Vending machine protection device

Abstract

To simplify transfer work of an automatic vending machine.SOLUTION: A protective device 1 for protecting an automatic vending machine 30, including cylindrical paper sleeves 10 removably mounted on the automatic vending machine 30 in a manner that levelness adjustment legs 31 provided at four corners of a bottom of the automatic vending machine 30 in a manner protruding downward relatively enter hollow parts 11 of the paper sleeves, includes protective members 20 removably mounted on the automatic vending machine 30 by holding the paper sleeves 10 in a state partly mounted on upper surfaces of the paper sleeves 10, the protective members having outer edge portions 22 protruding outward from lateral sides of the automatic vending machine 30 when mounted on the automatic vending machine 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protection device for a vending machine. [Background technology]

[0002] A known conventional protection device for a vending machine is, for example, that proposed in Patent Document 1. The protection device proposed in Patent Document 1 includes a cardboard tube and a cover material.

[0003] The cardboard tube is a cylindrical paper tube that is removably attached to the vending machine by being attached to each of the level 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 level adjustment legs relatively extending into the hollow portion of the cardboard tube.

[0004] The cover member is an elongated member with an L-shaped cross section, and is attached to the vending machine with cable ties while covering the upper front end, upper rear end, lower front end, and lower rear end of the vending machine.

[0005] Such a protective device including a paper tube and a cover member prevents the vending machine from being damaged during transportation, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-37319 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, since the above-mentioned protection device was equipped with not only a paper tube but also a cover member, it was necessary to secure the cover member with a cable tie after attaching the paper tube, which made the work of transporting the vending machine complicated.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a protection device for a vending machine that can simplify the work of transporting the vending machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the protective device for a vending machine according to the present invention is a protective device for protecting a vending machine, comprising: level adjustment legs provided at the four corners of the bottom of the vending machine in a manner that protrudes downward; a cylindrical cardboard tube that is removably attached to the vending machine in a manner that allows the legs to relatively enter the hollow portion of the vending machine; and a protective member that is removably attached to the vending machine by clamping the paper tube with a portion of the paper tube placed on the top surface of the paper tube, and that has an outer edge that protrudes outward beyond the side of the vending machine when attached to the vending machine.

[0010] Furthermore, in the protection device for a vending machine according to the present invention, the protection members are detachably attached to the vending machine in correspondence with the respective levelness adjusting legs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the protective member is removably attached to the vending machine by clamping the paper tube with a portion of the protective member placed on the top surface of the paper tube, and when attached to the vending machine, its outer edge portion protrudes outward from the side of the vending machine, making it easier to pack the vending machine while preventing damage during transportation, thereby achieving the effect of simplifying the transportation of the vending machine. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]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. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a cardboard tube and a protection member that constitute the protection device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the protection member is attached to the vending machine. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the protective member holds the cardboard tube. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a vending machine to which a protective member is attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a protection device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0014] 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.

[0015] The protection device 1 illustrated here is configured to include a plurality of cardboard tubes 10 (four in the illustrated example) and a plurality of protection members 20 (four in the illustrated example).

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, the cardboard tube 10 is made of paper and is formed from cardboard 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 adjusting legs 31 provided in a manner that protrudes 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 adjusting legs 31 relatively entering the hollow portion 11. Here, the levelness adjusting legs 31 are legs for adjusting the levelness of the vending machine 30 when the vending machine 30 is installed.

[0017] The cardboard tube 10 is a conventionally known type and has an inner tube and an outer tube, although not shown in the figures. The inner tube is substantially cylindrical with a slit formed along the axial direction. This inner tube is attached in a manner that covers the level-adjusting legs 31 by inserting the level-adjusting legs 31 relatively through the hollow portion. The outer tube is cylindrical with an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the inner tube. The inner tube attached to the level-adjusting legs 31 is relatively inserted (press-fitted) into the hollow portion of the outer tube, whereby the cardboard tube 10 is detachably attached to the vending machine 30.

[0018] When such a cardboard tube 10 is attached to the vending machine 30, a part of the outer periphery protrudes outward from the vending machine 30.

[0019] The protective member 20 is a member made of, for example, pulp mold, cardboard, resin material, or the like, 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 and form an L-shaped outer edge portion 22 when viewed from above. Such outer edge portion 22 protrudes upward beyond the clamping portions 21. In the clamping portion 21, a notch 21b that fits to part of the outer periphery 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 portion between the outer end portions 21a.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, such a protective member 20 is elastically deformed such that the clamping portions 21 are spaced apart from each other, allowing the corresponding cardboard tube 10 to relatively move between the clamping portions 21, and as shown in FIG. 4, with a portion of the space 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 elastic restoring force, and the cardboard tube 10 is clamped at the portion where the notch 21b is formed, thereby attaching the protective member 20 to the vending machine 30.

[0021] When the protective members 20 are attached to the vending machine 30 while clamping the corresponding cardboard tubes 10 in this way, as shown in Figure 5, the outer edge portions 22 of the protective members 20 are in contact with the sides (front surface 32, rear surface 33, side surface 34) of the vending machine 30 and protrude outward from the sides. This makes it possible to prevent the vending machine 30 from being damaged by contact or the like when the vending machine 30 is being transported.

[0022] In addition, the protective member 20 can be detached from the cardboard tube 10 by elastically deforming the clamping portions 21 in a manner that separates them from each other, and is detachably attached to the vending machine 30 together with the cardboard tube 10.

[0023] As explained above, according to the protection device 1 for a vending machine 30 which is 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 upper surface of the cardboard tube 10, and when attached to the vending machine 30, the outer edge portion 22 of the protection member 20 protrudes outward from the side of the vending machine 30, which makes it easier to pack the vending machine 30 while preventing damage during transportation, and thereby simplifies the transportation of the vending machine 30.

[0024] Moreover, 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 binding bands as in the past, which reduces the number of parts and reduces the cost required for transportation work.

[0025] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned protective device 1, the protective member 20 is 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.

[0026] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications can be made.

[0027] In the embodiment described above, the four protective members 20 each clamp a corresponding cardboard tube 10 and are detachably attached to the vending machine 30. However, in the present invention, the protective members may clamp multiple cardboard tubes 10 and be detachably 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 is attached to the vending machine 30, and one that clamps the two rear cardboard tubes 10 and is attached to the vending machine 30, or one that clamps the two left cardboard tubes 10 and is attached to the vending machine 30, and one that clamps the two right cardboard tubes 10. This also makes it easier to pack the vending machine 30 and prevents damage during transportation, making it easier to transport the vending machine 30. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1...protective device, 10...paper tube, 11...hollow part, 20...protective member, 21...pinching part, 21a...outer end part, 22...outer edge part, 30...vending machine, 31...levelling adjustment leg, 32...front, 33...back, 34...side.

Claims

1. 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.

2. 2. The protection device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the protection members are detachably attached to the vending machine in correspondence with the respective levelness adjusting legs.

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