US2283252A - Coin-operated vending machine and control mechanism therefor - Google Patents

Description

I May 19, 1942. w. HARTMAN ark-Al.

COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINE AND CONTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed octxs, 1958 v s Sheets-Sheet- 1" v FIG. I.

FIG. 3,

INVEN ORS WILLIAM HARTMAN MILTON W. GREENWALD CHARLES F. CARROLL ATTORNEY w. HARTMAN ET AL May 19, 1942;.

COINOPERATED VENDING MACHINE AND CONTROLMECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Oct. 5, 1958 3 SheetS-Sheet 2 INVENTDRS. I WILLIAM HARTMAN MILTON W. GREENWALD QHARLES F. CARROLL ATTORNEY W. HARTMAN ETAL -May 19, 1942.

COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINE AND CONTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 3, 1958 lllllllllll llllllllllllllxllllllllll.

INVENTORSI FIG; H

m3 M T w R R N R A U Hm F M W 5 L l- I W m A H LC M ATTORNEY Patented May 19, 1942 UNETED STATES GFHQE COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINE AND CONTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR Application October 3, 1938, Serial No. 232,988

(Cl. 3l2-55) 14 Claims.

This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in coin-operated vending machines and coin-actuated control mechanisms therefor.

Our invention has for its primary objects the provision of a machine of the type stated which is simple and economical in construction and maintenance, which is substantially tamperproof, which, by reason of its simplicity and small number of operating parts, is rugged and serviceable, and which is adapted to vend a number of different items from a number of different locations within the limits of the machine under the selective control of a single coin-actuated operating mechanism.

Our invention has for a further object the provision of a coin-actuated vending control mechanism from which the customer may, if desired, recover or regain the coin prior to actuation of the vending mechanism, which is extremely sensitive to actuating movement of the vending mechanism and will immediately drop the coin into a receptacle upon initiation of vending operation, and in which actual movement of the coin itself during the initial stages of vending operation actually serves to unlock the vending mechanism for delivery of a unit of merchandise.

And with the above and other objects in view, our invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings (3 sheets)- Figure 1 is a front elevational View, partly broken away and in section, of a vending ma chine constructed in accordance with and embodying our present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the vending machine illustrating in detail the merchandise delivering mechanism;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the merchandise delivering mechanism shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the vending machine, taken approximately along the line 44, Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the coin-actuated latching mechanism of our present invention;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the coin-actuated latch mechanism, with the back-plate thereof removed for illustrating in more detail the interior structure thereof;

Figure '7 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch-bolt member of our present invention;

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the vending machine, taken approximately alongthe line 88, Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the merchandise delivering mechanism, showing in detail the auxiliary locking mechanism for positively locking the merchandise delivering mechanism when the particular merchandise bin is empty;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of the auxiliary locking mechanism, taken approximately along the line Iii-I0, Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the auxiliary locking mechanism.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of our present invention therein illustrated comprises an outer cabinet or housing I constructed preferably of sheet metal or other suitable material and having a top wall 2, a bottom wall 3, side walls 4, 5, a rear Wall 6, and a front or facing wall I, the rear wall 6 being provided with any conventional locked door (not shown) for providing access to the interior of the housing I.

Respectively spaced inwardly from, and extending parallel to, the side walls 4, 5, is a pair of inner vertical partitions 8, 9, for supporting a plurality of pairs ofvertically' spaced horizontal shelf members I 9, H, arranged in tiers, and provided with a plurality of preferably uniformly spaced vertical partition members l2 for sub-dividing the shelf pairs into a plurality of small cubicle-like merchandise compartments a, each of the partition members l2 being provided along its forward and rearward vertical margins with laterally extending flanges I 3 for retentive engagement with the merchandise units placed within the particular compartments, the flanges l3 associated with the front margins of the partitions I 2 being somewhat shorter in length than the partitions l2 and terminating upwardly from the upper face of the shelf II by a distance slightly greater than the thickness of a merchandise unit, all as best seen in Figure 1 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Centrally of each merchandise compartment a, the shelf members I l are provided with slots I4 extending forwardly from the rear margin of the shelf II and having a rearward portion l5 which is substantially wider than the forward straight-sided portion l6 thereof, as best seen in Figure 8.

Swingably mounted on, and extending horizontally between, thefianges l3 across the front and adjacent the bottom of each of the merchandise compartments a, is a narrow closure flap adapted to swing freely under its own weight downwardly in front of the compartment a for preventing unauthorized access to the interior thereof through slot-like apertures I'8' formed in the front wall 1 in front of each merchandise compartment a, as best seen in Figure l.

Spaced downwardly from, and extending horizontally beneath, each of the shelf members II, is a rotary shaft l9 journaled at its one end in the partition 8 and extending at its other end rotatively through the partition 9, being at such extended end rigidly provided with a transversely extending bifurcated arm 25.

Embracingly mounted on each of the shafts IQ for shiftable movement therealong, is a carriage 2| provided with four vertical shaft-engaging roller members 22 and having a transversely extending vertical slot 23 for receiving the enlarged end 24 of a rock-arm 25, which is splined to the shaft for shiftable movement with the carriage and rotational movement with the shaft I9,

the arm 25 being provided at its outer end with an upstanding stop shoulder 26 and an outwardly projecting arm 2'! having a hooked end 28 for retentively receiving one end of a tension spring 29, which is, at its other end, suitably connected to a swingable link 30, the latter being at its one end pivotally connected to the rock-arm 25 in such a position as to be limited in its movement in one direction by the stop shoulder 26, and being further provided at its outer end with a cross-head or merchandise pusher 3| extending laterally equidistantly on either side thereof and being secured thereto by suitable fastening means, such as, for instance, a bolt 32.

The cross-head 3| is preferably formed in the shape of a flattened I having a top section 33 slightly shorter in length than the widest dimension of the slot-portion I5, anintermediate section 34 slightly shorter in length than the width of the straight-sided slot-portion l6, and a bottom section 35 which is substantially greater in length than the widest dimension of the slot l4. Formed preferably integrally with, and extending horizontally forwardly from the roller carriage 2|, is a horizontal finger bar 36 project- 'ing through a horizontal slot 31 formed in the face panel 1 beneath the line of slot-like apertures l8, and having a plurality of downwardly extending notches 38 in its lower margin each registering substantially with the center of a particular merchandise compartment for centering the carriage 2| with respect thereto. Exteriorly of the face panel I, the finger arm 38 is provided with an upwardly extending pointer 39 and an outwardly extending knob 40, all as best seen in Figure 2 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Rigidly mounted, at its ends, upon the intermediate partitions 8, 9, and extending transversely therebetween slightly above each of the shafts I9, is a horizontal stop panel M so positioned above the shafts l9 as to permit the upper face of the roller carriage 2| to freely pass therebeneath, being provided along its rearward margin with a plurality of inwardly extending slots 42 having an enlarged throat portion 43 and an inner straight-sided portion 44, the latter being substantially equal in width to the transverse thickness of the rock-arm 25, each of the slots 42 being positioned centrally with respect to one of the particular merchandise compartments a.

It will thus be evident that, by grasping the knob 45, the roller carriage 2| and the rock-arm 25, together with the link SI] and the cross-head or pusher 3|, may be shifted laterally beneath the particular tier of merchandise compartments with which it is'associated and brought to rest beneath any one of such compartments a with the pointer member 39 stopped at a selected indicia-mark b, serving to indicate the contents of the particular merchandise compartment and dropped into the selected notch 38 of the slot 31, as best seen in Figure 1.

Thereupon, when the shaft I9 is rotated, the rock-arm 25 and the link 35 will swing upwardly together until the cross-head 3| is engaged in the slot l4. Thereupon, continued rotation of the shaft l9 will swing the rock-arm 25 forwardly and cause the link 38 to swing about its pivoted end against the action of the tension spring 29, so as to ride horizontally forwardly along the bottom of the merchandise compartment from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. During the course of its forward horizontal stroke, the upper portion 33 of the cross-head 3| will engage the rearward edge of the lowermost merchandise unit in the particular compartment and push it horizontally forwardly.

In the event that the customer, through accident or carelessness, has not shifted the roller carriage 2| to a properly centered position with respect to one of the merchandise compartments, then the rock-arm 25, immediately upon upward swinging movement, will come into blocking abutment with the rearward edge of the stop plate 4|. When, however, the roller carriage 2| has been moved into properly centered position with respect to any one of the merchandise compartments, the rock-arm 25 will swing upwardly into one of the slots 42.

As has been above stated, each of the shafts l9 extends through the partition 9 and is provided on its extended end with a transverse bifurcated arm 20, each of which is in yoke-wise engagement with a pin 45 mounted rigidly in and extending laterally outwardly from a horizontal shiftable cross-bar 45, being connected intermediate its ends with one end of a strong tension spring 41' in turn connected at its other end to the partition 9. Each cross-bar 46 is further provided at its inner end with a stop screw 41 to limit the forward shifting movement thereof and extends forwardly through a slide hanger 48 and a slot 49 formed in the face panel 1, being provided on its outwardly extended end with a pull knob 58. For a short distance inwardly of the knob 5!], the respective cross-bars 45 are cut away in the provision of a forwardly presented vertical bevel shoulder 50.

The face panel 1 of the vending machine is provided preferably adjacent an upper corner with a vertical slot-like coin-depositing aperture 5|, which is in substantial registration with the coin-receiving aperture of a coin selector mechanism 52 mounted rigidly upon the upper forward portion of the outwardly presented face of the inner supporting partition 9. This coinselecting mechanism 52 may be of any conventional type having a series of coin-selecting and rejecting mechanisms arranged in a successive series along the path of movement of the coin ultimately terminating in a coin-droppin chute 53.

Positioned directly below the coin selector mechanism 52 for receiving the coin as it is discharged therefrom, is a latch control mechanism 54, which includes a relatively thin rectangular back plate 55 and a front plate 56, being provided adjacent its upper margin with a horizontally extending slot-like aperture 51, and being further provided adjacent its lower margin with an elongated horizontally extending slot-like aperture 58. The front and back plates 55, 56, are held in peripherally registering spaced parallel relationship by a vertical spacer block 59 extending along the rearward vertical plate-margins 60 and a pair of short horizontally extending spacer blocks 6 I, 62, having opposed parallel faces 63, 63, respectively, in horizontal alignment with the upper and lower faces of the slot 51 and extending inwardly for a predetermined distance from the forward vertical plate-margin 64, the spacer blocks 59, 6|, and 62 being suitably apertured for accommodating connecting rivets 65 by which the latch structure is held in assembled a relation.

Shiftably mounted in the slot 51, is a bolt member 66 integrally including ashank 61, a transverse intermediate section 68 having a rearwardly presented coin-contact face 69, and a latch-engaging arm I0, the shank 6! being sized for fitting vertically between the faces 63, 63', of the spacer blocks 6|, 62, and transversely between the inner faces of the back and front plates 55, 56, and the latch arm I being disposed outwardly from the plane of the outer face of the front plate 56 and terminating in an oblique transverse abutment face II. Intermediate its ends, the latch-engaging arm "I0 is provided with a rigidly mounted pin 12 extending horizontally through the slot 51 in the front plate 56 and terminatmg just short of the inner face of the back plate 55. It should furthermore be pointed out in this connection that the horizontal distance between thepin I2 and the coin contact face 69 of the bolt member 66 must be'somewhat larger than the greatest permissible diameter of the coin which is to be received in the mechanism.

On its under face, the latch mechanism 54 is preferably provided with a bottom plate 13 which is stamped out in the provision of two longitudinally spaced coin drop-apertures I4, I5, as best seen in Figure 6 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Slidably mounted between the under horizontal face of the spacer block 62 and the upwardly presented horizontal face of the bottom plate I3, is a coin return bar 16 extending inwardly between the back and front plates 55, 56, and terminating at a point approximately midway of the bottom plate portion I3 intermediate the coindrop-apertures 14, I5.

Threadedly mounted at its end in the bar l6 and extending outwardly therefrom through the slot-like aperture 58, is a hook-ended pin 18 for retentive engagement with one end of a tension Spring I9, which is at its other end secured to a post 89 mounted rigidly in and extending outwardly from the front plate 56, all as best seen in Figure and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Swingably mounted upon the outwardly presented face of the front plate 56 adjacent the upper margin thereof by means of a flat-headed pivot screw 8|, is a substantially horizontal latch member '82 having its under face preferably positioned for overlying abutment with the upwardly presented face of the latch arm 10 and being provided at its free end with a downwardly depending detent or hook portion 83 having a fortil wardlypresented abutment face 84 for engagement with the end face II of the latch extension or arm ID, as best seen in Figure 5. Formed preferably integrally with, and extending upwardly and inwardly from, the upper face of the latch member 82, is a lifter arm 85 extending horizontally over the upper margin of the front plate 56 and at its end being bent downwardly in the provision of ashort finger member 86 extending freely between the inwardly presented faces of the back and front plates 55, 56, and being provided at its lower extremity with'an arcuate cam face 81, the lowermost extremity of which lies substantially in the plane of the upper face of the slot 51, as best seen in Figure 6.

Suitably mounted on the inner supporting partition 9 with its upper open end positioned directly beneath the coin drop I5, is a coin return chute 88 extending downwardly and obliquely forwardly throughthe face panel I and terminating in a suitable coin-holding till 89. Removably mounted on the supporting partition '9 directly beneath the other coin drop I4, is an open-topped coin-retention box or receptacle 90, all as best seen in Figure 4 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Pivotally mounted on the outer face of the inner supporting partition 9 at a point substantially beneath the latch mechanism 54 by means of a flat-headed post screw 9|, is a bell-crank 92 having an upwardly extending substantially vertical leg 93 provided at its upper end with an elongated slot-like aperture 94 for accommodating any suitable type ofconnecting pin 95 extending therethrough and being threaded or otherwise rigidly mountedin the latch-engaging arm I0.

The bell-crank 92 is further provided with a horizontally extending leg 96 terminating in an arcuately formed end portion 91 and being further provided intermediate its ends with a pin 98 for receiving one end. of a tension spring 99, which is, at its other end, retentively connected to the inner supporting partion 9.

Rigidly mounted on the outer face of the supporting partition 9, are a plurality of vertically aligned bracket members I00 having a forward leg IOI spaced outwardly from and extending parallel to the supporting partition 9. Shiftably mounted for vertically slidable movement between the bracket legs IM and the outer face of the supporting partition 9, are a plurality of endwise abutting locking bars I02 preferably of rectangular cross-section and at their ends being cut away or chamfered in the provision of upwardly presented and downwardly presented bevel faces I03, I04, respectively. Each of the locking bars I02 is precisely equal in length to the vertical distance between the upper faces, respectively, of any two directly subjacent cross bars 46. Shiftably mounted for vertically slidable movement between the uppermost bracket members I00 and the supporting partition 9, is a relatively short keeper bar I05, being at its lower extremity in endwise abutment with the top of the uppermost locking bar I02 and being cut away or chamfered in the formation of a downwardly presented bevel face I06. Intermediate its ends and inwardly of its rear vertical margin, the keeper bar I05 is cut away or recessed in the provision of a slot I01 for snugly embracing the rounded or arcuate end 91 of the bell-crank 92. The lowermost locking bar I02 is further provided adjacent its .lower end with a pin I08 which projects outwardly and engages the upper face of the lowermost cross bar 46 for limiting the downward shifting movement of the entire column of locking bars, and it may also be pointed out in this connection that the keeper bar I and the locking bars I02 each rest one upon the other but are nevertheless free to shift vertically independently of any one of the members below it, as best seen in Figure 4 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

Mounted in each of the merchandise compartments for freely shifting vertical movement therein, is a weight member I09 provided along its rear margin with an outwardly extending neck-like portion IIO which extends outwardly between the vertical margins of the rear flange members I3 and is bent downwardly in the provision of a tongue-like member III having a downwardly curved arcuate cam surface H2 across its lower end for operative engagement with the cam} follower portion II3 of the outer leg H4 of a U-shaped auxiliary or safety lock member H5, the bight portion H6 of which is axially bored for rotatively receiving a pivot stud Ill. At its inner end, the stud H1 is tightly threaded into the rear face of the roller carriage 2 I, the inner leg I I8 of the U-shaped safety lock member H5 extending inwardly along the rear face of the roller carriage 2| across and in front of the rocking arm 25 and being provided along its upper margin with a hook-ended pin I I9 for receiving one end of a tension spring H9 which extends rearwardly therefrom and is fixed at its other end to the roller carriage 2| for normally swinging the U-shaped member I I5 into more or less vertically upright position.

The distance between the under face of the weight member I09 and the lowermost point of the cam surface II2 thereof is such that, when one or more units of merchandise are housed within the particular compartment, the lowermost point of the cam surface II2 will be above hers I09 are then placed on top of each pile or stack of merchandise for holding it down against the bottom of its particular compartment a.

When a coin of the correct denomination is inserted by the purchaser through the coin-receiving slot 5|, it will pass through the conventional coin selector mechanism 52. If the coin is genuine, it will be dropped through the chute 53 into thercontrol or latch mechanism 54 and will come to rest between the arcuate coin-contact face 69 of the bolt member 60 and the pin I2, being supported in such position by the upper face of the coin return pull bar I6, as best seen in Figure 6.

the plane of the uppermost position of the cam follower H3. When, however, the last unit of merchandise has been vended from the compartment, the under face of the weight I09 will come to rest directly upon the bottom of the compartment. It will thus be evident that, as the roller carriage 2I is shifted by the customer in front of a particular compartment which happens to be empty, the cam follower II3 will come into operative engagement with the cam surface II2 from either one side or the other and the U-shaped safety lock member H5 will be swung downwardly, so that the inner leg portion H8 thereof will move into obstructing position in front of the rock-arm 25, preventing any swinging movement thereof and entirely locking the machine against any operation, as best seen in Figures 9, l0, and 11.

In use, the various compartments may be filled with any suitable merchandise, which may be packaged in a relatively flat oblong rectangular shape. We have found that the present machine is peculiarly well suited, for instance, to the vending of books, pamphlets, and magazines without necessitating any external binding or wrapping thereof. Thus, for example, the various compartments a might be filled with magazines of suitable size and shape which the machine is designed to accommodate, it, of course, being understood that the size of the compartments and the delivery openings may be varied in any way to accommodate magazines or other merchandise units having greater or lesser width and greater or lesser thickness. Theweight mempartment containing the desired merchandise.-

Thereupon, the purchaser will grasp the particular pull knob 50, which is associated with the tier of compartments in which the desired merchandise is housed, and, by pulling such pull knob 50 horizontally outwardly from the machine, will cause a forward horizontal movement of one of the cross-bars 46, which will move forwardly, bringing its beveled shoulder 50' into abutting engagement with either the downwardly presented bevel face I06 of the keeper member I05 or one of the downwardly presented bevel faces I04 of one of the locking bars I02, depending upon the particular tier in which the desired merchandise compartment is located.

If, for the purposes of description, it be assumed that the desired merchandise is in-the uppermost tier of compartments, then the bevel shoulder 50' of the uppermost actuator bar 46 will come into abutting engagement with the bevel face I06 of the keeper member I 05 and upon continued forward movement will tend to ride thereacross, shifting the keeper member I05 vertically upwardly and swinging the horizontal leg 96 of the bell-crank 92 upwardly, which, in turn, produces a rearwardly swinging movement of the vertical leg 93 of the bell-crank 92.

Since the upper end of the bell-crank 92 is in pin-and-slot engagement with the latch-engaging arm I0 of the bolt member 69, the latter will be moved horizontally responsive to rocking action of the bell-crank 92, and the arcuate coin contact-face 59 thereof will urge the coin horizontally forwardly, during the course of which movement the upper margin of the coin will ride against the cam face 81 of the lifter finger B6, producing an upward movement thereof, which will, in turn, swing the latch member 82 upwardly out of the path of forward movement of the latch-engaging-arm I0, thereby allowing the latch arm to fully complete the course of its rearward movement and, at the same time, permitting the leg 93 of the bell-crank 92 also to complete the course of its rearward swinging movement. As the latch-engaging arm I0 reaches the rearmost limit of its travel, the coin will have been pushed beyond the end of the supporting pull bar I6 and will drop freely down through the coin drop-aperture 14 into the coin-retention box 90.

As the keeper member I05 moves upwardly, the actuator bar 46 will pass completely thereunder and will be blockingly interposed along its under face over the upper end of the uppermost locking bar I02, so that none of the pull knobs 50 associated with any of the lower tiers may be successfully actuated while the machine is in unlocked condition.

As will be readily understood, the forward shifting movement of an actuator bar 46 and its associated pin 45 will cause the associated bifurcated member 20 to rock forwardly, rotating the shaft I9, which, in turn, rocks the arm 25, causing the cross-head 3| to move upwardly into engagement with the rear edge of the lowermost magazine or other merchandise unit housed within the particular compartment, pushing the latter horizontally forwardly and projecting it through the merchandise delivery slot I 8. As

the magazine or other merchandise unit is pushed forwardly, it will push the flap II upwardly out of closure-forming position and pass freely therebeneath.

Upon release, the cross-bar 46 will be withdrawn under the action of the tension spring 41', producing retrogressive movement of all the parts and restoring them to initial position.

In the event that no coin has been placed in the machine, a pull upon the pull knob 50 will bring the bevel shoulder 50' of the cross-bar 46 into abutting engagement with the bevel face I06 of the keeper member I05, producing a slight amount of upward movement thereof which will be sufficient to rock the bell-crank 92 slightly and bring the latch-engaging arm I of the latch mechanism 54 a short distance forwardly. Since there is no coin in the mechanism, however, the detent member 86 will not be lifted and will, therefore, abuttingly engage the inclined face of the latch-engaging arm I0 along the forwardly Presented inclined face 84 of its downwardly depending hook-like portion 83, thereby effectively blocking any further actuating movement of any of the parts of the machine.

In the event that the desired merchandise compartment is located in the second or any other lower tier, the particular cross-bar 46 associated with such tier will move forwardly until its bevel shoulder 50' will engage the bevel face I04 of the particular locking bar I02 associated with such tier, producing a slight upward movement thereof which will be transmitted vertically to the keeper member I05, which will, in turn, be either blocked or freed for movement, depending upon the presence or absence of a suitable coin in the latching mechanism 54.

After a coin has been dropped through the selector mechanism into the latching mechanism, the purchaser may cause the coin to be returned to him at will, any time prior to the initiation of a merchandise vending cycle, by simply grasping the knob I6 on the extended end of the pull bar I6 and pulling the latter horizontally forwardly. As will be seen by reference to Figure 6, the bar I6 will be moved horizontally outwardly until its inner end has moved entirely from beneath the coin, which will then drop directly downwardly through the coin drop-aperture 15 into the chute 88 and thence outwardly into the till 89, where it may be picked up by the purchaser. The pin I2 serves to prevent the coin from accidentally rolling rearwardly and falling into the coin-retention box 90.

In case, through accident or nefarious design, a second coin is dropped into the machine before the vending operation is completed, such second coin will come to rest upon the upwardly presented face of the bolt member 66, which is moved into the path of the coin while the latching mechanism 54 is in opened position. Upon return movement of the bolt member 66, such second coin will thereupon fall into proper position for subsequent vending operation. I

If the particular compartment from which merchandise is desired proves to be empty, the safety lock bar H5 will, as above described, Drevent any appreciable movement of the particular shaft I9, thus effectively preventing any'movement of the cross-bars 46 or the locking bars I02 and the keeper member I05. Under such circumstances, there will be no appreciable forward movement of the coin within the latching mechanism, so that, in case the purchaser does not wish to use the coin for the purchase of some alternative merchandise, he may have his coin returned to him by simply pulling out on the coin return bar I6. 7

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the vending machine may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vending machine comprising a housing having a front face, a plurality of merchandise compartments arranged within said housing in a plurality of horizontal vertically spaced tiers, said housing face being provided with a plurality of horizontal rows of slot-like apertures, one of said apertures being positioned in front of the lower portion of each of said merchandise compartments, an ejector shiftably mounted beneath each tier of compartments for optional disposition beneath any selected compartment in such tier, manually operable means connected to each ejector for actuating such ejector and thereby projecting a merchandise unit from a selected one of said compartments through the face aperture associated therewith, and means connecting the several ejector-actuating means so that only one such ejector may be operated at one time.

2. A vending machine comprising a housing having a front face, a plurality of merchandise compartments arranged within said housing in a plurality of horizontal vertically spaced tiers, said housing face being provided with a plurality of horizontal rows of slot-like apertures, one of said apertures being positioned in front of the lower portion of each of said merchandise compartments, manually operable means for vending a single unit of merchandise from any selected one of said compartments, and means operably mounted in each compartment for preventing merchandise-vending movement of the manually operable means when the particular compartment selected for vending operation is empty.

3. In a vending machine having a series of merchandise-storing compartments arranged in side by-side relation, merchandise ejecting means comprising a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally beneath the series of compartments, a carriage mounted on the shaft for shiftable movement therealong, a rock-arm splined to the shaft for rocking movement with said shaft and mounted in the carriage for shiftable movement therewith, and means operatively mounted on the rock-arm for ejective engagement with a merchandise unit responsive to rocking movement of the rock-arm. c

4. In a vending machine having a series-of merchandise-storing compartments arranged in side-by-side relation, merchandise ejecting means comprising a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally beneath the series of compartments, a carriage mounted on the shaft for shiftable movement therealong, a rock-arm splined to the shaft for rocking movement with said shaft and mounted in the carriage for shiftable movement therewith, and means resiliently mounted on the rock-arm for ejective engagement with a merchandise unit responsive to rocking movement of the rock-arm. I

5. In a vending machine having a series of merchandise-storing compartments arranged in sideby-side relation, merchandise ejecting means comprising a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally beneath the series of compartments, a carriage mounted on the shaft for shiftable movement therealong, a rock-arm splined to the shaft for rocking movement with said shaft and mounted in the carriage for shiftable movement therewith, and means resiliently mounted on the rock-arm and having a transversely extending pusher member for ejective engagement with a merchandise unit responsive to rocking movement of the rock-arm.

6. In a vending machine having a series of merchandise storing compartments arranged in side-by-side relation, merchandise ejecting means comprising a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally beneath the series of compartments, a carriage mounted on the shaft for shiftable movement therealong, a rock-arm splined to the shaft for rocking movement with said shaft and mounted in the carriage for shiftable movement therewith, means operatively mounted on the rock-arm for ejective engagement with a merchandise unit responsive to rocking movement of the rock-arm, and means on the carriage for manually shifting said carriage to any predetermined position along said shaft.

7. In a vending machine having a series of merchandise-storing compartments arranged in side-by-side relation, merchandise ejecting means comprising a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally beneath the series of compartments, a carriage mounted on the shaft for shiftable movement therealong, a rock-arm splined to the shaft for rocking movement with said shaft and mounted in the carriage for shiftable movement therewith, means operatively mounted on the rock-arm for ejective engagement with a merchandise unit responsive to rocking movement of the rock-arm, and auxiliary locking "means swingably mounted on the carriage for movement into engagement with the rock-arm responsive to a predetermined external condition of the vending machine to prevent rocking movement of said rock-arm.

8. In a merchandise dispensing mechanism, a frame having compartments for housing merchandise units, an elongated rod mounted at its ends for rocking movement in the frame, means connected to the rod for optionally producing rocking movement thereof, a carriage rotatably and shiftably mounted on the rod, an arm slidably keyed to the rod and mounted in the carriage for shifting movement therewith, a pusher pivoted on the arm and provided at its outer end with a cross member for engagement with a unit of merchandise, and spring means for normally urging the pusher toward the merchandise units.

9. A merchandise dispensing mechanism comprising a plurality of merchandise compartments arrangedin side-by-side relation each having a slotted bottom wall and a front wall provided with a transverse dispensing aperture adjacent the bottom wall, and an ejector mounted for shiftable movement beneath the bottom walls of the several compartments for alignment with the bottom wall slot of a selected compartment, said ejector including manually actuable means slidably engageable with the longitudinal margins of the respective bottom-wall slot for engaging a unit of merchandise and shifting the latter outwardly through the dispensing aperture of the selected compartment.

10. A merchandise dispensing mechanism comprising a plurality of merchandise compartments arranged in side-by-side relation each having a slotted bottom wall and a front wall provided with a transverse dispensing aperture adjacent the bottom wall, an ejector mounted for shiftable movement beneath the bottom walls of the several compartments for alignment with the bottom wall slot of a selected compartment, said ejector including an arm and manually actuable means slidably engageable with the longitudinal margins of the respective bottom-wall slot for engaging a unit of merchandise and shifting the latter outwardly through the dispensing aperture of the selected compartment, and means operably disposed in each compartment having a' projecting abutment adapted to be positioned for engaging the ejector arm for preventing merchandise-ejecting movement of the ejector when the selected compartment is empty. i

11. A vending machine including a compartment for containing a plurality of units of merchandise, said compartment having a longitudinally slotted bottom wall, and ejector mechanism comprising a rockable shaft, a rock arm splined upon said shaft, stop means on the rock arm, an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted at the end of the rock arm, spring means for normally urging the auxiliary arm against the stop means, a pusher plate mounted transversely across the end of the auxiliary arm, said pusher plate being provided in its transverse ends with recesses for engagement with the side margins of the bottom wall slot, and means connected to the shaft for rocking the shaft and its associated rock arm and thereb swinging the pusher plate initially upwardly and then forwardly in engagement with the bottom wall slot for ejecting a unit of merchandise.

12. A vending machine including a compartment for containing a plurality of units of merchandise, said compartment being providedin its bottom wall with a longitudinal slot the side margins of which are outwardly flared adjacent the rearward end of the slot in the provision of a widened slot mouth, and ejector mechanism comprising a rockable shaft, a rock arm splined upon said shaft, stop means on the rock arm, an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted at the end of the rock arm, spring means for normally urging the auxiliary arm against the stop means, a pusher plate mounted transversely across the end of the auxiliary arm, said pusher plate having a width along its upper edge substantially equal to the widest dimension of the slot mouth and along its lower edge havinga dimension substantially greater than the slot mouth, said pusher plate further being provided along its transverse edges intermediate its upper and lower margins with oppositely presented aligned recesses formingcentrally within the pusher plate a web portion the horizontal dimensionof which is substantially equal to the width of the bottom-wall slot, and means connected to the shaft for "rocking the shaft and its associated rock arm and thereby swinging the pusher plate initially upwardly and then forwardly in engagement with the bottom wall slot for ejecting a unit of merchandise.

13. A vending machine comprising a plurality of vertical merchandise-containing compartments arranged in a horizontal series, each of said compartments having a dotted bottom wall, an ejector carriage horizontally shiftable beneath the several compartments, said carriage having a pusher arm swingably mounted thereon for movement into any selected one of the compart ments through the bottom wall slot thereof for ejecting a unit of merchandise from such selected compartment, and a plate disposed between the carriage and the compartments having a slot aligned with each compartment to permit ejective movement of the arm only when the carriage and its associated arm have been shifted into alignment with any selected one of said compartments.

14. In a vending machine having an openbacked compartment provided with a slotted bottom wall and being adapted to contain a plurality of merchandise units, a weight member for riding upon the uppermost merchandise unit, progressively approaching the bottom of the compartment as the merchandise units are ejected therefrom, and finally coming to rest upon the bottom of the compartment when the compartment is empty, said weight member having a depending fiange projecting from the open back of the compartment, a carriage having a swingable ejector arm adapted to enter the compartment through the slotted bottom wall thereof for ejecting a unit of merchandise, and a rockable locking member adapted for engagement with the depending flange of the weight member and swingably thereby into engagement with the ejector arm to prevent ejective movement thereof when the compartment is empty.

WILLIAM HARTMAN.

MILTON W. GREENWALD.

CHARLES F. CARROLL.

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