This application is a national stage application of co-pending International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2018/106969 filed on Sep. 21, 2018, which claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201711471489.0, which was filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on Dec. 29, 2017, the disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The present disclosure relates to the field of vending machine, such as a bucket and a vending machine.
The Vending Machine (VEM) is a machine that can automatically deliver commodity according to the cash put in. The vending machine is an automated and common equipment not limited by time or place, and it can save manpower and facilitate transactions.
The vending machine in the related technology is subject to a low utilization ratio of internal space and a low commodity storage capacity.
The present disclosure provides a bucket with the ability to improve the utilization ratio of the internal space of the vending machine, to improve the commodity storage capacity.
The present disclosure further provides a vending machine using above mentioned bucket, with the ability to improve the utilization ratio of the internal space of the vending machine, to improve the commodity storage capacity.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides a bucket for vending machine, including a bucket body having an inner cavity; a power assembly arranged in the inner cavity of the bucket body, and configured to detachably mate with the power input member of a storage column of the vending machine, to provide power to the power input member; a driving assembly connected with the power assembly and configured to drive the power assembly to move reciprocatively in a width direction of the vending machine.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure further provides a vending machine including a plurality of storage columns and any one of the above-mentioned buckets; the bucket body is configured to be opposite to any one of the plurality of storage columns; the driving assembly of the bucket is configured to drive the power assembly to move reciprocatively in a width direction of the vending machine, so that the power assembly detachably mates with the power input member of the storage column that the bucket body is opposite to, to provide power to the power input member for outputting the commodity.
In the figure: 100-bucket; 110-bucket body; 111-inner cavity; 1111-mounting space; 1112-commodity accommodating space; 120-power assembly; 121-first gear; 122-second gear; 123-third gear; 124-second motor; 1241-output shaft 125-mounting part; 1252-horizontal plate; 1254-vertical plate; 126-swing rod; 127-rotating shaft 128-connection part; 1281-clamping plate; 130-driving assembly; 132-first motor; 133-linear transmission assembly; 134-driving belt; 136-driving wheel; 138-driven wheel; 140-guiding assembly; 142-guiding post; 150-support frame; 152-partition plate; 154-protective plate; 200-vending machine; 210-storage column; 212-power input member; 214-moving part; 2142-driving belt; 2144-push plate; 220-storage cabinet; 222-cabinet body; 224-cabinet door; 2242-pickup port; 300-commodity.
The following detailed descriptions of embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but merely represent some embodiments of the present disclosure.
In the description of the present disclosure, the terms indicating directions or position relationships are based on those on the drawings, and are used only for facilitating the description of the present disclosure and for simplifying description, not for indicating or implying that the target equipment or components must have a special direction and be structured and operated at the special direction, thereby they cannot be understood as the restrictions to the present disclosure. The vending machine includes a bucket and multiple storage columns. Each storage column is extended in the front-rear direction and is configured to store the commodities. The multiple storage columns are arranged in multiple rows and columns in the width direction and the height direction of the vending machine. Each storage column is configured with a moving part to deliver the commodity from the storage column. The bucket can move in the vending machine and can be butted with the preset storage columns, and it is configured to provide power to the moving parts inside the storage columns and receive the commodity falling from the storage columns. The bucket can carry the commodity to the pickup port of the vending machine for users to take them away.
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When the commodity 300 in the storage column 210 needs to be picked up, the power assembly 120 on the bucket 100 is to be connected with the power input member 212 on the storage column 210; generally, the bucket 100 is opposite to only one storage column 210; the bucket 100 is generally provided with large width and height to make the commodity 300 fall into the bucket 100. The above situation directly causes space waste of the cabinet 222, and the capacity of the cabinet 222 is relatively small. The bucket 100 in the embodiment is designed to improve the space utilization ratio and capacity of the cabinet 222.
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Since the driving assembly 130 can drive the power assembly 120 to move reciprocatively along the width direction of the vending machine, the bucket body 110 of the bucket 100 provided by the embodiment is configured to be opposite to the plurality of storage columns 210 simultaneously, the drive assembly 130 drives the power assembly 120 to move so that the power assembly 120 is detachably connected with the power input member 212 of any one of the plurality of storage columns 210, to provide power to the power input member 212 of the storage column 210 for outputting the commodity 300. Through the above design, the bucket 100 according to the embodiment can obtain the commodity 300 in any one of the plurality of storage columns 210. The use of the above-mentioned bucket 100 enables more storage columns 210 to be arranged in the vending machine, which improves the utilization ratio of the internal space of the vending machine and further increases the storage capacity of commodities 300 of the vending machine.
In an embodiment, the bucket 100 further includes a guiding assembly 140. The power assembly 120 is driven by the driving assembly 130 to move reciprocatively in the horizontal direction under the guidance of the guiding assembly 140. In this way, multiple storage columns 210 can be arranged in the rear of the bucket 100, and the power assembly 120 can move at the front end of any one of the plurality of storage columns 210, to provide power to the storage column. In other embodiments, the power assembly 120 is driven by the driving assembly 130 to move reciprocatively in the longitudinal direction under the guidance of the guiding assembly 140, and the “longitudinal direction” mentioned in the present disclosure is the height direction of the vending machine.
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Since the support frame 150 is configured, it is possible to prevent the commodity 300 falling into the bucket body 110 from hitting the power assembly 120, which protects the power assembly 120; in addition, the support frame 150 can also prevent consumers from being hurt by the power assembly 120.
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In an embodiment, the power assembly 120 includes a second motor 124, a mounting part 125, a swing rod 126, a first gear 121, a second gear 122 and a third gear 123.
The mounting part 125 includes a horizontal plate 1252 and a vertical plate 1254. The horizontal plate 1252 is fixedly connected with the partition plate 152 of the support frame 150 and is configured to support other components of the entire power assembly 120; the vertical plate 1254 is vertically connected with the upper surface of the horizontal plate 1252 and is arranged in parallel with the partition plate 152 at an interval.
The second motor 124 is fixedly connected to the mounting part 125 and is in transmission connection with the first gear 121. The first gear 121, the second gear 122 and the third gear 123 are located between the vertical plate 1254 and the partition plate 152. The first gear 121 is rotationally connected with the vertical plate 1254; the second gear 122 is rotationally connected with the swing rod 126 through a rotating shaft 127 in one direction; the rotating shaft 127 is also rotationally connected to the vertical plate 1254, and the third gear 123 is rotationally connected with the free end of the swing rod 126; the second gear 122 is engaged with the first gear 121 and the third gear 123 at the same time.
The free end of the swing rod 126 is connected with the mounting part 125 through an elastic member. The free end of the swing rod 126 is always subject a tendency to rotate towards the direction close to the storage columns 210 due to the elastic force of the elastic member, so that the swing rod 126 can drive the power input member 212 of the third gear 123 close to the storage columns 210 and can be connected with the power input member 212 without additional external force.
In the embodiment, the rotating shaft 127 is fixedly connected with the second gear 122 and connected to the swing rod 126 through a one-way bearing; the elastic member is a tension spring; the first end of the tension spring is connected with the free end of the swing rod 126, and the second end of the tension spring is connected with the mounting part 125. In an embodiment, the elastic member may also be a torsion spring.
When the second gear 122 rotates in the first preset direction, the rotating shaft 127 rotates relative to the swing rod 126 through the one-way bearing; the one-way bearing slips relative to the swing rod 126, and the swing rod 126 is not subject to the torque from the rotating shaft 127. At this time, the elastic member pulls the swing rod 126 to swing, so that the swing rod 126 drives the third gear 123 to move to the second position where the third gear 123 can just be connected with the power input member 212 (such as gear or spline) of the storage column 210.
When the second gear 122 rotates in a second preset direction opposite to the first preset direction, since the rotating shaft 127 is connected with the swing rod 126 through the one-way bearing, at this time, the one-way bearing is tightly clamping, and the rotating shaft 127 drives the swing rod 126 to rotate synchronously; the third gear 123 moves to the first position with the swing rod 126; at the first position, the third gear 123 is detached from the power input member 212 of the storage column 210. In an embodiment, the third gear 123 is retracted into the bucket body.
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In the embodiment, the driving belt 134 is a synchronous belt, and the driving wheel 136 and the driven wheel 138 are synchronous belt wheels. To facilitate the connection between the power assembly 120 and the driving belt 134, an additional connection part 128 is arranged on the power assembly 120. The connection part 128 includes two interconnected clamping plates 1281 that clamp the driving belt 134. In an embodiment, the two clamping plates 1281 are connected by bolts to facilitate assembling and adjust the clamping force.
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The above design enables the guiding post 142 not only provide guidance, but also support the power assembly 120, so that there is a certain clearance between the power assembly 120 and the inner wall of the bucket body 110 to make the movement of the power assembly 120 more smooth. In addition, the position of the guiding post 142 not only avoids the interference between the guiding post 142 and the commodity 300, but also makes the whole structure of the bucket 100 more stable.
The operating principles of the bucket 100 and the vending machine 200 according to the embodiment are as follows:
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The embodiment is only one of the embodiments of the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the guiding assembly 140 may not be provided, for example, the power assembly 120 is slidably connected with the inner wall of the bucket body 110.
In an embodiment, the linear transmission assembly 133 may also be provided with other structural types, for example, a gear-and- storage column structure may be used: the gear is installed on the power assembly 120, and the storage column extends horizontally; the gear is engaged with the storage column, and the first motor 132 drives the gear to rotate; in other embodiments, a screw-nut structure may be used: the nut is installed on the power assembly 120, the screw rod extends horizontally, the first motor drives the screw rod to rotate, the rotation of the nut around the screw rod is limited to make the nut motion axially along the screw rod, and the power assembly also move along the screw rod; in other embodiments, a cylinder structure may be used: the free end of the piston rod of the air cylinder is connected with the power assembly 120 and the air cylinder body is connected with the bucket body 110.
In an embodiment, the guiding assembly 140 may be a storage column, and the power assembly 120 is provided with a gear coupled with the storage column. When the gear rotates, the power assembly 120 moves along the storage column.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201711471489.0 | Dec 2017 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2018/106969 | 9/21/2018 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2019/128334 | 7/4/2019 | WO | A |
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International Search Report dated Dec. 29, 2018, in the International Application No. PCT/CN2018/106969. 4 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20200394866 A1 | Dec 2020 | US |