Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
  • G07F11/16—Delivery means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
  • G07F7/06—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by returnable containers, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles
  • G07F7/069—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by returnable containers, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles by box-like containers, e.g. videocassettes, books
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
  • G07F11/10—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other two or more magazines having a common delivery chute
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
  • G07F11/16—Delivery means
  • G07F11/165—Delivery means using xyz-picker or multi-dimensional article picking arrangements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/02—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
  • G07F11/04—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
  • G07F11/16—Delivery means
  • G07F11/165—Delivery means using xyz-picker or multi-dimensional article picking arrangements
  • G07F11/1657—Delivery means using xyz-picker or multi-dimensional article picking arrangements the picking arrangements using suction
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
  • G07F11/62—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F5/00—Coin-actuated mechanisms; Interlocks
  • G07F5/18—Coin-actuated mechanisms; Interlocks specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
  • G07F9/001—Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
  • G07F9/002—Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
  • G07F9/02—Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus

Definitions

• U.S. patent 5,651,476 entitled MODULAR VENDING MACHINE and U.S. patent 3,175,669 entitled DEVICE FOR VENDING CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS are illustrative of the use of baffles along the inside portion of a vertical column of products, for staggering the distribution of the products in the vertical column, thereby preventing the weight of the products above from "bunching" or "jamming" a product feed mechanism located at the bottom of the column.
• the use of fixed position baffle elements are not sufficient to prevent damage to a column of fragile articles, such as a stack for bags of potato chips, and in fact the fixed position baffle elements themselves are likely to cause damage to the products.
• an air hose 220 is continuous from a point before it's exit from a hose storage area 222 over orthogonally positioned rollers 213 (or other low-friction arrangement), to its free end 221.
• Free end 221 includes a weighted portion 225 in combination with a bellows extension tip portion 227.
• article pickup head 224 may comprise only the weighted portion 225, or this portion in combination with a fitting specifically adapted to the type of packages to be dispensed, such as the bellows tip 227 (serving as an active suction cup) or a compliant tip without a weight.
• hose 220 travels in the same X,Y plane that carriage 218 travels, facilitates a compact hose positioning and drive mechanism embodiment for the present invention. Additionally, since hose 220 is formed of a continuous material from its connection to the source of suction at one end (which connection is described later in this description to be at a vacuum junction box 229) to the pickup head 224 at its other end, means are necessary for providing hose storage and/or retraction during travel of the pickup head 224 in the X, Y and Z directions during the article dispensing operations.
• a hose storage area 222 is formed by placing an interior wall 246 parallel and adjacent to an exterior wall 248 of cabinet 12. Walls 246 and 248 are shown partially cut-away so as to illustrate a gravity feed self retracting loop 250 in hose 220. Loop 220 is constrained for movement within hose storage area 222, and made self retracting by providing a rolling weight 252 having a groove 253 along its periphery in order to provide constant centering of the weight within hose storage area 222 and providing a constant "loop forming" tension on hose 220.
• rolling weight 252 is dimensioned so as to be slightly larger than the diameter of hose 220 and the width dimension of hose storage area 222 is dimensioned to be only slightly larger than the width dimension of rolling weight 252.
• ID device 254 One way to provide such controlled movement for ID device 254 would be to mount it on a piezoelectric substrate, and control system 400 could provide a voltage to the substrate so as to shift the "view" of ID device 254. It is noted that by using an appropriately positioned article ID device 254, only a single article ID device 254 is needed. This is particularly useful for a robotic type dispenser, since the robotic apparatus can controllably position, and re-position if necessary, the article in the vicinity of the article ID device 254, thereby helping ensure a reliable ID of the article.
• ID device 254 is needed. This is particularly appropriate for a robotic type dispenser, since the robotic apparatus can controllably position, and re-position if necessary, the article in the vicinity of the article ID device 254, thereby helping ensure a reliable ID of the article. It is noted that a specific type of article ID device is not required, and depending upon system constraints, such a device may comprise, for example, a bar code scanner, an optical imaging system which identifies the article being dispensed using image and/or pattern recognition techniques, or even an RF identification tag system. Such article ID devices are well known to those of ordinary skill in this technology, and therefore further description of them is unnecessary.
• a bin holder 260 shown in FIG. 2, comprising a pair of rectangular brackets secured in a spaced manner to opposed interior side walls of cabinet 12, is used to maintain the bins situated therebetween in a predetermined position relative to the interior of the vending machine cabinet. This is required in view of the pre-programming of control board 212 which controls the robotic structure for retrieving a selected article from one a selected one of bins 216.
• Carriage 218 is then driven to a position in alignment with the article delivery chute 210.
• the desired article 223 is moved along its way from a storage bin 216 to chute 210, it is positioned past the article ID device 254 for uniquely identifying and confirming that the article being dispensed is in fact the article that was selected.
• control system 400 turns off vacuum blower 226 and the resulting loss of vacuum causes the selected article to drop into the customer retrieval area 22.
• hose 220 can be driven to the bottom of chute 210 before the article is released.
• Accurate control of energization of blower motor 226 is particularly advantageous in the event that the inside of the cabinet, or a portion thereof, is refrigerated, since accurate control would decrease the amount of refrigerated air being displaced by blower motor 226.
• the microprocessor 402 will energize blower motor 226 as the pickup head 224 approaches the desired article, and in fact only when it is in the immediate proximity of the desired article (and not earlier), due to control system 400 maintaining updated information about the height of the stack of articles in each bin 216. The height is assumed to be at a predefined level upon article refilling/filling of the vending machine 10 by the operator.
• blower motor 226 a simpler way of controlling operation of blower motor 226 and the approach of pickup head 224, without knowing the specific article height, would be to turn on the blower motor 226, or slow down the pickup head 224 just prior to the learned stack height of the prior vend.
• control system When a "reset" switch (not shown) is activated by the machine operator, control system
• a communication system 414 is connected to control system 400 so as to provide article inventory and vending machine operation information to a remote location, as well as to allow for control of the operation of the vending machine from a remote location.
• communication system 414 may include a connection to means for making a wire-line and/or wireless transceiver interface through which a communication link with a remote computer can be established. Additionally, the communication system 414 may communicate with a plurality of other similarly connected vending machines in the same general area and communicate therewith using the wire-line interface or wireless communication.
• blower motor 226 provides a relatively high volume of airflow but relatively modest negative air pressure.
• the illustrated embodiment is particularly useful for picking up flexible packages since a momentary or even sustained leak in the coupling to the packaging to the article will generally not result in dropping of the package, while at the same time offering extreme versatility due to the ability to pick up a wide variety of shaped objects of varying weight and size.
• a negative air pressure source which provides a relatively substantial negative air pressure but low rate of airflow, such as is provided by a vacuum pump, alone or in combination with a storage tank couple to the suction hose via a valve and air hose.
• a compressor could be used in combination with a venturi device to create a vacuum.
• To get operational performance with a vacuum pump that is similar to that of blower motor 226 would require a storage tank and/or vacuum pump of substantially larger size.
• Support beams 236a and 236b may comprise a support plate having two outwardly facing, i.e., opposed, L-shaped rails, along its edges.
• the function of slides 234 could be accomplished by fixing a pair of brackets to opposed ends of beam 230, each bracket including a pair of spaced apart and inwardly facing rollers which engage and follow the opposed rails on the support plate.
• hose 220 and carriage 218 are shown in the illustrated embodiment, the invention described herein could also be used in a dispensing apparatus/article handler of the type having multiple storage areas and/or robotic article handling mechanisms, such as two robotic mechanisms (both positioned vertically or horizontally or mixed, and one vertically and one horizontally) each one serving a different storage area.
• robotic article handling mechanisms such as two robotic mechanisms (both positioned vertically or horizontally or mixed, and one vertically and one horizontally) each one serving a different storage area.
• each can be tailored for a particular operation. For example, one may have a relatively large diameter pickup head and use a high airflow/modest suction vacuum supply device, while the other may have a relatively small diameter pickup head and use a low airflow/high suction vacuum supply.
• FIGURE 5 illustrates a multiple storage area arrangement 500, where a single article handler of the type previously noted serves 3 adjacent storage areas.
• each area may be for storing stacks of articles aligned in the same direction as in the other areas.
• One storage area 502 may have an ambient environment, while the other storage areas may be cooled, e.g., one area 504 being refrigerated and one area 506 being frozen.
• This arrangement may typically find use for dispensing in a compact, reliable and efficient vending structure: salty snacks (such as bags of potato chips) from the ambient storage area, cooled drinks (such as soda) from the refrigerated storage area, and frozen snacks (such as ice cream) from the frozen storage area.
• an arrangement of this type may be particularly advantageous in that the frozen compartment can be used for maintaining the quality of the stored articles until they are close to being needed for dispensing, as determined by an intelligent controller. At a predetermined appropriate time before dispensing, a certain amount of articles can be moved from the frozen area to the refrigerated area.
• the third storage area is in fact a temporary storage area which is used for individually heating/cooking the articles, such as, e.g. frozen pizzas, using an oven or microwave.
• Fig. 6 illustrates an arrangement where the single article handling mechanism services two horizontally aligned in article storage areas.
• Backspace area 602 being an ambient environment and area 604 being a refrigerated environment.
• the article handling mechanism 606 can be constructed in a manner such as previously described using support beam 230 and carriage 218 so that mechanism 606 can "live” in the ambient area 602, and travel into the refrigerated area 604 through swinging door 608 as needed.
• Areas 602 and 604 can each include their own article ID device 254 or share a common ID device.
• FIGURE 7 shows such as a rapid article dispenser, of the type having two horizontally displaced storage areas.
• a rapid article dispenser of the type having two horizontally displaced storage areas.
• hoses and hose positioning mechanisms may share a single source of suction (e.g., blower motor 226), airflow sensor and vacuum breaker.
• a single hose, hose positioning mechanism and hose storage area could be used in a further embodiment where the single hose services more than one article storage area, such as the refrigerated and non refrigerated storage areas shown by arrangement 700 in FIGURE 7, wherein support beam 230 and carriage 218 is positionable between the two storage areas having different ambient environments via a door mechanism 702.
• Each robotic article handling mechanism could have its own article ID device 254, or they could share a single article ID device 254.
• Fig. 8 illustrates a vending machine having a single article handling mechanism with dual customer interface areas (each including a product selection apparatus such as a keypad or touch screen, payment system, and product retrieval door), for example, one on the left side and one on the right side, with a common graphics display therebetween.
• This machine can service two purchasers at substantially the same time since customer selections and payment typically take a substantial amount time compared to the actual time needed for the dispenser to deliver the selected product.
• FIG.'s 10a, 10b, 10c, lOd and lOe one type of an article storage bin constructed and operating in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown.
• FIG.'s 10a, 10b, 10c, lOd and lOe illustrate a perspective view, a side section view, a front section view, and a top view, respectively, of one embodiment of the storage bin, and an article support used in conjunction with the article storage bin in accordance with the invention.
• the single storage bin 1000 illustrated corresponds to one of the storage bins 216 illustrated in Figures 1-3.
• storage bin 1000 comprises an elongated columnar storage magazine having a base 1001, an open top 1003, and a rectangular cross-section dimensioned to hold a particular type of product therein, such as a bag of potato chips 1005 as illustrated in Figure lOd.
• a typical vending machine has a height of approximately 6 feet
• storage bins 1000 could have a height of about 4 l ⁇ feet, leaving 1 1/2 feet for movement of hose 220 and carriage 218, as well as clearance between the top of the bins and the bottom of carriage 218 for allowing removal of the articles from the bins.
• edge catching article supports 1002 are provided on opposed walls 1004 and 1006 in a spaced manner along the height of bin 1000.
• Article supports 1002 comprise a generally U- shaped flexible plastic sheet, having a base portion 1008 and two extending tab portions 1010.
• Walls 1002 and 1004 include pairs of slots 1012 along their length which are dimensioned for receiving tab portions 1010.
• tabs 1010 will have a resistance to bending in the downward direction which will be greater than its resistance to bending in the upward direction. Accordingly, tabs 1010 will tend to support the articles stored in bin 1010; however, at the same time tabs 1010 will present very little resistance to the articles as they are removed from the bin by the picker head, so as to thereby not loosen the grip by the pickup head on the article being transported.
• the number of pairs of article supports needed along the height of each bin is a matter of designed choice, and may depend, for example, on the weight of the articles.
• sidewall 1016 includes openings 1018 and 1020.
• openings 1018 and 1020 In operation, since retrieval of products is from the top of the bin, loading of the bin must take place from the bottom in order to preserve a first-in, first-out (FIFO) product dispensing. Accordingly, the service person will insert the articles into the larger opening 1018 at the bottom of bin 1000 and then using his/her hand, push them upward in the bin. Opening 1020 is provided to assist movement of the inserted products towards the top of bin 1000.
• base 1001 may merely comprise an opening, it may comprise a pair of article supports 1010, or even one large flexible support which has a shape substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of bin 1000, in order to help bin 1000 keep its rectangular shape.
• FIG 1 Of shows cross section and perspective views of article storage bins similar to those of Figure 10 a, however the flaps are staggered in this embodiment.
• Figure lOg illustrates another further embodiment which is similar to Figure 10a, however having flaps on only one sidewall thereof.
• Figure 10 H. illustrates a further embodiment where article supporting flaps are formed as hinged shelves 1022. Dimples other protrusions 1024 are provided in a sidewall of the bin in order to prevent the hinged from swinging in one direction, in the illustrated embodiment, in the lower direction.
• hinged shelves 1022 function in a manner substantially similar to flaps 1010.
• Figure 10 I to substantially similar to Figure lOj, however in this embodiment shelves and 1022 on only positions along one sidewall of the bin, and the shelves are provided with varying depths of protrusions into the interior of the bin.
• Figure 10 J. a substantially similar to Figure 10i lender however shelves 1022 are provided on opposite sidewall to the bin, and they are provided in a staggered opposed manner along the length of the bin.
• FIG.'s 11a and l ib illustrate top and side perspective views of a further embodiment of an article storage bin constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
• each bin 1100 as an exterior cross-section and general shape substantially the same as described above with respect to Fig.'s 10, however corner article supports 1102 are positioned along each of the corners of bin 1100.
• the article supports 1102 are formed by providing in a spaced manner along each of the corners of bin 1100, a series of slots 1104. Next, that portion of the corner of bin 1100 which is immediately below each slot 1104, is pressed so as to "intrude" into the interior of bin 1100.
• each intrusion forms an article support 1102 which can support a corner of a flexible package in a manner similar to the support provided by tabs 1010 for the packages 1005, as shown in Figure lOd, when a series of flexible packages are stored one on top of each other within bin 1100.
• Openings 1118 and 1120 are formed in the lower portion of bins 600 and function and a manner similar to openings 1018 in 1020 shown in Figure 10, for loading bins 1100 with articles to be vended.
• the bottom portion of bins 1100 can be arranged similarly to the alternative embodiments noted above for bins 1000.
• FIG. 12a and 12b illustrate perspective views of further embodiments of an article storage bin constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, in order to facilitate an efficient refilling/filling of the storage bins with articles, and at the same time preserve a "first in/first out” (FIFO) refilling/filling scheme.
• the full height of the storage bin 1200 is formed by interlocking/stacking a plurality of sectional bins 1202.
• Each bin section 1202 includes a body portion having a standard length L and a standard width WI, and a top portion having a somewhat narrower width W2. WI and W2 are dimensioned so that the top portion of one bin 1202 can be inserted into the bottom portion of an adjacent bin 1202.
• the prepackaged bins/bin sections can be transported as a group in a container such as one of the forenoted macro boxes 219, from a warehouse or even from the article manufacturer, and the package supports of the present invention will serve to protect the integrity and quality of the products during such transport.
• the bin sections 1202 of Fig. 12a fit together with a friction fit
• the bin sections of Figure 12b fit together with a snap or "detent" mechanism 1204 and for, which may comprise a slot or depression which is engaged by a biased flap or ball, such as conventionally used for providing a snap fit.
• FIGURES 13a and 13b illustrate cross-section and perspective views of even further embodiments of article storage bin system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, wherein a "sleeve" 1302 of pre-packaged articles 1304 is used for loading an article storage bin, such as one having a configuration as shown in FIG.'s 10, 11 or 12.
• Each sleeve 1302 comprises a low-cost wrap, such as stiff paper, which encircles a pre-assembled group of articles.
• the sleeve 1302 can then be inserted into a storage bin through its open bottom (or e.g., the side loading opening 1020), for refilling/filling.
• Fig. 13b illustrates cross-section and perspective views of a further embodiment similar to Fig. 13 a, however sleeves 1302 include their along article supporting flaps 1302' therein.
• sleeves 1302 may merely be used for "releasing" a group of the articles into the bin in an efficient manner, and as the articles are introduced, the sleeve is removed.
• a bottom portion the each sleeve may be open, or alternatively, if some support for the articles is desired during transportation of the sleeve, have a bottom which is removable, or a bottom formed by a flexible package support, such as tabs 1010 shown above.
• bins 1000 may be manufactured using a multi-layer material, and tabs 1010 can be formed from an inner layer of the bin material.
• the article intrusions/supports can comprise a plurality of longitudinally oriented strips 1900 of flexible material, such as polyethylene, having "steps" formed (such as by die- cutting) therein, as shown in FIGURE 14-17. Strips 1400 can be adhered to the inner corners (FIGURES 14 and 16) or walls (FIGURES 15 and 17) of the article storage bins as shown, and their "steps" function to at least partially support the weight of the articles stored therein.
• the shape of the inserts could have a wavy, sinusoidal-type pattern.
• the inside of the bin could itself have a profile which acts to support the product, such as an internal spring/flexible portion which may be extruded integrally with the formation of the bin walls, or such a piece 1000 which is manufactured separately and then added to the interior of the bin.
• FIG. 18 which illustrate a perspective, longitudinal cross section and top view of a further bin variation where article supports which herein comprise a wavy-shaped 2D panel 1802 formed/placed/adhered adjacent to the interior walls of the bins.
• an article containment bin is shown which is rectangular in shape, other types of article containment techniques are consistent with the present invention.
• article containment bins are not required to have 4 sides, especially in the event that they are not arranged in a vertical orientation; article containment bins can be slanted or even horizontal. In this case only three or even two wall portions may be required, however it may still be desirable, and it is possible to use, the anti crush techniques described above.
• Figure 19 illustrates a vending machine wherein a single bin container (macro bin) 1900 includes wheels in order to facilitate a complete "swap-out" of the contents of the storage area of the vending machine.
• a single bin container (macro bin) 1900 includes wheels in order to facilitate a complete "swap-out" of the contents of the storage area of the vending machine.
• Fig. 20 illustrates an article handling/storage area combination wherein two article handlers 2002 and 2004 provide article handling for apparatus stored in two separate storage areas 2006 and 2008.
• a single source of suction 2010 can provide the suction needs for each of the individual article handlers.
• Area is 2006 and 2008 can both be an ambient environment, or some other environment, as will be apparent from the following Figures.
• Fig. 21 illustrates a vending machine similar to that of Figure 1, however, in place of the keypad portion of the user interface, a touch screen 2102 is provided.
• Fig. 22 illustrates an article handling/storage area combination wherein two article handlers 2202 and 2204 provide article handling for apparatus stored in two separate storage areas 2206 and 2208.
• a single or separate sources of suction can provide the suction needs for the individual article handlers.
• Area is 2006 and 2008 can both be an ambient environment, or some other application, one refrigerated and one, for example, ambient.
• a thermal separator not shown, could be used in the refrigerated area.
• Individual article ID devices 2206 and 2208 are provided.
• Figure 23 is substantially similar to Fig 22, but illustrates the use of three vertically stacked storage areas 2302, 2304, 2306 and respective article handlers. These areas may provide a frozen, cooled, and ambient environment, respectively.
• Figure 24 illustrates an article dispenser embodiment where the stacks of articles are substantially horizontal and carriage 218 moves in a vertical plane in front of the dispensing end of the stacks. Note weight bearing supports 2402 are still useful in this embodiment, and do not present impediment to article removal by the pick up head.
• Fig 25a and ' 25b illustrate an article dispenser embodiment where the stacks of articles are vertical and the weight bearing supports are fixed. In Fig 25b each article includes its own support.
• Figure 26 illustrates an article dispenser embodiment having dual user interfaces 2602 and 2604 and delivery ports 2606 and 2608, respectively, which allow two users to simultaneously make payments and selections and receive products.
• the interior of this machine could be as shown in Fig 20 or 22.
• Figure 27 illustrates various configurations for container 219, sometimes referred to as a macro box, because it holds multiple ones of bins 216 (useful for the purpose of "swapping" complete, or substantially complete, inventory/storage areas in an article dispenser.
• Figure 19 illustrates wheels for the boxes. Box 2701 includes all equally sized bins, box 2702 includes two equally sized sub-boxes 2703 and 2704 (each of them including bins of varying sizes and shapes). In a similar manner, boxes 2705 and 2706 show boxes having 3 and 4 sub-boxes, respectively.
• substantially rectangular article storage bins have been described, circular/curved- walled bins can be used.
• a suction providing air hose 220 has been disclosed in the described preferred embodiments, in fact a solid element having a gripper at its free and, such as a mechanically operated claw (or an electromagnetic device or even a self-contained suction generator), could also be used. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed in the scope of the appended claims.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
• Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Manipulator (AREA)
• Stacking Of Articles And Auxiliary Devices (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (6)

Family Applications Before (5)

Country Status (12)

Families Citing this family (55)

Family Cites Families (49)

• 2001
  • 2001-05-23 AU AU6492301A patent/AU6492301A/xx active Pending
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  • 2001-05-23 CN CNA2007101058368A patent/CN101079162A/zh active Pending
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  • 2001-05-23 EP EP01954588A patent/EP1287502B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
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  • 2001-05-23 MX MXPA02011579A patent/MXPA02011579A/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-05-23 MX MXPA02011578A patent/MXPA02011578A/es active IP Right Grant
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  • 2001-05-23 CN CNA2006101099946A patent/CN1941006A/zh active Pending
  • 2001-05-23 EP EP01953380A patent/EP1287504A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
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  • 2001-05-23 WO PCT/US2001/016837 patent/WO2002003340A1/fr active Application Filing
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