Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/46—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from movable storage containers or supports
  • G07F11/50—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from movable storage containers or supports the storage containers or supports being rotatably mounted
  • G07F11/54—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from movable storage containers or supports the storage containers or supports being rotatably mounted about vertical axes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
  • G07F11/16—Delivery means
  • G07F11/24—Rotary or oscillatory members

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a candy dispensing machine with stick, and more specifically a candy dispensing machine with stick with an display container in which the candies are arranged stacked in columns, and which can be rotated to Match a lower end of a selected candy column with the input of a dispensing device housed in a base body and controlled by coin or token selector mechanism.
• Numerous item vending machines of the type comprising a display container in which the items are arranged in piles or columns, a device for selecting a desired product column and a vending device operated by the previous user are known from the prior art. introduction of a suitable coin or token into a coin or token selector mechanism. Examples of such machines can be mentioned utility model documents ES-A-1012270, ES-A-1021109 and ES-A-1040040, among others.
• Patent FR-A-2745934 describes a machine comprising a display container rotatably mounted on a base body.
• Said display container is formed by several overlapping sections or sections, each of which includes a central core portion, a perimeter tubular wall portion and a series of radial partitions arranged at regular angular intervals connecting at their ends with the portion of central core and with the perimeter tubular wall portion, so that column portions are defined between them.
• the various sections are vertically superimposed and packed by a central rod passed through openings in the central core portions.
• Elements of male-female fit solidarity the sections with each other in a rotating direction, so that the column portions of the overlapping sections coincide forming vertical columns in which the articles are stored in a stacked manner, with the piles of articles resting on a lower support surface.
• the display container is linked to the base body by means of a rotating part associated with indexing means to allow a user to rotate the container by dragging the articles over said support surface until a selected column is placed on an entrance of a device conventional dispenser, of the type provided with a drum with a cylindrical surface in which a cavity is opened to house the article.
• This dispensing device is controlled by a conventional coin or token selector mechanism.
• this machine is designed to handle items of regular shapes, such as cylindrical cans or spherical containers, and is not adapted for items of irregular shapes, such as stick candies of the type comprising a candy head of substantially spherical configuration of the one that sticks out of a stick, usually the area of the head wrapped with a paper or cellophane that extends twisting over a portion of the stick.
• stick candies of this type are, for example, those sold under the name CHUPA-CHUPS®.
• the Spanish utility model ES-A-1045227 discloses a vending machine dedicated to the sale of candies with stick in which the display container is formed by a plurality of vertical channels defined by walls arranged radially to starting from a central core, the mouths of the channels facing a cylindrical, transparent outer wall. Said channels form, in cooperation with said cylindrical wall, vertical columns in which candies are stacked with stick. Given its radial configuration, the columns have a narrowed part, next to the central core, to receive the candy sticks, and a widened part, next to the cylindrical wall, to accommodate the heads, so that the candies are stacked in each column with their heads resting on each other and the ends of the sticks resting on the central core.
• the head of each candy is in a lower position with respect to its own stick, which is inclined towards the center and upwards.
• Candy head located on the lower level of the stack it rests on a support surface of a base body on which the display container is rotatably mounted.
• a user can rotate the display container to selectively place one of the columns (a) over an inlet opening of a dispensing device housed in said base body and controlled by a coin or token selector.
• US-B-6,378,724 describes a machine with a structure similar to that referred to in the last two antecedents, although the movement of the display container is carried out from a steering wheel associated with a coin selector device, providing for this purpose drive means that involve a relative complexity and there is a mechanism of interposition in the ducts to unload the candies with stick one by one.
• An objective of the present invention is to solve the above drawbacks by providing a candy vending machine with stick in which the heads of the lower level candies are not in contact with a bearing surface, and in which the acceleration conditions and speed of rotation of the drum of the dispensing device are controlled independently of the operating speed of the selector handle.
• Another objective of the present invention is to support a dispensing device with controlled acceleration, applicable to a candy dispensing machine with stick.
• the invention also provides delivery means for candies with stick, one by one or two by two, with a much simpler structure than that described in the previous background.
• a candy dispensing machine with stick of the type comprising a display container with a plurality of vertical channels arranged radially with respect to a central core defining narrowed areas next to said central core to accommodate the sticks of said candies with stick and widened areas facing and limited by a wall outer tubular to accommodate the heads of the candies with stick, stacking the candies with stick in the channels in an inclined position, with their heads at a lower level than their sticks, the display container being mounted on a base body with the possibility of being rotated on a seating surface in order to selectively place a lower end of one of the selected channels, over an opening of said input base body to a dispensing device controlled by a coin or token selector mechanism and provided with means for transferring at least one candy with stick from the selected channel to a delivery cavity within the user's reach.
• each of the channels has, next to said lower end, a retaining element mounted so that it can be moved between a retention position, in which it retains the stick candy located at the lowest level of the stack in the channel without resting on said seating surface, and a releasing position, in which it allows the passage of the candy with stick through the lower end and of said entrance opening into the dispensing device, said element being of retention of the selected channel displaced from said retention position to said release position by at least one appendix linked to a mobile part of the dispensing device.
• said movable part of the dispensing device to which the aforementioned appendix is linked is a dispensing axis connected to a drive shaft attached to an outer handle of the selector mechanism, and this dispensing axis is placed through a drop conduit that leads directly to said delivery cavity within the reach of the user.
• a turntable is provided with a cylindrical peripheral surface that partially seals the entrance opening to the dispensing device, and on which the appendix, or more than one, is fixed.
• the said cylindrical surface incorporates an inclined recessed portion to allow the passage of a candy with stick and to direct it towards a decreasing lower part of said drop conduit connected with said delivery cavity.
• the present invention also provides a dispensing device with controlled acceleration, applicable to a candy dispensing machine according to the present invention, said dispensing device being of the type controlled by a coin or token selector mechanism and comprising means for transferring at least an article from the selected channel to a delivery cavity within the reach of the user, wherein said transfer means of the dispensing device comprise a dispensing shaft connected to a drive shaft attached to an outer handle of said selector mechanism.
• Such a dispensing device with controlled acceleration is characterized in that said dispensing axis is connected to said drive shaft with the intermediation of a rope or spring device, with retaining and tripping means being incorporated to retain the dispensing axis while said rope device or spring is tensioned by the rotation of the drive shaft and then to release the dispenser shaft so that it is then rotated by the energy accumulated in the rope or spring device under controlled acceleration conditions, independent of the speed of the shaft of drive, said retention and subsequent release operations being carried out during a revolution of the drive shaft.
• the acceleration and speed in a given position of the dispensing axis is substantially always the same regardless of the energy applied by the user to the handle of the coin or token selector mechanism.
• the characteristics of the spring are selected according to the needs of the machine so that said acceleration and speeds are necessary for the dispensing of the article in question.
• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the candy dispensing machine with stick according to the present invention
• Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a lower star-shaped body that together with other star-shaped bodies form the channels of the machine of Fig. 1, and which is provided with retaining elements;
• Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the star-shaped body of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the display container of the machine of Fig. 1 separated from the base body;
• Fig. 5 is a partial front view of the dispensing device before moving the retention element of a selected channel
• Fig. 6 is a partial front view of! Vending device when moving the retention element of the selected channel
• Fig. 7 is a partially sectioned front partial view of the dispensing device with a turntable provided with two appendages and two inclined surfaces, and showing the inside of the rope or spring device;
• Fig. 8 is a partially sectioned front partial view of the dispensing device with a turntable provided with a single appendix and two inclined surfaces, one of them covered with a hairpiece, and showing the outside of the rope or spring device;
• Fig. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing e (dispensing device, coin or token selector mechanism, rope or spring device and retention and firing means;
• Fig. 10 is a rear view of the dispensing device showing the retention and firing means
• Fig. 11 is a top view of the dispensing device showing the retention and firing means and the coin or token selector mechanism;
• Fig. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch of the retention and firing means
• Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a loader accessory useful for loading the channels of the display container of the machine of Fig. 1 with stick candies
• Y is an enlarged perspective view of the latch of the retention and firing means
• Figs. 14 and 15 are perspective views showing two different moments of the loading operation of a channel using the accessory of Fig. 13.
• the candy dispensing machine with stick comprises an display container 10 with a plurality of vertical channels 11 arranged radially with respect to a central core 12.
• the said vertical channels 11 they define narrowed areas 13 next to said central core 12 to accommodate the sticks P of said candies with CP stick and widened areas 14, facing and limited by an outer tubular wall 15, to accommodate the heads C of the candies with CP stick .
• the depth of the channels 11 is smaller than the length of the candies with stick CP, so that these are stacked in the channels 11 in an inclined position, with their heads C at a lower level than their sticks P.
• the display container 10 it is mounted on a base body 50 with a lower projection 29, of polygonal cross-section, of said central core 12 embedded in an upper cavity 53, of complementary polygonal cross-section, of a positioning part 54 rotatably mounted on the body of base 50.
• Said positioning piece 54 is provided with a tooth 55 to which an elastically loaded ball 56 is coupled, constituting indexing means.
• a lid 33 comprising a lock 34 that controls the rotation of a central rod 35 attached to a removable portion of said lock 34 and provided with a threaded bottom end 36 that is threadedly coupled. in a threaded hole 37 disposed in the center of a concave conical surface of said positioning piece 54.
• the display container assembly is capable of being rotated by a user on a seating surface 57 of the base body 50 in order to selectively place one end bottom 16 of one of the channels 11, selected, over an opening 51 of said base body 50.
• This opening 51 communicates with an entrance to a dispensing device 60 controlled by a coin or token selector mechanism 62 and provided with means for transfer at least one candy with CP stick from the selected channel 11 to a delivery cavity 52 within reach of the user.
• a coin or token collection duct leads to a box 58 accessible from a rear post 59 provided with a lock.
• Each of the channels 11 has, next to said lower end 16, a retaining element 17 mounted so that it can be moved between a retention position, in which it retains the candy with stick CP located at the lowest level of the stack in channel 11, without resting on said seating surface 57, and a release position, in which it allows the passage of! candy with stick CP through the lower end 16 and said opening 51 into the dispensing device 60.
• the retaining element 17 is pivotally mounted with respect to an axis 18 located on a side 19 of said widened area 14 of the respective channel 11 in a radial position with respect to said tubular wall 15, and comprises at least one flap of support 20 and at least one actuation pin 21.
• said support fin 20 extends transversely from said side 19 into the channel 11 in a level higher than the axis 18, while said drive pin 21 is in an upwardly downward position from the level of the axis 18.
• the retaining element 17 is in the release position (Fig. 6)
• the lift fin 20 is hidden on said side 19 of the channel 11 while the actuation pin 21 is interposed in the path of the candy with stick CP that falls through the lower end 16 of the channel 11.
• the falling candy itself makes contact with the drive pin 21 and returns the retention element 17 to the retention position to retain the candy with the following CP stick.
• the retention element 17 is naturally maintained in the retention position by virtue of its mounting conditions in combination with the position of its center of mass with respect to the axis 18.
• the actuation pin 21 of the retention element 17 belonging to the Selected channel 11 is located, when the retention element 17 is in the retention position shown in Fig. 5, in the path of an appendix 63 linked to a moving part of the dispensing device 60, so that said appendix 63, to the if the dispensing device 60 is rotated, it moves the retention element 17 to said release position, as shown in Fig. 6.
• the said plurality of vertical channels 11 arranged radially with respect to a central core 12 may be formed by a single piece body (not shown), of star-shaped cross-section, internally fixed to said tubular wall 15 and provided with retaining elements 17 in areas near the lower ends 16 of the channels 11. However, and as shown in the Fig.
• said plurality of vertical channels 11 is formed by several cross-sectional bodies in the form of overlapping star 22, 23, which may all be the same except a lower star-shaped body 23 internally fixed to said tubular wall 15 and provided with the retaining elements 17 in areas near the lower ends 16 of the channels 11.
• Figs, 2 and 3 show said lower star-shaped body 23, although some of its features are common with the other star-shaped bodies 22.
• the star-shaped cross-sectional bodies 22, 23 comprise a portion of central core 12a from which a plurality of radial arms 24 which define between them portions of channel 11a.
• Said central core portion 12a comprises a lower projection 29 of polygonal cross-section and an upper cavity 30 of complementary polygonal cross-section
• the radial arms 24 include at their ends upper protuberances 31 and lower recesses 32 in a complementary manner, fitting said lower protrusion 29 in said upper cavity 30 and said upper protuberances 31 in said lower recesses 32 when two of the star-shaped cross-sectional bodies 22, 23 are superimposed.
• the lower star-shaped body 23 may not have the lower gaps 32, and the star-shaped body 22 located at the upper level may not have the upper protuberances 3.
• the lower star-shaped body 23 comprises a ring 25 that connects the ends of the radial arms 24 and about projections 26 protruding externally from said ring 25.
• the radial arms 24 incorporate respective shafts 18 for mounting the corresponding retaining elements 17 and a notch 28 at the bottom to allow the passage of the appendix 63.
• the star-shaped body lower 23 is fixed to a lower end of said tubular wall 15 by the outer perimeter of the ring 25 and with said projections 26 inserted in notches of the tubular wall 15. Thus, all other star-shaped elements 22 are fixedly engaged.
• the machine comprises a handle-like accessory 39 capable of being connected to said unit, for example, by means of hook-shaped configurations not shown, to facilitate its transport.
• said tubular wall 15 is cylindrical and partially or totally transparent.
• the dispensing device 60 comprises a dispensing shaft 64 that extends through a drop conduit 67, which has an open top portion 68 located below the opening 51 and a decreasing lower part 69 inclined towards said delivery cavity 52, the appendix 63 being fixed to a portion of said dispensing axis 64 disposed within said drop conduit 67.
• the dispensing axis 64 is connected to a driving axis 65 which is rotated by a user by. an outer handle 66 of said selector mechanism 62, after having introduced one or more suitable coins or tokens.
• Appendix 63 is fixed on the periphery of a cylindrical surface 71 of a rotating plate 70 integral with said portion of the dispensing shaft 64.
• said cylindrical surface 71 seals at least partially (at opening 51 (Fig. 1), whereby an inclined recessed portion 72 is provided on said cylindrical surface 71, following Appendix 63, to allow the passage of a candy with CP stick and to direct it towards said decreasing lower part 69 of said drop duct 67.
• a dispensing device 60 comprising a second appendix 73 attached to the periphery of the cylindrical surface 71 said turntable 70 and a second inclined recessed surface 74 on the cylindrical surface 71 to transfer at least a second candy with stick CP from the selected channel 11 to the delivery cavity 52 during the course of a shaft revolution dispenser 64.
• a dispensing device 60 comprising a second appendix 73 attached to the periphery of the cylindrical surface 71 said turntable 70 and a second inclined recessed surface 74 on the cylindrical surface 71 to transfer at least a second candy with stick CP from the selected channel 11 to the delivery cavity 52 during the course of a shaft revolution dispenser 64.
• the figures show a rope or spring device 76 used as a coupling between the dispensing shaft 64 and the said drive shaft 65, with retaining and tripping means 77, 78 being incorporated to retain the dispensing shaft 64 while said rope or spring device 76 is tensioned by the rotation of the drive shaft 65 and then releasing the dispensing shaft 64 so that it is then rotated by the energy accumulated in the rope or spring device 76 under controlled acceleration conditions, independent of the speed of the drive shaft 65.
• Said retention and firing means 77, 78 perform said retention and subsequent release operations in the course of a revolution of the drive shaft 65.
• the said rope or spring device 76 is not only applicable to the machine described above, but also to any vending machine in which it is desirable or necessary to separate the Acceleration and speed conditions in the movement of the dispensing organ, for example the typical cylindrical drum with one or more housings for the items to be dispensed, of the speed imparted by the user in the operation of the coin or token selector mechanism. Going back to Figs. 9 to 12, the rope or spring device 76 comprises a housing 79 crossed by a spring shaft 80, and a spiral bending spring 81 mounted within said housing 79 with one end fixed to the housing 79 and the other end fixed to said spring axis 80.
• the dispensing axis 64 is hollow and the housing 79 is housed and fixed in a cavity of the turntable 70 with a portion of the spring axis 80 inserted inside the dispenser axis 64 so that the end of said portion of the spring shaft 80 protrudes through an open end of the dispenser shaft 64.
• Another opposite, opposite end of the spring shaft 80 is coupled to an inner end of the drive shaft 65 through a male-female polygonal coupling 82.
• the retaining means and shot 77, 78 comprise a latch 77, better shown, separately, in Fig. 12, with a nail 83 and a cam follower 84, said latch 77 being mounted so that it can pivot with respect to a pin 85 (Fig.
• the latch 77 is elastically loaded by a spring 86 such that said nail 83 is pushed to engage a groove 87 formed on an outer surface of the dispensing shaft 64, close to said end open, preventing its rotation, while said cam follower 84 rests on a cam surface 78 of a cam 88 fixed at said protruding end of the spring shaft 80.
• Said cam surface 78 includes a prominence 91 for pivoting the latch 77 against the force of said spring 86 and thereby unblocking the nail 83 of said notch 87 releasing the rotation of the dispensing shaft 64.
• the rope or spring device 76 includes a flywheel 89 mounted inside said housing 79 and linked to the spring shaft 80 by means of a gear train 90 speed multiplier.
• the machine according to the present invention includes a charger accessory 40 whose characteristics and operation are described below with reference to Figs. 13 to 15.
• Said charger accessory 40 is formed by a tubular body 41 (Fig. 13), substantially cylindrical, of length greater than the height of the vertical channels 11 and of internal diameter slightly less than the average diameter of the heads C of the candies with stick CP.
• Said tubular body is of a slightly elastic material and is provided with a longitudinal groove 42 which has at least one of its ends a funnel portion 43 of increasing width that connects with the open end of the tubular body 41.
• said loader accessory 40 is as follows: first the tubular body 41 is filled with candies with stick CP through said funnel portion 43, 44, which is at least one, the heads C being retained by elastic pressure inside the body tubular and the sticks P protruding through said longitudinal groove 42, (Fig. 13); subsequently, the full tubular body 41 is inserted all the way into one of the vertical channels 11 (Fig. 14); and finally the tubular body of the vertical channel 11 is removed while retaining the candy with CP stick located at the upper level to leave all candies with CP stick stacked inside the vertical channel 11 (Fig. 15).
• tubular body 41 is useful for filling only a part of a channel 11 or for completing the filling of a partially filled channel 11, and, by performing the above operations in reverse order, the tubular body 41 can also be used for empty all or part of the candies with CP stick of a vertical channel 11 totally or partially filled.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)
• Confectionery (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
• De-Stacking Of Articles (AREA)
• Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)
• Crystals, And After-Treatments Of Crystals (AREA)
• Transition And Organic Metals Composition Catalysts For Addition Polymerization (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=32405866

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Citations (8)

• 2002
  • 2002-12-02 AT AT02808194T patent/ATE329333T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-12-02 AU AU2002368400A patent/AU2002368400B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2002-12-02 DE DE60212211T patent/DE60212211D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-12-02 ES ES02808194T patent/ES2266641T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-12-02 EP EP02808194A patent/EP1585072B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-12-02 WO PCT/ES2002/000573 patent/WO2004051586A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (8)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events