JPH10307538A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such an automatic vending machine as being capable of forming a product display part in a simple and thin structure and stably holding commodity samples. SOLUTION: For an automatic vending machine in which a commodity display part is provided in front of a door mainbody, parts of a display back plate 12 for the commodity display part are cut and raised crossing each other to form upper holders 21 and lower holders 22, which allow commodity samples 10 to be placed along the display back plate 12 and inclined and held at one sides and bottoms. The respective holders have supporting parts 21a, 22a formed by vertically cutting and raising parts of the display back plate and forward-turn preventing part 21b, 22b formed by bending the supporting parts at their ends in opposition to the cut-raised direction. The holders are located to hold the minimum sized commodity samples 10 and space them each other across the gravity centers of the commodity samples. In this case, the forward-turn preventing part 22b is formed large enough to display a commodity price in front or paste a price label for serving as a price display part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for cigarettes and the like, and more particularly to a vending machine having a simplified product display section provided on the front surface of a door and having a reduced thickness.

[0002]

2. Related Background Art A merchandise display section is usually provided on the front of a vending machine such as a cigarette as shown in FIG.
That is, a product display section 2 whose front face is covered with a transparent protective body is provided above a front face of a door section 1 which is provided to be openable on the front side of the vending machine. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 3 denotes a product outlet provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the door portion 1,
Reference numeral 4 is a bill insertion slot, 5 is a coin insertion slot, 6 is an insertion / change amount display section, 7 is a change return lever, and 8 is a change payout exit.

The commodity display section 2 generally has a plurality of commodity display shelves 9, and a plurality of types of commodity samples 10 are displayed on each of these commodity display shelves 9. A product selection button (product selection switch) 11 associated with the display position of each product sample 10 is located below each product display shelf 9.
Are respectively provided. Each product selection switch 11
Corresponds to a plurality of product columns (not shown) provided inside the vending machine main body, and the product sample 10 specifies the type of the product stored in each of the product columns 11. .

As shown schematically in FIG. 4, a commodity display section 2 of a conventional general vending machine generally has a plurality of commodity display shelves 9 on a display section back plate 12 which forms a back surface of a door section 1.
Are attached to each other. This product display shelf 9
Consists of a member obtained by bending a metal plate,
As shown in the sectional structure of FIG. 5, a product mounting portion 13 having a slope inclined with respect to the exhibition portion rear plate 12, and a product support portion 14 having a lower end of the product mounting portion 13 bent toward the near side.
And a front end decoration portion 15 in which the front end portion of the product support portion 14 is bent downward, and a mounting portion 16 in which the upper end side of the product placement portion 13 is bent toward the back surface side.

[0005] The product mounting portion 13 has an opening for transmitting and illuminating the product sample 10 from the back side, corresponding to the rear surface area of the product sample 10 placed on the product support portion 14. A cut-and-raised projection 18 is provided on the side of the opening 17 for defining the display position of the product sample 10 in the lateral direction. In addition, a price indicator 19 made of, for example, plastic, which also serves to regulate the position of the lower front portion of the product sample 10 placed on the product support portion 14, is attached to the front end decoration portion 15.

The product display shelf 9 having such a structure is provided in multiple stages in the product display section 2 by, for example, screwing the mounting portion 16 to the display section back plate 12.

[0007]

In the commodity display section 2 having the above-described structure, since the commodity display shelf 9 has the inclined commodity placement section 13, the depth dimension cannot be increased. Absent. In addition, since the product sample 10 is only placed on the step formed by the product placement portion 13 and the product support portion 14, the product sample 10 may be displaced in the horizontal direction due to, for example, vibration and impact accompanying opening and closing of the door portion 1. easy. Also, the arrangement direction of the plurality of product samples 10 is uniformly limited to a horizontal row along the step.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and aims to simplify and reduce the thickness of a product display section, to stably hold product samples, and to provide a plurality of product samples. To provide a vending machine that enables free arrangement of the vending machines.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to a vending machine provided with a product display section on the front surface of a door body, and more particularly to one of the display section back plates in the product display section. Parts are cut and raised in directions perpendicular to each other to form an upper holder and a lower holder. The upper holder and the lower holder allow a product sample to be aligned with the display unit back plate, and the direction is inclined. Thus, one side and the bottom of the product sample are respectively held. In particular, the upper holder and the lower holder,
A support portion that vertically cuts and raises a portion of the display section back plate positioned on the back side of the product sample, and a forward fall prevention portion that has the tip of the support portion bent in a direction opposite to the cut and raise direction of the support portion. It is characterized by having a structure provided.

The upper holder and the lower holder are
By providing a position that can hold a product sample of the minimum size and at a position horizontally separated from the center of gravity of the product sample, it is possible to stably hold product samples of various sizes. Features. Further, a front surface of the front fall prevention portion of the lower holder is used as a price display surface.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a product display section in a vending machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a product display unit 2 according to the present invention. The feature of the product display section 2 is that a part of the product display section 2 is cut and raised in the display section back plate 12 itself made of a metal plate so that the product sample 10 is aligned with the display section back plate 12 and the An upper holder 21 and a lower holder 22 for holding the downward one side portion and the bottom portion of the product sample 10, respectively, in a state where the orientation is inclined sideways, are characterized.

The upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 are attached to the holder 2 on the display section back plate 12.
It is formed by partially cutting and raising a portion positioned on the back side of the product sample 10 held by the components 1 and 22 so that the directions are orthogonal to each other. Each of the holders 21 and 22 includes support portions 21a and 22a cut and raised vertically with respect to the display section back plate 12, and support portions 21a and 22a.
It has a structure provided with front fall prevention parts 21b and 22b in which the tip of 22a is bent in the direction opposite to the direction in which the support parts 21a and 22a are cut and raised.

Incidentally, the height of the support portions 21a and 22a from the display unit back plate 12 is set according to the maximum thickness of the product sample 10. Also upper holder 2
The front fall prevention portion 21 b is realized as a locking claw having a width slightly protruding from the front surface of the product sample 10. The front-fall prevention portion 22b of the lower holder 22 is formed to have a size on the front surface of which a product price can be displayed or a price display label can be attached, and is also configured to serve as a price display portion. .

The upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 are, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, in a horizontal direction (lateral direction) with respect to the center of gravity G of the sample product 10 having a different size. Product sample 1 at the separated position
0 is provided so as to hold the downward side and the bottom, respectively, and at a position where the minimum size product sample 10 can be securely held. In addition, these holders 21,
Openings 23 and 24 formed in the display section back plate 12 because the cutout 22 is formed are located on the back surface of the product sample 10 held by the holders 21 and 22 and are covered by the product sample 10. As described above, the upper holder 21
And a lower holder 22 are respectively formed.

The openings 23 and 24 also serve as illumination light passing portions for transmitting and illuminating the product sample 10 held by the holders 21 and 22 from the back side thereof. Incidentally, the product sample 10 may be used as a sample of the product to be sold itself, but is generally provided as a sample made of a synthetic resin having the same external design as that of the product to be sold. The openings 23 and 24 are used for transmitting and illuminating the product sample 10 from the back side.

Thus, according to the product display section 2 having such a structure, the product sample 10 is attached to the display section rear panel 12 by the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 formed by cutting and raising a part of the display section rear panel 12. The structure is very simple because it is held along. In particular, since the conventional product display shelf 9 is not provided, the structure can be made extremely simple and the number of parts can be significantly reduced. Moreover, the thickness (depth dimension) of the product display section 2 can be reduced. Therefore, it is very suitable for a vending machine which requires a reduction in thickness, in particular, in making the door portion 1 thin.

The product sample 10 is held by the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 while being inclined in the lateral direction, and the center of gravity G of the product sample 10 is positioned inside the holders 21 and 22. It can be kept very stable. In particular, since the positions of the holders 21 and 22 are determined so that the center of gravity G of the product sample 10 is located between the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 as described above, the opening and closing of the door unit 1 is assumed. Even if the product sample 10 is displaced (shifted in tilt) due to vibration or the like, the product sample 10 is stably held by the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 by its own weight, that is, the holders 21 and 22. Automatically returns to the display form of the product sample 10 specified by the above. Therefore, the display form of the product sample 10 can be stably maintained.

Further, according to the structure of the product display unit 2 described above, a plurality of product samples 10 can be arranged along the display unit back plate 12, so that even when the product samples 10 are arranged in multiple stages. The product samples 10 in a plurality of rows can be efficiently illuminated with a simple illumination light source. That is, in the conventional structure, it is necessary to arrange the fluorescent lamps for each product display shelf 9 so that the illumination light is not blocked by the product display shelf 9 protruding to the front. According to this, since there is no product display shelf 9 that blocks illumination light, it is possible to effectively illuminate a plurality of rows of product samples 10 simply by providing one fluorescent lamp on the upper front side of the display unit back plate 12, for example. Becomes Therefore, it is possible to greatly simplify the illumination system, reduce costs, and save power.

Further, since the product sample 10 is held on the display unit back plate 12, it is only necessary to determine the display positions of the plurality of product samples 10 on the display unit back plate 12 based on the size of the product sample 10 in advance. Therefore, the arrangement direction can be set not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction or the diagonal direction. Further, the layout design can be performed so that a plurality of product samples 10 are circularly arranged or randomly arranged. In this case, it goes without saying that the arrangement position of the product selection switches corresponding to each product sample 10 may be changed according to the layout of the product samples 10. The free layout change of the product sample 10 shown here means that the design positions of the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 are changed at the time of designing or manufacturing the product display unit 2, for example, in response to a request from a user. This does not mean that after the vending machine is manufactured, the positions of the holders 21 and 22 are changed according to the usage pattern.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the size of the display unit back plate 12,
The number of product samples 10 that form and hold the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 may be determined according to specifications required for a vending machine. The angle of inclination of the product sample 10 held by the upper holder 21 and the lower holder 22 in the horizontal direction may be determined according to the specifications.
The inclination angle may be changed according to the display part of the product sample 10 above. Further, the upper holder and the lower holder may be configured as separate parts from the display section back plate 12, and may be assembled on the display section back plate 12. However, in this case, it is unavoidable that not only the number of parts is greatly increased but also the cost of the apparatus is increased. Therefore, as described above, it is desirable to cut and raise a part of the display unit back plate to form the upper holder and the lower holder. In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, an upper holder and a lower holder for holding a product sample in a laterally inclined manner are formed on the back plate of the display unit. The thickness can be reduced and the configuration can be greatly simplified. Moreover, since the product is held tilted sideways,
It is possible to stabilize the holding and to effectively prevent problems such as dropping due to vibration or the like accompanying opening and closing of the door portion. Further, since the display arrangement of the product samples is not defined in the horizontal direction, there is an advantage that the layout design can be freely performed and, for example, an arrangement having high product appeal can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a product display unit in a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between an upper holder and a lower holder in the product display unit shown in FIG. 1 and the position of the center of gravity of a product sample supported by these holders.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the appearance of a vending machine.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a product display unit in a conventional vending machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a product display shelf in the product display section shown in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Door part 2 Product display part 10 Product sample 12 Exhibition back plate 21 Upper holder 22 Lower holder

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine provided with a product display section on a front surface of a door body, wherein the product display section has a display section back plate and a product sample along the display section back plate. An upper holder and a lower holder formed by cutting and raising a part of the display unit back plate in directions perpendicular to each other so as to hold the one side and the bottom of the product sample by tilting the direction, respectively, The upper holder and the lower holder each have a support portion vertically cut and raised at a position positioned on the back side of the product sample on the display unit back plate, and a tip of the support portion bent in a direction opposite to the cut and raised direction of the support portion. A vending machine characterized by comprising a front fall prevention section. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper holder and the lower holder are provided at a position capable of holding a product sample of a minimum size and at a position horizontally separated from the center of gravity of the product sample. Item 5. The vending machine according to Item 1. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a front surface of the front holder of the lower holder is used as a price display surface.