US3016165A

US3016165A - Article vending machine

Info

Publication number: US3016165A
Application number: US763674A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles L Casey; Juddson B Ryno
Original assignee: RELIABLE ENGINEERING CO
Current assignee: RELIABLE ENGINEERING Co
Priority date: 1958-09-26
Filing date: 1958-09-26
Publication date: 1962-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 1979-01-09

Description

Jan. 9, 1962. c. L. CASEY ET AL ARTICLE VENDING-MACHINE 4 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 26, 1958 Jan. 9,1962 0. CASEY ETAL 3,016,165

ARTICLE VENDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 26, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I y l 9/ 10 39 37 4/ IN V EN TORS CHA/ZLE L. an E) By A mi a. ,7QYA/O ATTOEA/EY}.

Jan. 9, 1962 c. L. CASEY ET AL 3,015,165

ARTICLE VENDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 26, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 F I l g 54 125' & 54 a0 80 99 79 80 IN V EN TORS ,M -Ka" 3,016,165 ARTICLE VENDING MACHINE Charles L. Casey, Riverside, and Juddson B. Ryno, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Reliable Engineering Co., Chicago, III., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 763,674

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 221- 116) This invention relates in general to vending machines, and more particularly to a machine for dispensing cartoned goods, and still more particularly to a coin operated vending machine which dispenses an article on tender of a coin by the purchaser to a coin slot of the machine and appropriate manipulation of an operating handle.

Coin operated vending machines for dispensing cartoned goods as heretofore known have been complicated in structure, expensive to manufacture, of low capacity, and susceptible to being tampered with and looted. Moreover, vending machines in the past have been subject to being rendered inoperative by jamming of merchandise within the machine.

The vending machine of the present invention overcomes the above difiiculties and enables quick and efiicient vending of cartoned goods, while eliminating the common problem of the non-operative machine due to jamming of merchandise, and is completely foolproof against tampering. In addition, the machine of the present invention is capable of having a large capacity, and is extremely simple in construction and may be economically manufactured.

The vending machinethat comprises this invention includes a housing or cabinet having a pair of spaced openings through which articles may be dispensed. A magazine is arranged in the cabinet and adapted to support a double stack of cartoned articles in side-by-side relationship. Openings are provided in the magazine through which articles may be ejected to'dispensing' chutes which connect with the openings in the cabinet. An ejector is provided for ejecting the lowermost article of one of these stacks to a position where it may be gravity fed to the dispensing opening in the cabinet. Subsequently, the lowermost article from the other stack is dispensed from the cabinet on the next stroke of the operating handle. The dispensed articles are delivered to the operator of the machine upon tender of the proper coin to the coin slot of the machine and manipulaton of a handle aflixed to the outside'of the cabinet. The coin assumes a direct part in the operation of the machine in'defining a camming surface that serves to release a lock mechanism normally maintaining the ejector in one position. Means in the formof guard bars are provided onthe ejector Patented Jan. 9, 1962 2 of a vending machine that is foolproof against tampering.

Afurther'object of this invention is to provide a vending machine having a large capacity for cartoned articles, wherein-the magazine holds a double stack of articles and alternately dispenses the lowermost article .from one of the stacks. r Y

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of a vending machine including a magazine having openings through which articles may be ejected from a double stack arrangement, wherein means is provided on the ejector for closing the opening oppositeto the opening through which an article is being ejected.

Another object of this invention is to provides vending machine having a magazine adapted to support a double stack of articles in side-by-side relationship, and

, an ejector for ejecting the lowermost article of each stack alternately through an adjacent opening in the magazine,

for closing the magazine opening opposite to the opening through which an article is ejected. Moreover, means is provided on the ejector for movement therewith which closes the opening through which an article is ejected after that article has been ejected therethrough. In addi-. tion, mechanism is provided which prevents movement of the ejector in a direction which would jam the merchandise in the machine after it'has'initiated a stroke to dispense anarticle from the magazine, aswell as me-' chanism for assisting in movement of the ejector after it has been advanced through part of the ejecting stroke.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a vendingmachine that is simple in construction in that it has a relatively small number of parts, and may be economically manufactured.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a vending machine'for dispensing cartoned goods .one at a time that is foolproof against jammingof merchandisethatwould render it inoperative. g

Still another objectv of this invention is in the provision wherein means is provided on the magazine to close the opening opposite to the opening through which an article is being ejected and to close the opening through which an article is ejectedafter the ejection operation.

Still another object of this invention is in the provision of a vending machine including a magazine adapted to support a double stack of articles in side-by-side relationof the ejector after an ejection stroke has been initiated.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed dis closure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein-like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vending machine according to the invention;

,FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the vending machine internal operating components with the cover broken away; Y

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2, illustrating the dispensing chute between the cabinet opening and the ejector dispensing position;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

' FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the ejector in one position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 6 but illustrating the ejector in another position; FIG. 8 is a bottom plan'view of certain of the detailed mechanism, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. '2, and with certain parts eliminated forpurposes of clarity;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but showing the parts in another position; j j FIG. 10 is a sectional view; taken substantially along line 10-'10 of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrow;

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially along line 11-11 of FIG. 5;.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 with the'coin lever' in down position; I I FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view and with some parts fragmentary, taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 2'and illustrating the mechanism for closing the coin slot when the magazine is empty; and

' FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially along line 1414 of 'FIG. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrow. Referring now to the drawings and-particularly to FIG.. 1, the articlevending machine, according to the present invention, is generally designated by the numeral 20 and includes an enclosure orcabinet 21. The cabinet includes rear section 22 and a front or cover section 23 which constitutes a rectangular box-shaped cabinet. The rear section includes back panel 24,

side panels

25 and 26, FIG. 4, a bottom panel 27, and a top panel parallel spaced from the bottom panel but not specifically illustrated.

The rear section 22 is closed by the cover section 23 which includes a front panel 28 and a peripheral flange 29 that completely telescopes over the entire peripheral edge at the open side of the rear section 22. A key operated lock 30, FIG. 1, is provided to lock the cover section 23 on the rear section 22. The vending machine 20 may be mounted on a wall by means of screws or other fasteners arranged to secure the back panel 24 against awall, or it may be mounted on a stand if desired.

The front panel 28 of the cover section 23 is provided with :a coin slot plate 31, FIGS. 1 and 13, having a coin slot 32 for receiving a coin deposited by the operator, a handle 33 to be manipulated by the operator in operation of the machine, and a pair of spaced openings 34 and 35 through which articles may be dispensed upon operation of the machine. The openings are arranged at the lower corners of the front panel 28 as seen in FIG. 1..

A magazine is provided within the cabinet 21 which is capable of receiving a double stack of articles in side-byside relationship, and this magazine includes vertically spaced partitions or

walls

36, 37 and 3-8, FIG. 2, each of which is secured to the rear panel 24 and projects toward the-front panel 28. Between the

partitions

36 and 37, the magazine chamber 39 is defined for receiving a stack of articles 40, while the

partitions

37 and 39 define therebetween a magazine chamber 41 for receiving a second stack of articles 42. The individual articles may be designated by the letter A. The forward edges of the

partitions

36, 37 and 38 terminate in spaced relationship from the cover panel 23 to provide room for operating mechanism. In addition to the magazine chambers,

storage chambers

43 and 44, FIG. 2, are defined between the side panel 25 and the partition 36, and the partition 38 and the side panel 26. A supporting plate 45 extends between the partition 36 andthe side panel 25 and is secured thereto for supporting a stack of articles 46 in the storage chamber 43. Similarl a horizontally extending supporting plate 47 extends between the partition 38 on the side panel 26 for supporting a stack of articles 48 in the storage chamber 4 4. Thus, the vending machine of the present invention includes storage capacity which increases the usefulness and desirability of the machine.

The lowermost article in at least one of the stacks is always supported by the bottom 49 of the

magazine chambers

39 and 41. This bottom is spaced inwardly from the bottom panel 27 ofthe cabinet and supported by means. of a pair of parallel spaced

legs

50 and 51 that have inwardly directed

flanges

52 and 53, respectively, FIG. 2, resting on the bottom panel 27 of the cabinet. A forwardly arranged vertical mounting plate 54 extends downwardly from the forward edge of the magazine bottom 49 and is provided with a pair of flanges 55'bent at right angle thereto which may be secured to the inner surfaces of the

opposed legs

50 and 51.

The articles from the

stacks

40 and 42 are removed one at a time from the

magazine chambers

39 and 41 by means of an ejector, generally designated by the numeral 56, wherein the ejector is arranged to alternately eject the lowermost article from each of the stacks. The ejector includes anelongated, rectangularly-shaped base plate 57, FIG. 4, capable of spanning the

magazine chambers

39 and 41 and the area between one of the

partitions

36 and 38 and the outer side panel of the cabinet. Projecting forwardly of the base plate 57 is a rectangular section 58 having upwardly directed flanges 59 and 60 which extend parallel to each other. The base plate 57 is sized to be arranged atthe rear-portion of the underlying magazine bottom 49.

An inverted U-shaped member 61 having downwardly

bent flanges

62 and 63 is secured to the section 58 of the ejector whereby the flanges 62 and '63 are telescopically received on the flanges 59 and 60 and secured thereto as most clearly seen in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7. The upper surface of the U-shaped member 61 serves to support the lowermost article in one of the stacks, while the

flanges

62 and 63 define pushers for ejecting articles from the stacks. For example, the flange 63 will eject articles from the stack 42 upon reciprocation of the ejector 56 toward the right as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 7, while the flange 62 will eject the lowermost article from the stack 40 when the ejector is reciprocated to the left. Thus, reciprocation of the ejector etfects ejecting alternately the lowermost article from each of the stacks.

The

partitions

36 and 38 terminate upwardly from the magazine bottom 49 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of a single article A and define

opposed magazine openings

64 and 65 through which articles are ejected from the magazine. In order to prevent tampering and removal of articles without operating the ejection mechanism, tamper guards 66 and 67 are mounted on theejector and movable therewith to respectively close the

magazine openings

64 and 65 during reciprocation of the ejector. Each tamper guard is in the form of an upstanding plate having a height slightly less than the magazine openings and a length substantially equal to the opening, and is integrally attached to the base plate 57 as seen in FIG. 4. Thus, during the stroke of the ejector 56 to the right as viewed in FIG. 6, the lowermost article A of the stack 42 will be ejected by the pushing section 63 to dispensing position through the opening 65, while the tamper guard 66 closes the opening 64 of the magazine chamber 39. Similarly, when the ejector 56 is stroked toward the left in FIG. 7, the pushing section 62 of the ejector will eject the lowermost article A from the stack 40 through the opening 64 of the magazine chamber 39, while the tamper guard 67 will close the opening 65 of the magazine chamber 41. On the other hand, the

push ing sections

62 and 63 respectively close the

openings

64 and 65 through which an article has been ejected after the ejection operation. The middle partition 37 terminates above the magazine bottom by a distance slightly greater than the height of the inverted U-shaped member 61, thereby permitting passage of the inverted U-shaped member between the

magazine chambers

39 and 41, but preventing the transfer of articles between the two chambers. Accordingly, it is seen that it is impossible to remove an article from either of the chambers without stroking the ejector 56.

The ejector 56,.in one of the eject positions, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, initially moves the lowermost article from the magazine chamber 41 to the position A, FIG. 3, where the forward end of the article, being unsupported, will fall down to the position as seen by the article A3. When the article reaches the full eject position as seen in FIG. 6, only the backend of the article will be supported by the-base plate 57 of the ejector, thereby permitting the article to pivot on the forward edge of the base plate and topple down onto an arcuately-shaped guide plate 68 which coacts with a reverse L-shaped plate 69 to define a chute 70 leading to the cabinet opening 35 in the front panel 28. The articles then will be gravity fed downwardly to the point shown by the article A4, FIG. 3,

whereby the operator can reach through the opening and grasp the article and remove it from the machine. The chute guide 68 and the plate 69 may be secured to the leg 51of the inside framework. Similarly, when the ejector ejects an article from the magazine chamber 39, it will drop and be guided to the opening 34 by means of a guide plate 71 and a reverse L-shaped plate 72 defining a chute '73. Similarly, the

plates

71 and 72 may be secured to the leg 50 of theinside framework.

The ejector 56 is stroked or reciprocated by means of an actuating lever 74 pivotally mounted on a pin 75 secured to an upstanding portion 76of a mounting plate 77, FIG. 2. The mounting plate 77 includes a forwardly bent, generally horizontal section 78 extending from the lower end of the upstanding section 76, FIG. 10, and in spaced relationship from the magazine bottom 49. A second upstanding portion 79 extends downwardly from the forward edge of the horizontal portions 78 and lies against the mounting plate 54. Fasteners 80, FIG. 2, se cure the portion 79 to the mounting plate 54 and-thus the entire mounting plate 77 to the framework within the cabinet. A horizontally extending slot 81 is formed in the upstanding section 76 of the mounting plate 77 to receive a roller 82 extending from a vertical panel 83 bent downwardly at the forward end of the inverted U-shaped member 61 of the ejector. The free end of the actuating lever 74 is provided with an open-ended slot 84 which slidably receives the roller 82 on the ejector, whereby swinging or oscillating movement'of the actuating lever 74 reciprocates the ejector 56 between its opposite ejecting positions.

The upper end of the actuating lever 74 is provided with a pair of forwardly extending fingers 85 which receive between their opposite inner faces a pair of fingers 86 connected to a plate 87, FIGS. 2 and 5. Theplate 87 is secured on the end of a shaft 88 journaled in a bearing 89 mounted on the front panel 28 of the cover. The shaft 88 is also connected to the handle 33, whereby oscillation of the handle 33 will effect oscillation of the actuating lever 74 through the driving fingers 85 and 86.

The ejector 56 is slidably guided along the magazine bottom 49, wherein the rear edge of the base plate 57 is prevented from moving rearwardly in the cabinet and along the magazine bottom 49 by means of an upturned guide plate 90, FIGS. 4, 5 and 10, and the ejector is prevented from moving any substantial distance forwardly of the magazine bottom by means of an extension 91 integral with the rectangular section 58 of the ejector, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The extension 91 is slidably guided between the forward edge of the magazine bottom 49 and the horizontal section 78 of the mounting plate 77 thereby holdingthe front end of the ejector down against the magazine bottom. The forward edge of the extensions 91 cannot move forwardly any further than the upstanding portions 79 of the mounting plate 77. In addition, the roller 82 prevents upward movement of the ejector by being received in'the slot 81-of the mounting plate 77. And with removal of the cover 23, the fingers 86 carried thereby separate from the fingers 85 of the actuating lever 74 to permit removal of the cover from the cabinet and access thereinto. f

The extension 91 also coacts with the coin mechanism to lock the ejector 56 in either of the ejecting positions, wherein opposing

edges

92 and 93 of the extension may respectively engage the

edges

94 and 95 of a stop 96 on a pivotally mounted lever 97. The coin lever 97 is 'piv-p otally mounted on a pin 98 at the back side of the mounting plate 54, FIGS. 11 and 12. A longitudinally extending slot 99 is provided in the magazine bottom 49, FIG. 4, to receive the stop 96 so that it extends above the plane of the magazine bottom 49 and normally in the path of the ejector extension 91.

A spring 100 is fastened at one end to the mounting plate 54 and at the other end to an arm 101 of the lever 97, FIGS. 11 and 12, to normally bias the lever into the position shown in FIG. 11 where the upper edges of the lever abut against the under side of the magazine bottom 49. And in'this position, the stop 96 extends above the plane of the magazine bottom 49 and in the path of the ejector extension 91 so that it prevents stroking or" reciprocation of the ejector.

A coin pocket is defined in the coin mechanism by

pins

102 and 103 projecting laterallyfromthe coin lever 97, the lever 97 itself, and a plate 104 depending from the under side. of the magazine bottom 49, FIG. 5, whereby a coin may be received as seen in FIG. 11.

The coin C, when received in the coin pocket ofthecoin mechanism as seen in FIG. 11, serves to take the place of the stop 96 and the stop edge 95 while serving as a cam member during stroking of the ejector, whereby the edge 93 of the ejector extension 91 engages the rounded edge of the coin C and transmits a force through the coin which forces the coin mechanism lever 97. down-,

wardly, FIG. 12. The coin C as seenin FIG. 12 is rolled over the pin 103 on the lever 97 and ultimately permitted to drop downwardly into a coin box or the like. Once the coin C is free from the pin 103 on the lever, the spring 100 brings the coin lever 97 back to its normal position for locking the ejector in its ejected position. Similarly, when the next coin is received in the coin pocket, the other opposing'edge 92 of the ejector extension 91 engages the coin and rolls it over the pin 102' on the coin lever 97. In each case, the coin serves to take the place of the stop 97 and the

edges

94 and 95 and act as a direct the machine without tendering of a coin, a pin may be inserted in an aperture 107 which extends through the panel 79 of the mounting plate 77 and the mounting plate 54 after pulling down of the lever 97, whereby the lever 97 will be locked by the pin in its down position thereby keeping the stop 96 of the lever continually out of the path of the ejector extension 91. This permits free operation.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 8 and 9, mechanism is provided for aiding in the stroking or reciprocation of the ejector to provide positive movement of-the ejector to its extreme ejecting positions, wherein a bifurcated lever 108 is pivotally mounted on a pin 109 at the under side of the magazine bottom 49 and at a midpoint between the legs and 51. A spring 110 is connected at one end to a lug 111 extending downwardly from the end of the lever 108 opposite its bifurcated end, and at its other end' to a lug 112 extending down from an angle plate 113 which is secured to the under surface of the magazine bottom 49; The bifurcated end of the lever 108 includes curvate camming surfaces 114 and 115 which alternately engage a roller 116 which extends downwardly from the rectangular section 58, FIG. 10, of the ejector 56 and through a longitudinally extending slot .117. A disk-shaped plate 118 is secured to the free: end of the roller 116 and is of gages a cam surface 115 on the bifurcated lever 108 and drives it against the action of the spring to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG; 9 and designated by the numeral 108A, at which time the spring 110 acts directly against the lever 108 and the pin 109' in a position of the lever which may be defined as a position where the spring will not act to shift the bifurcated lever 108 to either position. As the roller 116 of the ejector further urges the bifurcated lever towardthe left, as seen in FIG. 9,, the spring 110 is then brought'offcenter with the pin 109 'audserves to aid in forcing the lever 108 to the position shown in full line in FIG. 9. vSimilarly, when the roller 116 of the'ejector isshifted in the other direction,

the'roller engages the cam surface 114 of the bifurcated lever 108 and shifts the lever to its other position, whereupon the lever aids in shifting the ejector after the spring has passed the dead center position. Hence, means is provided to assure positive ejecting position of the ejector should an operator not force the ejector to its complete ejection position.

In orderto prevent return of the ejector to the position from which it is moving away during stroking of the ejector, a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures 119 are provided in the extension 91 for coaction with the pawl 120 pivotally mounted on a plate 121 secured to the angle plate 113 at the under side of the magazine bottom 49' by fasteners 122, FIGS. 4, 5, and 14. Aspring 123 is fastened at one end to the pawl 120 and at the other end to the plate 121 for normally maintaining the pawl in a vertical position. The pawl extends upwardly into engagement with the extension plate 91 of the ejector and the apertures 119, whereby movement of the ejector in either direction will force the pawl off center against the biasing of the spring 123, whereby the bridges between the apertures 119 serve as spaced stops to engage the pawl and prevent return of the ejector until it has completely passed the row of apertures. Then, on the return stroke the pawl will be pivoted olf center in the opposite direction and serve to prevent return of the ejector until it has again passed the extension 91 and the apertures 119 so that it can return to normal vertical position. Thus, a person putting a coin in the machine will not experience losing of the coin by starting the stroke of the ejector and not completing it before a lapse of time.

Inasmuch as the lowermost-article is ejected from each of the stacks alternately, the stacks will be emptied at a similar rate. Once the magazine chamber 41 is empty with the depletion of the stack 42, a gravity actuated wire member 124, FIGS. 2 and 13, functions to block the coin slot 32 and refuse further coins. This wire member is pivotally mounted on an extension 125 of the mounting plate .77 and includes an article detecting leg 12-6 and a coin refusing leg 127, wherein the. ejection of the lowermost article A on the stack 4-2, FIG. 13, permits the heavier end 127 of the wire member 124 to swing the member about its pivot so that the coin refusing leg 1Z7 assumes a position shown in dotted lines wherein it blocks the coin slot 32; Thus, when the machine is empty, it is not possible for a person to lose his coin without an article.

The articles A are retained in their proper stacked relationship within the magazine chambers after the machine has been filled by means of a removable article retaining bar 128, FIGS. 2 and 5, which is removably re- 8 ceived on an upstanding projection 129 of the mounting plate 77. When filling the machine, the :bar 128 may be removed to facilitate filling and subsequently replaced in order to maintain ,the articles A properly located in the magazine chambers.

In view of the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a relatively simplyconstructed and easily operable vending machine which has a very large capacity and foolproof operation.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

The invention is claimed as follows:

An article vending machine comprising, a cabinet having front, back side, top and bottom panels, a pair of spaced openings in said front panel through which articles are to be dispensed, a magazine in said cabinet adapted to support a double stack of articles in side-by-side relation, said magazine having opposite side walls and a bottom wall extending between said cabinet front and back panels, said magazine side walls terminating above said bottom wall and defining a pair of opposed openings adjacent said bottom wall thereof through which the articles may be ejected, guide means between said magazine and cabinet openings for guiding articles ejected from the magazine openings to the cabinet openings, ejector means for ejecting alternately the lowermost article of one stack through one of said magazine openings and the lowermost article of the other of said stacks through the other of said magazine openings, and means for assisting the stroke of the ejector means after it has partially ejected an article through a magazine opening, said means for assisting the stroke of the ejector means including a pin extending from said ejector means, a bifurcated lever engageable with said pin and pivotally mounted adjacent the ejector means and a spring connected to said lever and biasing same to a predetermined position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 874,236 Pond Dec. 17, 1907 1,144,100 Bolen June 22, 1915 1,395,941 Beattie Nov. 1, 1921 1,548,670 Echols Aug. 4, 1925 1,669,167 Kelley May 8. 1928 2,359,397 Steiner Oct. 3, 1944 2,413,454 Kidwell Dec. 31, 1946 2,445,830 Hilton July 27, 1948 one u; wit-d.