EP0012719A1 - Automatic vending device - Google Patents

Abstract

In the case of a newspaper self-seller, the newspapers are placed horizontally on a support table (13). With a chain block and tackle (14) with a tension spring (18) on the bottle (142), the support table experiences a force that pushes it upwards. A scanner (19) on a rotary arm (192) with a pin (194) engages in the chain wheel (141) of the chain block and tackle by raising the support table (13), and the table is blocked at this height. By actuating a handle, the top newspaper is rotated out of the output slot by a gripper pawl in a circle around the support point of the scanner as a fulcrum and can be gripped and pulled out completely. The result of this is that the entire pressure of the adjusting spring (18) does not press on the dispensing device, but rather the pressure is constantly concentrated at one point, the pressure also being comparatively low.

Description

According to the preamble of the independent claim, the present invention relates to a self-seller arrangement for the sale of newspapers or magazines.

Such arrangements, which are also referred to with the terms device for dispensing newspapers, newspaper vending machine or newspaper dispenser, have long been known. The fact, however, that this type of self seller is not going to Dispensing of drinks or other everyday objects to a high degree of perfection, which could not be enforced, suggests that either handling, operational safety, or both together do not sufficiently meet customer or seller wishes.

An obvious difficulty in the automatic sale of newspapers, magazines, brochures, catalogs or other folded paper objects, such as carrier bags and the like, is that these sales items have relatively large dimensions compared to the material thickness. For example, as is well known, newspapers of a common format 47 x 33 cm are folded once in height when they go on sale. The nature of the thin paper means that the individual sheets can be easily shifted against each other. Therefore, if such a large-sized package of paper can only be moved by an automatic machine to such an extent that an area that is sufficient for grasping can be seen from the housing, pressure is required on the one hand so that the package of loose sheets can be moved as a unit and on the other hand should but there is as little friction as possible between the rest of the stack and the newspaper to be delivered, so that the subsequent copy cannot suffer damage as a result.

According to DE-OS 20 34 661 it has become known to hold the newspapers stacked in a housing on a plate pressed up with springs at a rear part removed from an output slot in the housing with a braking element and with a lever set in rotation in rotation, arranged near the output slot, stationary roller to push the top newspaper through the slot. The roller is equipped with needle tips and extends across the entire width of the newspaper. An obvious disadvantage is that the roller must also act as a counterforce for the springs to push the plate up, so that the newspaper is crushed and the newspaper is opened when it is folded, rather than being pushed out of the slot as a whole.

This disadvantage is remedied according to DE-OS 25 03 596 by not only pressing the plate on which the stack of newspapers rests resiliently, but also that the output device is displaceable such that the plate, the support for the Output device and the stack are resiliently balanced, so that the newspaper on top is kept practically at a constant level. Means are also available to access the top newspaper when it is issued. In addition, stop rails are also provided, against which the stack is pressed by the springs. This eliminates the disadvantage that the output rollers have to form the counter pressure for the springs. However, the configuration of the dispenser that is needed is expensive when considering the various movements that have to be carried out by just a short straight movement of a handle.

If previously the newspapers lie on a horizontal plate and are pushed out in the horizontal direction, it has also become known, as shown in DE-OS 25 53 309, to stack the newspapers vertically. With a resilient back plate and a pressure arm, the newspapers standing behind a bar are pressed against a pressure plate, which thereby bend. When a handle is actuated, a first element provided with gripper needles is moved upward, so that the newspaper is lifted above the bar and can stretch due to gravity. The newspaper thus stands above the dispensing slot and is conveyed into the dispensing slot with a downward movement of a second element also provided with gripper needles. On the one hand, this does not ensure that only one newspaper is raised above the bar, which incidentally is arranged at a fixed distance from the pressure plate. On the other hand, it is known that in opposite movements with rocking gripper elements it is not always ensured that the gripper element is safely released. If this is not the case, at least one sheet of the newspaper is torn.

The object of the invention is now a simply built self-seller for newspapers or the like, in which it is ensured that a newspaper is published each time the lever is operated, but only if the correct amount has been paid. The gripper elements should perform a movement pushing the newspaper and for this purpose the newspapers should lie on one another without pressure and nevertheless always be adjusted in height, so that a newspaper can be moved with a gripper element without great force.

According to the invention, this is achieved by an arrangement according to the features in the independent claim.

• Fig. 1 einen Grundriss auf einen Selbstverkäufer nach der Erfindung bei entfernter Deckplatte des Gehäuses,
• Fig. 2 einen Seitenriss des Selbstverkäufers von rechts in Fig. 1 bei entfernter rechter Seitenwand betrachtet, und
• Fig. 3 einen Seitenriss gemäss Fig. 2 jedoch von links in Fig. 1 bei entfernter linker Seitenwand betrachtet.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained below. The drawing shows:

• 1 is a plan view of a self-seller according to the invention with the cover plate of the housing removed,
• Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the self-seller viewed from the right in Fig. 1 with the right side wall removed, and
• 3 is a side elevation according to FIG. 2, but viewed from the left in FIG. 1 with the left side wall removed.

The housing 1 of the self-seller consists of a floor, rear wall, two side walls and a top wall. A front plate 10 is attached to the base plate of a hinge 116 and, together with a flange projecting downward from the top wall, forms a removal slot 11 for newspapers or the like. In the front panel 10 are all controls for the operation and maintenance of the self-seller, such as the slots 110, 111 and 112 for inserting money, namely for tens, twenties and fifties, of course, other slots for larger pieces of money or these for other units could be measured. A return button and the associated return tray 115, a locking lock 114 and an empty display 117 are also located in the front panel 10. A handle 34 with a lever arm extends through a vertical slot in the front panel in a known manner.

For the support of the newspapers, a support table 13 is arranged such that it can be displaced in height by means of rails 133 and slides 132, which are arranged on the right and left of the table 13. The two slides 132 are connected to one another by a table support 131. The rails 133 are angled flanges of a mounting plate 134 on which all devices relating to the output of the newspaper itself are mounted.

The support table 13 is suspended from pulleys 14, which are also arranged on both sides. The hoists designed as chain block hoists each consist of a deflection chain roller 141 rotatably mounted on a fixed pivot bearing 144, a bottle with a bottle chain roller 142 and one Chain which is fastened on the one hand to the slide 132 of the table 13 and on the other hand at a fixed point on the top of the mounting plate 134. The two bottles with the bottle chain rollers 142 are pulled down with a tension spring 18. The two tension springs 18 must apply such a force together so that the support table 13 fully loaded with newspapers is safely raised. So that the table does not have to be pressed down when the newspapers are filled in, the tension springs 18 are each fastened to a rotatably mounted angle lever 161, which is also articulated to the front plate 10 with an articulated pull lever 162. Thus, if the front plate 10 is folded down about the hinge 116 as a pivot point in the counterclockwise direction, the angle levers 161 rotate about the pivot bearings 165 fixed to the housing and the springs 18 are tensioned, so that the support table 13 due to its own weight increases twice the height of the Base points of the springs 18 is lowered. By closing the front plate 10, the springs 18 can be tensioned and thus the support table 13 can be raised to the correct height.

This correct height is set by means of a scanner 19, with a scanner arm 192 mounted on a rotary bearing 191 on the mounting plate 134, a scanner sensor 193 attached to the free end thereof and a scanner pin 194 arranged at a point on the scanner arm 192 close to the deflection chain roller 141 Intervention in the payment of one of the two guide rollers 141. By the fixed bearings of the two guide chain rollers 141 is a continuous axis 144, as can be seen in FIG. 1, both pulley blocks 14 can be stopped in the same way by means of the scanner pin 194. The scanner sensor 193, as can also be seen from FIG. 1, is arranged above the left front corner of the support table 13. If the support table 13 is now lifted up by the pulley blocks with or without newspapers placed on it, the pulley blocks 14 can only act with the scanner 19 described until the scanner sensor 193 is raised and thus the scanner pin 194 also comes into engagement with the deflection chain roller 141. Thus, the springs 18 only come into effect as long as the support table is in motion, after which the springs 18 no longer have any effect. They can therefore be measured according to the force you require to lift a fully loaded table, without affecting the output of a newspaper sold.

1 and 2 show the structure of the gripper 33. The gripper 33 with a gripper arm 333 and a gripper pawl 331 can be pivoted in height about a horizontal axis. This axis is formed by a pivot arm 32, one end 326 of which is located on the left in FIG. 1, is articulated on a vertical axis of rotation 321, so that the pivot lever 32 can be pivoted horizontally about this point. This vertical axis of rotation is attached to the mounting plate 134. The free end 322, on the right in FIG. 1, forms a swivel joint for the actuating arm 323, which is integrally connected to the lever arm 325 carrying the handle 34 and is pivotable about a horizontal axis of rotation 324 in a vertical plane.

Thus, when the handle 34 is operated, i.e. is moved downward, the end 322 of the pivot lever 32 describes an arc around the axis of rotation 324 as the center. As a result, the gripper 33 is also moved and this describes an arc around the vertical axis of rotation 321 as the center of the circle.

The gripper arm 333 rests on a gripper support 164 which is articulated by means of a gripper support 163 on the angle lever 161 on the right-hand side in FIG. 1, thus on the side shown in FIG. 2. By means of a bolt 165 laterally in the mounting plate 134 and with an elongated hole 166 in the gripper support 163, the latter is guided such that when the front plate 10 is opened due to the pivoting of the angle lever 161, the gripper support 163 and thus the gripper support 164 is moved upward, as a result of which the gripper arm 333 is moved upward about the pivot lever 32 as the axis of rotation. This movement has the purpose of moving the gripper 33, in particular the gripper pawl 331 with the gripper needles 332 out of the space for the newspapers and into a protected zone below the top wall, so that on the one hand the gripper pawl 331 cannot be damaged when loading the support table and on the other hand, no risk of injury to the operator.

The gripper 33 also includes an electromagnet 338 for triggering the gripper pawl 331 when the correct sales price has been paid. The armature of the electromagnet 338 is connected to a release rod 339 which is guided by means of a support 340. A spring 334 pulls the trigger rod 339 against the gripper pawl 331, which is mounted in the gripper arm 333 so that it can be pivoted in height by means of a horizontal axis 335. On the side facing away from the hook needles 332, the hook pawl 331 has a return spring 336 and a catch bracket 337.

In the rest position, the release rod 339 lies on the catch bracket 337 and holds the gripper pawl 331 in a horizontal to slightly upward position. If the electromagnet 338 is actuated, it pulls the release rod 339 back and the gripper pawl 331 rotates counterclockwise under the force of gravity, so that the gripper needles hit the newspaper lying on top. Above the catch bracket 337 there is the return spring 336 which, when the gripper arm 333 is rotated into the extended position, by a ramp plate 101 on the housing, which e.g. the upper lip of the discharge slot is -11, is pressed down until the release rod 339 engages with the catch bracket 337.

The handle 34 is reset by means of a return spring 328, the base of which is located on the housing. A rocker arm 329 is attached to the lever arm 325 and forms an actuating rod for the cashier station 15. Thus, if the hand handle 34 is moved down, the rocker arm 329 also tilts and actuates the money in the cashier station 15.

The way this self-seller works is very simple. For filling, the front plate 10 is pivoted downwards about the hinge 116. This raises the base of the springs 18 for lifting the support table 13 and the table 13 is lowered. At the same time, the gripper 33 is also lifted up by the gripper support 163, so that the receiving space is free for the newspapers. By lifting the money return tray 129, the cash register in the cashier station 15 is accessible and can be exchanged for an empty cash register. After the newspapers have also been placed on the table 13, the front plate 10 is pivoted up and closed. The self-seller is now ready for operation.

When a customer has inserted the necessary amount of money using the intended pieces of money, the pieces of money being checked, for example, by calibration, they close a current path and thus generate an impulse. This pulse is evaluated in an electronic counting device (not shown) and when the intended amount has been recognized, the magnet 339 in the gripper 33 is excited with an electrical pulse and the gripper pawl 331 falls on the top newspaper with its gripper needles 332. With the return button 113 a reset signal for the electronic count device are generated. If the handle 34 is now actuated, the gripper arm 333 is rotated about its pivot point 326 at the end of the pivoting lever 32 and the gripper needles 332 also push the newspaper out of the output slot 11 in a circular arc with the center at the scanner sensor 193. There a corner of the appears Newspaper that can be gripped and the newspaper can then be pulled out. The gripper arm then goes back. The gripper pawl moves under the ramp 101 with the return spring 336 and this returns the gripper pawl to the starting position. Since the scanner arm 192 falls down due to the missing newspaper, the scanner pin 194 releases the sprocket 141 and the newspaper stack is raised by the force of the spring 18 up to the scanner sensor 193, which now lifts the scanner arm 192 and thus also the scanner pin 194 into it Sprocket 141 can engage, whereby the spring force can no longer act. By pressing the newspaper only at one point, namely at the scanner sensor 193, there is thus an ideal fulcrum for the rotary movement of the newspaper when the gripper 33 executes the circular arc-shaped delivery movement.

2, a device for indicating whether newspapers are still present or not can be provided. In the simplest case, this can be a drop flap, which can be labeled EMPTY on a display leg 117 and would be rotatably attached to a support 118 on the front plate 10. A scanning leg 119 would then rest on the fold of the newspaper such that, if the last newspaper had been removed, the scanning leg 119 would fall down and the word EMPTY appears in a display field in the front plate 10.

Claims (6)

1. Self-seller arrangement for the sale of newspapers or magazines, with a housing which has a dispensing slot at the top of its front side, further equipped with a checkout device and with a dispensing device, the checkout device, a coin validator, a cash return and cash acceptance device and a triggering device for the dispensing device, and which dispensing device comprises a vertically displaceable support table and a lever-operated dispenser, characterized in that there is at least one pulley block (14) for lifting the support table (13), one end of the traction means (143) each on the support table and is attached to the housing and the bottle (142) is pulled down with a spring (18), so that a scanner (19) is present which has a scanner arm (192) mounted at one end in a horizontal pivot bearing (191) a scanner sensor (193) directed against the support table and a scanner pin (194) engaging in the deflection roller (141) in the raised position for setting the pulley system further comprises that There is a pivoting lever (32) which can be pivoted in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis of rotation (321) arranged to the side of the area of the support table, the free end (322) of which via a linkage (323, 324, 325) for converting a direction of movement with a vertically movable one Handle (34) is connected, and that a gripper arm (33) is articulated in a vertically movable manner on the swivel lever (32) and is arranged at least approximately in the central axis of the support table, which gripper arm is a vertically articulated gripper pawl (331) with gripper needles (332) and release - And locking means for the gripper pawl. 2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that a pulley block (14) is provided on both sides of the support table (13), of which the deflecting rollers (141) are secured against rotation on a common axis (144). 3. Arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the block and tackle (14) are chain block and tackle, in which the traction means (143) are chains, and that the scanner pin (194) is arranged to engage in the toothing of the deflection toothed rollers. 4. Arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that the base points of the springs (18) for loading the pulley blocks (14) are located on a rotatably mounted angle lever (161), and that an arm of the angle lever via a train lever (162) with the hinged front plate (10) is rotatably mounted so that the pulley blocks (14) are relieved when the housing is opened and the support table can lower itself. 5. Arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that the gripper (33) rests on a gripper support (164) and the gripper support is articulated with a gripper support arm (163) on the same arm of the angle lever (161) as the spring (18) of the Pulley so that when the housing is opened, the gripper (33) is raised and the gripper needles (332) are brought into an area within the housing where injury during loading is at least difficult. 6. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripper arm (333) of the gripper (33) contains an electromagnet (338) which rests with a pull rod (339) on a latch (337), such that when the magnet is pulled the latch is released and the gripper pawl (331) rotatably mounted on an axis of rotation (335) falls with the gripper needles (332) down onto the newspaper.

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