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(11) | EP 0 471 800 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
| published in accordance with Art. 158(3) EPC |
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| (54) | MACHINE FOR DISPENSING NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND/OR SIMILAR OBJECTS |
| (57) Machine for dispensing newspapers or similar objects, comprised of a series of shelves
where are placed the articles to be dispensed, with exit rams towards a window where
the product can be collected. The exit of the articles is effected by means of a traction
wheel which presses against the pile of objects. The system is comprised of devices
which allow to select the desired article, to avoid that two articles come out simultaneously,
to detect when a set of articles has been sold out, to avoid access from outside. |
Domain of the invention
[0001] This invention belongs to the domain of automatic distributor machines for articles with a parallelepiped format and with two large flat surfaces (newspapers, magazines, books, boxes, etc.), machines intended to be located in public or private places frequented by a large number of people. In particular, it belongs to that category of machines where the dispensing is based on the action of a wheel rotating above the upper surface of the article to be dispensed.
State of the technique
[0002] Numerous machines have been described and patented to date, machines that are in general fairly complicated and expensive, meaning that they have had a very low sales level.
[0003] The inherent complexity of these mechanisms is due to the actual nature of the items to be expelled, basically magazines and newspapers, which have relatively large dimensions, a variation in thickness that changes from day to day, different surface textures and with wrinkles and folds on their surfaces, as well as consisting of sheets or pages that can be displaced between themselves, making them difficult to manipulate.
[0004] The great majority of systems that are currently on sale consist of cabinets that open once a fixed quantity of money has been introduced, giving the purchaser access to all the articles (magazines, newspapers, etc.). The losses created by this arrangement make it necessary to propose a machine that gives the purchaser access to a single newspaper, leaving inaccessible the others loaded into the machine.
[0005] Other important aspects to consider are the need for machines that are sufficiently compact, with a high ratio of articles to volume, easily adaptable to different products to be dispensed, and in which the products can be easily refilled.
[0006] Some patents exist in Europe and the United States that describe the use of plates, friction rollers or mixed systems that displace the newspaper towards an opening provided in the front of the machine. These machines are also provided with a device intended to locate the last article of the stacked load in a fixed position allowing the extractor mechanism to operate. This action usually operates on a set of springs located in the lower part of the stack, or it consists of complex mechanisms that cause the extractor mechanism to drop a certain distance depending on the thickness of the article to be removed.
[0007] A study of the techniques leads to the conclusion that existing patents require the creation of complex mechanisms for their construction, mechanisms that possible do not make the investment profitable and which do not offer the reliability required for this kind of machine.
Principle of the invention
[0008] The machine that is the subject of this patent consists of a system capable of displacing the last article among those in the stack without the other articles being displaced.
[0009] The physical principle is based on the upper surface of the last article being acted on by a pulling force F greater than the localized resisting force between the 1st and 2nd article, R₁, at the same time ensuring that this force is less than the localized resisting force between the 2nd and 3rd article, R₂, thereby avoiding both articles from being pulled along.
[0010] We create this pulling force by means of a wheel that rotates in contact with the upper surface of the article, on which it rests exercising a normal force N (see fig. 1).
[0011] It has been confirmed experimentally that, for R₁ < R₂, there must not be any intermeshing effect (see fig. 2) since, if this occurs, the theory of friction cannot apply and R₂ > R₁.
[0012] On our understanding, we can manage to make R₁ less than R₁ in two different ways:
1.- With a small force N capable of producing a sufficient force F for our requirements. This can be achieved with a wheel whose periphery is provided with very sharp pointed edges arranged radially.
2.- With a greater force N and with a wheel that has an elastic band around its periphery that distributes this force over the upper surface and which also allows itself to be adapted to irregularities that may occur in the surface of these articles.
[0013] Accepting the fact that there will be no intermeshing, and that the coefficient of friction between articles is similar (similar textures), the difference in the resisting forces between 1st-2nd article and 2nd-3rd article is greater when N is less, a fact that makes it possible to have a greater variation in the coefficient of friction between articles.
[0014] Although the products making up a stack are virtually identical, and therefore the coefficients of friction are similar, it could happen that the coefficient of friction between the 2nd and 3rd article can be less than that between the 1st and 2nd article, in some cases leading to R₂ being less than R₁ and both articles exiting together. This may occur more often when the wheel has an elastic band around its perimeter since in this case we need a greater N for the same pulling force F than in the case of using a wheel with sharp points on its periphery.
[0015] If two articles start to exit together due to the circumstances described above, it is still possible to stop the second one from leaving by exercising an additional resisting force R''₂ on its lower surface, causing it to halt in the position shown in fig. Nº 3.
[0016] This force can be created in two different ways:
1) Detecting when two articles have left the stack and exercising this force R''₂ when this occurs (fig. 4).
2) Exercising this additional resisting force at all times, even when one article exits, in such a way that the pulling force exercised by the wheel has to be greater than a new resisting force R₁ that is the sum of two well-defined resisting forces (see fig. Nº 5).
[0017] The greater advantage shown by this invention lies in the simplicity of the solution and therefore the low manufacturing cost, as well as the mechanism's high degree of reliability. All this is the result of a particular way of orientating and locating the articles with respect to the extractor wheel, and of the rigorous choice of coefficients of friction for the materials, of the normal force, of the geometry and of the way in which the different elements making up the machine are created.
Ways of carrying out the invention
[0018] The basic execution of the invention concerns the operation of the wheel by means of a reducer motor mounted on an assembly that slides over some vertical guides in such a way that the whole unit drops down as the articles are dispensed. This makes it possible for the whole to be in contact with the last article with a force N, whose value is constant and independent of the height of the stack of articles.
[0019] We can quote two ways of executing this, both with a similar physical basis though differentiated by the actual arrangement of each.
[0020] The first of these opts for a wheel with an elastic rolling band round its periphery, and it lacks a detector for the exit of several articles, instead having an element that can be adjusted depending on the thickness of the articles and fixed to the assembly, and which at all times provides the additional resisting force. Another particular feature of this method is the provision of an assembly with two collars, one at each end sliding over a pair of vertical guides.
[0021] It should be said that, as well as requiring a specific orientation with respect to the wheel to avoid the problem caused by their particular shape, the special nature of newspapers and magazines means that they also require various folded sheets joined together or not along their back.
[0022] This first solution considers the situation of the wheel in relation to the articles as shown in fig. 6, that is, contained in a plane parallel to the fold of the articles and closer to the folded edge than to the free edge. This arrangement ensures that the article exits as uniformly as possible.
[0023] The alternative would be a wheel with a series of edges along its periphery and also a multiple exit detector which activates a device that creates the additional force needed to retain the surplus article.
[0024] This method is also characterized by the arrangement of the wheel in relation to the articles. Here, the plane of the wheel is oblique to the folded edges in such a way that the objects to be dispensed make a small turn, thereby optimizing their exit.
[0025] It can also be said that the assembly holding the reducer motor consists of a projecting bar with a single collar on the end sliding in the guide and some elements that prevent the whole unit from rotating around the guide.
[0026] As a common part to both solutions, we have:
- The external shape is that of a right-angle prism with a rectangular base and a series of openings providing access to the objects, which have been previously chosen on a push-button selector panel, and also with doors for loading the machine.
- The internal arrangement of the stacks of articles and the circulation channels for the articles.
- The electrical installation, both for the control and manipulation and for the supply.
Description of the content of the diagrams
[0028] Figure 1 shows the set of forces involved in the process of extracting the articles by means of a rotating wheel.
- F:
- extractor force
- N:
- normal force
- R₁:
- 1st - 2nd article resisting force
- R₂:
- 2nd - 3rd article resisting force
[0030] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of the element that creates an additional resisting force preventing the exit of several articles. The arrangement of the points on the periphery of the wheel can also be seen.
[0031] Figure 4 shows the arrangement of a system that prevents multiple exit by means of a detector. This consists of an oscillating needle inside a coil which stops when it receives a signal.
[0032] Figure 5 shows a mechanical device that prevents the exit of several articles. It consists of a hinged element with grooves and a spring in such a way that it allows the article to exit without becoming obstructed.
1. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects, consisting of
a body with a series of shelves housing the articles to be dispensed, with some exit
ramps leading towards windows where the requested product can be collected, characterized
by the pulling of the articles being performed by means of a driving wheel with needles
on its periphery and inclined with respect to one of the sides of the articles, as
shown in figure 8.
2. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects as per patent claim
1, characterized by the motor operating the wheel being mounted on a horizontal bar
that moves vertically as the articles are dispensed.
3. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects as per patent claims
1 and 2, characterized by the periphery of the driving wheel being fitted with needles,
as can be seen in figures 3, 4 and 8.
4. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects as per patent claims
1 to 3, characterized by the needles of patent claim 3 sticking to the surface of
the article.
5. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects as per patent claims
1 to 4, characterized by the inclination of the wheel being determined by the angle
that its axle makes with one of the sides of the article.
6. Dispenser machine for newspapers, magazines and/or similar objects as per patent claims
1 to 5, characterized by the intermeshing of the needles and the angle of the motor
axle forcing the first article to rotate while it is displaced towards the exit ramp,
thereby preventing the simultaneous exit of two articles.