JP7782295B2 - Vending machine protection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a protection device for a vending machine.

Conventionally, a protective device for a vending machine is known, for example, from Patent Document 1. The protective device proposed in Patent Document 1 includes a cardboard tube and a cover material.

The cardboard tube is a cylindrical piece made of paper, and is removably attached to the vending machine by being attached to the leveling adjustment legs that protrude downward from the four corners of the bottom of the vending machine. More specifically, the cardboard tube is removably attached to the vending machine with the leveling adjustment legs relatively extending into the hollow portion of the cardboard tube.

The cover member is a long, rectangular member with an L-shaped cross section. This cover member is attached to the vending machine with cable ties, covering the upper front end, upper rear end, lower front end, and lower rear end of the vending machine.

A protective device equipped with such a paper tube and cover member prevents the vending machine from being damaged during transportation, for example.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-37319

However, the above-mentioned protective device was equipped with not only a paper tube but also a cover member, so after the paper tube was attached, the cover member had to be secured with a cable tie, making transporting the vending machine cumbersome.

In consideration of the above situation, the present invention aims to provide a vending machine protection device that simplifies the process of transporting a vending machine.

To achieve the above objective, the vending machine protection device of the present invention is a protection device for protecting a vending machine, with level adjustment legs provided at the four corners of the bottom of the vending machine in a manner that protrudes downward, and a cylindrical cardboard tube that is removably attached to the vending machine so that it relatively enters the hollow portion of the vending machine, and is characterized by having a protection member that is removably attached to the vending machine by clamping the cardboard tube with a portion of the cardboard tube placed on the top surface, and whose outer edge protrudes outward beyond the side of the vending machine when attached to the vending machine.

The present invention also features a protective device for a vending machine, in which the protective members are detachably attached to the vending machine in correspondence with each of the levelness adjustment legs.

According to this invention, the protective member is removably attached to the vending machine by clamping the cardboard tube with a portion of the protective member placed on the top surface of the cardboard tube. Furthermore, when attached to the vending machine, the outer edge of the protective member protrudes outward from the side of the vending machine. This makes it easier to package the vending machine while preventing damage during transport, thereby achieving the effect of simplifying the transport of the vending machine.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a vending machine to which the protection device is applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a cardboard tube and a protective member that constitute the protective device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the protection member is attached to the vending machine. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the protective member holds the cardboard tube. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a vending machine to which a protective member is attached.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the vending machine protection device of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a protective device according to an embodiment of the present invention, along with a vending machine to which it is applied.

The protective device 1 illustrated here is configured with multiple (four in the illustrated example) cardboard tubes 10 and multiple (four in the illustrated example) protective members 20.

As shown in Figure 2, the cardboard tube 10 is made of paper, formed from paper tube base paper with a high fiber density and high buckling strength, and has a cylindrical shape. Such a cardboard tube 10 is provided to correspond to levelness adjustment legs 31 that protrude downward from the four corners of the bottom surface of the vending machine 30, and is detachably attached to the vending machine 30 by the levelness adjustment legs 31 relatively entering the hollow portion 11. Here, the levelness adjustment legs 31 are legs that adjust the levelness of the vending machine 30 when installing the vending machine 30.

The cardboard tube 10 is conventionally known and, although not shown in the figures, comprises an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube is roughly cylindrical with a slit formed along the axial direction. This inner tube is attached in a manner that covers the level adjustment legs 31 by inserting the level adjustment legs 31 into the hollow portion of the inner tube. The outer tube is cylindrical with an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the inner tube. The inner tube, which is attached to the level adjustment legs 31, is inserted (press-fit) into the hollow portion of the outer tube, thereby removably attaching the cardboard tube 10 to the vending machine 30.

When such a cardboard tube 10 is attached to a vending machine 30, part of the outer periphery protrudes outward beyond the vending machine 30.

The protective member 20 is a member made of, for example, pulp mold, cardboard, or resin material, and has clamping portions 21 that are spaced apart from each other. The outer end portions 21a of these clamping portions 21 are connected to each other, forming an L-shaped outer edge portion 22 when viewed from above. This outer edge portion 22 protrudes above the clamping portions 21. In the clamping portion 21, a notch 21b that fits part of the outer circumference of the cardboard tube 10 is formed in the top portion of the outer edge portion 22, i.e., in the area close to the connection between the outer end portions 21a.

As shown in Figure 3, such a protective member 20 is attached to the vending machine 30 by elastically deforming the clamping portions 21 so that they move away from each other, allowing the corresponding cardboard tube 10 to relatively move between the clamping portions 21.As shown in Figure 4, with a portion of the gap between the clamping portions 21 placed on the top surface of the cardboard tube 10, the clamping portions 21 are brought close to each other by their elastic restoring force, and the cardboard tube 10 is clamped at the portion where the notch 21b is formed.

When the protective members 20 are attached to the vending machine 30 while clamping their corresponding cardboard tubes 10 in this way, as shown in Figure 5, the outer edge portions 22 of the protective members 20 contact the sides of the vending machine 30 (front surface 32, rear surface 33, side surface 34) and protrude outward from the sides. This prevents the vending machine 30 from being damaged by contact or other factors when being transported.

The protective member 20 can be detached from the cardboard tube 10 by elastically deforming the clamping portions 21 so that they move away from each other, and is removably attached to the vending machine 30 together with the cardboard tube 10.

As described above, with the vending machine 30 protection device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the protection member 20 is removably attached to the vending machine 30 by clamping the cardboard tube 10 with a portion of the protection member 20 placed on the top surface of the cardboard tube 10. Furthermore, when attached to the vending machine 30, the outer edge 22 of the protection member 20 protrudes outward from the side of the vending machine 30, making it easier to package the vending machine 30 while minimizing damage during transport, thereby simplifying the transport of the vending machine 30.

Furthermore, since the protective member 20 is simply attached to the vending machine 30 together with the cardboard tube 10, there is no need for cover members or cable ties as in the past, reducing the number of parts and the cost of transportation work.

Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned protective device 1, the protective members 20 are removably attached to the vending machine 30 in correspondence with each of the levelness adjustment legs 31, so that it can be applied to vending machines 30 of various sizes, thereby improving versatility.

The above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications can be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the four protective members 20 each clamp a corresponding cardboard tube 10 and are removably attached to the vending machine 30. However, in the present invention, the protective members may clamp multiple cardboard tubes 10 and be removably attached to the vending machine 30. That is, the protective members may be configured as one that clamps the two front cardboard tubes 10 and one that clamps the two rear cardboard tubes 10, or one that clamps the two left cardboard tubes 10 and one that clamps the two right cardboard tubes 10. This also facilitates packaging of the vending machine 30 while reducing damage during transport, simplifying the transport of the vending machine 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Protective device, 10... Paper tube, 11... Hollow part, 20... Protective member, 21... Clamping part, 21a... Outer end part, 22... Outer edge part, 30... Vending machine, 31... Levelness adjustment leg, 32... Front surface, 33... Rear surface, 34... Side surface.

Claims (2)

A protection device for protecting a vending machine, comprising: horizontality adjustment legs provided at the four corners of the bottom of the vending machine in a manner that protrudes downward; a cylindrical paper tube detachably attached to the vending machine in a manner that relatively enters into the hollow portion of the vending machine;
A protection device for a vending machine, characterized in that it is detachably attached to the vending machine by clamping the paper tube with a portion of the paper tube placed on the upper surface of the vending machine, and is provided with a protection member whose outer edge portion protrudes outward beyond the side of the vending machine when attached to the vending machine. A vending machine protection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the protective members are removably attached to the vending machine in correspondence with each of the levelness adjustment legs.