JP7786142B2 - Product sample display device for vending machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for displaying product samples in a vending machine.

For example, in vending machines that sell beverages in containers such as cans or plastic bottles, a display room is provided in the front door that forms the front of the machine's housing. The display room is used to promote product sales by displaying product samples.

Such a display room is equipped with a rear panel that is pivotable relative to the front door and has a display stand for holding product samples mounted on the front. The rear panel is a door made of processed sheet metal or the like, and forms the back of the display room. Reinforcing metal is attached to the end of this rear panel to increase its strength, and cushioning material is attached to the pivot-side end to protect the tips of the fixing screws used to secure the hinges (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 3186400

However, in the vending machine described above, reinforcing metal and cushioning material were provided on the back panel, which increased the number of parts and led to problems with increased manufacturing costs.

In light of the above situation, the present invention aims to provide a product sample display device for a vending machine that can improve strength and reduce manufacturing costs.

To achieve the above objective, the product sample display device for a vending machine of the present invention is a product sample display device for a vending machine that is pivotally supported on a front door that opens and closes the front opening of the vending machine body in a manner that forms the back of the display chamber of the front door, and is equipped with a back panel on whose front surface a display device for displaying product samples is installed. The pivotally supported end of the back panel is characterized by having a rectangular cylindrical cross section formed by multiple bending of the sheet metal that constitutes the back panel, and the tip of the fixing screw for fixing the hinge is housed inside.

The present invention also features a product sample display device for a vending machine, wherein the pivot-support side end of the back panel is configured so that the metal plates overlap each other in part, and the fixing screw is provided so as to penetrate the overlapping portion of the metal plates.

According to the present invention, the rear panel's pivot-side end has a rectangular tubular cross section formed by bending the metal sheet that constitutes the rear panel multiple times, and the tips of the fixing screws used to secure the hinges are housed inside. This improves strength and reduces the number of parts, thereby achieving the effects of improving strength and reducing manufacturing costs.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a vending machine to which a product sample display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a vending machine to which a product sample display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a front view of the back panel shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the back plate shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rear panel taken along line AA in FIG.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of a product sample display device for a vending machine according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 each show a vending machine to which a product sample display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Figure 1 is a front view of the vending machine, and Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the vending machine.

The vending machine illustrated here sells products such as beverages in containers such as cans and PET bottles, and is equipped with a front door 10 on the front of a main cabinet (vending machine main body) 1 that stores the products. The front door 10 is supported on one side edge of the main cabinet 1, and can open and close the front opening 1a of the main cabinet 1.

This front door 10 is provided with a coin slot 11, a bill slot 12, a coin return slot 13, a product removal slot 14, and a display compartment 20. Note that reference numeral 2 in Figure 2 denotes an insulated door that opens and closes the front of an insulated product storage compartment (not shown) defined inside the main cabinet 1.

The coin slot 11 is located on the front of the front door 10 and is an opening through which users can insert coins. Coins inserted through this coin slot 11 have their denominations identified by the coin mechanism 15 located on the rear surface of the front door 10, and are then collected in the coin collection box 16 located below the coin mechanism 15.

The bill insertion slot 12 is located on the front of the front door 10 and is an opening through which users can insert bills. The denomination of bills inserted through this bill insertion slot 12 is identified by a bill validator 17 located on the rear surface of the front door 10. The bill insertion slot 12 also has the function of returning bills that cannot be identified by the bill validator 17.

The coin return slot 13 is located on the front of the front door 10 and is an opening for returning coins that could not be identified by the coin mechanism 15 or coins that are to be used as change to the user. The product outlet 14 is located on the front of the front door 10 and is an opening for the user to receive products that have been dispensed from inside.

The display room 20 is used to display multiple product samples 21 inside, and is rectangular with an open front. The opening at the front of the display room 20 is covered with a transparent plastic panel 22, preventing the entry of foreign objects from the outside while allowing the interior to be seen through the plastic panel 22.

The resin panel 22 also has push button switches 23 corresponding to each of the product samples 21. In this vending machine, the product to be purchased can be selected using the product samples 21, and the selected product can be purchased by pressing the corresponding push button switch 23.

In the display room 20, a display stand 25 is provided in front of the back panel 24. The display stand 25 holds multiple product samples 21 aligned in the left-right direction, and is provided in three upper and lower tiers in front of the back panel 24. The product samples 21 held by the display stand 25 are made of resin and have the same external shape as the products for sale.

The rear panel 24 forms the back of the display room 20 and is pivotally supported relative to the front door 10. This rear panel 24 is a door body made of sheet metal 24a with a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm, and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, its left end is a pivot-side end 241 that is pivotally supported on the front door 10. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rear panel 24 taken along line A-A in Figure 3.

As shown in Figure 5, the pivot-side end (left end) 241 of the back panel 24 has a rectangular tubular cross section formed by bending the metal sheet 24a multiple times (e.g., four times) using, for example, a panel bender. This pivot-side end 241 is formed by the metal sheet 24a partially overlapping each other to form the rectangular tubular shape.

Then, a portion of the hinge 26 is inserted into the space surrounded by the metal sheets 24a, i.e., the interior 241b of the support-side end 241, through a slit 241a formed on the front side of the support-side end 241. A fixing screw 27 is then inserted from the front through a hole (not shown) formed in the overlapping portion of the metal sheets 24a, and its tip 27a is threaded into the hinge 26, thereby fixing the hinge 26. In other words, the support-side end 241 is configured so that the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 used to fix the hinge 26 is housed in the interior 241b.

In a vending machine product sample display device configured as described above, the pivot-side end 241 of the back panel 24, which is pivotally supported on the front door 10 and allows for swinging, has a square tubular cross section formed by bending the metal plate 24a multiple times, giving it a sufficiently high level of strength. In other words, the strength of the pivot-side end 241, which requires a sufficiently high level of strength in the back panel 24, can be improved. Furthermore, because the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 used to secure the hinge 26 is housed within the interior 241b of the pivot-side end 241, there is no need to attach cushioning material to protect the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27.

Accordingly, with this product sample display device, the pivot support end 241 of the back panel 24 is formed by bending the metal plate 24a, a component of the back panel 24, multiple times to form a rectangular tubular cross section, and the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 for fixing the hinge 26 is housed inside 241b, thereby improving strength and reducing the number of parts, thereby improving strength and reducing manufacturing costs.

Furthermore, with the above-mentioned product sample display device, the pivot-side end 241 of the back panel 24 is configured so that the metal sheets 24a overlap each other in part, and a fixing screw 27 is provided that penetrates the overlapping portion of the metal sheets 24a, which also improves strength.

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 cross-sectional shape of the pivot-side end 241 of the back panel 24 is a rectangular tube, but in the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the pivot-side end of the back panel may be a polygonal tube other than a rectangular tube.

In the above-described embodiment, there are portions where the metal sheets 24a overlap each other at the pivot support side end 241 of the back panel 24, but in the present invention, the metal sheets do not have to overlap each other.

In the above-described embodiment, the back panel 24 has a display stand 25 attached to the front, but in the present invention, the back panel may have a display device attached to the front for displaying product samples, such as a card displaying a product sample or an LCD panel displaying a product sample.

1...Main cabinet, 1a...Front opening, 10...Front door, 20...Display compartment, 21...Product sample, 22...Resin panel, 23...Push button switch, 24...Back panel, 24a...Metal plate, 241...Support end, 241a...Slit, 241b...Interior, 25...Display stand, 26...Hinge, 27...Fixing screw, 27a...Tip.

Claims (1)

A product sample display device for a vending machine is pivotally supported on a front door that opens and closes the front opening of the vending machine body in a manner that forms the back of the display chamber of the front door, and is equipped with a back panel on which a display device that displays product samples is installed,
The end of the rear panel on the support side has a rectangular cylindrical cross section, with the metal sheets constituting the rear panel being bent multiple times so that the metal sheets overlap each other in some places, and a fixing screw for fixing a hinge inserted into the rectangular cylindrical portion through a slit formed in a part of the rear panel is inserted into the rectangular cylindrical portion, with its tip passing through the portion where the metal sheets overlap. This product sample display device for a vending machine is characterized in that it is configured as follows: