Patent Application
20140175958
1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to vending machines, and particularly to a vending machine having a rotatable door.
2. Description of Related Art
A vending machine includes a rack for holding goods and a door rotatably attached to the rack by a hinge. The door may be made of metal and has a large thickness for prevention of burglary. However, when the door is closed, the door may hit the rack and damage the rack. Furthermore, a side of the door away from the hinge may drop down after a while. Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean “at least one.”
The door 30 includes a door panel 31, a bracket 33, and a supporting member 35. The door panel 31 includes a bottom surface 311. An opening 3112 and four mounting holes 3114 are defined in the bottom surface 311. The opening 3112 is substantially rectangular. A cross section of the bracket 33 is substantially U-shaped. A receiving space is defined in the bracket 33 to receive the supporting member 35. The bracket 33 includes two substantially parallel mounting walls 332. A mounting board 334 extends from each of the two mounting walls 332. The mounting boards 334 are substantially coplanar and are substantially perpendicular to the two mounting walls 332. A pivot hole 3322 is defined in a junction of each of the two mounting walls 332 and the mounting boards 334. The supporting member 35 includes a pivot shaft 351 and a substantially round supporting portion 353. The supporting portion 353 is rotatable relative to the pivot shaft 351. The supporting portion 353 is resiliently compressed when the supporting portion 353 abuts the supporting board 15. The supporting portion 353 can be made of rubber or plastic, for example.
In assembly, the supporting board 15 is mounted to the bottom plate 13. The supporting member 35 is rotatably mounted to the bracket 33, such that the pivot shaft 351 is received in the pivot holes 3322. The bracket 33 is mounted to the door 30, such that a portion of the supporting portion 353 protrudes out of the bottom surface 311 through the opening 3112. The pivot shaft 351 is substantially parallel to the bottom surface 311.
In use, when the door 30 is closed, the supporting member 35 abuts the supporting board 15. The supporting member 35 partially supports a weight of the door 30 and slows down a rotating speed of the door 30 to prevent the door 30 from hitting the rack 10 when the door 30 is closed.
In another embodiment, the supporting member is spherical.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description of embodiments, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only and changes may be made in detail, especially in the matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012105608813 | Dec 2012 | CN | national |
