US2708053A - Apparatus for vending articles - Google Patents

Description

May 10, 1955 M M. BERGER ET AL APPARATUS FOR VENDING ARTICLES 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1949 INVENTORS: MART/N M. BERGER By E0 5I EEA/DL )Zn/m; VWMQLQMM TTNE YS,

May 10, 1955 M. M. BERGER ET AL APPARATUS FOR VENING ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 17. 1949 Ihm.

INVENToRs.- MAR T//v M. BERGER United States Patent Oiiice l2,708,053 Patented May 10, 1955 APPARATUS FOR VENDING ARTICLES Martin M. Berger, New York, N. Y., and Leo S. Bendl,

Another object of the invention is to provide a vending apparatus which is similar in construction to and adapted to embody all of the improved features of the cigarvending mechanism disclosed and claimed in said Berger application but which is also adapted to deliver two cigars or like articles upon a single actuation; said mechanism Hackensack, N. J., assignors to Cigaromat Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 17, 1949, Serial No. 133,518 1 Claim. (Cl. 221-252) herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the inven- 1,`

tion, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claim.

The invention consists in the novel parts', constructions,

arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation with parts broken away of a vending machine mechanism embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the ejecting device at the end of its stroke;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary Vertical section similar to Figs. 2 and 3, showing the ejector on its return stroke.

The present application relates in part to improvements over the cigar-vending machine disclosed and claimed in the application of Berger et al. Serial No. 694,774, filed September 4, 1946, for Cigar Vending Apparatus, now Patent No. 2,599,685, issued June 10, 1952; and in other respects relates to an invention of independent scope.

A primary object of the invention is to provide novel and useful means for vending two articles on one actuation of a coin-operated vending machine. In the sale by coin-controlled vending machines of cigars, for example, such machines are normally set to deliver a single cigar upon payment of a predetermined sum made up of one or more coins. For example, as shown in said Berger application, the machine may be designed to deliver a single cigar selected from any one of a plurality of magazines, the vending mechanisms of said magazines all being operable upon insertion of the same coin sum into the coin mechanism. However, in the vending of cigars and of other articles as well, it frequently happens that a certain grade or type of article is priced to sell` as two units for a given price. For example, there are popular brands of cigars which sell at two for e and thus the problem arises of providing a Vending machine which is adapted to deliver l5 cigars single from certain magazines and is also capable of delivering two cigars for the same 15 price from another magazine. The present invention provides novel devices which make it possible to deliver two cigars or other articles for a single price and upon a single actuation of the delivery mechanism.

also being adapted, by a very simple interchange of parts, to deliver a single article instead.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article-vending mechanism which will deliver one article from a stack or supply thereof upon an initial actuation or stroke in one direction and will deliver a second article from said stack upon its return stroke. In accordance with the invention said mechanism is also designed to deliver one article from the stack in one direction, as into a receptacle, and to deliver a'second article from said stack in the opposite direction and if desired into a diierent receptacle.

Generally described the invention is designed to cooperate with a magazine holding a supply of cigars arranged horizontally in a superposed vertical stack.

- Adjacent the bottom of the stack there is provided an oscillatable ejecting member which is adapted to be given a stroke one direction away from the bottom of the magazine and then to return to its original position, said movements of the member being effected manually by the operator of the machine under the release of a coin or check-controlled actuator. In accordance with the invention the ejecting member is designed to engage and eject the bottom cigar in the stack upon its initial stroke away from the bottom of the stack and, upon its return movement, to engage and eject the succeeding cigar at the bottom of the stack and to deliver same in the opposite direction from that of the rst cigar. This basic ejection and delivery mechanism is combined with features disclosed in said Berger application whereby the feeding of the cigar is controlled and is adaptable to cigars of different sizes and shapes without intermediate adjustments of any mechanism.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory but are not restrictive of the invention. v

Referring now in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, a single magazine is shown for holding a vertical column of cigars arranged horizontally in superposed relation and adapted to be fed or dispensed from the bottom of the stack. This magazine is ordinarily to be one of a battery, as in said Berger application. Sairl magazine is essentially rectangular in cross-section and comprises vertical front wings 1, 1', side walls 2 and 3 and rear wall 4. The cigars C are arranged as described within said magazine and are contained within a cardboard carton which fits within the magazine. Said carton is similar t'o that disclosed in said Berger application, comprising a rear wall 5, end Walls 6 and 7 and a front wall which in use is open down the middleto provide the front flaps 8 and 9, thereby exposing the interior of the carton when the removable panel (not shown) is torn away therefrom. The front wings 1 and 1 overlie the strips 8 and 9 of the vcarton and thereby leave a substantial portion of the front face of the stack of cigars exposed to view and adjustment, as disclosed and described in said Berger application. The carton is supported within the magazine by a top Hap 12 which is bent upwardly, rearwardly and downwardly to overlie the top edge of the rear wall 4 of the magazine and be engaged by a tongue 13 which is struck out from the upper part of said magazine wall.

The lower portion of the carton is broken away at 14 to free the cigars for delivery from the bottom of the magazine and to permit the operation of associated devices as hereinafter described.

In order further to facilitate the delivery of the cigars from the bottom of the magazine, the walls of the magazine proper terminate at 18, the magazine being supported above the base plate 16 by a U-shaped strap, the vertical legs 19 and 20 of which are welded to the side walls 2 and 3 respectively of the magazine. The bottom 21 of said strap extends across and is welded to the upper face of the base plate 16 and is provided with two elevated level portions 22 which normally support the lowerrn-ost cigar in the stack.

In accordance with the invention the means for ejecting or delivering cigars from the bottom of the stack comprises an oscillatable rectangular cage 25 which, as shown in Fig. 2, normally lies at the bottom of the magazine in alinement With the walls thereof and occupies the greater portion of the space between the bottom 18 of the magazine and the cigar-supporting surfaces 22. In such normal position therefor the cage 25 loosely surrounds and encloses the bottom-most cigar C-1 in the stack. The lower portions of the arms 19 and 20 of the magazine-supporting bracket are bent outwardly at 26 and 27 to provide for freedom of movement of the cage 25.

The cage 25 is mounted for limited oscillatory movement rearwardly and forwardly with respect to the bottom of the magazine. For this purpose, the lower rear edge 30 of a pivotally movable plate 31 is welded to the inner rear face of the cage 25 and extends upwardly therefrom along the rear wall 4 of the magazine. The upper end of plate 31 is pivotally mounted on the back wall 4 by means of a pin 32 which lies within a reentrant ange 33 at the upper edge of the plate 31. The upper portion 34 of the plate, which includes said flange 33, is cut away to provide a narrowed tongue portion, and the opposite ends of the pin 32 are supported on the wall 4 of the magazine adjacent the edges of said tongue by means of strips 35 which are punched out from said wall 4. Thus the plate 31 is free to rock away from the plate 4 about the pin 32. The plate 31 is normally urged against the plate 4 and into the position shown in Fig. 2 by means of a leaf spring 36, the lower end of which is welded to the rear face of plate 31 and the upper curved end 37 of which bears against the wall 4 above the pin 32.

Means are provided for imparting to-and-fro oscillatory motion to the cage 25, said means as shown comprise a flange 40 extending from the plate 31 along and parallel to the end wall 3 of the magazine. Said flange extends downwardly and forwardly beyond said wall and near its lower end is provided with a cam slot 41. Said cam slot is designed to coact with an actuating rod (not shown), which will impart a to-and-fro oscillationto the ange 4t) and the plate 31 as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. Said oscillatory movement is adapted to be imparted to the actuating rod by manual operation of a push button or other conventional actuating means extending outside the vending machine and the liberation thereof for actuation is preferably coin or check-controlled as is conventional in the art. The actuating motion imparted to the plate 40 is designed to first move same rearwardly in the direction and to'the position shown in Fig. 3. By such rearward oscillatory stroke, the lowermost cigar C-l lying within the cage 25, is

carried transversely and rearwardly by the cage until it clears the bottom members 22 and 16 of the magazine. Then it is free to fall from the cage and into a dispensing receptacle or pan as indicated in Fig. 3. It will be clear that the size of the cage need be only such that it loosely surrounds the cigar C-l and thus a wide variety of widths, lengths and shapes of cigars can be handled by the same cage.

The return stroke of the cage 25 is adapted to eject a second cigar C-2 which in the meantime has moved to the bottom of the magazine, occupying the space provided by the removal of cigar C-1. In its return stroke, the forward wall of the empty cage 25 thus bears against the rear side of cigar C-2 and, under the influence of spring 36, pushes that cigar transversely toward the front of the machine and delivers same downwardly and forwardly as shown in Fig. 7. Thus it will be clear that the mechanism shown and described is capable of delivering two cigars upon a single actuating or oscillation of the cage 25, and that, if desired, said cigars may be delivered into separate bins lying on either side of the center axis of the magazine, or, as will more commonly be the case, both cigars fall into the same delivery bin and are thus delivered to the customer together for the price of one actuation of the coin-controlled delivery means.

In accordance with the invention, the delivery of cigar C-2, that is the cigar moved forwardly by the return movement of the cage, is adapted to take place against a resilient restraint so that the cigar is controllably engaged during the delivery stroke and until it falls free from the bottom of the magazine. This mechanism, which is similar to that disclosed and claimed in said Berger application, is thus designed to accommodate the mechanism for the handling of a wide range of sizes and shapes of cigars without individual adjustment of the restraining means. As shown, a downwardly and outwardly curved guide tongue is mounted to extend across the lower edge of the front wings 1, 1 of the magazine and occupy a substantial part of the open space between the bottom 18 of the magazine and the cigar-supporting surfaces 22. Said tongue is normally resiliently urged inwardly toward the stack of cigars, being pivotally mounted on the face of the front wings by means of flanges 51 formed at either end of the tongue and lying against lugs 52 which extend outwardly from the front wings l, 1 Pivotal support for the `tongue is provided by the U-shaped bail 53, the inturned legs of which pass through the lugs 52 and flanges 51. A coiled spring 54 is wrapped around one leg of the bail and extends upwardly to bear against the front face of wing 1 of the magazine at 55.

As in said Berger application, the invention provides means for preventing actuation of the ange 40 when the supply of cigars in the magazine has been depleted and until the magazine has been replenished. For this purpose a stop member is placed at the end of a pivoted bar 61, said bar being mounted intermediate its ends'to rock about a pivot pin 62 projecting from the face of magazine wall 4. Said hook 60 is adapted to move into the path of the cam (not shown) which actuates flange 40 and when so moved the customer will be prevented from actuating the actuating flange.

Means are provided for holding the stop 60 and its associated lever bar 61 in the retracted position (Fig. 4)

` so long as there is more than one cigar C in the magazine.

Such means comprise a linger or feeler 65 pivotally mounted at 66 on a channel bracket 67 extending from the Wall 4 of the magazine. Said finger 65 normally is depressed by the presence of cigars C in the magazine as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The lower or outer side of said finger 65 is cut away to form a curved notch at 68 and said curve normally engages and lies against a rounded member 69 formed on the depressed end of pivot bar 61. When in that position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the de pressed hook 65 prevents the bar 61 from tilting clockwise (Fig. 4) as urged by the heavier end 60. However, when the magazine becomes emptied of all but one cigar thc finger 65 is free to move inwardly and upwardly into the magazine and thus permits the bar 61 to tilt about its pivot to project stop 60 into the path of the actuating cam for ange 40.

It will be noted that the plate 31 is cut awayat 70` to accommodate bracket 67, nger 65 and their associated parts, and said hinge plate is also provided with a U- shaped channel 71 which provides clearance for the pivot' pin 61 and the bar 60.

While the foregoing description has been specificallyapplied to the vending of cigars, it will be understood that many features of it may be applied to the vending and delivery of other types of articles which may be cylindrical or rectancular or irregular in cross-section and which are adapted to move in alternate directions from the bottom of a stack or pile thereof,

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specic mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom Within the scope of the accompanying claim Without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

A cigar vending machine including in combination a magazine for holding an upright stack of cigars superposed on each other and lying horizontally on their long axes, an ejecting member movable transversely with respect to the bottom of the stack, said ejecting member including a frame member in which the bottom cigar is adapted to lie and be delivered, an opening in the magazine in said path of movement for delivery of the bottom cigar engaged by said frame when moved through said opening, said movement clearing the bottom of the stack to permit a second cigar to move thereto, and an opening at the opposite side or" the magazine for delivery of said second cigar therethrough by means of the engagement of a portion of the outer surface of said frame upon return movement of said frame, said ejecting member including an arm pivoted relatively to the magazine, said arm being attached to said frame member and means for imparting oscillatory movement to said frame member to move said frame through the openings on opposite sides of the magazine.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 123,607l Baltzley Feb. 13, 1872 800,450 lemm et al Sept. 26, 1905 2,129,897 Williams Sept. 12, 1938 2,565,183 Morgan Aug. 21, 1951

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