US2233118A

US2233118A - Skidway

Info

Publication number: US2233118A
Application number: US178050A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter W Williams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1937-12-04
Filing date: 1937-12-04
Publication date: 1941-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1958-02-25

Description

Patented Feb. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Walter W. Williams, Bloomington, Ill.

Application December 4, 1937, Serial No. 178,050

3 Claims.

This invention relates ito-improvements in dispensing apparatus and more particularly to the construction of a cabinet for containing packaged liquids, maintaining the packages at a desired temperature and dispensing them one at a time.

It is an object of this invention to construct a cabinet of this character adapted to support a plurality of bottles or cylindrical containers, such as milk bottles, so as to be delivered by gravity through an outlet at .the bottom intermittently opened and closed by depositing a coin to free the closure thereof.

With this and other objects in view, reference is made to the accompanying sheet of drawing which illustrates a preferred form of this invention with the understanding that minor changes maybe made without departing from the scope thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a View of a preferred form of this invention with the cover and upper portion of the cabinet removed, illustrating parts in section and parts in plan view.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken on the line 2-2, Figure 1, of the cooling and dispensing portion oi the cabinet.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view in central longitudinal vertical section of the dispensing closure.

Figure 4 is a view in section taken on the line t-fil of Figure 3.

hi the embodiment of this invention as illustrated, a cylindrical cabinet is preferably divided into an upper section i to form a refrigerated compartment containing the dispensing apparatus and a lower section 2 to form a compartment to contain any desired type of refrigerating apparatus.

Inasmuch as any commercial type of refrigerating apparatus may be employed and does not form a part of this invention, the refrigeration apparatus is not illustrated and the compartment provided therefor is not shown in detail, being broken away and indicated by the reference numeral 2.

The refrigerated compartment I is provided with a spaced-apart inner side wall 3, top wall 4 and bottom wall 5 with the space between the inner and outer walls filled with insulation material 5 as is customary in refrigerated compartments. The .top of the cabinet is provided with a door I for the insertion of the bottles or cylindrical containers 8, which door is preferably circular in form, insulated similar to the cabinet walls and may be secured to form an air-tight (on. 1934s) closure, as shown, or in any other desired manner.

It is preferable to support the cylindrical packages 8, illustrated herein as the usual milk bottles used in the commercial distribution of milk, upon two equally spaced-apart annular spiral supports 5 or ramps 9 and III extending from the inner wall 3 of the compartment I, each spaced apart from the top a sufiicient distance to allow a bottle to be placed thereon and each terminating one above the other within a tangental housing ll extending from the lower portion of the cabinet.

The pitch of the spiral annular supports or ramps 9 and I0 is such that as the bottles are removed from the bottom, those thereabove will. descend by gravity It is preferable to mount the 15 annular supports or ramps 9 and Ill upon the walls 3 at a slight angle such as 5 to the horizontal and provide the inner free ends with an upturned flange l2 to engage the neck of the bottle, so that in descending, the bottles will roll upon a two-point contact with the support or ramp, one point of contact being the bottom of the bottle and the other the neck of the bottle,

as shown.

It is preferable to arrange cooling coils l3 and it from the refrigerating apparatus upon the under sides of supports or ramps 9 and it and secured thereto in any desired manner. The central cylindrical space surrounded by the annular supports or ramps 9 and it may be employed for precooling the bottles later to be placed upon dispensing spirals and may, if desired, be separated therefrom by a cylindrical spacer H5.

The housing Ii rotatably mounts a cylindrical dispensing closure closed at each end by circular plates l6 and Il and its cylindrical walls provided with a plurality of longitudinal spaced-apart clepressions forming pockets N3 of suflicient size to receive and completely contain a bottle or cylindrical package to be dispensed. In the embodi- 40 ment illustrated, four of such pockets l8 are shown in Figures 2 and 4. The end plates l6 and H are secured upon an axial shaft I9 rotatably mounted in the sides of the housing II to support the dispensing closure with the bottom of one pocket E8 in line with the lower annular dispensing spiral I0 when another pocket i8 is in position to receive a bottle from the upper annular dispensing spiral 9, as shown in Figure 2. The bottom of the housing II is formed with a front wall 20 embracing the cylindrical dispensing closure and is provided with an opening 2| to register with a pocket (8 to allow a bottle contained therein to pass out of the housing. The housing I l is provided with a rear wall 22 which is a con- 56 tinuation of the inner bottom wall of the refrigerated compartment I to embrace the cylindrical dispensing closure to the rear of the opening 2I and is then extended in a downward curved portion 23 over which the bottle 8 discharged from the pocket I8 through the opening 2I will roll to engage a stop 24 under the front of the housing II and spaced apart from wall 20 to form an opening 25 through which the bottle may be easily removed.

The shaft I9 of the cylindrical dispensing closure of the housing II passes through the outer wall thereof and through a casing 28 carried thereby' to mount an operating handle 21 upon its exterior end. The casing 26 contains any desired form of coin-controlled apparatus adapted upon the insertion of a coin in the slot 28 to free the shaft I9 to allow the handle 21 to be operated to bring the next adjacent pocket I8 in alignment with the opening 2I to dispense or discharge the bottle contained therein. Such coin-controlled apparatus is a commercial article and forms no part of this invention and therefore is not illustrated in detail.

When the cabinet is filled, the first bottle placed upon the lower annular dispensing spiral III, will roll down thereon and enter a pocket I8 in the cylindrical dispensing closure, as indicated by A in Figure 2, and will act as a stop for the other bottles supported upon that spiral or ramp ID. The first bottle placed upon the upper annular dispensing spiral 9 will roll down thereon and enter this pocket I8 in position to receive it in the cylindrical dispensing closure, as indicated B in Figure 2, and the other bottles on that spiral will be supported thereon, as shown in Figure 2.

Upon the first operation of the handle 21, the bottle A will be dispensed and the cylindrical walls of the dispensing closure will hold the bot- 40 ties on both spirals 9 and I0 until bottle B assumes the position of the former bottle A, allowing the next bottle in the upper spiral 9 to enter this pocket I8 and assume the position of the former bottle B. Successive operations of the 45 handle 21 will repeat the above described movements until all of the bottles in the upper spiral 8 have been dispensed and then the bottles in this lower spiral I0 will be allowed to enter the cylindrical dispensing closure and be dispensed.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for supporting and advancing by gravity to a discharge portion thereof containers of a type having a reduced neck extending from a main body portion thereof and an enlarged head on said neck, a spiral ramp mounted on said apparatus, said ramp having a flange along the inner peripheral edge, the neck of each of said containers resting on the top of said flange and the head extending from said neck engaging the side of said flange to prevent endwisedisplacement of said container.

2. In an apparatus for supporting and advancing by gravity to a discharge portion thereof containers of a type having a reduced neck extending from a main body portion thereofand an enlarged head on said neck, a spiral ramp of greater width than the combined lengths of said neck and main body portion, said ramp being inclined radially outwardly and downwardly and having a flange along the inner peripheral edge, the neck of each of said containers resting on the top of said flange and the head extending from said neck engaging the side of said flange to prevent endwise displacement of said container in the direction of inclination of said ramp.

3. In an apparatus for supporting and advancing by gravity to a discharge portion thereof containers of a type having a reduced neck extending from a main body portion thereof and an enlarged head on said neck, a spiral ramp mounted on and having one edge engaging an inner wall of said apparatus, said ramp being inclined toward said inner wall and being of greater width than the combined lengths of said neck and main body portions of said containers, and a flange on the free edge of said ramp, the neck of each of said containers resting on the top I of said flange and the head extending from said neck engaging the side of said flange to prevent endwise displacement of said container toward said wall and to maintain a spaced relation there between.

WALTER W. WILLIAMS.