JPH09245245A - Drainage bucket for cup-type beverage vending machines - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drainage bucket mounted on a cup type beverage vending machine, and more particularly to a handle mechanism provided on the drainage bucket.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, FIG. 2 shows a cup type beverage vending machine to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, 1 is a main body case of an automatic vending machine, 2 is a front door, 3 is a bend stage with an opening / closing door provided on the front door, 4 is a cup transport mechanism inside the machine, and a beverage prepared in the machine is sold at the time of sale. Then, the hand 4a of the cup transport mechanism 4 grips the cup 5 and sends it to the bend stage 3.

By the way, if the customer leaves the beverage-filled cup 5 delivered to the bend stage 3 at the time of sale without leaving it, the cup 5 left behind on the bend stage 3 becomes an obstacle for the next selling operation. Become. Therefore, when the cup 5 remains on the bend stage 3 even after a predetermined time has passed after the end of the sale, the cup transport mechanism 4 accesses the bend stage 3 to remove the cup 5 remaining on the bend stage inside the machine. After being collected, it is thrown into the drainage bucket 6 that has been set inside the machine in advance. Reference numeral 7 is a guide shooter for dropping the cup, which is provided above the drain bucket 6.

Next, a conventional structure of the above-mentioned drainage bucket 6 is shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). That is, in the center of the upper surface of the drainage bucket 6, a foldable handle 9 is provided so as to straddle between the pair of left and right attachment fittings 8. Here, the mounting metal fitting 8 is a U-shaped metal fitting mounted on the left and right side walls of the bucket 6, and has a shaft hole formed on the rear side of the center side thereof, and a handle 9 made of a metal rod is attached to this shaft hole. Hook portions 9a, which are formed to be bent at both ends, are inserted and are supported so as to be inclinable and retractable. With such a configuration, when the handle 9 is tilted to the front side (in the direction of arrow P), the handle 9 is folded in an inverted posture, and conversely, when the handle 9 is pulled out from the inverted position to stand up, the tip cut end of the hook portion 9a is attached to the mounting metal 8 The handle 9 contacts the rear wall and is held in a standing posture in which the handle 9 is slightly tilted backward.

[0005]

By the way, when the drain bucket 6 is set in the machine as shown in FIG. 2, the handle 9 is kept in an upright posture without being tilted to the front of the vending machine. When the sales are resumed, the following problems occur. That is, after the cup transport mechanism 4 is pulled out so as to collect the beverage-containing cup 5 left on the bend stage 3 at the time of sale, the hand 7 is placed directly above the shooter 7.
When you open the cup and drop the cup 5 downward, the cup 5 collides with the handle 9 that is standing up in the middle of the fall and jumps out of the drain bucket 6 and the drink in the cup spills into the machine. It causes troubles such as polluting the surrounding area.

Therefore, in order to avoid such a trouble that the cup pops out, it is necessary for the worker to fold the handle 9 forward and fold it in the inverted posture when setting the drainage bucket 6 in the machine. However, if the operator relies on manpower, he / she may forget to bring down the handle 9 of the drainage bucket 6 to the front side, so that some measure is required. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to solve the problems described above, and when carrying a drainage bucket into a machine and setting it, when the hand is released while the handle is in an upright posture. An object of the present invention is to provide a drainage bucket for a cup-type beverage vending machine, which is provided with means for automatically pushing down the handle and folding it in an inverted posture.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the drainage bucket of the present invention, a spring-biased handle defeating means for kicking out a handle in an upright position so as to fold it toward the inverted position. Specifically, the handle tilting means is constituted by a leaf spring that is attached to the mounting bracket and pushes and biases the handle in the upright posture from the back in the tilting direction.

Further, even if a force is applied in a direction in which the leaf spring is bent (the direction opposite to the arrow P in the drawing) with the handle in the upright posture, the leaf spring is excessively bent and the spring function is deteriorated. In order to prevent this, it is preferable that this leaf spring is provided on one of the left and right attachment fittings, and the other attachment fitting regulates the rising angle of the handle to limit the bending margin of the leaf spring.

With the above construction, when the handle of the drainage bucket is pulled out to the upright posture, the leaf spring pushed by the handle is bent to store the spring force. Therefore, if you hold the handle in your hand and carry the drainage bucket into the machine and set it, and then release the handle without tilting the handle forward, the stored spring force of the leaf spring will tilt the handle forward. Kick out from behind. As a result, the handle will automatically be folded in the inverted position, so the cup stands up while dropping the beverage-filled cup collected from the bend stage into the drain bucket as described above. You can avoid the trouble of hitting the handle and jumping out of the bucket.

Further, by restricting the turning range of the handle, that is, the bending margin of the leaf spring with the attachment fitting, it is possible to protect the leaf spring from being excessively pushed in the compression direction.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
A description will be given based on (a) to (d). In the drawings of the embodiment, the same members corresponding to FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the handle mechanism of the illustrated embodiment is basically as shown in FIG.
Same as the above, but as a means for forcibly pushing down the handle 9 standing upright, a pair of left and right mounting brackets 8
A leaf spring 10 that pushes out the handle 9 in the upright posture in the direction of arrow P is attached to the left attachment metal fitting 8L of L and 8R. This leaf spring 10 is made by sheet metal working into a shape as shown in FIG. 1 (d), and its tip 10a is projected into the inside of the U-shaped fitting 8L so that the hook 9a of the handle 9 can be hit from behind. Attaching base 1 by pressing
0b is fastened together with the fitting 8L to the side wall of the drain bucket 6.

A dimensional difference A is set between the rear wall 8a of the right mounting member 8R and the rear wall of the left mounting member 8L. The rear wall 8a serves as a stopper to increase the standing angle of the handle 9. Regulated. Thereby, even if the handle 9 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow P and the leaf spring 10 is pushed in the compression direction,
Before the leaf spring 10 is excessively bent, the handle 9 hits the rear wall 8a and is prevented from further movement, so that the leaf spring 10 can be prevented from being excessively bent and the spring function being deteriorated. As described above, the dimensional difference A between the rear wall 8a of the right mounting bracket 8R and the rear wall of the left mounting bracket 8L.
Instead of setting, the same effect can be obtained by slightly twisting the hook portion 9a of the handle 9 engaged with the mounting bracket 8R on the right side rearward.

In such a structure, when the handle 9 is placed on the handle 9 to stand upright, the leaf spring 10 bends to store the spring force. Then, when the drain bucket 6 is carried into the vending machine, set and then released from the handle 9, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the handle 9 that has been erected by the spring force F of the leaf spring 10 is kicked out in the direction of arrow P. As a result, the handle 9 is forcibly pushed forward and folded in the inverted posture.

Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 2, with the handle 9 of the drainage bucket 6 set inside the machine standing upright, the beverage-containing cup 5 to be dropped from the cup transport mechanism 4 and collected in the drainage bucket 6 is falling. Thus, it is possible to avoid troubles such as collision with the handle 9 and jumping out of the bucket.

[0015]

As described above, according to the structure of the present invention, by providing the spring-biased handle defeating means for depressing the handle of the drainage bucket from the upright position to the inverted position,
Grab the handle and carry the drain bucket into the vending machine.
When the handle is released after being set, the handle is biased by the leaf spring and pushed forward from the standing posture to be folded into the inverted posture. As a result, in the middle of dropping when collecting the beverage-filled cup left on the bend stage of the vending machine inside the machine and dumping it in the drainage bucket, the cup collides with the raised handle and jumps out of the bucket, Trouble can be avoided by saying that the beverage spills and pollutes the inside of the machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are configuration diagrams of a drainage bucket according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a top view of the drainage bucket, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a handle mechanism, and FIG.
(D) Outline drawing of leaf spring

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a cup-type beverage vending machine provided with a drainage bucket which is an object of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional drain bucket,
(A) is an external perspective view of the entire drainage bucket, and (b) is a perspective view of a handle mechanism provided in the bucket.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Drain buckets 8L, 8R Mounting brackets for handles 9 Handles 10 Leaf springs (handle pulling means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drainage bucket which is set in a cup-type beverage vending machine, collects and discards a beverage-containing cup left on the bend stage after sale inside the machine, at the center of the upper surface of the bucket. In a drainage bucket for a cup-type beverage vending machine equipped with a foldable handle that is hung between a pair of left and right mounting brackets, a spring that kicks out the handle that is standing upright to fold it upside down. A drainage bucket for a cup-type beverage vending machine, which is equipped with an urging type handle pulling means. 2. The cup-type beverage according to claim 1, wherein the handle tilting means is a leaf spring which is attached to a mounting member and pushes and biases the handle in an upright posture from the back in the tilting direction. Drainage bucket for vending machines. 3. The drain bucket according to claim 2, wherein a leaf spring is provided on one of the left and right mounting brackets, and the other mounting bracket restricts the rising angle of the handle to limit the bending margin of the leaf spring. A drainage bucket for a cup-type beverage vending machine characterized by the above.