US2925307A - Vending machines - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1960 H. B. sToNER VENDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed may 7, 1954 Il |.l lhnmnlllllnlulululull..

|||W||H|| I l l l l I I l l I lill Inn M W l l -l l u d la Feb. 16, 1960 H. B. sToNER VENDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7', 1954 1 Inventor y l @l .5x6/zer www@ v N N Feb. 16, 1960 H. B. s'roNl-:R

A VENDING MACHINES l 4 sheets-sheet s Filed May 7, 1954 /Ill L Inventor y n aggf. Sinner Feb. 16,1960 IH. B. STONER 2,925,307

VENDING MACHINES Filed May '1, 1.954 v v 4 sheets-sheet v4 lo Inventor l/ W .5. .5in/zer Unidsfats 1 l' 'i i A Eig. 'is afront elevationalvewofavcndingmac "of tliefcharacter'deslcribed;showingtheoutsidecasngred' isx j f p moved tofillustratethe threeraclfunits mounted therein. e Y j' i f.' Fig. '2is gl1oriiontal sectionalview taken substantially VENDING MACHINES Y, on' line/ of -Fig.' l and Showing a coin-controlled a,

I plunger releasenechansmin place. Y. *A f mg' tsoflfll a. Fig. 3 is an elevational view of therighthand vertical cotpol'ation of Missouri Y v SeCtiQllalilbw takenalong line 3`3in Fig. 1 and showing v3 L1, f Y a nierchandiseracli and its mountings. Y A r Application May 7 1954, No. 428,293 l 10 Eig. '4' is a' sideelevational viewA of the dual rack unit aims j' z' 4 l' Lloc'a'tedfat;ihefri'ghi hand end ofthemachine-as vviewed,

2 Cl (cl' 31 z) in Fig.4 l, a'portnfof the rackunit being shownin section.

` FigljS isfa'n enlarged dtail sectional view taken oirl line`5f5f Fig.` Lshwing a dua lra ck and related mech-t ,l

I'hel invention relates generally tof improvements inA 15 anism'insectiomfinpart. v vending machines and more'particularly tomachinesof I Fig 6` is"an`j inve``ted view ofthe dual rack'V uni t}lock.1. the character which are op'zratedby thecusv'tomrl'an "mechnismgtaken ys'llsta'ntiifilly on lnev- Jof ligl'l.'IH kl which embody a plurality o-f novelly constuctedfracksf e Referring p`AV cularly tofthe'fcompanying' drav'vir'lgs;l different Ykinds of merchandise and n ovel mounting'me hie, embodying the presentlinvention-isi. forsaid racks. Y f i d v i N i Vending machines of the'haracterI herein' di vprovided with a plurality' of-rack 'nitsfs'ome' plural'ityof single -racks and'thersincluding* pl' al1 of 'dual-y raeks, eachto contain vei'han'dise; ettesg'and'fauxiliary racky un varitusv rack 'units' require periodick illing a tomary to mount them in ainannertlatwill pef access' theret0.. The'lling'ofthrck sumes. a.l considerable amount ofj'th'e Y hence limitingthe number ofmachinesfw c'h *can* iceddining any given time intervalyThepres'eiit inve tionQwhile permitting -filling o fjthe racksin thecustniary -v Y manner-,iconsderably reduces the sevicingtime'rquiredw Referente hasbeen made heretofnreY tither fact that.f v by the incorporation in the vending'imhile fnovel cosiderameiime and'tronble isinvelved iii replenishingv ,f Structurefthat will permit.emptyforpaftillyfempty: rack 35 the 'supplyjo'f merchandise in thefrack units 10, 11 and; units to be removed 'from the machinerandlled-r'ack 12, Thisrplenishn'g maybe accomplishedin thfe'ljresent@A units placed therein Without requiring the use of'anyltoolsf Y inietre'withgufremdving the rack units from 'th jvend.; VAS -ODSeqUeDCCQ'I'Ck Units Call'be' Pl'ellei'ald esill" ing'machine" or, if desired, empty or partially empty Lracki andi quicklyv placed in the machinej" Also, Qsho'illdanyVV l" units may be removed bodily with little 'eior't andlvfull rackunit.requirereplacement for any other' reason,-'su'ch 40 rakunitslinserted :It is this feature of the .zim5z1`1jz1-tus difsf' as for example, to adapt the machine for vending* a: dif; 'i closed which-nsirufefprt gfih ferentkind of merchandise, suchreplacement can"befacfy presefapplicatiom complished easily'. Y j 'Anov "if t' of lthe 7,. 1,

Itis;therefore,k an object-of theinvention Ytol'proyidei `ing @fparr Q th prsent/ invention isthe novel means,

f easily and*quickly-removedandfintalldl*ff 46 (tof-Bedescr'ibed-pjesriuyyehfained in each iof the dual Another Objrtof theinventionis tO'PrOvid Cvelly Y 'raek'slj The foumvin'gjdescriptionis therefore concerned Constructed mefchadiserlfacks for a Vendlglmachil-"F' i L specifically with 'thejafo'r'esid structures and Atheir mode. Y

Another objectzsito provide novelYmeansfto"facilitate"f 0f 'ssmbly arrdopration. Y 't f Vf limited Ytilting Vofthe merchandise Yrack units torfadlita'f Tfh ieirdifg" mechanism is enclosed within afcasing qi ulg Without remo-ving hemffOIi-hachini* i '50 anyconve'ntionalconstruction, and inasmuchV as the cas'- ,l Another-Obiectiist0Providef-inivending machlfn'sgdf Iingrprm lnr, 'part ffthe present invention, it `has been; 'f ythe'character described, 'a novelandeimprvedstrueture i omittdfffom; the drjalwingis- Y The 'variuSym'ding rack i. Vfor mounting the merchandise-racks thereir1-1 f2 1 -1 ,juni njlliaa 12 ,laffe monted'iniairuprighi pgsition Y Anotheoble, iS .t0PYQYdB'UWeVmQaDSgOP conti@ "l ori ase "structfe'gf'orchssis, generally indicated at 17.;V f

Y ling thevdsvensing 0f merhndisefmm theedualiraekS-fi' rfeffiiig-f'to-Figuestz and 5, irwiu be observed; With fhetOregOing andotherpbiegts in rien? which Awill e 'chafs" substiimiauy rait'a'n'gul'afv iii 'shape A l of -jc'rtin noveliieaturesaqf @elimine-arrangement "ff i and" combination of par't`s reinafter'fully describedfi Y in y the accornpanyingdrawingsgandv particularly' that lviioshages inthe form; nIprop`o1jti xf1-j si `z e ar1` minor details of the strncturema'y be made'withontfdef parting froml-the'spirit or sacricing'any of theadvantag oftheinvention;l i Y ;i i" Forsthe purpose of facilitating-aniunderstandingof invention, 'Ihaveillustratedintheaccompanyingdrawings Y a preferredrembodiment thereof ,-f froxn an: inspec'tion'ioriA which,; whenv, onsidered inrconn Y deseri ic,1 1,.11f1yV inventionrit Y semblyipsl-Qperatpntanslaaa t be Vreadily understood `and appreciated ined 1.0111 dfi overlying; the V sis 17:, as llus'trate'dih vFigures f, 1' and 2,*1ncludes a'fc'iri'rlardlyrk inclinedilat'ittoy alf-2" 10:l Whew rack'ieha's kbeen'p'ivoted'to an' appr'oitimatly" 35 horizontal position, lower portion 'y may be-wi'thdraw"n fro'mslot '36; There Vthusproifideda'multiplesiippot` forirack". 10,' onefof the supports" beingsV .alorded vby;lcwe" lateral edge .34a,' another being theseatin'gQofthef footiportion" 331cm thetop wall 1'9,v while a`thir'd"con'sist`s 'of`. the yseatingof 'the' rear margin ofthe incl'inedwall'l' on theinturneduange-ZM; p

A's'. h'asmbeer'iV noted hereinabove, this rackX-u'it is mountedifor ready movement'fr'om the operati'sefullflin position' shown' in Figure 3,` intoVv a` fowardlylinclined "45 position as illustrated Y in broken lines in said'f'gu'r'e.- Movementof therack. into the tilted o'r inclined positionv is accomplished while the front of the vending machine cabinet is .open and for the purpose'of facilitating fillingA of thefracks 2"," in said u nit. When tilted forwardly, as indicated, the upper extremit'yof the rackunit`1tl"is carried forwardly of Ythe top wall offthe vending machine 7 cabinet. This permits ready insertion of merchandise.- throughthe topof each rack 27.1-In Vthe present instance" the merchandise is packages of'cigarettes. In orderv to limit forwardatlting-ofthe racl unit means is provided inA the for'rnof Aa`1inkz 37(Fig13') hav ing lits lower end pivotally i'nounted at 38 Vtothe adjacent end-wall' 22of the chassis. The uppery extremityof` the linkf37-carries a headed pinv3:9, normally: engaged inta'. 60 slot-4l)v provided inta. track` 41secured |irrnlyfas byu welding, tothe related lendwall 28 of VVthe rackl'unit When the rac-kV unit is positioned vvertically, the h'e'adedfv pin 39 islocated -closelyY adjacent-to theupper en dofthe slot. 40,-1 When the rack *unit* is tilted forwarcllj as indicatedvin broken: lines inf-Figure 3 ,".t h te headed abutsthe lower end oli 'the 'slot 4t) rto therebylirnit further! forward'til'ting of "the raclcunit. `Itb noted `at this .time that the hinge connection 38fmountii1g the'link 37 includes aslot 42ada`pti'ngthe link `37`t"be shifted" 70 describedpresently.' Y Un'de'rfcertain servicing conditions it may"be" more* practical ltojrernove an'ernpty orpartia'lly empty'tra'ck'unit relative' to' the hinge connection nfor. a purpose'jto be escaso? by providing novel means whereby the link 37 may be easily and quickly disconnected from the rack unit 10, after which said unit may be lifted bodily out of the machine cabinet. In order to accomplish this, the upper extremity of the slot 40 iritr'ack- 41 is formed with an enlargement as at43-o fa siz e to v permitwithdrawal of Ythe head of the headed pin 39. Such withdrawal is ac y complishedf' onlyt aft'eif therr linl'- 37 isshifted' upwardly, which 'I sHif-tirg' isfpifnittedby'reason of the slot" 42"v at; the hinge connection, to align the headof the pin .39"withthe' enlarged openingljla; `whereupon the lin'lmnayV lue-pulled away from the rack unit a distance sufficient to withdraw the headed pin satfomaheslbt at@y The rack unit 10 is now entirely disconnected from the base 17 except for its connection through the hook-like formations 33h.

Obviously, furthertilting forwardly of the rack unit' beyondthe broken-line position illustrated in Figure 3 will f,enable withdrawal of lower portions 35 of'hooleb from the slots`3f6. The rack unit can then be liftedbodily'otof'the cabinet land another rack unit mounted v,therein'th'rough a reversal of the operations described hereinabove. n l

Ashasbeen noted v hereinbefore Ythe rack unit-1l) is adualj cxk-funit,Y 'Such-,a rack unit is adapted tocon'tain-I racks suilicient d cpth =to `receivethroughout the greater' v ,.,part'loftheir*length two columns of merchandise; This* `is perhapsbest illustrated in Figure 5, where itwill'b'ey observedfthat onecolurnn. onffmerchandise is contained 'in-VV the "forwardr portion {oi-Leach rack, 'forwardly` of d the ver+ tical wall"-` 2 5,` .The secondcolurnn of merchandise conf' 1 tained' in each oftheyrackpsoffthe rack unit'10'issupe portedoni-:theinclined topwall =24 ofthe chassis 17 .TheAY Structure -is` such that .when thev level ofmerchandise in the/forward portionof a rack reaches'. a predeterminedlevel, the merchandise containedin the rearportionof the `rack. is` thrustfforwardly off-of-its supporting surface-24 intojdispensing alignment- With the merchandise remaini" ing inthe frontportion of the rack.V

In; orderA to accomplish automatic displacement of: themerchandisefin thefrear-p'ortion of the rack; said -raclc is* ,protddedwithY elongated inserts l or auxiliary racks 44v` (Figure4)-,=each Aincludingwa back wall- 45: and a side wallY 46 perpendicular thereto. The upper extremity1 ofVIL the side wall 46 has an outwardly projecting-pin`47'nbre' mally seated in-the vdownwardly turnedV end portionr 48l -of a-slotl 49 provided in the related Wall 27 or parti tions 26 of the respectiverack; A leaf spring 51` disposedk between Ythe rack unit backwall 29 and back Wall' 4510i the insert 44 normally tends 'to urge the auxiliaryrack-1 the inclined bottomw'all The'rearwardly extending t free*'terminalA of 'the'V latch` 5 2 normally 'engagesfin' front of atonguef54 vdepending from the lower edge of the auxiliary 'rack'back' wall 45, and is"adaptedtdbetre leased "onlyl when! the `levelof v merchandise in the `fr' ont" column has been depletedlto locate its uppermost'level,Y l belowfthe lowermost terminal of a trigg'er255.V

Upon-referring to Figure-5,v it will be -noted -thatfthe trigger is held normally out of the path of the merchanlf preloaded rack unit containingthe same or dilerent merl 'cliandi'se Thisl is made feasible in the instant structure` n of the latch S2.

When the level of the merchandise in the front column has fallen below the free terminal of the trigger S5, said trigger will rock from the position illustratedin'Figure 5 into the position shown in Figure 4. When this occurs, the arcuate edge 59 of the tail portion 58 will lie in the path of a gate generally indicated at 61 (Figs. 2 and 5) which lgate functions, in a manner to be described presently, to lift the trigger-latch assembly and rock the'latch about its pivot 53 so as to carry its free terminal downwardly out of engagement with the tongue 54. The spring 51 immediately thrusts the auxiliary rack 44 into the forwardly inclined position shown in'Figure 4; This places the auxiliary rack in position to discharge its contents into the lower or vending portion of the forwardV part of the related main rack.

The gate 61 consists of a relativelyr wide plate 62 having arms 63 at its ends. The plate 62 is substantially coextensive with the length of the rack unit 10, and said arms 63 are pivoted, as at 64, to the rack unit end walls 28. Gate 6\1 is operable in response to manual manipulation of a corresponding operating handle 14 extending through the front of the machine (Figs. 1 and 2). Handle 14 is connected by conventional means to an ejector plate 15 (Fig. 2) underlying the lowermost article M in the corresponding dual rack .27 to maintain the stack in the disposition shown in Fig. ,5. :A pull'on handle -14 will latter to drop so that articleMl rests atop wal-1 portion 19.

When handle 14 is returned to its normally retracted posi# o Y tion ejector plate 15 =will push lowermost article M through of the United States is:

l. AA merchandise vending machine comprising'a base and described for illustrative purposes, the structuralY detailsare nevertheless capable of widevariation within the purview of our invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and' desire to secure by Letters'Patent frame includingV a substantially horizontal wall portion having a plurality of slots, said wall portion having upperl and lower surfaces, a rack for storing merchandise to be vended, a plurality of hook means each extending'downwardly from the bottom of said rack and through a respective one of said slots and engaging said wall portion said wall portion when said rack is in said upright positionV to prevent said rack fromtilting in a direction opposite said predetermined direction, each of said hook means having pivotal mounting means spaced above said retainp VVing means and bearing against said upper surface of said vwithdraw plate 151from beneath the stack andcausetheV opening 16 to be dispensed and at'the same time moveY Y' under the next lowermost article toagain support the stack. Other means (not` shown) connect handleV 14 to" gate 61 so that manual manipulation of the former will cause gate 61 to rock from the rearwardly inclined position illustrated in Figure 5 forwardly into a substantially vertical position and then back to its initial position.

`When the vending mechanism is actuated, the gate'61V is rocked forwardly to close thevendi'ng opening l16 and then rearwardly upwardly to re-open said vending opening andpermit discharge of the merchandise purchased,

and at the same time its upper flanged edge 65 will strike f against the arcuate end 59 of thejdepending tail portion 58 of trigger 55, should the trigger 55 have been released so as to be resting in the position shown in Figure 4. This contact or engagement between the flange 65 of gate 61 and the tail portion 58 lifts the trigger-latchassembly and rocks the latch 52 about its ypivot 53 so as l to elect its disengagementfromthe tongue k5,4. As soon may be moved into a full forward position by raising itsy After the auxiliary rack has been filled,- through the insertionl of merchandise :at the top thereof, the'upper pivot pin 47 upwardlyout of the slot'48 (Fig. 4),V and-then 'l carrying it forwardly in horizontal slot 49' until its Yforward edge abuts the front'ange on the rack. unitY 10.v 60

end of said rack isV then pushed rearwardly toagain'f locate the ypivot pin 47- in slot 48; The lower end of the auxiliary rackV 44 Yis then pushed rearwardly manually, .and because the relatedlower portion Vof the rack unit column in the rack unit '10 may then be completely filled after which the'rack unitis Vreturned to its ynonna-1 vervvalllportion,during said movement of said, rackto pivotally support said rack during said movement, said rack having a center nof gravity normally biasing said vrack in v,said oppositerdirection, and means for supporting said rack in saidpupright position.,V

2. A merchandise vending machine comprising a base iframe including a wall portion having a plurality of slots, `Vsaid wall portion having upper and lower surfaces, a rack for storing merchandise tobe vended, a plurality of hook means each extending downwardly from the Vbottom'of said rack and'through a respective one of said slots and engaging.V said `wall 4portion for pivotallyrmounting saidV rackfor movement in a predetermined direction from a normal or substantially upright position through a prede-ov termined angular displacement toV a position in which said hook means may be withdrawn from said slot, each of said hook'means comprising a rst edge portion normally engaging said lower surface of said wall portionr to spective slot, said rack having a center of gravity normally f pivotallybiasing saidrack in said opposite direction, and means for supporting said raclr in said upright position.

References Cited inthe tile of this patent 435,370 7836,045 'Y `Melchior Nov. 13, 1906 A1,008,384 Y ,Spaulding 1 Nov. 14; 19,11 l 1 y1,055,519 Conser k.. s Mar. 11,V 1913 o 1,284,319 Grover Nov. 12, 19,18 1,331,990 Grover g Feb..24, 1920 1,473,817V l Gorsline v Nov. 13,1923

1,898,192 l Larson Feb. 21, 1933i 1,925,563 Y Morin a Sept. 5, l1933 ff 2,254,038 l `Hope I Y v Aug. 26, 1941 Y 2,254,841., GabrielsenV Sept. 2, 1941 2,267,144 steine; Dee. 23, 1941 y 2,309,802 Vogel. .v. o Feb. 2,'1943 vv2,312,985 B'al'es ..,Mar.2, 1943

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