inlet 15, change return 18 and product outlet 20 are on the front side of the front door 4, while the banknote handling machine 16, coin mechanism 17, safe 1
9, the printer 21, and the electrical components 22 are attached to the back surface of the front door 4. In addition, as shown in FIG.
A fluorescent lamp 24 for illuminating the sample can 6 is provided below the.

Next, in FIG. 3, the front surface 31 of the holder 13 integrally formed of synthetic resin or the like faces the back surface of the front door 4, and an opening 32 is formed in the center of the front surface 31. . Flanges 34 are formed on the left and right sides of the opening 32, respectively. Circular holes 35 are formed in the upper portion of the flange 34, respectively. Further, the lower side of the opening 32 is formed into a bifurcated shape, and an engaging groove portion 37 is provided.

A pair of ribs 41 is provided on the left side of the holder 13.
A side plate 42 formed with is formed. A rear plate 44 is provided at the rear of the holder 13, and the rear plate 4
The right end of 4 is bent to the front side and protrudes forward to form a right rear engaging portion 45 which is a protruding portion. Meanwhile, holder 1
The bottom plate 47 of No. 3 is notched at the center. The right side surface and the upper surface of the holder 13 are open.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the front door 4
A rising plate 51 made of metal is fixed by welding or the like with a space from the back surface of the plate. Also, the rising plate 51
A metal screw fixing member 53 is fixed to the upper part of the above by welding or the like. Further, above the screw fixing member 53, a thin rectangular parallelepiped-shaped cushion 54 is provided by being stretched on the back surface of the front door 4. Then, the engagement groove portion 37 of the holder 13 is engaged with the upper end of the rising plate 51. In addition, stepped bolts 55 are inserted into the holes 35 of the holder 13, respectively, and the stepped bolts 55 are threaded only at their tips, and these threaded portions are screwed into the screw fixing member 53. ing. In this way, the holder 13
Is attached to the back surface of the front door 4, but since it is the stepped bolt 55, the hole 35 of the holder 13 can be moved in the front-rear direction while being fitted in the stepped bolt 55.
Therefore, the holder 13 can rotate around the engaging portion between the engaging groove portion 37 and the rising plate 51.

On the other hand, the remote control box 12 having a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape has the widest rectangular surface as the front surface 60. The short side of the front surface 60 is substantially in the front-rear direction and the long side is substantially in the vertical direction. It is stored in the holder 13 so that Therefore, the front surface 60 of the remote control box 12 is housed substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the front door 4. A display unit 61 is provided above the front surface 60 of the remote control box 12, and operation buttons 62 (see FIG. 6) are provided below the display unit 61. Also,
The code 6 for signal transmission is on the bottom of the remote control box 12.
4 is connected, and the other end of the signal transmission cord 64 is connected to a control device (not shown). Further, a thin rectangular parallelepiped-shaped cushion 66 is stretched on the front surface of the heat insulating door 2 where the back surface of the holder 13 and the side surface of the remote control box 12 face each other. A polyester film is attached to the surface of the cushion 66.

In the vending machine configured as described above,
When the front door 4 is closed, as shown in FIG. 2, when the front door 4 is viewed from the side, most of the front surface 60 of the remote control box 12 is hidden by the ribs 5 of the front door 4, A part of the right side of the front surface 60 projects from the rib 5. The protruding portion is accommodated in a narrow space in front of the heat insulating door 2 in the vending machine body 1, and the right end of the remote control box 12 is in contact with the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2. On the other hand, the left end of the remote control box 12 is in contact with the cushion 54 on the back surface of the front door 4. The position where the remote control box 12 is close to the back surface of the front door 4 is the retracted position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of this state, and FIG.
Shows a state in which the front door 4 is open, and FIG. 7 shows a state in which it is almost closed. 6 and 7, the front surface of the heat insulating door 2 in the closed state of the front door 4 is shown by a chain double-dashed line. Then, when the front door 4 is opened in the state of FIG. 5, the remote control box 12 and the holder 13
Due to the gravity, the holder 13 rotates clockwise around the engaging portion between the rising plate 51 and the engaging groove portion 37.
Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the hole 35 of the holder 13 is
When it comes into contact with the head of the stepped bolt 55 as a stopper, the rotation of the holder 13 is stopped. Then, the remote control box 12 has an upper portion separated from the back surface of the front door 4 and in a protruding state. This position is the protruding position, and the remote control box 12 is taken out of or housed in the holder 13.

At this projecting position, the remote control box 12 is taken out of the holder 13 and operated, then stored in the holder 13 and the front door 4 is closed. As shown in FIG. 7, the right end of the remote control box 12 is insulated. It comes into contact with a cushion 66 provided on the door 2. When the front door 4 is further closed, the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 is moved to the remote control box 1.
2 is pressed to the front door 4 side, the remote control box 12 rotates counterclockwise together with the holder 13,
It returns to the state shown in FIG. Therefore, the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 functions as a retracting means for displacing the remote control box to the retracted position. Further, when the remote control box 12 moves to the retracted position, the right end of the remote control box 12 slides on the surface of the cushion 66, and the surface of the cushion 66 is provided with the polyester film which is a smooth film as described above. There is, so you can slide smoothly.

Next, a second embodiment of the mounting structure of the remote control box will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part for explaining the mounting structure of the remote control box. In the description of the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the engaging groove portion 37 and the stepped bolt 55 of the first embodiment are not provided,
A swing shaft 71 that swingably supports the holder 13 is attached to the back surface of the front door 4 via a flange or the like.
Then, when the front door 4 is opened, the holder 13 and the remote control box 12 oscillate in the clockwise direction about the swing shaft 71 due to the gravity, and reach the projecting position. At this time, the front lower end of the holder 13 comes into contact with the back surface of the front door 4,
The holder 13 is prevented from rotating clockwise, and the back surface of the front door 4 functions as a stopper.

Next, when the front door 4 is closed, the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 contacts the right side portion of the remote control box 12 to rotate the remote control box 12 to the retracted position, as in the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment of the mounting structure of the remote control box will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part for explaining the mounting structure of the remote control box. In the description of the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, instead of the stepped bolt 55 of the first embodiment, a male screw 73 is used as the screw fixing member 5.
3 is screwed to fix the holder 13 so that it cannot swing. Further, the back plate 44 of the holder 13 is notched in the upper part. Further, a protrusion 75 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the bottom plate 47, that is, on the front door 4 side. And
When the front door 4 is closed, the remote control box 12 is supported by the upper ends of the protrusions 75 and the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 and is in the retracted position.

Next, when the front door 4 is opened, the cushion 66 of the heat insulation door 2 supporting the remote control box 12 separates from the remote control box 12, so that the remote control box 12 rotates clockwise with the protrusion 75 as a fulcrum. The upper end of the back plate 44 of the holder 13 and the bottom plate 47 of the holder 13
Is supported by the upper surface of the front door and the back surface of the front door 4, and is in the protruding position.

As described above, in the embodiment, the remote control box 12 is arranged so that its widest surface is substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the front door 4, and thus is the widest as in the conventional case. The mounting space of the holder 13 on the back surface of the front door 4 can be made narrower than that of the surface provided substantially parallel to the back surface of the front door 4. While a worker may touch the remote control box 12 while replenishing the product in the vending machine, the surface of the remote control box 12 facing the vending machine body 1 side is the remote control box 12. Since it is on the side surface, there is less risk of the operator touching the operation buttons or the like of the remote control box 12. When the front surface of the remote control box 12 is arranged so as to face the vending machine body 1 as in the conventional case, an operator may accidentally touch an operation button or the like of the remote control box 12.

The remote control box 12 has a front door 4
In the opened state, the front door 4 is located at the projecting position projecting from the back surface of the front door 4, so that it can be easily taken out or stored. Further, when the front door 4 is closed, the remote control box 12 moves to the retracted position retracted to the front door 4 side, so that the closing operation of the front door 4 is not hindered.

The remote control box 12 has a widest surface as a front surface, and a display portion for displaying a warning or the like is provided on the front surface. The front surface is substantially parallel to the side surface of the front door 4. Since the front door 4 is opened, the display portion can be seen from the side of the front door 4 when the front door 4 is opened. In particular, when the remote control box 12 is in the projecting position, the display section also projects from the back surface of the front door 4 for easy viewing. When the display unit is made of liquid crystal, the liquid crystal has directivity, and thus it is particularly easy to see.

Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, the center of rotation of the holder 13 is the remote control box 1.
Since the remote control box 12 and the holder 13 are provided on the back side of the front door 4 with respect to the center of gravity of the holder 2 and the center of gravity of the holder 13, the remote control box 12 and the holder 13 move from the retracted position to the projected position. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a driving device or a biasing means for moving to the protruding position.

Further, in the third embodiment, the remote control box 12 is provided with the projection 75 provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 47 of the holder 13, that is, the remote control box support portion, and when the front door 4 is closed, The remote control box 12 is supported at the retracted position by the remote control box support portion and members provided on the vending machine body 1.
Then, when the front door 4 is opened, the member provided in the vending machine body 1 separates from the remote control box 12, and the remote control box 12 falls down to the vending machine body 1 side to be in the protruding position. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a driving device or a biasing means for moving to the protruding position. That is, the holder 13 is provided with a support portion that supports the remote control box 12 with the member provided in the vending machine body 1 when the front door 4 is closed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. It is possible to make changes. A modified embodiment of the present invention is illustrated below. (1) In the embodiment, the retracting means for displacing the remote control box to the retracted position is constituted by the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 which is a member arranged in the vending machine body 1. Instead of 66, the vending machine main body 1 may be configured with another structure. Further, it is possible to provide a vending machine with a drive device such as a motor for moving the remote control box 12 and a detector for detecting the open / closed state of the front door 4. The remote controller box 12 can also be moved by detecting the open / closed state of the front door 4 with this detector and driving the drive device with this detection signal.

(2) The rotating structure of the remote control box 12 and the holder 13 can be appropriately changed as long as it can be rotated when the front door 4 is opened. (3) In the embodiment, the remote control box 12 moves between the projecting position and the retracted position by the rotation thereof, but it can also move between the projecting position and the retracted position by the parallel movement. is there. For example, it is possible to attach the holder 13 to the back surface of the front door 4 by a link mechanism such as a pantograph mechanism and always urge the holder 13 toward the vending machine body 1 side by an urging means such as a spring. is there.

(4) In the embodiment, the remote control box 12 is moved from the retracted position to the projected position by gravity, but a biasing means such as a spring or an elastic body is provided on the back surface of the front door 4. It is also possible to move by this urging means. (5) In the embodiment, the cushion 66 of the heat insulating door 2 is in contact with the remote control box 12, but the holder 13
It is also possible to rotate the holder 13 by abutting against.

[0037]

According to the present invention, the remote control box is
Since the widest surface is supported by the holder so that the widest surface is substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the front door, it is narrower than when the widest surface of the remote control box is arranged substantially parallel to the front door. The remote control box can be stored behind the front door in a space. Therefore, the mounting space of the holder for housing the remote control box can be reduced. As a result, the display space of the vending machine can be expanded.

Further, since the remote control box is supported by the holder so as to be movable between a retracted position which is close to the back surface of the front door and a projecting position which is protruded from this retracted position, it can be taken out or taken out. When storing, the remote control box can be set to the protruding position so that the remote control box can be easily grasped. Therefore, the space for holding the remote control box can be reduced. As a result, the display space of the vending machine can be expanded.

Further, when the front door is closed, the remote control box is in the retracted position by the retracting means.
Therefore, although the remote control box is movable between the projecting position and the retracted position as described above, it does not hinder the closing operation of the front door.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holder.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a holder with a remote control box stored therein.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the state of the remote control box, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part when the remote control box is taken out.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the state of the remote control box, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the remote control box in a state just before the front door is closed.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part for explaining a mounting structure of a remote control box of the vending machine of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part for explaining a mounting structure of a remote control box of a vending machine according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine Main Body 4 Front Door 12 Remote Control Box 13 Holder 60 Front (Widest Surface) 66 Cushion (Retracting Means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A front door openably and closably attached to a front surface of a vending machine main body, a holder provided on the back surface of the front door, and a remote control box detachably supported by the holder. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the remote control box is supported by the holder such that a widest surface thereof is substantially perpendicular to a back surface of the front door. 2. A front door which is attached to the front surface of the main body of the vending machine so as to be openable and closable, a holder provided on the back surface of the front door, and a remote control box which is detachably supported by the holder. In the vending machine, the remote control box is supported by the holder in a movable state between a retracted position that is close to the back surface of the front door and a projecting position that projects beyond the retracted position. And a retracting means for displacing the remote control box to a retracted position when the front door is closed.