GB2416163A

GB2416163A - Single cigarette vending machine

Info

Publication number: GB2416163A
Application number: GB0415902A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Lord Corrigan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-07-16
Filing date: 2004-07-16
Publication date: 2006-01-18
Also published as: GB0415902D0

Abstract

A machine for vending individual cylindrical articles comprises a store (1) for containing a plurality of the articles (2) stacked one above another. A dispensing mechanism at the lower end of the store comprises a rotary member (5) providing at least one horizontal slot (4) for receiving an individual article from the store. A motor rotates the rotary member whereby the slot moves around a horizontal axis to a position wherein the article drops out of the slot under the influence of gravity and on to a delivery location. Payment receiving means controls operation of the motor in response to receipt of a payment.

Description

SINGLE CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a machine for vending individual cylindrical articles, for

example cigarettes.

Background to the Invention

Vending machines for cigarettes in packets are well-known, and are essentially similar to many other vending machines handling packaged articles. The machines rely on the packaging to protect the products during the process conveying the package from the storage position to the product delivery point. Also, since the products are sealed within packaging, they can enjoy an extended life within the machine.

In some locations, for example amusement arcades and the like, there is a re- quirement to be able to sell individual cigarettes, rather than packets of, usually, 20 ciga- rettes at a time. Various machines have been proposed to achieve individual sales of cigarettes. For example, US-A-5351856 discloses a machine having storage bins in which loose cigarettes may be stored for sale, sloping sides of the bin funnelling the cigarettes downwardly so as to fall into a slot In a rotary dispenser. This machine suffers from a number of disadvantages: there is a risk of jamming of the cigarettes in the bin if they are not correctly aligned, resulting in no cigarette being delivered in the vending cycle; the dispensing of the individual cigarettes is relatively slow; and it is difficult for the machine to be configured to provide an accurate warning of Imminent emptying of the bin, to al- low the operator to refill it.

The present invention seeks to overcome these difficulties.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention, there is provided a machine for vending individual cy lindrical articles, comprising a store for containing a plurality of the articles stacked one above another, a dispensing mechanism at the lower end of the store comprising a rotary member providing at least one horizontal slot for receiving an individual article from the store, a motor for rotating the rotary member whereby the slot moves around a hori- zontal axis to a position wherein the article drops out of the slot under the influence of gravity and on to a delivery location, and payment receiving means controlling operation of the motor In response to receipt of a payment. - 2

Preferably, the machine comprises at least two stores arranged in the same plane, and the rotary member comprises n slots, where n is equal to the number of stores or to an integral multiple thereof, the slots being axially displaced one from the other so as to be alienable with respective ones of the stores and equally circumferentially displaced from each other around the axis of rotation of the rotary member.

The or each store is preferably removable, so as to be more easily refilled with the articles. The or each store is preferably in the form of a cassette whose internal thickness is just greater than the diameter of an article so that the articles are a sliding fit therein, and whose internal width is just sufficient to accommodate the length of an arti cle to be stored therein for sale. The cassette has an opening at one end through which the articles may slide under gravity into the slot in the rotary member. The cassette may simply be loaded from the open end, Inserting the articles one-by-one, or it may have an openable cover permitting access to interior to enable multiple articles to be loaded at the same time. The machine may be provided with a clip or other latching arrangement to hold the removable store in place during normal operation of the machine, while per mitting the store to be readily disengaged from the machine for replenishment.

The payment receiving means may consist of a coin or token slot linked to a vali dator for determining the authenticity and value of coins or tokens Inserted therein, so as to signal release of the dispensing mechanism when coins or tokens of sufficient value have been inserted. The validator will be arranged to discharge the coins or tokens into a secure box accessible to the operator of the machine by operation of a key lock or other secure access means. Other forms of payment means may be incorporated as an alterna tve or addition, for example operated by a smart card or other electronic payment means.

The motor may be an electric motor arranged to drive the rotary member through a reduction gear. Alternatively, another type of motor may be used, for exam ple a stepper motor.

The rotary member may be provided with a position sensor to provide a control signal to switch off the motor when the slot has reached its discharge position, or when it has returned to the loading position at or adjacent the tope of its rotational path. The position sensor may, for example, comprise an opto-electronic device.

By varying the length of the or each store, the capacity of the vending machine may be changed according to requirements, thereby ensuring that the articles do not re- man in the machine too long. This is important where the articles are subject to degra- dation when exposed to the atmosphere for prolonged periods. For example, cigarettes are subject to drying if left unwrapped. The storage life of single unwrapped cigarettes in the machine could be extended by providing humidifying means within the machine adja- cent to the store or stores. Providing the stores in closed form will also maximise stor- age life of, for example, cigarettes.

The machine will typically be provided with a casing to enclose the store or stores and the dispensing mechanism, the casing serving to keep the stores secure, to protect the mechanism from interference, and to provide a satisfactory external appearance.

The machine may be made to fit within a relatively narrow casing, which may be free- standing or mounted on an existing table or other surface.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention: Figures 1 and 2 are sectional elevations of a store and dispensing mechanism forming part of a vending machine according to the invention, illustrating successive stages in the dispensing operation, Figure 2 also including the delivery chute; and Figure 3 is a part sectional diagrammatic view of a vending machine of which the components illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 form a part.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the store 1 consists of a closed cassette whose internal dimensions are adapted to accommodate a stack of individual cigarettes 2, one upon another, such that the cigarettes are a sliding fit within the cassette. The cassette 1 has an open end 3 which, In use, is lowermost. The cigarettes 2 may be fed into the cas- sette 1 through the open end 3 one at a time, or the cassette may be provided with a removable, or hingedly openable, face, permitting the cigarettes to be loaded into the cassette more rapidly.

The cassette 1 is removably mounted in the vending machine by such means as clips (not shown), so that the open end 3 is aligned with a slot 4 In a rotary member 5.

For the purposes of loading, a removable pin or other stop member may be inserted through an end porbon of the cassette to hold the cigarettes in place until the cassette is in its operational position. When the stop member Is removed, the lowermost cigarette 2 is free to drop into the slot 4 when the slot is at its uppermost position as illustrated in Figure 1. To dispense the cigarette in response to payment, as hereinafter described with reference to Figure 3, the rotary member is rotated through 180 , allowing the cigarette to drop out of the slot and on to a sloping dispensing tray 6, as illustrated in Figure 2. In the case of a machine having a single dispensing mechanism, the rotary member 5 would then need to rotate through a further 180 to be ready for the next sale. It might there- fore be advantageous for the rotary member 5 to be provided with a plurality of slots equally spaced around the periphery thereof, with the movement required to dispense being equal to the corresponding fraction of 360 . A convenient configuration where a single store and dispensing mechanism are used would be to have two diametrically- opposed slots. A shield 7 serves to retain the cigarette in the slot during rotation of the rotary member from the loading position illustrated in Figure 1 to the discharge position illustrated in Figure 2.

A preferred configuration is shown in figure 3. Two of the cassettes] are located in the vending machine side-by-side. The rotary member 5 consists of a common drive shaft 8 driven by an electric motor 9 through reduction gearing 10. The shaft 8 mounts pairs of wheels 11, each provided with a slot 4 in the circumference thereof, the slots 4 in each pair being in alignment with each other so that the pair constitute, in effect, a single rotary member. The slots 4 In one pair are spaced from those in the other pair by 180 so that, when one pair is being loaded with a cigarette 2, the other pair are ds- charging a cigarette on to the respective discharge chute 6. In this way, the capacity of the vending machine is doubled, and the motor only has to rotate the shaft through 180 to dispense a single cigarette.

A plate 12 is positioned between each pair of wheels 1 1 adjacent to the discharge point to ensure that the cigarette is dislodged from the slot if it should not drop out freely under the influence of gravity.

The vending machine comprises a controller 13 electrically linked to the motor 9 so as to be able to control the supply of power thereto. A coin acceptor and validator 14 signals to the controller 13 when the correct value of coins has been inserted (and - 5 may be arranged to provide change for larger denominations if required). A position sensor 15 is mounted on the shaft 8 to provide a signal to the controller 13 when the slots are correctly aligned relative to the stores and to the discharge position, causing the power supply to the motor to be switched off. The position sensor 15 may be of any type, but conveniently comprises a wheel with timing apertures and an opto-electronic device detecting the presence or absence of light from a light-emitting diode on the oppo- site side of the wheel. Such devices are well-known and will therefore not be described in detail.

Each store 1 is conveniently provided with a detector 16 to detect when the number of cigarettes stored in the cassette drops below a predetermined value, to pro- vide, via the controller, an alerting signal to the operator to replenish the machine. This may simply be a warning light on the machine casing, but the alerting signal could be con- veyed to the operator remotely by any known means. In Figure 3, only one of the cas- settes is provided with a detector 16 for the sake of clarity, but in practice both cassettes might be so equipped. The detector 16 Illustrated in Figure 3 is a simple gravity-biased arm resting against the cigarettes in the cassette in such a manner that, when the last cigarette clears the arm, it is free to rotate downwardly, thereby closing (or opening) a micro-switch to provide a signal. It will be appreciated that other signalling arrangements are readily available to provide warning of low stock level in the cassette, for example using optical detection, and the invention is not limited to the use of any particular type; indeed, the presence of such a detector is optional.

While the invention has been particularly described in relation to the vending of individual cigarettes, it will be understood that it is not limited to the sale of any particular articles. - 6

Claims

CLAIb1S 1. A machine for vending individual cylindrical articles,

comprising a store for containing a plurality of the articles stacked one above another, a dispensing mechanism at the lower end of the store comprising a rotary member providing at least one horizon tal slot for receiving an individual article from the store, a motor for rotating the rotary member whereby the slot moves around a horizontal axis to a position wherein the arti- cle drops out of the slot under the influence of gravity and on to a delivery location, and payment receiving means controlling operation of the motor in response to receipt of a payment.
2. A machine according to Claim 1, wherein the machine comprises at least two stores arranged in the same plane, and the rotary member comprises n slots, where n is equal to the number of stores or to an integral multiple thereof, the slots being axially displaced one from the other so as to be alienable with respective ones of the stores and equally circumferentially displaced from each other around the axis of rotation of the ro tary member.
3. A machine according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the or each store is removably mounted in the machine.
4. A machine according to Claim 3, wherein the or each store is in the form of a cassette whose internal thickness is just greater than the diameter of an article so that the articles are a sliding fit therein, and whose internal width is just sufficient to ac- commodate the length of an article to be stored therein for sale.
5. A machine according to Claim 4, wherein the or each cassette has an openable cover permitting access to the interior thereof for loading.
6. A machine according to any of Claims 3 to 5, comprising a latching ar rangement to hold the or each removable store in place during normal operation of the machine while permitting the store to be readily disengaged from the machine for replen- ishment.
7. A machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the payment receiving means consists of a coin or token slot linked to a validator for determining the au thenticity and value of coins or tokens inserted therein, so as to signal release of the dis- pensing mechanism when coins or tokens of sufficient value have been inserted. - 7
8. A machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the motor is an electric motor arranged to drive the rotary member through a reduction gear.
9. A machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the rotary member is provided with a position sensor to provide a control signal to switch off the motor when the slot has reached the discharge position thereof or when it has returned to the loading position at or adjacent the tope of its rotational path.
10. A machine according to Claim 9, wherein the position sensor comprises an opto-electronic device.
11. A machine according to any preceding claim, comprising humidifying means for maintaining the contents of the stores at a desired humidity level.
12. A machine for vending individual cylindrical articles, substantially as de- scribed with reference to, and/or as shown in, the drawings.