Dispensing device for beverage crates

Abstract

Dispensing device (100) for stackable products (K), in particular beverage crates, comprising: - a dispensing unit (110) which is set up to receive one of the products (K) for removal; - a destacking unit (120) which is set up to remove a product (K) from a product stack and transfer it to the output unit (110); - optionally a magazine unit (130) which is designed to receive one or more product stacks and transport them to the destacking unit (120).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a dispensing device for stackable products, in particular beverage crates.

[0002] Vending machines for beverage crates are known in which individual crates are arranged in a compartment on a sales wall and can be removed by a customer after the customer has made a payment. After removal, the compartment is empty and must be refilled manually by the machine operator.

[0003] Against this background, the object of the present invention was to provide a device for dispensing products such as beverage crates (beer crates, mineral water crates, etc.) which enables easier operation.

[0004] This object is achieved by a dispensing device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are contained in the subclaims.

[0005] The dispensing device according to the invention is used to dispense stackable products, i.e., products that can be stacked securely on top of one another. Without limiting the generality, beverage crates, particularly beer crates, are considered below as examples of such stackable products. The dispensing device contains the following components: - A dispensing unit which is designed to receive (at least) one of the products for removal. - A destacking unit which is designed to remove (at least) one product from a product stack and transfer it to the output unit. - Optionally a magazine unit which is designed to hold several product stacks and transport them to the destacking unit.

[0006] The typical case of a single product being removed from the dispensing unit is described in more detail below. However, within the scope of the invention, it is also possible to provide multiple products in the dispensing unit for removal at one time (e.g., two or three crates of beer).

[0007] The product located in the dispensing unit can be removed by a user or customer in a controlled manner. This control can be achieved during a sale in a public space, for example, by a payment machine that only allows access to the dispensing unit after a customer has correctly paid and then locks it again after the product has been removed. However, other possible uses for the dispensing device are also conceivable, where every user has access to the dispensing unit (e.g., within the premises of a restaurant).

[0008] Inside the dispensing device, the products are handled in product stacks, i.e., stacks of two or more products. A typical example of this is a stack of approximately four to seven crates of beer. By handling product stacks, a large quantity of products can be stored compactly in the dispensing device, so that the operator only needs to refill the device at longer intervals. In this context, the destacking unit serves to remove the required quantity of products (typically a single product) from a product stack and transfer it to the dispensing unit, where this small quantity can be removed in a controlled manner by a user.

[0009] The destacking unit typically removes products from a product stack provided to it until the stack is empty, i.e., completely removed. If the dispensing device does not include a magazine unit, the destacking unit must be refilled by the operator after the product stack has been completely removed. However, if the dispensing device is configured with a magazine unit, the destacking unit can be automatically refilled with a new product stack.

[0010] The magazine unit typically accommodates multiple product stacks. It thus serves as the storage space for the dispensing device. Furthermore, it is designed to transport a product stack to the destacking unit when it needs or requests one, particularly if the last product stack located there has been completely removed by transferring it piece by piece to the dispensing unit.

[0011] Overall, the dispensing device has the advantage that it can store a relatively large quantity of products and dispense them individually or in small quantities to users, so that refilling by the operator is only relatively rarely required.

[0012] The dispensing device can be permanently installed in a building or outdoors. Preferably, however, the dispensing device is entirely transportable or mobile. For example, it can be mounted on a transport frame and / or a housing. Such a mobile dispensing device can also be set up temporarily at certain events (e.g., sporting events, music festivals, etc.).

[0013] The products are often foodstuffs whose shelf life and / or taste are temperature-dependent. In this context, it is preferred if the dispensing device has a cooling device for cooling the products. The cooling device can capture (cool) all products located in the dispensing device. Optionally, however, it can also be limited to parts of the device and the products located therein, for example, the dispensing unit, the destacking unit, and / or the magazine unit.

[0014] In a further development of the dispensing device with a cooling device, the dispensing unit is thermally separated from the destacking unit (and preferably also from the magazine unit). This enables more efficient cooling of the products, since they are arranged compactly in the destacking unit and, unlike the dispensing unit, the destacking unit has no opening to the environment. In this embodiment, the transfer of a product from the destacking unit to the dispensing unit preferably only takes place shortly before a user wishes to remove a product from the dispensing unit. Furthermore, it is preferred if the effect of the cooling device affects not only the destacking unit but also the magazine unit.

[0015] In principle, access to the dispensing unit can be freely available to any user (who has access to it). However, if the dispensing device is used for automated product sales, the dispensing unit is preferably configured to allow only authorized users access to the product contained within it. User authorization can be achieved in various ways, for example, by entering a code or by making a payment (cash or cashless). All technologies and devices known from vending machines can be used to control these processes.

[0016] In principle, it is possible for the destacking unit to remove a product from a product stack (present within it) at any point and transfer it to the output unit. In a preferred embodiment, however, the destacking unit is configured to transfer the bottommost product of a product stack located within its working area to the output unit. This has the advantage that gravity can be utilized to move the products and that the product is presented to the output unit at a height that is convenient for the user.

[0017] According to a preferred embodiment of the destacking unit, it has at least one gripper which can positively engage a product in the product stack located in its working area. For example, the gripper can engage in the recesses of a beer crate provided there as handles for its manual transport. The product can be securely grasped and moved through a positive engagement of the gripper. For example, the gripper can engage in the second-to-bottom crate of a crate stack and hold this and the crates above it, while a crate below it is pulled out of the stack. In order to break any positive connection between the products, the upper part of the stack can be raised and / or the lower part of the stack (lowest crate) can be lowered.

[0018] In a further development of the above-described embodiment, the gripper is interchangeable and / or variably positionable. This allows the dispensing device to be easily adapted to differently shaped products (e.g., beer crates of different brands). Both the exchange of the gripper and, in particular, its positioning can optionally be carried out automatically, for example, by means of a control system after input or automated acquisition of relevant product data.

[0019] The magazine unit preferably has a conveyor line on which the product stacks located in the magazine unit can stand and with which they can be transported toward the destacking unit. The conveyor line can, for example, have a revolving conveyor belt and / or a plurality of actively driven or passively rotating transport rollers.

[0020] The various processes in the dispensing device can be coordinated purely mechanically and / or electrically by means of an appropriate design. Preferably, however, the device includes a controller, for example in the form of a central analog and / or digital electrical circuit (e.g., a programmable data processing unit), which is configured to control the unstacking unit after a product has been removed from the dispensing unit so that it removes a product from the product stack located therein and transfers it to the dispensing unit. Within the scope of this controller, it can preferably also be ensured that it is only activated after the dispensing unit has been closed to the outside area.Additionally or alternatively, the control system can also be configured to control the magazine unit after the last product (from a product stack located in the destacking unit) has been transferred to the output unit in such a way that a product stack is transferred from the magazine unit to the destacking unit.

[0021] Of course, the control system can optionally take on additional tasks, such as monitoring any existing cooling device and / or recording and reporting the amount of product still in the dispensing device.

[0022] The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of an exemplary embodiment, illustrated by the drawings. In the drawings: Fig. 1 a perspective view from below of the dispensing device; Fig. 2 a perspective view from above of the dispensing device; Fig. 3 the view of Fig. 2 with the housing removed; Fig. 4 the view of Fig. 3 with the output unit partially removed; Fig. 5 a detailed view of the destacking unit.

[0023] The dispensing device 100 shown as an example is used to dispense or sell crates of beer or other beverage crates K to end customers. For this purpose, a large quantity of such crates is stored in stacked form in the dispensing device 100 and dispensed individually to customers in a controlled manner via a dispensing unit 110. The beverage crates K are preferably cooled within the dispensing device 100.

[0024] In the Fig. 1 and Fig. Figure 2 shows an overall external view of the dispensing device 100. It can be seen that the dispensing device 100 stands on a sturdy metal frame R and is enclosed externally by a container-like housing G. As shown, the frame R can have access for a forklift, making the entire dispensing device 100 transportable or mobile.

[0025] On its front, the housing G has a control panel B and the cover flap of a dispensing unit 110. A user or customer can make a selection and perform payment transactions on the control panel B, after which access to the dispensing unit 110 is granted. The customer can then remove a crate of beverages located there.

[0026] Furthermore, in the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 shows the external heat exchanger of a cooling device 140. With the help of the cooling device 140, the beverage crates inside the dispensing device 100 can be kept at a desired low temperature until they are sold.

[0027] In Fig. 3 shows the essential internal parts of the dispensing device 100, omitting the outer housing. The dispensing device contains the aforementioned dispensing unit 110 as the interface to the customer, from which a single beverage crate K can be removed in a controlled manner. For this purpose, the dispensing unit 110 comprises a closed space for receiving the individual beverage crate. The base 111 of the dispensing unit 110 is preferably slightly inclined toward the front and provided with (passive) rotating rollers, so that a beverage crate K can roll into the dispensing unit under the effect of gravity.

[0028] The front of the dispensing unit 110 is securely closed most of the time by a closure flap 112. The opening and closing of the closure flap 112 is controlled by a controller 150. This detects, for example, whether a customer has identified themselves as authorized and / or paid the required amount in order to then grant temporary access to the beverage crates in the dispensing unit 110. For this purpose, the closure flap 112 can, for example, be automatically moved upwards in a vertical direction or its manual movement can be authorized by the user. Preferably, the closure flap 112 is at least partially transparent so that the customer can see the beverage crate to be removed in advance.

[0029] The rear of the dispensing unit 110 preferably includes a controlled closure so that, when the closure flap 112 is open, no access is possible to the beverage crates located further back in the dispensing device 100. Furthermore, such a closure optionally also provides thermal separation of the dispensing unit 110 from the rear part of the dispensing device 100, so that the cooling taking place there by the dispensing unit 110 does not leak.

[0030] Spatially adjacent behind the dispensing unit is a destacking unit 120. The destacking unit 120 receives a single product stack consisting, for example, of five beverage crates K stacked on top of one another. It contains two support columns 121, which are arranged on opposite sides of this product stack.

[0031] Furthermore, the destacking unit 120 has grippers G which can engage a beverage crate K in a form-fitting manner. In particular, the grippers can be coupled to the second-to-lowest beverage crate in order to lift or hold it and the beverage crates located above it when the lowest beverage crate is pushed forward into the (empty) dispensing unit 110. The crate can be moved, for example, via actively driven rotating rollers. After the lowest beverage crate has been transferred to the dispensing unit, the remaining stack located above it is slowly lowered by the destacking unit 120 or picked up by the platform until the bottommost crate comes to rest on the rotating rollers located below. In this way, the destacking unit 120 can dismantle a stack of beverage crates located therein piece by piece from below and transfer them to the dispensing unit 110.In a preferred embodiment, the variant is implemented that the grippers hold the upper beverage crates while the lowest beverage crate is lowered downwards and transported into the dispensing unit.

[0032] Adjacent to or behind the destacking unit 120 is typically a magazine unit 130, in which several stacks of, for example, five beverage crates each are stored on a conveyor line 131. The magazine unit 130 can transport the entire stack forward, i.e., toward the destacking unit 120. Such transport occurs, in particular, when the destacking unit 120 has transferred the last beverage crate of the stack contained within it to the output unit 110 and is thus empty. The magazine unit 130 then transports the stack located at the front of it into the destacking unit to refill it.

[0033] The control of the described processes is preferably carried out by the digital controller 150.

Claims

[1] Dispensing device (100) for stackable products (K), in particular beverage crates, comprising: - an output unit (110) which is designed to receive one of the products (K) for removal; - a destacking unit (120) which is configured to remove a product (K) from a product stack and transfer it to the output unit (110); - optionally a magazine unit (130) which is designed to receive one or more product stacks and transport them to the unstacking unit (120). [2] Dispensing device (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that it is portable. [3] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a cooling device (140) for cooling the products (K). [4] Dispensing device (100) according to claim 3, characterized by that the output unit (110) is thermally separated from the unstacking unit (120). [5] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the output unit (110) is designed to allow only authorized users access to a product (K) located therein. [6] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the unstacking unit (120) is designed to transfer the respective bottom product (K) of a product stack into the output unit (110). [7] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the unstacking unit (120) has at least one gripper (G) which can engage positively in a product (K) of a product stack. [8] Dispensing device (100) according to claim 7, characterized by that the gripper (G) is interchangeable and / or variably positionable. [9] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the magazine unit (130) has a conveyor line (131) on which product stacks can stand and with which they can be transported in the direction of the unstacking unit (120). [10] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a control system which is designed to - after removing a product (K) from the output unit (110), to control the destacking unit (120) in such a way that a product (K) is removed from the product stack located in the destacking unit (120) and transferred to the output unit (110); and / or - after the transfer of the last product from a product stack located in the destacking unit (120) into the output unit (110), to control the magazine unit (130) in such a way that a product stack is transferred from this to the destacking unit (120). [11] Dispensing device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the unstacking unit (120) is designed to lower the bottom product of a product stack located therein, while the products located above it are held.

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