Product sample display device for vending machines

Abstract

To provide a commodity sample display device that can be improved in strength and reduced in a manufacturing cost.SOLUTION: There is provided a commodity display device of an automatic vending machine that comprises a back plate 24 which is pivoted in a swinging state on a front door opening and closing a front opening of a main body cabinet to constitute a back of a display chamber of the front door, and also has a display base, holding commodity samples in the front, installed. A pivot-side end part 241 of the back plate 24 is cross-sectioned in a square cylindrical shape by bending a sheet plate 24a as a component of the back plate 24 several times, and has a tip 27a of a fixing screw 27 for fixing a hinge 26 housed in an inner part 241b. The pivot-side end part 241 of the back plate 24 is constituted in part having the sheet plate 24a made to overlap with itself, and the fixing screw 27 is provided penetrating mutual overlap parts of the sheet plate 24a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for displaying product samples in a vending machine. [Background technology]

[0002] 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 housing. The display room promotes sales of the products by displaying product samples.

[0003] Such a display room includes a rear panel that is swingable relative to the front door and has a display stand for holding product samples installed on the front side. The rear panel is a door made of processed sheet metal or the like, and forms the back of the display room. Reinforcements are attached to the end of this rear panel to increase its strength, and cushioning material is attached to the pivot end to protect the tips of the fixing screws used to secure the hinges (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3186400 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned vending machine, since the back panel is provided with reinforcing metal and cushioning material, the number of parts increases, which causes a problem of increased manufacturing costs.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a product sample display device for a vending machine that can improve strength and reduce manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the product sample display device for a vending machine according to 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 that has a back panel on the front of which a display device for displaying product samples is installed, and is characterized in that the pivot-supported end of the back panel has a rectangular cylindrical cross-sectional shape formed by bending the sheet metal that is a component of the back panel multiple times, and the tip of the fixing screw for fixing the hinge is stored inside.

[0008] The present invention is also characterized in that, in the product sample display device for the vending machine, the 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 in a manner that passes through the portion where the metal plates overlap. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, the support side end of the back panel has a cross-sectional shape that is rectangular tubular due to the sheet metal that is a component of the back panel being bent multiple times, and the tip of the fixing screw for fixing the hinge is stored inside, thereby improving strength and reducing the number of parts, thereby achieving the effect of improving strength and reducing manufacturing costs. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 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. [Figure 2] 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. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the back panel shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the back panel shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rear panel taken along line AA in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a product sample display device for a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] 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, with FIG. 1 being a front view of the vending machine and FIG. 2 being a perspective view showing the internal structure of the vending machine.

[0013] 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 the main cabinet 1 via one side edge, and can open and close a front opening 1a of the main cabinet 1.

[0014] 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 chamber 20. Reference numeral 2 in Fig. 2 denotes a heat-insulating door that opens and closes the front of a heat-insulating product storage room (not shown) defined inside the main cabinet 1.

[0015] The coin slot 11 is provided on the front of the front door 10 and is an opening through which users can insert coins. The coins inserted through this coin slot 11 are identified by the coin mechanism 15 provided on the rear surface of the front door 10, and are then stored in the coin collection box 16 located below the coin mechanism 15.

[0016] The bill insertion slot 12 is provided on the front surface of the front door 10 and is an opening through which a user can insert bills. The denomination of bills inserted through this bill insertion slot 12 is identified by a bill validator 17 provided 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.

[0017] The coin return slot 13 is provided on the front side of the front door 10 and is an opening for returning to the user coins that could not be identified by the coin mechanism 15 or coins that are to be used as change. The product take-out slot 14 is provided on the front side of the front door 10 and is an opening for the user to receive products that have been dispensed from inside.

[0018] The display room 20 is configured in a rectangular shape with an opening at the front, and is used to display multiple product samples 21. The opening at the front of the display room 20 is covered with a transparent resin panel 22, which prevents foreign matter from entering from the outside, while allowing the interior to be seen through the resin panel 22.

[0019] Additionally, push button switches 23 are provided on the resin panel 22 in correspondence with each of the product samples 21. In this vending machine, a product to be purchased can be selected using the product sample 21, and the selected product can be purchased by pressing the corresponding push button switch 23.

[0020] In the display room 20, a display stand 25 is provided in front of the back panel 24. The display stand 25 holds a plurality of 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.

[0021] The rear panel 24 constitutes the rear surface of the display room 20 and is pivotally supported relative to the front door 10. The rear panel 24 is a door body made of sheet metal 24a having a thickness of about 0.5 mm, and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the left end portion is a pivot-side end portion 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 AA in Figure 3.

[0022] 5, the pivot-side end (left end) 241 of the back panel 24 has a rectangular tubular cross section formed by bending the metal plate 24a multiple times (for example, four times) using, for example, a panel bender. The pivot-side end 241 is formed into a rectangular tubular shape by partially overlapping the metal plate 24a.

[0023] Then, a part of the hinge 26 is inserted into the space surrounded by the metal sheets 24a, i.e., into the interior 241b of the support-side end 241, through a slit 241a formed on the front side of the support-side end 241, and a fixing screw 27 is inserted from the front so as to pass through a hole (not shown) formed in the overlapping portion of the metal sheets 24a, and the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 is screwed into the hinge 26, thereby fixing the hinge 26. In other words, the support-side end 241 is configured such that the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 for fixing the hinge 26 is housed in the interior 241b.

[0024] In the product sample display device for a vending machine having the above-described configuration, the pivot-side end 241 of the back panel 24, which is pivotally supported on the front door 10 so as to be able to swing, has a sufficiently high strength because the metal plate 24a is bent multiple times to form a rectangular tubular cross section. In other words, the strength of the pivot-side end 241, which is required to have a sufficiently high strength in the back panel 24, can be improved. Moreover, because the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 for fixing the hinge 26 is stored inside 241b of the pivot-side end 241, there is no need to attach a cushioning material to protect the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27.

[0025] Therefore, according to the product sample display device, the support side end 241 of the back panel 24 is formed by bending the metal plate 24a, which is a component of the back panel 24, multiple times so that the cross-sectional shape is a square tube, and the tip 27a of the fixing screw 27 for fixing the hinge 26 is stored inside 241b, thereby improving strength and reducing the number of parts, thereby enabling improvement of strength and reduction of manufacturing costs.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned product sample display device, the support side end 241 of the back panel 24 is configured so that the metal sheets 24a overlap each other in some places, and a fixing screw 27 is provided in a manner that penetrates the overlapping portion of the metal sheets 24a, which also improves strength.

[0027] 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.

[0028] In the above-described embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the support side end 241 of the back panel 24 is a rectangular tube, but in the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the support side end of the back panel may be a polygonal tube other than a rectangular tube.

[0029] In the embodiment described above, there are portions where the metal plates 24a overlap each other at the pivot support side end 241 of the back plate 24, but in the present invention, the metal plates do not have to overlap each other.

[0030] In the above-described embodiment, the rear panel 24 has a display stand 25 attached to the front thereof, but in the present invention, the rear panel may have a display device for displaying product samples, such as a card displaying product samples or an LCD display panel displaying product samples, attached to the front thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1...main cabinet, 1a...front opening, 10...front door, 20...display room, 21...product sample, 22...resin panel, 23...push button switch, 24...back panel, 24a...sheet metal, 241...support side end, 241a...slit, 241b...inside, 25...display stand, 26...hinge, 27...fixing screw, 27a...tip.

Claims

[Claim 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:

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