Supports: cabinet structure – Removal facilitating magazine type – Stacked article type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-06
2003-02-18
Hansen, James O. (Department: 3637)
Supports: cabinet structure
Removal facilitating magazine type
Stacked article type
C312S071000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06520604
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a product housing apparatus and a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing therein a plurality of products arranged in the longitudinal direction which, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product. More particularly, the invention relates to a product housing apparatus and a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing therein, for example, thin products such as wrapping with an emblematic noshi decoration printed on it (noshi bukuro), bagged products such as snack confectionery, and wholly wrapped products (hereinafter referred to as “wrapped products”) such as box lunches.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional vending machines wherein products housed in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction are pushed forward to deliver a product, particularly the so-called “see-through type vending machines” wherein a purchaser of the product can see products housed in the vending machine through a transparent front door, and that utilize a spiral member which extends spirally in the longitudinal direction, for selling the thin products or bagged products as described above. This spiral member is provided so as to have a plurality of spaces at equal pitches in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed within the product passage. Each product is housed within the product passage in a substantially stood-up position in the state of being inserted into the space in the spiral member. At the time of selling, the spiral member is rotated by substantially one turn about an axis extended in the longitudinal direction to advance products by one pitch while pushing. The rotation of the spiral member in this way permits all the products housed in the product passage to be moved forward, and, when the spiral member has been rotated at a predetermined angle, the product located at the forefront in the product passage (hereinafter referred to as “forefront product”) is delivered forward from the delivery port located at the front end of the product passage.
On the other hand, for products other than the thin products and the bagged products, for example, for canned beverage products and the above-described wrapped products, they are placed in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction on a bottom wall constituting the bottom of the product passage to house products in the product passage. All the products housed in this way are pushed from behind, for example, by means of a pusher which is driven forward along the product passage so as to be advanced forward, whereby the forefront product is delivered forward through the delivery port in the product passage.
In the vending machine provided with the spiral member, a large number of spiral members should be provided according to the size and shape of the products. Specifically, in order to properly deliver the products forward in a substantially stood-up position, it is necessary to use a spiral member which has a diameter close to the outside dimension of the product and has a space somewhat larger than the thickness of the products. Therefore, in order to sell a variety of products having various sizes and thicknesses, a plurality of types of spiral members should be provided according to the types of the products. This disadvantageously increases the cost.
Further, in the case of vending machines provided, for example, with a bucket which is moved between a position in the vicinity of the delivery port of the product passage and a product take-out port and receives the product, delivered from the product passage, at a position in the vicinity of the delivery port in the product passage, a failure to deliver is likely to occur particularly in delivering a thin product from the product passage to the bucket. More specifically, an unavoidable gap occurs between the bucket moved around the delivery port in the product passage and the delivery port in the product passage. In delivering a product having a smaller thickness than this gap, for example, a telephone card, from the product passage to the bucket, there is a fear that the product enters the gap, or otherwise the product drops downward through the gap, resulting in a failure to properly deliver the product to the bucket. It is a matter of course that the failure to deliver can be prevented by providing a mechanism which, at the time of the delivery of the product, can clog the gap, between the bucket and the delivery port in the product passage, from the upper part thereof and functions as a bridge for delivering the product from the product passage to the bucket. The provision of this mechanism disadvantageously increases the cost.
On the other hand, in vending machines provided, for example, with a pusher for pushing the product, a failure to deliver products is likely to occur for some products. Specifically, for example, when wrapped products are housed in the product passage in such a state that they are merely placed on the bottom wall in the product passage, the lower surface of the wrapped product is brought into intimate contact with the bottom wall in the product passage. This often causes large frictional force between the wrapped products and the bottom wall in the product passage. For this reason, in some cases, the pusher driving force is unsatisfactory for delivering the wrapped products, even though this driving force suffices for advancing canned beverage products or the like. In this case, the wrapped products cannot be properly advanced. As a result, a failure to deliver the products occurs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been made with a view to solving the above problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the invention to provide inexpensive product housing apparatus and product housing method for a vending machine which can house, in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction, various products including, for example, thin products, bagged products, and wrapped products, in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction, and, at the same time, can properly and surely deliver the products.
According to the first feature of the invention, there is provided a product housing apparatus for a vending machine, for housing therein a plurality of products arranged in the longitudinal direction which, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product, said product housing apparatus comprising:
a product passage defined by a bottom wall horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction and left and right side walls which face each other while leaving a space therebetween in the lateral direction, are extended upward from the bottom wall and, at the same time, are extended parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction, the plurality of products being housed in the product passage in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction and being abutted against each other; and
a product locking section which is provided between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall so as to extend along the product passage and locks the plurality of products so as for the products to be held in a laid state and in a position inclined in the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction.
According to this construction, a plurality of products to be arranged in the longitudinal direction for housing in the state of being abutted against each other in a product passage defined by the bottom wall and the left and right side walls are locked by a product locking section provided between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall. This permits the products to be held in a laid state and in a position inclined in the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction. More specifically, for example, {circle around (1)} two products abutted against each other are housed in the product passage so as to cross each other by locking two products abutted against each other in such a manner that one of the two products is held in a positio
Nakayama Masaki
Yajima Hidekazu
Yasaka Yoshio
Hansen James O.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
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