US2564552A

US2564552A - Bottle vending mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2564552A
Application number: US4627A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Holcombe M Verdery
Original assignee: NEHI CORP
Current assignee: NEHI Corp
Priority date: 1948-01-27
Filing date: 1948-01-27
Publication date: 1951-08-14
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-14

Description

Aug. 14, 1951 H. M. VERDERY, JR 2,554,552

BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM I Filed Jan. 27, 1948 4 sheets-sheet 2 Aug. 14, 1951 Filed Jan. 27, 1948 H. M. VERDERY. JR

BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 www Patented Aug. T4, 1951 .2,564,552y BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM.

Holcombe M. Verdery, Jr., (follmbus,P Gamas.-

signor to Nehi Corporation, Columbus, Gam ar.

.corporation of Delaware Application Januar-y 27, 1948, Serial No.4,27s

This, invention relates to a bottle vending. mechanism, and has particular reference to an apparatus for. vending chilled bottles of soit drinks.. and is adapted to be used in connection with a conventional coin-controlled mechanism.

It has become the extensive practice to install vending, machines for bottled soit drinks in factories.. oiijce buildings, and numerous places Whelie substantial numbers of people gather and where. no, store is immediately available where. such goods caribe obtained. A number of forms of apparatus have been developed for this purpose. and whilemost of them are satisfactory from, the; standpoint of operation, they are quite complicated and expensive to manufacture. Moreover., they involve the use of Va substantial number ofV parts which increases the chances oi" mechanical difculties, andr are diihcult to servieewhenbreakdownsoccur.

importantV object of theV present invention is, to. provide a. novel and highly simplied type, of." bottle vending apparatus which requires the use oil a minimum number of parts several, of. Whi'cliare, duplicates of each other, thus greatly reducing3 the. cost of manufacturing the apparai-.us-P v Atfurther' objectv is to provide an apparatus oi bhisharacter which makes novel' use of ArchimodesY screw means for both supporting the bottles" and feeding them to the outlet of theV apnaiatus when such screw means are rotated.

A; further object is to provide an apparatus otthisrcharacter wherein the loading of the ap,n params. with bottles of soft drinks may be.. quickly andi easily accomplished and wherein the` last bottles placed in the apparatus are the last. tolle dispensed therefrom, thus allowing ample timefor the cooling of the bottles.

Ai further object is to provide an apparatusA of; this, character wherein a plurality of rowsl oi'v bottles up .to a substantial number may be simultaneously fedn toward the discharge point anjd discharged singly upon each operation of' the' apparatus, and wherein a single source of pmver'operates4 all of the screw means employed for feeding the bottles toward the outlet.

A further object is to provide one or more pairs of Archimedes screws, each pair of which la adapted to support and feed two rows koi bottles toward the outlet, and to so time the pairs; offscrewsl relative to each other that they' maybe simultaneously driven upon each operationy of the apparatus but will dispense only a singlebottle-at each operation. i Y

A' further object isA to provide such an appa- 4 Claims. (Cl. 312;-94)

ratlls.. wherein. when. initiated., the. operation of the screw means will continue until the.v next singlet bottle. intended. to. be vendeeu is discharged fromV the.. apparatus. and wherein any such bottle immediately' stopsj the. operation of the `entire apparatus. before, the. screw meansi 'can` dispense another bottle.. A.. further object., is. to, providesuchan appa.- ratnsl which so takes. advantage. of.; the Archi.- medesfscrew principler that. any gap or, gaps,` in the. stacks: or mwa of.;y bottles will not. interfere with-r the normali operation. of, theqapparatus.. the drive means. for. turning the. screws continuin until;v a. bottle. dispensed; whereupon; the. operatsin of, the apparatus. will be. immediatelyl ,am re ed. f

A further Qhict. to. provide an. apparatus 0i the. character. referred, to.. which lends itself particularly welll to. the( use.. of; vertical! screws and verticali` columns oi horizontally, arranged bottles and. to,L proj/ille: in conjunction; therewith a4 plate orplates upon. whichA each.. bottle. drops as itil is. about to be. dischargedlfromthel appa,.- ratus suchY plate or plates.v` serving to cushion the. bottle, and prevent', damage, theretoi andto serve the additional purpose. 'ofbreakng; the motor-operating circuit. to arrest operation. of the.armarnatur,l

Qther, obieciis, and` advantages, of. the; invention will' become. apparent during.. the course, ci

, the following description.

In the, drawings; L haveshown. several.l embodiments. ci the, invention. In thisAh showing; Figure li'sahorspectivlevierw showingY the preferred'gform-.or the apparatus., l

Ei'gure 2, is. a central vertical. ,sectional vie-w,y through the. appara-WS. substantially onune 2 2 ofV Figure Limits peine. brokeneawaa. ,y ELfguret is` atventical sectionaliview om line, of.A Figure. 2,. c Figure. 4;, a. horizontal: sectional; view,y on line 4-4 of (Eisma. a is a. horizontes sectional view' oni; line 5v5-0f Eisllrei.

Eisura' (if is a, horizontal; sectional? view/'om line 6j-& of 'Flicuri Eiguree. 7/ is: am enlarged?k fragmentary; sectional? viewmnilinel-I oiFiBur 6i, l

Figureiisa. dlasrammaticviewof an` electrical' system-ior'tha-apparatus,

Figure-9lisfa viewsimilartoFleuri-rV 310iL aslightly modied form of the apparatus; portions'being brokenaway: V

10 lsa' verticai" fragmentary sectional view showing a further modified form of the apparatus, and

Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view on line I I--II of Figure l0.

Referring to Figures 1 to 7 inclusive, the numeral I designates a cabinet for the apparatus having a front wall II forming a door adapted to be opened to provide access to the interior of the apparatus. `The cabinet further includes sidel The door II and Walls I2 and a rear wall I3. each of the front and rear Walls is preferably formed of inner and outer metal sheets I4 suitably heat insulated from each other as at I5.

Mechanism to be described is provided for dispensing one bottle at a time from the apparatus, subject to control by any desired type of coin control mechanism generally indicated by the numeral and having a coin slot 2| and a coin return chute 22 operative in any manner for returning coins if the apparatus is empty. particular coin control mechanism forms no part of the present invention and may be of any desired type.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 7 inclusive, four stacks or vertical columns of bottles are adapted to be dispensed, but it will become apparent that the apparatus may be used for dispensing bottles from two or more of such vertical columns. The apparatus, as shown, thus comprises two dispensing units. Each such unit comprises a pair of vertical shafts 25 and 26 (Figures 2 and 5) and these shafts carry

Archimedes screws

21 and 28 respectively. Each of the

shafts

25 and 26 is supported by a thrust bearing 29 as shown in Figures 2 and 3. These bearings are supported on a plate out away to provide openings 3I for the downward passage of the bottles to be discharged, as will be described below.

Beneath the plate 3l), to vsupport the loads on the shafts and spiralsand the load on the bottles carried thereby in a manner to be described, are a pair of channels' or similar structural members and accordingly one of the channels 35 will be arranged beneath each pair of the

shafts

25 and 26. The forward end of each channel 35 (see Figure 1l is secured to an angle or other structural member 36 carried by the front wall 31 of the cabinet beneath the door I I. The rear end of each channel 35 has its base turned downwardly as at 38 `andsecured toa channel 39 or similar structural member extending between the side walls I2.

The portion of the plate 30 forming the two inner openings 3l is turned downwardly adjacent each such opening into substantially channel shape as at 42 (Figure 3) to provide sufficient additional structural strength atsuch portion of the plate 30 to support a pair of vertical guide rods 43 to be referred to later.

Each side of the

screws

21 and 28 of each pair is adapted to support a column of bottles each indicated by the numeral 45. The bottles are arranged between respective convolutions of the screws as shown in Figure 3, and the convolutions of each screw 21 are arranged to correspond in position to the convolutions of the associated screw 28 whereby each bottle willbehorie zontally arranged. However, the convolutions of the screws of the two units are arranged 90 degrees apart where two units are employed, and with this arrangement, the bottles will be discharged singly from the apparatus as further referred to below. l I Y The upper ends of the shafts 25Vand 26 are journaled in bearings 5U carried by a relatively heavy plate 5I apertured as at 52 for a purpose to be described. The plate 5I may be stiffened to render it more rigid by suitable channel irons 53 (Figure 3). Each of the

shafts

25 and 26 carries a sprocket 55 around which passes a chain 56, as clearly shown in Figure 6. One of the shafts, for example, the rear shaft 26 in Figure '7, is provided with a bevel gear 58 meshing with a bevel pinion 59 driven by a motor 60 through a conventional reduction gearing 6I. The motor 60 is connected to the plate 5I. All of the shafts having their sprockets 55 connected by the chain 56, it will be apparent that the driving of one of the shafts by the motor as shown will effect simultaneous rotation of all of the shafts in the same direction.

The successive convolutions at both sides of the screws of each

pair

21 and 28 receive bottles 45 therebetween, as clearly shown in Figure 3. In order that the bottles will be fed downwardly, the screws turn in a clockwise direction as viewed from the top, and as indicated by the arrows in Figure 6. The downward sloping of the convolutions of the screws on which the bottles rest tends to feed the bottles radially outwardly relaf tive to the screws, as will be apparent. The bottles of the inner two columns of bottles are adapted to contact with and slide along the single pair of vertical guide bars 43. The bottles adjacent each side of the apparatus are held in position relative to the screws by side guide bars 6I lying adjacent the side walls of the casing I0.

The columns of bottles to the left of the associated screws, as viewed in Figures 3 and 6, contact with portions of the screws which move rearwardly in their turning movement and thus Vwill have their cap ends held in engagement with a rear wall 65 apertured as at 66. The wall 65 is spaced from the rear wall I3 of the cabinet to form a chamber 61 in which suitable refrigerating coils (not shown) may be conveniently arranged and the air chilled by such coils may circulate through the openings 66. These openings will lie between the adjacent stacks or columns of bottles and outwardly of the remote columns of bottles, the solid portions of the plate 65 extending vertically of the planes of the columns of bottles so that the caps of the bottles may slide therealong and be prevented from moving rearwardly into the compartment 61.

The bottles of the right hand column of each pair will contact portions of the associated screws which are moving forwardly in their turning movement. There may be some tendency for such bottles to be urged forwardly because of the turning movement of the screws, and to prevent any such forward movement, vertical stop bars 18 are provided, and the arrangement of these stop bars relative to the associated columns of bottles is most clearly shown in Figure 6. The stop bars 10 may be of angle section, as shown, and they may be fixed at their ends to the plates 38 and 5I. The space between each bar '.'ll and the associated shaft 25 is sufficiently wide for the insertion of the columns of bottles referred to from the front of the apparatus when the door II is open.

The cabinet is provided with a top 'I2 forming therewithin a chamber 13 in which any suitable refrigerating mechanism (not shown) may be arranged and such mechanism will be connected to the cooling coils on the chamber 61. l

Beneath each pair of screws and the associated columns of bottles is arranged a downwardly and 7 where stich switch is placed in a common outlet, only one need be employed instead of the two switches 8 5as in the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive.

One or more rods |45 extend lengthwise through the apparatus centrally thereof. This rod or rods will contacttlfe adjacent rows of bottles to prevent them from moving away from their associated shafts out of engagement with the screws. It will be apparent that the turning of the screws exerts a horizontal force at a slight angle to the length of the apparatus as viewed in Figure 11 and the rod or rods |45 will act as guide means. One of these rods is sufilcient but it is preferred that two be employed in the same vertical plane and these rods will correspond to the rods 43 (Figures 3 and 5) of the preferred form of the apparatus. Guide rods similar to the previously described guide rods 6| will be employed for similarly guiding the remote rows of bottles, and such guides have been indicated by the numeral |46 in Figure 11. These rods will extend along the sides of the cabinet and all of the rods |45 and |46 may be conveniently secured at their ends to the end walls of the cabinet.

Operation In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive, a prospective purchaser will drop the proper coin in the slot 2| to initiate the operation of the apparatus. The coin control mechanism may be of any conventional type and will include the usual coin operated switch |02 (Figure 8). When the coin |03 closes the switch |02, a circuit will be completed through wire |I, switch |02, wire |04, magnet |05, wire |00, motor 60, wire ||0 and thence through the

switches

85 and 93 and back to the source. It will be understood that the switches 85 are .biased to closed position and are normally closed, while the switch 93 is biased to open position and is held closed by the operating plate 92 so long as at least one bottle contacts this plate to hold it in the position shown in Figure 3.

Thus the motor 60 will be energized to drive the

shafts

screws

21 and 28 will rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 6 and all of the bottles supported by all of the screws will thus move downwardly. In Figure 3 the lowermost bottle at the left side of the apparatus will be the first bottle discharged when it passes from the end of the associated screw, and immediately upon being released from engagement with such screw, this bottle will drop upon the associated plate 81. The resiliency of this plate cushions the fall of the bottle and the plate iexes downwardly to operate the associated switch button 86 to open the corresponding switch 85, and thus break the circuit through the motor 60. The breaking of this circuit is only momentary since the bottle does not remain on the plate 81 referred to. However, the momentary breaking of the motor circuit deenergizes the magnet |05 to drop the armature |08 and thus break the holding circuit. No further motor operation will occur thereafter until another coin is inserted in the machine. The motor operation will be arrested before its momentum can turn the screws suiciently to discharge the next bottle.

The bottle thus dropped on the left hand plate 91 as viewed in Figure 3, will roll downwardly toward the center of the apparatus. There is some tendency for the lighter or capped end of the bottle to swing toward the center of the apparatus ahead of the heavier part of the bottle, and for this reason the post 90 is provided. This post will contact the head end of the body and prevent the bottle from swinging across the troughs 16 and |1. The heavier end of the bottle will then fall into the slot 11 and will slide therethrough to be discharged. The bottle will open the door and come to rest in the receiver 18.

It will be obvious that the bottles associated with the two sides of each set of screws will be arranged 180 apart in terms of the rotation of such screws. The two sets of screws wil1 be arranged 90 apart, and accordingly a bottle will be discharged upon each 90 turning movement of the screws. Referring to Figure 3, therefore, it will be noted that after the discharge of the bottle previously described, the lowermost bottle at the right side of the apparatus will be the next bottle discharged, followed by the right hand bottle of the left hand dispensing unit in Figure 3. The next bottle thereafter will be the next lowermost bottle of the left hand column of the right hand dispensing unit, followed by the lowermost bottle in the left hand column of the left hand unit. This sequence of discharging the bottles continues throughout the operation of the apparatus.

The switch operating plate 92 is arranged as shown in Figure 3 in the embodiment of the invention illustrated therein for the reason that the right hand dispensing unit will be higher than the left hand dispensing unit, which is shortened at its upper end to a slight extent to provide space for the driving mechanism. Ordinarily, therefore, the column of bottles adjacent the switch plate 92 will be the last column to be completely discharged. Assuming that the machine has been emptied to the point where there are only two bottles left in the column controlling the switch plate 92, such switch plate will be held in operative position by the upper of such two bottles when the lower bottle is discharged. Upon the discharging of the last bottle in such column, the leaf spring 94 will swing the plate 92 inwardly to release the switch 93 to be opened and thus prevent the energizing of the motor circuit. Thus the apparatus cannot be operated when empty, and the wiring circuit shown in Figure 8 will be utilized in conjunction with the conventional coin-control mechanism to return the purchasers coin through the return slot 22 if the machine is empty. The coin control and return mechanism forms no part of the present invention.

It will be apparent that the arresting of the operation of the motor 60 depends upon the operation of one of the switches by a bottle being discharged. If there is a gap in any column of the apparatus due to carelessness in loading the machine, the operation of the apparatus will not be aifected. When such gap in a column reaches the point where the bottle therein normally would be the next one discharged, the apparatus merely will continue to operate upon the insertion of the proper coin until a bottle from some other column is discharged.

1 One of the advantages of the present apparatus lies in the vvfact that as additional bottles are placed in the machine, the spaces for such bottles are automatically provided remote from the discharge point. In -other words, as the bottles are discharged all of the columns .gradually move simultaneously downwardly, thus providing spaces at the top of the apparatus to be refilled with bottles. These nempty spaces occurring at points remote from the discharge point, the newly inserted bottles will have the longest possible time to become chilled.

l, Another of the important features of the apparatus lies in the fact that it involves a minimum number of operating parts Imostfof which are conventional.y For example, a single drive 'chain '56 is used and passes around four sprockets which are duplicates of each other, and the bevel gears 58 andV 59-are wholly conventional. Inasmuch as the weights of the bottles on the screws tend to turn them in a discharging direction, a very low powered motor 60 may be employed. The reduction gearing 6| is conventional and preferably of the worm drive type so as to be irreversible. Therefore, while the weights of the bottles greatly reduce the work which must be performed by the motor, the bottles then cannot effect turning movement of the screws. The motor 60 is preferably of the conventional automatic solenoid brake type, which is in common use, and this type is preferred so as to arrest operation of the motor instantly upon the breaking of the motor circuit. However, it has been found that while bottles are discharged at 90 intervals in the turning movement of the screws, a conventional motor 60 for the solenoid brake means is fully operative and satisfactory in use.

The apparatus, of course, is filled by opening the door Il which is provided with a suitable lock (not shown). With the door opened, the operator can easily grasp two bottles in each hand and insert the bottles in position between the convolutions of the screws. It requires very little time to load the apparatus, as will be apparent. The extension of the screws substantially throughout the height of the apparatus is preferred since the bottles will be retained slightly spaced as shown in Figure 3 for the free circulation of the chilled air from the refrigerating chamber 61.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in Figure 9 is identical with that described and need not be referred to in detail. There aretwo advantages to the modified form referred to. In the rst place, it is slightly more economical to manufacture because of the use of shorter screws H5. In the second place, the capacity of the apparatus for a given size cabinet is slightly increased since the only bottles vertically spaced from each other will be those engaged by the screws. The remaining bottles will rest directly one upon the other, and in the average size apparatus this will increase the capacity by four bottles, one in each column. It has been found, however, that much better circulation of the chilled air is provided with the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 7 inclusive.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 10, the bottles remain in Vertical position and are moved toward the discharge point while in such position. There is no advantage in the apparatus shown in Figure l over those previously described except that it is capable of being installed in stores or similar places at points where the previously described form of the invention Y l .10 l cannot be used because of their heights. For example, it has been foundythatthere are 4some places where the desiredv` points .of `installation will be beneath shelving or atfthe end of or adjacent one side of -a counter, where itis kundesirable `to have 4the casing. project upwardly a sub"- stantial distance. The form of the Vinvention shown in Figure .10,can. be made very readily of the conventional height of a store ,counter and may forma continuation thereof. The operating circuits for all vof, the. three forms of apparatus obviously may vbe identical except that wherea singlekd-ischarge spout is used asin Figure 10, with the switch 139 arranged `in suc-h spout, only one vsuch switch lneed be employed instead of the two switches in Figure y8. Y

As previously stated,.the form of theinvention shown-in Figures 1` to 7 isf-preferred. However., all forms of thev invention are highly advantageous in use `because of their simplicity and economy` in manufacture, because of the 'ready-ace cessibility of all .of the few working parts,v .and because the rdesign in each case is such that there is little or nothing to get out of order or be subject to breakage. Additionally, all of the apparatus may be supported solely at the tops and bottoms of the working parts, and this is particularly true in the first two forms of the invention, and thus manufacture and installation is highly simplied.

YI claim:

l. A bottle vending machine comprising a pair of bottle vending units each comprising a pair of vertical parallel screws having their axes arranged in a common plane, the planes of the two units being parallel to each other, inner guide means between said units parallel tosaid planes, outer guide means arranged outwardly of the two units parallel to said planes, both screws of each unit being correspondingly pitched and arranged and having the spaces between the convolutions thereof at each side of the associated plane forming pockets to receive horizontally arranged bottles engageable with said guide means, common means, including an electric motor, for driving the screws of both units simultaneously in the same direction and at the same speed to move the bottles downwardly, the screws of the two units being identically pitched but differently arranged whereby single bottles will be released from the lower ends of said screws upon rotation thereof, a single discharge chute beneath said units, and a single resiliently supported plate beneath each unit and onto which the bottles of the associated units fall, said plates being sloped downwardly toward said chute.

2. Apparatus constructed in accordance with claim 1 provided with a vertical stop member adjacent the upper end of said chute to engage a bottle moving to said chute from either of said plates to prevent the associated end of said bottle from moving beyond said chute.

3. A bottle vending machine comprising means for supporting a plurality of horizontally arranged bottles, means for discharging said bottles from said supporting means singly at a plurality of laterally spaced points, downwardly and inwardly inclined plates beneath said supporting means and on one of which any bottle discharged from said supporting means will fall to move thereover toward the lower edge thereof, said plates having their lower edges parallel and spaced from each other, a discharge trough arranged beneath the lower edges of said plates and having a bottom a portion of which slopes from if the horizontal, and a vertically arranged pin in said trough adjacent the end remote from the lower end of the sloping portion thereof to engage bottles moving into said trough from either of said plates whereby the portion of each such bottle remote from such pin will swing into said trough ahead of the portion of the bottle engaged by said pin.

4. A bottle vending machine comprising means for supporting a plurality of horizontally arranged bottles, means for discharging said bottles from said supporting means singly at a plurality of laterally spaced points, downwardly and inwardly inclined plates beneath said supporting means and on one of which any bottle discharged from said supporting means will fall to move thereover toward the lower edge thereof, said plates having their lower edges parallel and spaced from each other, a discharge trough arranged beneath the lower edges of said plates, said trough having a bottom one end of which is horizontal and the other end of which slopes downwardly away therefrom, and a pin extending 12 vertically upwardly from the horizontal bottom end of said trough to engage one end of a bottle moving into said trough from either of said plates whereby the other end of each such bottle will swing into said trough over the sloping bottom end thereof ahead of the end of the bottle engaging said pin.

HOLCOMBE M. VERDERY, Jn.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,200,228 Simmons May 7, 1940 2,272,750 Miller Feb. 10, 1942 2,296,154 Elliott Sept. 15, 1942 2,351,432 Jennings et al June 13, 1944 2,440,251 Devens Apr. 27, 1948 2,493,753 Devens Jan. 10, 1950 2,496,689 Balzer Feb. 7, 1950