Vending machine

The present invention relates to a vending machine.

So-called tray-type vending machines are known which have, inside a containment frame, a plurality of shelves or trays, which are mutually stacked and support the products to be dispensed.

The containment frame is usually provided with a front door, made of glass or otherwise transparent material, which has, at a lower portion, substantially below the lowest shelf, a withdrawal door.

The front door is therefore provided with access means, generally constituted by a withdrawal door, which is mounted so that it can oscillate thereon and allows the user to access a product receiving trough, which is also supported by the front door and is arranged inside the frame.

In order to prevent users from directly accessing the shelves on which the products to be dispensed are arranged, the withdrawal door is associated kinematically with a protective flap, which is designed to likewise rotate, as a consequence of the rotation of the withdrawal door, about a respective oscillation axis so as to prevent access to the products that have not yet been dispensed and are arranged on the trays.

Although these known devices are currently widely used, they are not devoid of drawbacks.

First of all, the product receiving trough is normally provided with a rear closure panel in order to prevent the dispensed products from falling out of said trough.

It is evident that this causes a certain difficulty in cleaning the trough.

Its transverse dimensions, moreover, entail additional difficulty in arranging the actuation or dispensing devices inside the containment frame.

Moreover, it has been found that the kinematic connecting means generally arranged between the withdrawal door and the protective flap are often structurally complicated.

The aim of the present invention is to eliminate or at least reduce drastically the drawbacks noted above in conventional vending machines.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that allows to remove the withdrawal trough simply and practically.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine provided with a withdrawal door and with a protective flap that are constructively simple and effective in their operation.

This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a vending machine, comprising a containment frame, which has at least one rear wall or back and two side walls and supports a front door provided with means for accessing a region for withdrawing dispensed products, said containment frame supporting a plurality of trays associated with means for dispensing the products to be dispensed, which are arranged on said trays, and characterized in that the withdrawal region comprises a withdrawal pocket, which can be associated detachably, by way of detachable connection means, with the containment frame at an engagement portion arranged below the plurality of trays.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a vending machine, comprising a containment frame, which has at least one rear wall or back and two side walls and supports a front door provided with means for accessing a region for withdrawing the dispensed products, said containment frame supporting a plurality of superimposed trays associated with means for dispensing the products to be dispensed, which are arranged on said trays, said access means comprising a withdrawal door and a protective flap, both of which can be moved in an angular fashion about a respective oscillation axis that is substantially horizontal during use, said withdrawal door being designed, by being pushed by the user, to pass from an inactive condition, in which it closes said front door, to a withdrawal condition, means for kinematic connection being provided between said withdrawal door and said protective flap, said means being adapted to move, as a consequence of the transfer of said withdrawal door from said inactive condition to said withdrawal condition, said protective door from a collapsed position, in which it is substantially parallel to said withdrawal door, to a closed position, in which it closes upwardly said withdrawal region, characterized in that said kinematic connection means comprise at least one actuation wing, which has an abutment portion that can be engaged by a respective engagement portion supported by said withdrawal door during the transition from said inactive condition to said withdrawal condition, said actuation wing being supported, so that it can rotate about a first pivoting axis, by said front panel, and being articulated, so that it can rotate about a second pivoting axis, to a pusher wing associated with said protective panel.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of a vending machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: <ul id="ul0001" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li>Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine according to the invention;</li><li>Figure 2 is a perspective view of a withdrawal pocket;</li><li>Figure 3 is a perspective view, taken from the inside of the containment frame, of the means for accessing the withdrawal region, supported by the front door, in a partially-open condition;</li><li>Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 3, but with the access means in the open condition; and</li><li>Figures 5 to 7 are views of the kinematic connection means in different steps during the transition of the withdrawal and protective flaps from the inactive condition to the withdrawal condition.</li></ul>

In the examples of embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other examples of embodiments.

Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a proper disclaimer.

With reference to the figures, a vending machine, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a containment frame 2, which is provided with a rear wall or back 3 and with two side walls 4a and 4b.

One of the two side walls, the side wall 4b in the example shown in Figure 1, supports a front door 5, which is provided with means 6 for accessing a region 7 for withdrawing dispensed products.

In particular, the containment frame 2 supports a plurality of trays (not shown), associated with means for dispensing the products to be dispensed which are arranged on said trays.

According to the present invention, the withdrawal region 7 comprises a withdrawal pocket 8, which can be associated detachably, by way of per se known removable connection means, with the containment frame 2 at an engagement portion 9 located below the trays.

Advantageously, the withdrawal pocket 8, during use, is designed to close hermetically the region that accommodates the refrigeration means associated with the vending machine 1.

Conveniently, the withdrawal pocket 8 can be provided with a sealing profile 10, which is designed to face a border formed on the engagement portion; more particularly, sealing means such as a gasket are interposed between the sealing profile 10 and the border.

According to another aspect, the vending machine 1 has, at the front door 5, access means 6, which comprise a withdrawal door 20 and a protective panel or flap 11, which can be moved in an angular fashion about a respective oscillation axis, which is substantially horizontal during use.

The withdrawal door 20 is intended to pass, when pushed by the user, from an inactive condition, in which it closes the front door 5, to a withdrawal condition, with full opening of the flap or panel 11 and partial opening of the withdrawal door 20 (clearly shown in Figure 4).

Kinematic connection means are provided between the withdrawal door 10 and the protective panel or flap 11 and are adapted to move, following the transfer of the withdrawal door 20 from the inactive condition to the withdrawal condition, the protective panel or flap 11 from a collapsed position, in which it is arranged substantially parallel to the withdrawal flap 10 (and to the front door 5), to a closed position (shown in Figure 4), in which it closes upwardly the withdrawal region 7.

According to the present invention, the kinematic connection means comprise at least one actuation wing 13 provided with an abutment portion 14, which can be engaged by a respective engagement portion 15 supported by the withdrawal door 20 during the transition from the inactive condition to the withdrawal condition.

More particularly, the actuation wing 13 is supported, so that it can rotate about a first pivoting axis 100, by the front door 5 at a side wall 20, which forms the opening on the front door 5 through which the withdrawal flap 10 can oscillate.

According to a preferred embodiment, the actuation wing 13 is articulated, so that it can rotate about a second pivoting axis 101, to a pusher wing 16, which is connected kinematically to the protective flap 11.

Advantageously, the pusher wing 16 is pivoted to the protective flap 11 about a third pivoting axis 102.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, the first pivoting axis 100 lies along a substantially vertical direction, and the first pivoting axis 100 and the second pivoting axis 101 intersect at a center of rotation 1000 at the oscillation axis of the protective flap 11.

Conveniently, the third pivoting axis 102 also passes through said center of rotation 1000.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the engagement portion 15 can be constituted by a free roller 17, which is rotatably associated with the lateral edge of the withdrawal flap 10.

However, the engagement portion 15 might also be constituted by the lateral edge of the withdrawal door 20.

Moreover, a vending machine 1 according to the present invention may also have both the withdrawal pocket and the kinematic connection means as described above.

According to another aspect, the kinematic connection means can be constituted by two actuation wings (and therefore two pusher wings) located at the lateral edges of the access opening.

Operation of a vending machine according to the invention is clearly evident from what has been described above.

All the characteristics of the invention described above as advantageous, convenient or the like may also be omitted or be replaced with equivalents.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

Thus, for example, the withdrawal pocket can be provided with at least one metallic tab for pressing a microswitch, which is adapted to remove power from the vending machine (or in any case from the refrigeration means) upon removal of the withdrawal pocket from the engagement portion.

In practice it has been found that the vending machine thus described can ensure quick and effective cleaning of the withdrawal pocket.

Moreover, it is evident that the particular structure of the kinematic connection means allows to achieve a large angular movement of the protective flap following a small angular stroke of the withdrawal flap (see Figure 4).

Moreover, it has been found that during the transition from the withdrawal condition to the inactive condition it is not necessary to provide damping means, since this transition occurs in two steps and accordingly the descent speed of the flaps is very limited.

In practice it has been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects in all the embodiments.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. VR2004A000063 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.