AU600392B2

AU600392B2 - Vending machine

Info

Publication number: AU600392B2
Application number: AU24685/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michel Magnier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-11-10
Filing date: 1988-11-03
Publication date: 1990-08-09
Anticipated expiration: 2008-11-03
Also published as: FR2622998B1; FR2622998A1; AU2468588A

Description

6003 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA FORM PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int.Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: i Published: SPriority: Related Art: N ame of Applicant: MICHEL MAGNIER Address of Applicant: B.P.52 BOULOUPARIS, NEW CALEDONIA Actual Inventor: MICHEL MAGNIER Address for Service: SHELSTON WATERS, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "VENDING MACHINE" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- -1-

RECEIVED

SHELSTON WATERS 13 MAR 1989 PATENTI ATTORNEYS SHLSTON WATERS CLARENCE STREET. SYDNEY AUSTRALIA SW2o This invention relates to a vending machine for heating and vending precooked individually packed foodstuffs.

The vending machine of this invention is intended to dispense, upon demand, heated, ready to eat foodstuffs previously frozen or refrigerated. Such foodstuffs include, for example, croissants, "chocolate bread", pastries, pies or precooked meals sealed under vacuum.

The vending machine may for example be of the coin-freed i0 type.

o 00Such vending machines can, for example, be placed in public or private locations such as super-markets, 00? department stores, station halls, airports, factories and 0 offices, schools, cinemas thus offering at all hours the opportunity to obtain, in a few seconds, heated foodstuffs o oa o ready to eat.

0 0 4 Accordingly, this invention consists in a vending machine for heating and vending precooked individually packaged foodstuffs comprising: o ,4O a refrigerated storage chamber for a plurality of individually packaged foodstuffs, a first microwave oven, first means selectively operable to direct one of said individual packages to said first microwave oven and to activate said first microwave oven to heat the foodstuff to a first selected temperature, means responsive to a vending command to direct said foodstuff from said first microwave oven to a second microwave oven, activate said second microwave oven to heat the foodstuff to a second 2 I: selected temperature and subsequently to direct said foodstuff to an outlet aperture, said vending command operating said first means to direct another one of said individual packages to said first microwave oven for heating.

Preferably, foodstuffs to be distributed are packaged in cardboard boxes piled in a storage chamber located in the upper part of the vending machine, the temperature of which is maintained at -15 0 C by means of a refrigeration S10 unit.

00 0 The storage chamber preferably contains, according to 0 0 o Q0 coca the desired required capacity, one or several cartridges 0a0 0000 within which the foodstuffs are positioned transversly in 00 0 o° 4 piles of 25, for example, in each cartridge. The chamber may contain one, two or three dispensing units of o0 0 one hundred or more packs each.

0One embodiment of this invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 11 .20 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram representing a vertical section of a vending machine according to this invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams representing horizontal and vertical sections, respectively, of a cartridge for 4 crosswise piles of twenty five packaged foodstuffs each.

Figure 4 is a schematic view from above a vending machine containing three cartridge units each for -3dispensing one hundred packaged foodstuffs.

In figure 1 the distributor 1, equipped with a loading door 1A, contains a storage chamber 2 in which the packaged foodstuffs 2A are kept at a temperature such as -150 0 C, achieved by means of a refrigeration unit 3 located at the lower part of distributor I, and connected to chamber 2 via an evaporator 3A in the substantially known manner.

A housing 4 is located at the lower part of chamber 2 to receive by gravity feed a first packaged foodstuff, such as a croissant, in this example.

oil, Reference 5 designates a first microwave oven.

fit Whilst not in use, for example at night, a trap-door 7, 0 4 1 the movements of which are controlled by a conventional automatic time-switch, can be opened to provide a *it it connection between the storage chamber and microwave oven a 5. This results in the temperature of the latter being substantially the same as that of chamber 2 so as to got preserve the foodstuff that microwave oven 5 may contain since the previous evening.

When set in motion, the aforementioned automatic time-switch operates the closure of trap-door 7, however part 6 of the base of chamber 2, common to the upper wall of microwave oven 5, is designed so that the temperature of microwave oven 5 remains as a reduced temperature, for example +3 0 C. Also at the time of this activation and under the action of an automatic time-switch as well as of a manual control command, a motor 8 acts upon a piston 9 4 and a plate 10 through a chain 11 and a worm drive 12.

Piston 9 then pushes towards microwave oven 5 the packaged foodstuff located in housing 4, while plate 10 moves to form the base-plate of this oven, this plate then occupying the position represented by interrupted lines.

This particular foodstuff is then kept in oven A pivotal flap 13, usually closed, is interposed between the aforementioned housing 4 and oven 5. However, the push undergone by the foodstuff under the action of 1o'20 piston 9 leads to the opening of flap 13 which closes back 0 00 0000 automatically as soon as the foodstuff has moved to the oven. Together with this movement, heating of oven 5 is 0000 initiated for a duration such as 30 seconds, and 00 0 °0 consequently, the temperature of the foodstuff is raised to +3 0

C.

o 0 Upon receipt of a vending command, motor 8 is set in 0 00 e 0 motion in a reverse direction; as a result, piston 9 withdraws from housing 4, and plate 10 from oven 5. Under these conditions, on the one hand, the foodstuff falls into a second microwave oven 14 and on the other hand, a 0 4 nevr packaged foodstuff comes to occupy housing 4. As a consequence, motor 9 is set in motion again, this leads to pushing this new foodstuff in oven 5, and repositioning of plate 10 to form the base-plate of this oven. An automatic time-switch then sets off, for a duration such as 30 seconds, the heating of the second microwave oven 14 which brings the foodstuff required for distribution to a temperature such as +50 0 C. At the end of this short

L

period, the motor 15 is automatically set in motion and, through worm drive 16, brings about the lowering of the tilted base-plate 17, equipped with a catch 19, to occupy the position represented by interrupted lines allowing the requested vending or distribution.

From the above description it can be seen that the vending machine fulfills in a short time the heating of a frozen foodstuff, and through outlet aperture 18, its distribution to the consumer.

V 10 Figure 2 represents separately a cartridge designed SI to contain 4 piles of 25 packaged foodstuffs 2A positioned Deal tranversly as represented in figure 3, i.e. a total of one

OOP

hundred packaged foodstuffs.

o Figure 4 represents a view from above of a distributor, with its lid removed, including three o identical cartridges positioned transversly containing each 4 piles of 24 Packaged foodstuffs, i.e. containing o, 100 x 3 300 packaged foodstuffs.

Packaged foodstuffs from piles a and b, descending o 20 successively with gravity, are pushed one by one by pistons 9 and 9' respectively to microwave ovens F and F' until the twenty fifth one according to the procedure described in relation to figure 1. Once the twenty fifth packaged foodstuff of piles a and b from the cartridge in use have been distributed, the said cartridge rises, undergoes a quarter turn and comes down again, presenting piles c and d to pistons 9 and each containing twenty five packaged foodstuffs, and a similar operating process -6to that operating piles a and b begins.

It should be emphasised that pistons 9 and 9' are controlled independently. The various automatic time-switches which have been mentioned may of course be combined. They do not show any particular characteristics and for this reason they have not been featured in the drawings.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of this invention and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.

0 I 0 0 t 0o7 o0 oo e 00 1 -7-

Claims

1. A vending machine for heating and vending precooked individually packaged foodstuffs comprising: a refrigerated storage chamber for a plurality of individually packaged foodstuffs, a first microwave oven, first means selectively operable to direct one of said individual packages to said first microwave oven and to activate said first microwave oven to heat the foodstuff to a first selected temperature, means responsive to a on vending command to direct said foodstuff from said first o microwave oven to a second microwave oven, activate said oo o second microwave oven to heat the foodstuff to a second selected temperature and subsequently to direct said 0 foodstuff to an outlet aperture, said vending command operating said first means to direct another one of said o o individual packages to said first microwave oven for o oheating. o.o:

2. A machine as claimed in claim I1 wherein said o C 0 refrigerated storage chamber includes a lower housing into o 0 which said individually packaged foodstuffs are sequentially gravity fed, and from which each packaged foodstuff is directed to said first microwave oven.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first microwave oven includes a moveable base-plate and said second microwave oven is disposed below said first microwave oven whereby said moveable base-plate is withdrawn to direct the foodstuff from the first to the second microwave oven. -8-

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said second microwave oven includes a pivotal base-plate moveable between a first generally horizontal position and a second tilted position, said pivotal base-plate being moved to the tilted position to direct the foodstuff to the outlet aperture.

A machine as claimed in claim 2 further comprising a pivotally mounted flap interposed between said lower housing and said first microwave oven to respectively 0 thermally isolate the storage chamber and first microwave C 0 oven, said flap being displaced to allow passage of said 0 o 0-foodstuff to said first microwave oven and being provided 0000 o 0 with means to return the flap to an isolating position 0° after the passage of said foodstuff.

6. A machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to o Ot So wherein an automatic time-switch command defines the o activation of the first microwave oven.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein an automatic 0" time-switch is used to cause withdrawal of said moveable base-plate to direct said foodstuff to said second microwave oven, activation of said second microwave oven for a selected period to heat the foodstuff to said second Sselected temperature and subsequently cause movement of said pivotal base-plate to direct the foodstuff to said outlet aperture.

8. A machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein a part of the base of the storage chamber is common to the upper wall of the first microwave oven to 9 permit the transmission of cold from which results in the maintenance of a reduced temperature in said first microwave oven.

9. A machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein a part of the base of the storage chamber is common to the upper wall of the first microwave oven and is provided with a trap-door controlled by an automatic time-switch which opens the door during periods of non usage so that cold air from the storage chamber invades 4 the first microwave oven to preserve the packaged 4 foodstuff which may be disposed therein during the said period of non usage.

A machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said storage chamber is maintained at a sub zero temperature, said first selected temperature is about and said second selected temperature is about +50 0 C.

11. A vending machine for heating and vending precooked individually packaged foodstuffs substantially as herein described with reference to Figures i, 2 and 3 or Figures 0,4 i, 2 and 3 as modified by Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 2nd Day of November, 1988 MICHEL MAGNIER Attorney: LEON K. ALLEN Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS 10