Vending Machine

• US 20080017474A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Arts Company, Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Yujin Co. Ltd. (TOMY Company Limited)
• Inventors: Atsuta, Junichi, Fukumoto, Tomochika
• Granted Patent: US 7,748,513 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 194/350
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/10 Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling

Abstract

A vending machine capable of discharging merchandises by throwing a coin therein to operate a discharge merchandise retention member by the operating power of a handle. The vending machine includes: a notch which is provided at a front face of a box body and which opens upward, a control panel which is attached with the notch in a detachable manner, the control panel including the handle and a coin sorting unit.

Claims

1. A vending machine in which a coin is inserted and an operation power is given to a handle to operate a discharge merchandise retention member, so as to discharge a merchandise, comprising:

a notch which is provided at a front face of a box body and which opens upward,

a control panel which is attached with the notch in a detachable manner, the control panel including the handle and a coin sorting unit.

2. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1,

wherein a coin collection box is provided at the rear side of the notch of the box body and the coin collection box is externally covered by covering a front face of the coin collection box with the control panel while the control panel is attached to the notch.

3. The vending machine as claimed in claim 1,

wherein a side face of the notch has one of a convex groove or a concave groove,

a side face of the control panel has the other of a convex groove or a concave groove, and

the control panel is attached to the box body by sliding a side face of the control panel with a side face of the notch from the upper side of the notch to engage the convex grove with the concave groove.

4. The vending machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein a side face of the notch has one of a convex groove or a concave groove,

a side face of the control panel has the other of a convex groove or a concave groove, and

the control panel is attached to the box body by sliding a side face of the control panel with a side face of the notch from the upper side of the notch to engage the convex grove with the concave groove

5. The vending machine as claimed in claim 3,

wherein a merchandise filling opening is provided to the upper side of the notch of the box body,

a cover is attached with the merchandise filling opening in a detachable manner,

the control panel is prevented from moving upward when the cover is attached, and

the control panel is allowed to move upward when the cover is detached.

6. The vending machine as claimed in claim 4,

wherein a merchandise filling opening is provided to the upper side of the notch of the box body,

a cover is attached with the merchandise filling opening in a detachable manner,

the control panel is prevented from moving upward when the cover is attached, and

the control panel is allowed to move upward when the cover is detached.

7. The vending machine as claimed in claim 5,

wherein one of the control panel and the body box has a spring,

the spring allows descent of the control panel to stop at least at a position where the front face of the coin collection box remains exposed, and

the control panel and the body box each have a locking section that clamps the control panel in a completely depressed state against a biasing force of the spring.

8. The vending machine as claimed in claim 6,

wherein one of the control panel and the body box has a spring,

the spring allows descent of the control panel to stop at least at a position where the front face of the coin collection box remains exposed, and

the control panel and the body box each have a locking section that clamps the control panel in a completely depressed state against a biasing force of the spring.