US3008591A

US3008591A - Remotely loaded stocking apparatus for grocery and like products

Info

Publication number: US3008591A
Application number: US846933A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph C Cantelmo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-10-16
Filing date: 1959-10-16
Publication date: 1961-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1978-11-14

Description

Nov. 14, 1961 J. c. CANTELMO REMOTELY LOADED STOCKING APPARATUS FOR GROCERY AND LIKE PRODUCTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1959 I'll INVENTOR.

J'OSGPH C. (A NTELMO 3,008,591 FOR Nov. 14, 1961 J. c. CANTELMO REMOTELY LOADED STOCKING APPARATUS GROCERY AND LIKE PRODUCTS Filed Oct. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. Jose u c CANTELMO "nEMoTELY LOADED STOCKING 3 ,008,591 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 APPARATUS FOR GROCERY AND LIKE, PRODUCTS Joseph C. Cantelmo, 359 Hudson St., Hackensack, NJ.

Filed Oct. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 846,933 13 Claims. (Cl. 214-44) This invention relates to an'apparatus or system, designed for installation in' supermarkets, and similar establishments, as a means for stocking the shelves of said establishments.

In large supermarkets and similar retail establishments, it is understandably important that all costs be kept at a minimum. This is of particular importance in view of the fact that a low mark-up, accompanied by tremendous volume, is essential to profitable operation.

Considering the volume of business done by establishments of this type, it is already true that a relatively small labor force is presently required, compared to that which was required in markets before self-service systems were introduced. While it is unnecessary to keep a large number of employees to wait directly upon the customers, a substantial labor force is still required in any large retail establishment of this type, to stait the checkingout counters or stations, and re-stock shelves that are completely or partially emptied of the products normally supported thereon.

The present invention has as its broad purpose the provision of an apparatus or system which will permit even a greater reduction in the labor force ordinarily required to staff a store having a particular dollar'volume of business. It is proposed, in this regard, to provide an apparatus which will permit a reduction in the number of employees required for restocking shelves.

A more specific object is to provide apparatus of the character described which will be so designed that the initial cost of installation thereof, and the maintenance cost required after installation, will be quickly-compensated for by the great wage savings resulting from the considerable reduction in the labor force resulting from use of the apparatus. i

Another object is to provide apparatus of the character described which will be so designed as to cause the shelves or equivalent supports to be automatically filled each time one or more articles are removed therefrom. In this way, not only is an attractive appearance maintained throughout the retail establishment, owing to the elimination of partially filled shelves or bins, but also impulse buying is promoted. In addition, calls by customers for special service resulting from a desire to purchase a product the shelf stockof which is'completely depleted, will be eliminated or markedly reduced.

A further object is to provide a stocking system or apparatus including a loading chute assembly distinguished by its compactness as well as by its adaptability to serve, at its discharge end, as a dispensing shelf, compartment, or bin to which the customer may have direct access. f

Still another object is 'to incorporate, in .the stocking apparatus, a loading carrierparticularly designed to coact with the chute assembly in the loading of said assembly at a location remote from the point of sale or display of the products involved.

Yet another'object is to associate, with the chute assembly and loading carrier, a sling means controllable by the worker who is operating the carrier, said sling means being designed for remote operation in such a way as toreleasably engage the loaded products against free gravitation through the' chute assembly. I

Another object is to provide,-in the chute assembly, a means designed to permit swift visual determination of the extent of depletion of the articles previously loaded into the various, individual chutes making up the chute 1 assembly.

' readily understood, the size ofthe chute assembly, the

' Still another object of importance is to provide, in an apparatus of the. character'described, a loading carrier which will be readily adjustable tov accommodate products of dilierent sizes. I l

A further object of importance is to provide a stocking apparatus as described that will be especially designed for association with a product-marking mechanism.

Other objects will appear from thefollowing description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed 7 drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein? FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a stocking apparatus according to the present invention, a building structure in, which said apparatus is installed being shown in section;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the-apparatus, the lower portion of said apparatus being broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view on the same scale as FIGURE 2, taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2' through the loading carrier;

-.FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, the scale being enlarged above that of FIGURE 2, of one of the product slings;

FIGURE 5 is,a perspective view of one of the slings in which a portion of the sling is shown in dotted lines, the view illustrating the mannerin which a releasable knot is tied in the sling suspension means; and

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal, detailsectional view on line 66 of FIGURE 2, the scale being enlarged substantially above that of FIGURE 2, showing a detent means associated with a horizontally adjustable bottom plate of the loading carrier.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in FIGURE 1, I

have illustrated, somewhat diagrammatically, a building.

structure generally designated 10, which may be considered as a large retail establishment of the supermarket type. The building structure 16 includes a side wall 11, a lower floor 12, and an upper floor 14, cooperating to define a lower enclosure or dispensing area 16, and an upper enclosure or stocking area 18. Enclosure 18 is roofed over by a ceiling 20.

The upper floor 14 terminates in spaced relation to the side wall 11, to define therebetween an opening 22 communicating between the lower and

upper enclosures

16, 18, respectively. Opening 22, in a typical embodiment, extends over the full width of the establishment, along the side wall 11. It will be understood, of course, that openings 22 can beforrned Wherever desired, and in fact, said openings would extend above the several rows of dispensing shelves or display areas that are characteristically provided in supermarkets or similar retail establishments. I 1

.In any event, disposed adjacent the opening 22, and extending in parallel relation to said opening, is a depending partition 24, which can be termed an upper partition of the lower enclosure 16. The partition 24 is spaced forwardly from the side wall 11, so as to define therebetween a chute assembly space 26 communicating with the opening 22. A relatively low vertical partition 28 comprises a lower partition in the enclosure 16. This extends upwardly from the ground floor 12, a short distance forwardly from the vertical plane of the partition 24 as clearly shown in FIGURE 1. As a result, there is defined between the'lower and upper edges of the parti-.

tions

24, 28, respectively, an outlet space 30 through which; extends the discharge or dispensing endof the chute assembly 32. g 7 The chute assembly can .vary in desigm-and as will be number of the banks of chutes therein, the length of said assembly, and other similar factors will depend upon the requirements of the particular installation; Ordinarily, the chute assembly would be designed for a particular retail establishment, and would likely be installed in said establishment during the erection of the building. However, this is not completely essential, and it is quite possible for an establishment to be converted to automatic stock loading in accordance with the present invention, even though said establishment may have been open for some time, without use of the dispensing apparatus that I have devised.

In the illustrated example, the chute assembly 321 has three banks of chutes, there being a front bank of chutes 34, an intermediate bank or row of chutes 36, and a rear bank of chutes 38. To facilitate manufacture of the assembly, and to provide for a completely compact array of chutes, the assembly may be formed through the provision of perpendicularly related walls 44 42. Referring to FIGURE 1, the walls 40 extend in parallel relation to the elongated opening 2-2, eXtending downwardly through said opening in spaced relation, so as to constitute means defining the three banks of chutes. Then, in perpendicular relation to and fixedly secured to the walls 40, there are auxiliary divider walls or partitions 4-2. These divide the several banks into individual chutes. In this way, a large number of chutes, in superposed, side-by-side arrangement, is provided.

Obviously, the number of banks of chutes can be varied, according to the requirements of the particular installation.

In any event, at their upper, inlet ends, the chutes are disposed at short distance upwardly from the upper floor 14, so that the loading of the chutes within the stocking area or upper enclosure 18 can be facilitated. The chutes extend downwardly through the opening 22., said opening being completely filled by the chute assembly, and below the opening 22, the chutes can be considered as being provided with descending intermediate portions 44 having one or more convolutions 46. The intermediate por tions 44, at their lower ends, merge into discharge 'portions 48, which are preferably inclined slightly from the horizontal.

The portions 48 decline in a direction forwardly from the intermediate portions 44, and project through the outlet space 30. Since the banks of chutes are disposed in superposed relation over their full lengths, it follows that the front chutes 34 will overlie the intermediate chutes 36, and the intermediate chutes 36 will overlie the rear chutes 38, at the outlet ends of the several chutes. In this connection, as clearly shown in FIGURE 1, the intermediate chutes may project forwardly beyond the front chutes, and the outlet ends of the rear chutes may project forwardly beyond the outlet ends of the intermediate chutes, thus to provide ready access to cans C or other grocery products disposed in exposed positions within outlet or dispensing

openings

50, 52, 54, of the front, intermediate, and rear chutes respectively. The outlet openings are so designed as to terminate, at their forward ends, at end walls or

abutments

56, 58, 60, of the several chutes. Said end walls prevent the products from dropping out of the ends of the chutes, whereby said products will be disposed in position to be picked up by the customer without difficulty. Each time a can C or an equivalent product is picked up, the cans disposed behind the same in the chute will all move forwardly, so as to once again fill the outlet opening. In this way, the dispensing shelves or bins defined by the discharge ends of the several chutes are maintained in a filled or fully stocked condition at all times, provided, of course, that the chutes still have some containers or cans C disposed in back of the outlet opening.

It will be apparent from FIGURE 1 that the chutes are completely concealed from the view of the customers, except at the dispensing of the chutes. In this way, the loading apparatus comprising the present invention does not detract from the attractiveness of the store interior. In fact, the interior appearance of the establishment is considerably enhanced. This results from the fact that at all times, the dispensing ends of the chutes are maintained in a fully stocked condition. Therefore, the confused or jumbled appearance that is oftentimes characteristic of supermarkets, resulting from the fact that some shelves are stocked more fully than others, and further resulting from a disorderly array of shelves or display tables, does not result when the present invention is used.

The stocking apparatus that comprises thepresent invention includes a loading carrier generally designated 62, retained in the stocking area or upper enclosure 18'. The loading carrier is rollably mounted, so as to be 10- catable above any selected

chute

34, 36, or 38.

The carrier 62 includes an upwardly-opening, rectangular deep container or receptacle 64 in which is disposed a transversely adjustable, longitudinally extending partition 66 that projects above the open top of the container. The partition 66 is secured to horizontally, transversely extending guide bars 68 slidably mounted in openings 69 (FIGURE 3) formed in one side Wall of the receptacle. Exteriorly of the receptacle, collars 76 are slidably mounted upon the projecting outer ends of the guide bars 68-. Set screws '72 are provided in the collars, and as will be readily understood, the partition can be adjusted transversely of the container to selected locations, after which the collars 7 t} can be moved along the length of the guide bars 63. The collars are brought up against the adjacent side wall of the container, after which the set screws 72 are tightened.

It will be readily seen that this arrangement will limit the partition 66 against movement in one direction, beyond a predetermined location. Thus, the partition 66, as illustrated in FIGURE 3,-is incapable of moving to the right in said figure beyond the selected, adjusted position of the partition. In this position, it is disposed in a selected, spaced relatonship to the side wall of the container shown at the right in FIGURE 3, thereby defining between said side wall and the partition a space 73 in which the cans C or other articles may be loaded. It will be understood that the carrier .is loaded with the articles from boxes or cartons B, said cartons being those in which the products are initially received in the establishment. The cartons are cut in such a way as to permit half of the carton contents to be loaded into the space 73, in a typical working arrangement. Then, the

carrier is rolled to a loading position shown in 'FIG- URES 1 and 2.

The container or receptacle 64 includes a forwardly declining bottom 74-, extending fully from the back wall of the container (FIGURE 2) to a location short of the front wall. This defines, between the front wall of the container or receptacle 64 and the front edge of the inclined bottom wall 74, a discharge opening for the cans C, whereby said cans may gravitate into the upper end of a chute disposed immediately therebelow.

Below the inclined bottom wall 74 there 'are horizontal guideways 76 having confronting grooves extending longitudinally of the container 64- at the lower edges of the side walls of said container or receptacle (see FIGURE 3). Slidably engaged in the guideways 76 are the opposite side edge portions of a horizontally disposed, fiat bottom plate 78 the rear end of which projects beyond the rear ends of the guideways. Secured to the rear end of the plate 78 is a handle 80 to facilitate the horizontal adjustment thereof within the guideways.

As will be readily seen from FIGURE 2, the bottom plate is normally disposed in a position in which it is spaced rearwardly from the front wall of the container or receptacle 64. As a result, there is defined a discharge opening or outlet 82, which is registered with and corresponds generally in size to theselected chute that is to be loaded with a supply of the cans C or other grocery products.

It is desirable to releasably engage the adjustable bottom plate 78 in adjusted positions to which it is moved. To this end, there may be provided a detent means such as shown byway of example in FIGURE 6. Formed in the opposite side edges of the bottom plate 78 are uniformly spaced, semicircular notches 84, the notches of one side edge being transversely aligned with corresponding notches formed in the opposite side edge. A ball detent 86 is registrable with a selected notch, on'adjustment of the bottom plate 78 to a selected position. The ball detent is resiliently, yieldably biased into the selected notch by means of a compression, coil spring 90 disposed within a cup-like detent housing 88 fixedly secured to and projecting outwardly from the adjacent side wall of the container or receptacle 64 of the carrier 62.

It will be readily seen that although the ball detents 86, provided at opposite sides of the carrier, will releasably engage the plate 78 in any position to which the plate is adjusted, it is easy to disengage the .ball detent when the plate is to be moved to a new position. This is merely done by shifting the plate forwardly or rearwardly, exerting pressure thereon sufiieient to cause the ball detent 86 to be cammingly biased out of the particular notch in which it was engaged.

The receptacle or container 64 is rollably mounted, and to this end there may be provided wheel hangers of inverted U-shape, fixedly secured to the bottom of and arranged transversely of said receptacle at locations spaced longitudinally of the receptacle (see FIGURE 2). Carried by the lower ends of the legs of the respective wheel hangers are wheels 94.

To further facilitate the rolling of the carrier to a selected location, there is provided a handle 96 projecting rearwardly therefrom.

Mounted upon the rear end wall of the carrier is a winch 98, which, of course, might be provided with a typical ratchet-and-pawl mechanism, not shown, whereby the drum of the winch may be releasably engaged against rotation in' a cable-unwinding direction. A cable 101) is wound upon the drum of the winch, and as will be noted in 'FIGUREZ, extends forwardly from the winch, between the bottom plate 78 and the inclined bottom wall 74. This is merely one arrangement that could be used, and in another arrangement, thewinch and cable might be extended forwardly to the particular chute being loaded, in an arrangement other than that shown by way of example.

In any event, in the preferred, illustrated embodiment the cable 100 extends forwardly, passing between the forward edges of the bottom wall 74 and bottom plate 78 and then extending downwardly through the opening 82 into the chute that is to be loaded. At its lower end, the cable 108 is connected to a sling generally designated 102 and shown to particular advantage in FIGURES 4 and 5.

The particular construction of the sling may vary, but in the preferred arrangement, the sling includes flexible end straps 104, between which spaced connecting rods 1G6 extend. The straps 104 may be of a highly flexible spring steel, or alternatively could be of a fabric such as a heavy canvas webbing. It is mainly important that the sling be of snfficient strength to support the weight of a large number of cans thereabove in the manner shown in FIGURE 2. It is also of importance that the sling be capable of opening under said weight whenever the sling is released'in amanner to' be described hereinafter. Thus, the end straps 104 would normally be retained in a substantially semi-circular shape as shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5. However, when the sling is opened, the straps would open to a flat condition, or to any shape dictated by the particular shape of the chute portion .in which the sling may be located at the time.

To one side of the sling there is connected an upwardly extending loop'108, to which is attached the lower end of the suspension cable 100.- A loop 110 is V ployee knows immediately that the can connected to the 6 connected to the other side of .thesling, and is of inverted U-shape as shown in FIGURE 5.

The suspension cable though permanently connected to the loop 108, is releasably looped about or entwined with the loop 110. By reason of this arrangement, thesuspension cable 100 is detachably mounted to the loop in the manner shown at 112 in FIGURE 4. The knot 112, however, is adapted to be opened from a remote location, in such a way as to automatic-ally cause disengagement of the cable 100 from the loop 110, under the weight of the supported cans C. Therefore, the weight of the supported cans or other articles will cause the sling to immediately open, to free the articles for gravitational movement through the chute without blockage so far as the sling is concerned. The sling merely opens, to a position in which it lies flat against the adjacent wall of the chute, so that the articles gravitate freely thereby.

To provide for the remote opening of the knot, as well as the retention of the knot during the initial stage of the loading operation, there is utilized a release cable 114, which, as shown in FIGURE 2, is threaded at its upper end through an eye 116 depending from the rear end of the inclined bottom wall 74. In this way, quick access to the release cable is had by the worker.

At its lower end, the release cable 114 is secured to a release pin 118. Release pin 118 extends through the knot 112, during the initial loading of the chute. However, when the release cable is pulled, pin 118 is drawn out of said knot. The knot automatically opens, and the sling opens and flattens out, as a result, in the manner previously described herein.

The knot could be tied in any of various Ways, and the tieing arrangement shown in FIGURE 5 is merely illustrative. The knot shown in FIGURE 5 is thought capable of being comprehended by a close study of this figure, and the drawing itself shows the manner in which the knot is tied, in such a way as to eliminate the necessity of an accompnayning detailed description. In fact, an attempt to describe the various convolutions of the knot would not facilitate understanding of the drawing.

Extending into each chute is a rope or cable 120, which extends upwardly to the ceiling 20, being threaded through eyes 122 extending downwardly from the ceiling above the several chutes. At the ends of the cables 120 that are disposed within the chutes, said cables are provided with loops 12 4 adapted to be engaged about the uppermost can C or other article. The other ends of the cables 120 are visible within the stocking area 18, and secured thereto are relatively small weights 126. The weights 1% are always lighter than the cans C or other article that is being stocked.

In use of the invention, the stocker need not, at any time, work within the display or selling enclosure 16. Therefore, the employees charged with the responsibility of stocking the shelves will not, at any time, interassociated cable 120 is close to the

outlet opening

50, 52, or 54, as the case may be. Therefore, the can connected to said cable 120 is pulled upwardly, and the employee The re-stocking operation is swiftly and easily carried out, with the employee moving a very short distance, since the particular product will be stacked in cartons in close proximity to the chute into which said product is e to be loaded. This is distinguished from the conventional arrangement, in which a stocker must take a carton or other container in a storage area, and thereafter transport the same, or at least transport the cans or other articles that were packed therein, all the way to the particular point at which the product is stocked on the store shelves. Said point may be at a remote location in the store, so far as the storage area is concerned.

In any event, this is eliminated in the present arrangement, and one breaks open a carton, loading the carrier 62. Thereafter, the carrier is rolled to a position over the chute that is to be loaded, and the bottom plate 73 is pulled rearwardly to define the discharge opening 82. However, before this is done, and in fact, before the loading space 73 is filled with the articles that are to be stocked, the worker engages one of the articles in the sling 102. Said sling thus is the first object to move downwardly through the opening 82. Since the sling is restrained against free gravitational movement, under the control of the worker who is in position to operate the winch, it will be readily seen that the article supported in the sling will act as an abutment, preventing free gravitational movement of the articles through the chute when the opening 82 is exposed. Instead, the worker can cause said articles to feed comparatively slowly, downwardly through the chute to prevent jamming, loud clatter, or damage to the articles.

When the articles have been all fed into the chute, with the carrier being emptied of said articles, the user pulls the release cable. This opens the sling, permitting the can or other article that was engaged in the sling to gravitate therefrom, with the sling lying flat against the chute wall in the manner previously described. Further, the articles that were disposed above the sling are also free to gravitate past the now opened sling.

It would be understood that the worker would not open the sling until the sling is disposed comparatively close to the rearmost article that was previously stocked on the last previous loading of the chute. In this way, the length of free gravitational fall of the several articles that are in the process of being loaded is kept to a minimum to prevent damage and minimize noise.

The sling is now pulled upwardly, out of the chute, and the cable 120, with one of the articles engaged in its loop 124, is now lowered into the chute. The article engaged in the loop 124 would, of course, remain in engagement with the next lower can or other article, and as progressive depletion of the chute occurs, the associated weight 126 will move upwardly until it arrives, finally, at a location signalling the necessity of another stocking operation.

It will be readily preceived that a comparatively few employees would be required for the purpose of keeping the store fully stocked. Said employees are continually checking the chutes, and are occupied with re-stocking of the chutes as necessary, to insure that the shelves or bins throughout the store will remain fully stocked at all times. In this way, the labor force of a particular establishment may be reduced considerably, while at the same time, it is possible to increase dollar volume by promoting impulse buying through the use of filled shelves.

It may be noted that the convolutions 46 serve the purpose of increasing the effective length of each chute, thereby permitting the chute to be loaded with a greater number of articles than might otherwise be possible. In addition, the convolutions serve as a retarding means preventing free gravitational fall of the articles in a vertical direction in the event of accidental opening of a sling 102 during loading of the articles. Of course, although only one convolution is shown for each chute, this number is not critical to successful operation of the invention, and the number of convolutions could vary as desired.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention co-mprehends any changes in construction that maybe permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A remotely loaded stocking apparatus, for retail establishments and the like, comprising: at least one chute adapted to receive a quantity of articles to be stocked, said chute having a downwardly extending inlet end portion, an intermediate portion extending downwardly from the inlet end portion, and a discharge portion projecting laterally from the intermediate portion and formed with a dispensing opening, means for loading articles into said inlet end portion of the chute, remotely controlled means extending into the chute and adapted for controlling gravitational feeding of said articles through the chute toward the dispensing opening thereof, said remotely controlled means comprising a suspension cable extending downwardly into the chute from the inlet end, and a flexible sling carried by said cable and adapted to conform to the shape of said articles, whereby the article supported in the sling will constitute an abutment limiting the free, gravitational movement of other, similar articles disposed thereabove within said chute.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, further including means extending downwardly into the chute for locking and opening said sling, whereby to selectively hold or release the article confined within the sling.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2, said sling-opening means comprising a cable extending downwardly into said chute and a pin carried by the last-named cable, the first-named cable including a releasable knot into which said pin extends, said knot being adapted to be opened responsive to extraction of the pin therefrom, the knot when opened freeing the sling for movement to an article-releasing position.

4. A remotely loaded stocking apparatus for retail establishments and the like, comprising: an integral chute adapted to receive a quantity of articles to be stocked, said chute having a downwardly extending inlet end portion, an intermediate portion extending downwardly from the inlet end portion, and a discharge portion projecting forwardly from the intermediate portion and formed with a dispensing opening accessible to a store patron; means for loading articles into said inlet end portion of the chute, comprising a manually rollable carrier having a downwardly opening discharge aperture adapted to be registered with said inlet end portion, whereby articles may gravitate from the carrier into the inlet end portion of the chute when the carrier is positioned above the chute; and remotely control-led means extending into the inlet end of the chute and adapted to permit controlled gravitational feeding of said articles through the chute toward the dispensing opening thereof by impedance of the lowermost article.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said carrier includes an inclined bottom wall, said bottom wall declining in a direction toward said aperture whereby to gravirationally feed the articles within the carrier toward the aperture.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said carrier further includes a longitudinally extending partition mounted within the carrier for adjustment transversely thereof toward and away from a side wall of the carrier, whereby to define between said side wall and the partition a space within which the articles may be loaded into the carrier preliminary to feeding of the articles through said aperture.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the remotely controlled means is suspended from said carrier whereby 9 to be extendible downwardly through the dispensing aperture of the carrier into the chute.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7, further including a bottom plate mounted upon the carrier for adjustment in a horizontal direction, said bottom plate defining, at one end thereof, an edge of the dispensing aperture, whereby to adjust the size of the aperture responsive to a selected, corresponding adjustment of the bottom plate.

9. Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said carrier includes detent means adapted to releasably engage the bottom plate in selected positions to which the bottom plate is adjusted.

10. Apparatus as in claim 9 wherein said carrier inludes a pair of confronting, longitudinally extending guideways in which the respective side edge portions of the bottom plate are slidably engaged, said detent means extending into the guideways.

11. Apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the side edge portions of the bottom plate are formed with spaced notches any of which is adapted to receive the detent means.

12. Apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said detent means comprises spring pressed ball elements engageable in the notches and proportioned to be cammingly biased out of the notches responsive to movement of the bottom plate in a selected direction by a user, whereby to disengage the detent means from the bottom plate.

13. A remotely loaded stocking apparatus for retail establishments and the like, comprising: an integral chute adapted to receive a quantity of articles to be stocked,

10 said chute having a downwardly extending inlet end portion, an intermediate portion extending downwardly from the inlet end portion, and a discharge end portion projecting forwardly from the intermediate portion and formed with a dispensing opening accessible to a store patron; means for loading articles into said inlet end portion of the chute; remotely controlled means extendible into the inlet end of the chute and adapted for controlling gravitational feeding of said articles through. the chute toward the dispensing opening thereof by impedance of theylowermost article, said remotely controlled means including a suspension cable and a flexible sling adapted to wrap around and support the lowermost or the articles loaded into the chute; whereby said lowermost article will constitute an abutment limiting the articles thereabove against free gravitational movement; and means for indicating the extent to which the chute is emptied of articles previously loaded thereinto, comprising a cable extending downwardly into the chute and formed with a loop adapted to receive the uppermost article within the chute.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED ST TES PATENTS 571,389 Pancoast Nov. 17, 1896 1,699,868. Anderson 1 Jan. 22, 1929 2,431,791 De 'Palma et al. Dec. 2, 1947 2,761,633 Sindzinski Sept. 4, 1956 2,928,522 Anderson Mar. 15, 1960'