Patent Application
20220330717
The present invention relates to an article dispensing apparatus that dispenses a stored article.
Conventionally, an article dispensing apparatus called Gachapon (registered trademark) is known. As this type of article dispensing apparatus, JP 2007-025856 A discloses a capsule dispensing apparatus using a capsule containing goods as an article.
The apparatus of JP 2007-025856 A includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of capsules, and a dispensing unit that is provided below the storage unit and dispenses one capsule from the storage unit. The dispensing unit is provided with a rotary board that rotates when a user rotates a handle, and the rotary board is formed with a through hole in which one capsule is accommodated. The dispensing unit is provided with a chute hole located below the through hole, and a dispensing port communicating with the chute hole and serving as an outlet of the dispensing unit. Then, when the user operates the handle to rotate the rotary board, the capsule accommodated in the through hole moves together with the rotary board, and the capsule drops at a position where the through hole is located immediately above the chute hole, so that the user can take out the capsule from the dispensing port.
Meanwhile, in the conventional article dispensing apparatus, the number of articles that can be stored in the storage unit is limited. This is because, when a large number of articles are stored in the storage unit, a load is applied to each member constituting the dispensing unit due to the weight thereof, which may lead to failure. For example, in a case where capsules having a diameter of about 75 mm are used in a conventional article dispensing apparatus, the number of capsules to be stored in the storage unit is about 100 at the maximum, and there is a risk that a failure of the dispensing unit may occur when the capsules are to be stored any more.
On the other hand, when the number of articles that can be stored in the storage unit increases, the number of types of articles also increases accordingly, so that the appeal effect to the user can be enhanced. In addition, when the number of articles that can be stored in the storage unit increases, the frequency of replenishing the articles to the apparatus can be reduced, and thus the apparatus is excellent also in terms of maintainability.
In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to propose an article dispensing apparatus capable of effectively preventing a failure of the dispensing unit and storing a larger number of articles than before.
The present invention is an article dispensing apparatus including: a storage unit configured to store a plurality of articles; and a dispensing unit configured to be provided below the storage unit and dispense at least one article from the storage unit, wherein the storage unit includes a partition member extending obliquely downward from a one side end portion positioned on one side to an other side end portion positioned on the other side above the dispensing unit to support the articles, and configured to drop the articles from the other side end portion to the dispensing unit.
It is preferable that such an article dispensing apparatus includes a moving member configured to be movably attached to the partition member in a direction from the one side toward the other side, allow the articles to fall from the other side end portion to the dispensing unit when moved to the one side, and prevent the articles from falling from the other side end portion to the dispensing unit when moved to the other side.
Further, in such an article dispensing apparatus, it is preferable that the storage unit includes a rail provided inside an openable and closable door, and a dividing member slidably supported by the rail, and the rail has a notch portion to which the dividing member can be attached at an upper portion of the rail.
Preferably, the dividing member has an opening into which a bar-shaped member can be inserted, and the partition member has a receiving portion that supports the bar-shaped member in a state where the dividing member is slid upward and the bar-shaped member is inserted into the opening.
According to the article dispensing apparatus of the present invention, since the articles stored in the storage unit can be supported from below by the partition member positioned above the dispensing unit, the number of articles whose weight is directly applied to the dispensing unit can be reduced even when more articles are stored. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent a failure of the dispensing unit while storing a larger number of articles than before.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an article dispensing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, upper, lower, right, left, front and rear are directions illustrated in
The article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a right panel 2, a left panel 3, a rear panel 4, an upper panel 5, a lower panel 6, a front lower panel 7, and a door 8, and is generally formed in a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped shape. These panels are assembled by screws or the like, and are not removed in normal use. On the other hand, the door 8 is configured to be rotatable about a left side as a fulcrum as illustrated in the drawing. Note that the door 8 is normally closed, and is opened as illustrated in the drawing when the capsules C are replenished or the like. A transparent or translucent material (for example, glass or acrylic resin) is used for the whole or a part of the door 8, and the inside of the door 8 can be visually recognized.
Inside the panels and the door 8 described above, a storage unit 9 having a storage space S in which a plurality of capsules C are stored, and a dispensing unit 10 provided below the storage unit 9 and capable of dispensing one article from the storage unit 9 are provided.
First, the configuration of the storage unit 9 will be described. The storage unit 9 of the present embodiment includes a dividing member 11 having a plate shape, which is provided inside the door 8. The dividing member 11 is entirely or partially transparent or translucent, and in the present embodiment, the entire dividing member 11 is formed of an acrylic resin. The article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes three dividing members 11. As shown in
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the storage space S in which the capsules C are stored is a space defined by the right panel 2, the left panel 3, the rear panel 4, the upper panel 5, and the dividing member 11 above the dispensing unit 10.
Two plate-shaped partition members (a first partition member 13 and a second partition member 14) are provided in the storage space S. The first partition member 13 is provided above a hopper 18 described later. The first partition member 13 extends obliquely downward from a first front side end portion 13a located on the front side thereof to a first rear side end portion 13b located on the rear side thereof. The first front side end portion 13a is located at a position adjacent to the dividing member 11 second from the bottom. The first rear side end portion 13b is located slightly behind a center of the hopper 18 in the front-rear direction, and there is a gap between the first rear side end portion 13b and the rear panel 4. As shown in
A plate-shaped first moving member 16 which is mounted so as to be movable in a direction from the front side to the rear side along a lower surface of the first partition member 13 is provided below the first partition member 13. Although not illustrated, one of the first partition member 13 and the first moving member 16 is provided with a circular hole, and the other is provided with an elongated hole extending long in the front-rear direction. By using a fixing means such as a screw inserted into these holes, the first moving member 16 can be moved from a state of being hidden inside the first partition member 13 as shown in
The second partition member 14 is provided above the first partition member 13, and extends obliquely downward from a second rear side end portion 14b located on the rear side thereof to a second front side end portion 14a located on the front side thereof. The second rear side end portion 14b is located adjacent to the rear panel 4, the second front side end portion 14a is located slightly in front of a center of the hopper 18 in the front-rear direction, and there is a gap between the second front side end portion 14a and the dividing member 11. That is, the second rear side end portion 14b is provided at a position covering an upper side of the gap provided between the first rear side end portion 13b and the rear panel 4. A second right side bent portion (not illustrated in
Further, a plate-shaped second moving member 17 which is mounted so as to be movable in a direction from the rear side toward the front side along a lower surface of the second partition member 14 is provided below the second partition member 14. The second partition member 14 and the second moving member 17 are also provided with circular or long holes like the first partition member 13 and the first moving member 16. By using a fixing means such as a screw inserted into these holes, the second moving member 17 can be moved from a state of being hidden inside the second partition member 14 (See
Next, a configuration of the dispensing unit 10 will be described. The dispensing unit 10 of the present embodiment includes a hopper 18 located below the storage space S. The hopper 18 of the present embodiment includes a hopper upper portion 18a whose diameter decreases from an upper side to a lower side thereof, and a hopper lower portion 18b having a bottomed cylindrical shape. On an inner side of the hopper lower portion 18b, a rotary board 19 having a disk shape and rotated by a motor (not illustrated) is provided. The motor is configured to be driven by a user pressing a button 20 illustrated in
The rotary board 19 is provided with a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) through holes 19a at intervals in a circumferential direction, each accommodating one capsule C. Note that one chute hole 18c through which the capsule C can pass is provided at the bottom of the hopper lower portion 18b, and when the rotary board 19 rotates, one capsule C accommodated in the through holes 19a falls from the chute hole 18c.
Below the chute hole 18c, a chute portion 21 having a hollow shape and extending obliquely from the rear side to the front side is provided. A box 22 having a box shape and connected to the chute portion 21 is provided below the chute portion 21. As a result, the capsule C dropped from the chute hole 18c moves to the box 22. As illustrated in
In such an article dispensing apparatus 1, since the entire or a part of the door 8 is transparent or translucent and the dividing member 11 is also transparent or translucent, a user can visually recognize the capsules C stored in the storage space S from the outside. As will be described later, the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can store a larger number of capsules C in the storage space S than before, and thus can present various capsules C to a user, and thus has a higher appeal effect than before. The first partition member 13 is provided above the hopper 18, and the capsules C are supported by the first partition member 13 from below, so that the number of capsules C that applies weight directly to the rotary board 19 can be reduced. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the second partition member 14 provided above the first partition member 13 is provided at a position covering the upper side of the gap provided between the first rear side end portion 13b and the rear panel 4, the number of capsules C that applies weight directly to the rotary board 19 from the gap is also reduced. Therefore, even when a large number of capsules C are stored in the storage space S, it is possible to effectively prevent failure of the rotary board 19. As a result of checking by the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, about 350 capsules C having a diameter of about 75 mm can be stored in the storage space S, and even in this state, it is possible to effectively prevent failure of the rotary board 19.
Since the first partition member 13 extends obliquely downward from the first front side end portion 13a to the first rear side end portion 13b, the capsules C positioned between the first partition member 13 and the second partition member 14 move toward the gap provided between the first rear side end portion 13b and the rear panel 4 by their own weight. Since the second partition member 14 extends obliquely downward from the second rear side end portion 14b to the second front side end portion 14a, the capsules C positioned above the second partition member 14 move toward the gap provided between the second front side end portion 14a and the dividing member 11 by their own weight. That is, since the capsules C in the storage space S smoothly move toward the hopper 18 under one continuous flow in which the capsules C move from the rear side to the front side above the second partition member 14 and then move from the front side to the rear side above the first partition member 13, it is possible to effectively suppress a problem such as clogging of the capsules C in the middle.
Incidentally, there is a conventional article dispensing apparatus that opens an upper panel when replenishing articles to a storage unit, but when the storage unit is enlarged so as to be able to store a large number of capsules C, the height of the article dispensing apparatus increases, and workability when opening the upper panel deteriorates. On the other hand, the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is excellent in workability because the capsules C can be replenished by opening the door 8 provided on the front side.
In addition, even if the door 8 is opened in a state where a relatively large number of capsules C remain in the storage space S, the capsules C do not roll down to the outside of the article dispensing apparatus 1 by the dividing member 11. That is, according to the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is also possible to frequently replenish the capsules C. Note that the dividing member 11 may remain attached when the capsules C are replenished, but it is easy to replenish the capsules C by removing the dividing member, and damage to the capsules C can be prevented. That is, when the capsules C are replenished while the dividing member 11 is attached in a state where the remaining amount of the capsules C is small, the capsules C to be replenished is dropped from a high position, and thus the capsules C may be damaged. On the other hand, in the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the three dividing members 11 can be detached from the rail 12, and the capsules C can be replenished with almost no fall of the capsules C by detaching the three dividing members according to the remaining amount of the capsules C, so that the damage of the capsules C can be prevented. The dividing member 11 is provided with the handle portion 11a, and the handle portion 11a can be gripped with fingers and lifted as it is, so that the dividing member can be easily removed from the rail 12. It should be noted that the dividing member 11 also can be easily lifted up by placing a finger on the opening 11b provided in the dividing member 11.
By the way, in this type of article dispensing apparatus, capsules may be clogged in the hopper. In order to eliminate the clogging in such a case, it is necessary to expose the hopper provided below the storage space and take out the clogged capsules, and for this purpose, it is necessary to take out almost all the capsules in the storage space. When the number of capsules to be stored increases, the work becomes more complicated and a heavy burden is imposed.
On the other hand, according to the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to greatly reduce the number of capsules C to be taken out from the storage space S. That is, when it is necessary to expose the hopper 18, the two dividing members 11 are slid upward in a state where one dividing member 11 is taken out as illustrated in
Premiums to be put in the capsules C may be of any kind such as toys, confectionery, clothes, and small electric appliances, but it is not possible to put such a large gift. In addition, if expensive premiums are put in the capsules C, there is a concern in terms of security. Therefore, small cards may be inserted into the capsules C, and goods may be provided in exchange for the cards at a counter of a store where the article dispensing apparatus 1 is installed. In addition, the cards 25 on which premium exchange access information 24 such as a two-dimensional code as illustrated in
A system 26 used in providing the premiums in the present embodiment includes a user terminal device 27, an administrator terminal device 28, the article dispensing apparatus 1 described above, and a communication network N.
The user terminal device 27, the administrator terminal device 28, and the article dispensing apparatus 1 can mutually transmit and receive information via the communication network N. The user terminal device 27 and the administrator terminal device 28 may be, for example, portable terminal devices such as a smartphone and a tablet terminal, or may be desktop type or server type stationary terminal devices. In the present embodiment, the user terminal device 27 is a portable terminal device, and the administrator terminal device 28 is a stationary terminal device. Here, the user terminal device 27 includes an input unit such as a camera for reading the premium exchange access information 24 and a touch panel for inputting various types of information. The touch panel also has a function for displaying websites and the like. The user terminal device 27 is also provided with a storage means such as a semiconductor memory that stores a program and the like, and a control means such as a CPU that controls the operation of the user terminal device 27 by reading and executing the program. In addition, the administrator terminal device 28 is provided with an input means such as a keyboard and a mouse, an output means such as an LCD and an organic EL display, a storage means such as a semiconductor memory that stores various kinds of information related to a user in addition to a program related to the administrator terminal device 28 and data of a website, and a control means such as a CPU that controls the operation of the administrator terminal device 28 by reading and executing the program.
In addition, the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a display device 29 (for example, an LCD, an organic EL display, or the like) capable of displaying characters, images, and the like. Further, the article dispensing apparatus 1 displays premium introduction information 30 such as a two-dimensional code. Note that the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can mutually transmit and receive information to and from the administrator terminal device 28 via the communication network N, and is configured to store the received information.
The communication network N is, for example, a WAN, the Internet, or the like in addition to a LAN using a dedicated line, a mobile communication network, a communication satellite network, a telephone line, a CATV line, or the like.
Hereinafter, a method of providing a premium by such a system 26 will be described. It is assumed that a card 25 related to winning of the A prize as illustrated in
Then, when the user selects, for example, the goods ab as a desired premium on the touch panel, the user terminal device 27 transmits information thereof to the administrator terminal device 28 via the communication network N. On the other hand, the administrator terminal device 28 transmits, to the user terminal device 27, information regarding a website for inputting an address, a name, an e-mail address, and the like of the user who is a shipping address of the goods ab. As a result, a website as illustrated in
Then, when the user inputs user information such as an address as a shipping address of the goods ab, a name of the user, and an e-mail address using the touch panel, the user terminal device 27 transmits the user information to the administrator terminal device 28 via the communication network N. As a result, the storage means of the administrator terminal device 28 stores the user information for shipping the goods ab.
Thereafter, an administrator operates the administrator terminal device 28 to refer to the user information and ship the goods ab. In this manner, the user can receive the desired goods ab.
Meanwhile, in the capsules C of the article dispensing apparatus 1, winning cards of other prizes such as the B prize and the C prize . . . are stored in addition to the card 25 related to the winning of the A prize. The system 26 according to the present embodiment also has a function of presenting goods information related to these prizes to a user.
First, a method of presenting goods information related to the A prize, the B prize, the C prize, . . . to the user terminal device 27 will be described. When a user reads the premium introduction information 30 such as a two-dimensional code illustrated in
The goods information related to the A prize, the B prize, and the C prize . . . can also be displayed on the display device 29 of the article dispensing apparatus 1 illustrated in
As described above, according to the system 26 of the present embodiment, since the goods obtained from the capsule C stored in the article dispensing apparatus 1 can be displayed on the user terminal device 27 or the display device 29, the appeal effect to a user can be enhanced.
The system 26 of the present embodiment also has a function of giving a right to participate in a predetermined event (for example, a lottery) to a user who has won the A prize or the like. As described above, the user information such as an address, a name, and an e-mail address of a user who has won the A prize or the like is stored in the storage means of the administrator terminal device 28. Therefore, when an event is held, a permit or the like to participate in the event can be sent to a user who has won the A prize or the like. Note that, for example, if goods more expensive than the A prize or the like are provided to an event winner, a user of the article dispensing apparatus 1 can have expectations, and thus the appeal effect can be further enhanced. In addition, by storing the goods information regarding the goods obtained in the event in the storage means of the administrator terminal device 28, it is possible to display the goods information on the user terminal device 27 or the display device 29 as described above, and thus, it is possible to further enhance the appeal effect.
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been explained above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims unless otherwise limited in the above-described explanation. In addition, the effects of the above embodiment are merely examples of the effects caused by the present invention, and do not mean that effects of the present invention are limited to the above effects.
For example, in the present embodiment, two partition members (the first partition member 13 and the second partition member 14) are provided, but one partition member or three or more partition members may be provided. The first partition member 13 and the second partition member 14 are inclined downward from the front side to the rear side (or inclined downward from the rear side to the front side) in the above-described embodiment, but may be inclined downward from the left side to the right side (or inclined downward from the right side to the left side). When a plurality of partition members is provided, as in the above-described embodiment, it is preferable that the direction of inclination of the partition members located immediately above one partition member is reversed with respect to the one partition member.
In addition, the receiving portion 13d is a circular hole provided in the first front bent portion 13c as illustrated in
In the article dispensing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the premium introduction information 30 is displayed below the door 8 of the article dispensing apparatus 1, but the premium introduction information 30 may be displayed on the display device 29. Further, when the display device 29 is caused to function, the article dispensing apparatus 1 is not limited to one connected to the communication network N. For example, an external storage device may be connected to the article dispensing apparatus 1, and the goods information may be displayed on the display device 29 on the basis of the information stored in the external storage device.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-068162 | Apr 2021 | JP | national |
