EP2934235A1

EP2934235A1 - Drawer

Info

Publication number: EP2934235A1
Application number: EP12810102.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thomas Rauer
Original assignee: Mph Production & Service GmbH
Current assignee: Mph Production & Service GmbH
Priority date: 2012-12-19
Filing date: 2012-12-19
Publication date: 2015-10-28
Also published as: WO2014094797A1

Abstract

The drawer (1) according to the invention comprises a matrix-like arrangement of containers (2) and serves for accommodating articles. A closure means (3), which can be displaced by way of a control means and has an opening (6), is provided for each column of the matrix-like arrangement. The closure means (3) can be displaced between a closed position and a number of release positions, wherein, in the closed position, all the containers (2) of the column are closed by the closure means (3) and, in a release position, the opening (6) is positioned at at least one container (2) of the column. One or more articles can be removed out of said container (2) or introduced into the same.

Description

Drawer for holding objects

The invention relates to a drawer for receiving objects.

Such drawers are generally components of vending machines for automated output and possibly input of objects.

Such a vending machine typically comprises a plurality of drawers, wherein individual containers are arranged in the drawers, the containers serving to receive individual objects.

The function of the vending machine is such that an input unit is provided, on which an operator can enter a code or the like, whereby this person selectively receives only access to the object selected with the code.

In vending machines with drawers, there is a problem in that it is not sufficient for the targeted removal of only one item to unlock the drawers, in which a container is arranged with this object. In the drawer is namely a variety of containers in which different items are stored.

Therefore, in addition, a locking mechanism must be provided, by means of which it is possible to lock and unlock the containers individually.

Such a locking mechanism for individual containers in the form of cassettes is described in EP 1 634 559 B1. There, the individual cassettes are arranged in a matrix-like arrangement consisting of a number of rows and columns. The locking mechanism includes for every line is a locking device. With the locking device for one line, two states are brought about in each case. In the first state all cassettes of this line are locked, in the second state all cassettes of the line are unlocked. Further, the locking mechanism comprises a locking device for each column. With the locking device for a column, two states are also brought about. In the first state all cassettes of this column are locked, in the second state all cassettes of the column are unlocked. A cassette can only be opened if it is unlocked by the locking device of the respective column in which it is arranged, and also by the locking device of the respective row in which it is arranged. In this way, by selective operation of a locking device of a column and a locking device of a line selectively only one cassette can be opened.

The disadvantage here is that the arrangement of the containers, their number and also their size are fixed by the necessarily provided line and column-wise locking devices. Subsequent changes with regard to the container arrangements and container sizes are no longer possible, which undesirably restricts the design of the drawers and thus of the vending machines equipped with such drawers.

The invention has for its object to provide a drawer that allows for flexible design single access to there contained container.

To solve this problem, the features of claim 1 are provided. Advantageous embodiments and expedient developments of the invention are described in the subclaims.

The drawer according to the invention comprises a matrix-shaped arrangement of containers and serves to receive objects. Each column of the matrix-shaped arrangement is a movable by means of an actuating means, an opening tion provided closure means. The closure means is movable between a closed position and a plurality of release positions, wherein in the closed position all the containers of the column are closed by the closure means and in a release position the opening is positioned on at least one container of the column. One or more items may be removed from or entered into this container.

A significant advantage of the invention is that provided with the column-wise, actuated by actuating means closure means a locking mechanism is provided by means of which a single access to the individual container of the drawer is ensured with little design effort. The low design complexity results in particular in that the closure means provided in columns do not additionally have to be provided line by line with further closure means.

Particularly advantageously, the drawer is part of a vending machine. Such a vending machine can generally contain several of the drawers according to the invention. With the closure means according to the invention a controlled single access to the container of the drawer of the vending machine is made possible.

The vending machine generally has an input unit via which a code or the like can be entered by an operator, whereby the operator receives controlled access only to the item in the vending machine for which the code is stored. Once the operator has entered the code, the drawer is first unlocked, in which the object is stored. Then by an automatic actuation of the locking unit for the column in which the container is arranged with the object, such that in this column only the container is unlocked, in which the code corresponding object is located. Thus, the operator receives controlled access only to this container. Another significant advantage of the invention is that by sizing the opening of a closure means in a simple manner, an adaptation of the closure means to the sizes of the container of the drawer can be done. Thus, the container of the drawer can in particular be dimensioned so small that only one object can be stored in a container. This results in a significant advantage of a 100% - control for the removal of objects from the containers. Since with the openings of the closure means namely selectively individual containers can be released for removal and can be removed from the individual containers only one object, thus the removal of each item can be controlled.

This provides, in particular for vending machines, individual access with 100% control of items stored in drawers. Such a 100% control is otherwise only possible with vending machines that have spiral compartments for storing the items.

A significant advantage over vending machines that work with spiral fans, in the system according to the invention is that objects can not only be taken from an approved container by an operator but also introduced into it.

Generally, the containers are arranged in the drawers according to the invention so that they are on the bottom of the drawer or are integrated in this way in the drawer, wherein the containers are open at their upper sides, that is there have a removal opening, over which objects filled into the respective container or can be removed from the container.

If the closure means of a column of the drawer is moved with the adjusting means in the closed position, the closure means covers all containers of the Column off, so that no objects can be removed from these. If, on the other hand, the closure means is moved to a release position, then the opening is positioned so that the removal opening of at least one container is exposed below the opening, the closure means, so that objects can be removed therefrom.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the closure means of a column on a fixed predetermined, invariable opening.

Due to the fixed size of the opening, the respective closure means and also the associated adjusting means can have a structurally simple construction.

Advantageously, each closure means is circumferentially arranged on the containers of a column.

The associated adjusting means then has a drive, with which the circulation movement of the closure means is controlled. According to a structurally particularly simple embodiment, each closure means is formed by a sheet metal foil.

The opening then consists of a punched out in the sheet metal foil.

Alternatively, the closure means may be formed by lamellar arrangements.

According to a first advantageous embodiment, in the case of closure means having openings with fixed predefined sizes, all containers of a column have the same size. Closing means associated with this column have a size adapted to the size of the containers, so that only one container in the opening releases in a release position. 2 005251

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The containers of different columns have the same or different sizes.

With the closure means thus formed, only one container is thus always released for the removal of objects. This results in a constructive determination of identical container sizes in each column of the drawer. Nevertheless, the drawer is suitable for storing different objects with different sizes, since different container sizes can be provided for different columns. Since each column is assigned a separate closure means with a separate setting means, the container sizes in the drawer can be freely varied from column to column.

According to a second advantageous embodiment of the invention, the size of the opening of the actuating means of the sum of the sizes of the container corresponds to this column. The closure means is retractable into various release positions in which either one, several or all containers are exposed in the opening.

Also in this embodiment, a closure means may be provided with a fixed predetermined opening for each column. Accordingly, the containers of one column each have the same size.

In this case, identical objects are stored in the containers of one column. Depending on the release position in which the closure means is moved, the opening releases one, two, several or even all containers of the column. This can be set by the allocation of the release position, how many items can be removed from the or in the opening exposed containers. Thus, the function of a vending machine with spiral compartments is simulated in a simple manner, because even there a variable number of identically constructed objects can be removed. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the closure means of a column has an opening with a variable size.

In this case, the containers of the column may have different sizes, wherein the size adjustment of the opening in the release positions selectively exposing individual containers in the column.

In this case, the adjusting means not only take over the function of the method of closure means. Rather, with these, the sizes of the openings of the closure means are set, for example by an automatic actuation of screens and the like. Furthermore, openings with variable sizes can also be formed by two independently driven and movable foils.

The invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

Figure 1: Schematic representation of an embodiment of the drawer according to the invention in a plan view.

FIG. 2: an individual view of a column of the drawer according to FIG. 1 with associated closure means.

Figure 3a-c: Representation of a column of a variant of the drawer according to

Figure 1 for different positions of the closure means.

Figure 1 shows schematically the structure of a first embodiment of the drawer 1 according to the invention as part of a vending machine for the controlled input and output of objects in a plan view. The drawer 1 has a matrix-like arrangement of containers 2. Each container 2 serves to receive a specific item. Generally, a container 2 can also accommodate more than one item. In the present case, four columns with containers 2 are arranged in the drawer 1. In the first two columns there are 8 containers 2. In the third and fourth columns are 7 containers 2. In general, of course, drawers 1 with other numbers of columns and numbers of containers 2 per column are possible. In the present case, all the containers 2 of a column are identically formed and therefore the same size.

The containers 2 of each column are arranged on the bottom of the drawer 1 standing at equidistant intervals. The containers 2 have a rectangular cross-section and are open at their upper sides. The open tops form removal openings via which objects can be removed from the containers 2 or inserted into them.

Each column of the drawer 1 is associated with a closure means 3, which is actuated by means of an actuating means, that can be moved. The structure of the closure means 3 with the adjusting means is shown by way of example for the lowest column of the drawer 1 according to Figure 1 in Figure 2 in a side view. For the other columns of the drawer 1 corresponding units with closure means 3 and adjusting means are provided.

The closure means 3 is formed by a flexible, bendable sheet metal foil, which is arranged circumferentially on the gap with the containers 2.

The width of the sheet metal foil is greater than the widths of the removal opening of the container 2 of the respective columns, so that the guided above the container 2 part of the sheet metal foil can completely cover the removal opening.

At one end of the linear arrangement of the container 2 of the column, a first cylindrical Umienkrolle 4 is provided, which is driven by means of a drive, not shown. At the other end of the container assembly is another, non-driven cylindrical guide roller 5. In principle, the guide rollers 4, 5 may also be divided into a plurality of shorter rollers. The lateral surfaces of the pulleys 4, 5 are tight and with contact pressure the inside of the sheet metal foil. By the drive, the deflection roller 4 is set in a rotational movement about its axis of rotation and symmetry. Due to the friction between the pulleys 4, 5 and the sheet metal foil is achieved that thereby, depending on the direction of rotation of the guide roller 4, 5, the metal foil is moved in the directions shown by the arrows in Figure 2, causing the non-driven pulley 5 with the Sheet metal foil covers.

In which the closure means 3 forming sheet metal foil is an opening 6, which is incorporated as a punched in the metal foil. The opening 6 has a rectangular cross section, which is adapted to the cross section of the removal opening of the container 2 of the respective column.

The closure means 3 can be moved by means of the drive into a closed position, in which the opening 6 is retracted on the underside of the container arrangement. Then all the container 2 of the column are covered with the metal foil and thus locked so that a removal of objects from these containers 2 or an insertion of objects in the container 2 is no longer possible. Such closure means 3 retracted into a closed position show the first and third gaps in FIG. 1.

In order to allow removal of objects from only one container 2 of the container arrangement of a column, the closure means 3 is moved to a corresponding release position. Figure 2 shows such a release position in which the metal foil is moved by means of the drive in a position in which the opening 6 of the sheet metal foil above the removal opening of the second container 2 from the left. In this release position, the opening 6 of the sheet metal foil thus releases only this container 2, so that 2 objects can be removed selectively only from this container. Accordingly, the metal foil can be moved in six other release positions, in which the opening 6 is located in each case at one of the other container 2 of this column. The same functional principle applies to all columns of the drawers 1 according to FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 a to 3 c show a variant of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. Only one column of a drawer 1 is shown in FIGS. 3 a to 3 c. In principle, the drawer 1 according to the drawer 1 according to FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of columns each comprising a linear arrangement of identically designed containers 2. However, again, the container sizes of containers 2 different columns may be formed differently.

The columns of containers 2 shown in FIGS. 3 a to 3 c are assigned a sealing means 3 in the form of a sheet metal foil. In this case, the closure means 3 can be moved analogously to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 by means of adjusting means, which in turn are formed by a driven deflection roller 4, 5 and a follower deflection roller 4, 5. For clarity, these elements are not shown in Figures 3a to 3c. The containers 2 of the other columns are associated with corresponding closure means 3 with adjusting means.

In contrast to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, in the drawer 1 of Figure 3 for each column, a closure means 3 is provided in the form of a sheet metal foil having an opening 6 whose area corresponds to the sum of the areas of all containers 2 of the respective column.

As in the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, in the case of the drawer 1 of FIGS. 3 a to 3 c (shown there for one column), the closure means 3, that is to say the sheet metal foil, can be moved into a closed position, in which the opening 6 below the containers 2 is located, so that all the removal openings of the container 2 are covered with the metal foil, so that can be removed from any container 2 objects or inserted into this. 1 !

Furthermore, 2 N release positions can be realized by retracting the opening 6 in the region of the container, where N is the number of containers 2 in the column. In the column shown in FIGS. 3a to 3c, the number of containers is N = 6.

FIG. 3a shows the first release position. There, the opening 6 of the metal foil is retracted so far into the container area at the top of the column, that only the removal opening of the first container 2 (left in Figure 3a) in the opening 6 is exposed. Then 2 items can be removed only from this first container, while the remaining container 2 are closed by the metal foil.

FIG. 3b shows the second release position. There, the opening 6 of the sheet metal foil is positioned so that only the removal opening of the first two containers 2 are exposed in the opening 6 of the sheet metal foil. Thus, objects can be removed only from the first two containers 2, but not from the remaining, sealed with the metal foil containers. 2

Accordingly, there are further release positions, not shown, in which the opening 6 releases only the removal opening of the first three, four or five containers 2.

Finally, Figure 3c shows the last release position. There, the opening 6 of the sheet metal foil is positioned so that the removal opening of all containers 2 are exposed in the opening 6. In this release position, an operator can remove 2 objects from or insert into any container.

This embodiment thus ensures fast, flexible access to a variable number of similar objects. In one column, the identically constructed objects are preferably stored in the containers 2, wherein preferably the number of objects per container 2 is always the same. Depending on how many such objects an operating 12 005251

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son needs, she chooses a suitable release position in which the appropriate number of containers 2 is released.

In all embodiments, the illustrated drawers 1 are part of a vending machine. To gain access to certain items, an operator inputs a code. Then the selected drawer 1 is automatically opened in the vending machine first and then released in this drawer 1 of the container or 2 by retracting the respective closure means 3 a column in a release position.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(1) drawer

(2) container

(3) Locking tool (4) Guide roller

(5) pulley

(6) opening

Claims

Drawer (1) with a matrix-like arrangement of containers (2) for receiving objects, characterized in that each column of the matrix-shaped arrangement is provided with a movable means of an actuating means, an opening (6) exhibiting closure means (3), and that the closure means (3) is movable between a closed position and a plurality of release positions, wherein in the closed position, all the containers (2) of the column with the closure means (3) are closed and positioned in a release position, the opening (6) on at least one container (2) of the column is, so that one or more items from this container (2) can be removed or entered into this.

Drawer according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure means (3) of a column has a fixed, invariable opening (6).

Drawer according to claim 2, characterized in that all the containers (2) of a column have the same size, and that this column associated closure means (3) has a size adapted to the size of the container (2) size, so that in a release position only a container (2) is exposed in the opening (6).

Drawer according to claim 3, characterized in that the containers of different columns have the same or different sizes.

5. Drawer according to claim 2, characterized in that the size of the opening (6) of the adjusting means of the sum of the sizes of the container (2) die- This column corresponds, and that the closure means (3) is retractable into various release positions in which either one, several or all containers (2) in the opening (6) are exposed.

Drawer according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure means (3) of a column has opening (6) of variable size.

Drawer according to claim 6, characterized in that the containers (2) of the gaps have different sizes, wherein by the size adjustment of the opening (6) in the release positions selectively individual containers (2) are exposed in the column.

Drawer according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the containers (2) arranged there have removal openings on their upper sides, which are covered in the respective closed position by means of the closure means (3).

Drawer according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that each closure means (3) is arranged circumferentially on the containers (2) of a column.

Drawer according to claim 9, characterized in that each closure means (3) is formed by a sheet metal foil. 1 1. Drawer according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that each closure means (3) is associated with an actuating means with a drive.