US3075669A

US3075669A - Cup dispensers

Info

Publication number: US3075669A
Application number: US765669A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph F Lotspeich
Original assignee: National Rejectors Inc GmbH
Current assignee: Crane Payment Innovations GmbH
Priority date: 1958-10-06
Filing date: 1958-10-06
Publication date: 1963-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-29

Description

Jan. 29, 1963 ll. IF. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS l8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1958 INVENTOR. JOSL'PH E A OTSPEICH Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS l8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 6, 1958 m8 2: in m9, u 9!, 03 Q\\ IN l EN T0 12 Jars/w ELOTJPE/OH Jan. 29, 1963 CUP DISPENSERS l8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 001:. 6, 1958 /A//ENTO JOSEPH f2 Lamps/c1! Arr'rf Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. JOSEPH f. L cra s/c BY 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH 3,

cu DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. JOGEPH fl OTSPE/CH Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEIICH 3,075,669

CUP DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 7 'l I J Flc /4.

INVENTOR. JOSEPH [Z orsPncH Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH 3,075,669

CUP DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 Jan. "29,1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS l8 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed 001:. 6,1958

FIG. 26.

Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH 3,075,669

CUP DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR. JOSKPH LorJPncH Jan. 29, 1963 .1. F. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS 18 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Oct. 6, 1958 INVENTOR.

'JOSfP/l F A orsPE/cH Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH CUP DISPENSERS 18 Sheets-Sheet 13 Filed 001;, 6, 1,958

Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH 3,075,669

CUP DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 14 INVENTOR. Josanv 1'? L ours/c F/q.44 1 75.43. F/q.45. fl'rry Jan. 29, 1963 J. F. LOTSPEICH 3,075,669

CUP DISPENSERS 'Filed Oct. 6, 1958 18 Sheets-Sheet 15 INVENTOR. JOSEPH f. (073F470! BY I United States This invention relates to improvements in cup dispensers. More particularly, this invention relates to imorovements in cup dispensers for coin-operated, drinkvending machines.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved cup dispenser for coin-operated, drinkvending machines.

Cup dispensers for coin-operated, drink-vending machines are important and useful devices, and they are meeting ever-increasing acceptance. One defect in present cup dispensers for coin-operated, drink-vending machines is the inability of those cup dispensers to accommodate cups of different diameters unless and until some of the cup-separating parts of those cup dispensers are removed and are supplanted by replacement cup-separating parts. While the removal and replacement of the cup-separating parts of cup dispensers is easily accomplished in a factory, that removal and replacement is not so easily accomplished by the operators of coin-operated, drink-vending machines. Moreover, the need of keeping on hand a supply of re placement cup-separating parts adds inventory problems to the already numerous problems of operators of coinoperated, drink-dispensing machines. The present invention obviates those problems by providing a cup dispenser which has stack-supporting fingers that can respond to the movement of an adjusting lever to accommodate and support cups having different diameters. As a result, there is no need of removing and replacing any of the cup-separating parts of the cup dispenser of the present invention when cups having larger or smaller diameters are to be dispensed; it only being necessary to shift the position of the adjusting lever. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cup dispenser for coin-operated, drink-vending machines which has stack-supporting fingers that can respond to the setting of an adjusting lever to accommodate and support cups having different diameters.

The adjusting lever for the cup dispenser provided by the present invention is pivoted to rotate adjacent a dial. That lever is made relatively long, and that dial is made to subtend a large angle; and consequently that lever and dial make it possible to set the positions of the stack-supporting fingers with precision and accuracy. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a relatively long adjusting lever that is pivoted to rotate adjacent a dial that subtends a large angle.

Another defect of present cup dispensers is the inability of those cup dispensers to accommodate and separate cups having different rim thicknesses, unless and until some of the cup-separating parts of those cup dispensers are removed and are supplanted by replacement cup-separating parts. The present invention obviates all need of removing and replacing any of the cup-separating parts of the cup dispenser, and thereby obviates the problems connected with that removal and replacement by providing stack-supporting fingers that can be moved vertically relative to the cup-separating fingers of the cup dispenser by the shifting of a cam. That vertical movement of the stack-supporting fingers enables the cup dispenser to accommodate and separate cups having thick rims, thin rims or rims of intermediate thickness. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cup dispenser for coin-operated, drink-vending machines that has stacksupporting fingers which can respond to the shifn'ng of a cam to move vertically relative to the cup-separating fingers of that cup dispenser.

The cam that adjusts the vertical positions of the stacks'upporting fingers of the cup dispenser has shallow, inclined rises thereon; and those shallow rises require the cam to be shifted appreciable distances to change the ver-' tical positions of the stack-supporting fingers. This need of shifting the cam appreciable distances is desirable because it keeps that shifting from being a critical adjustment; and, in fact, it makes that shifting an adjustment that is Within the capabilities of most persons. It is there fore an object of the present invention to provide the cam, that adjusts the vertical positions of the stack-supporting fingers, with shallow, inclined rises.

The cam that adjusts the vertical positions of the stacksupporting fingers, of the cup dispenser provided by the present invention, carries a set screw; and that set screw not only' locks the cam in position, but also serves as a visual indication of the vertical positions of the stack-supporting fingers. Itis therefore an object of the present invention to provide the" cam, that adjusts the vertical posi-- tions of the stack-supporting fingers of a cupdi-spenser, with a set screw that can lock the cam in position and that can also serve as a visual indication of the vertical positions of those stack-supporting fingers.

The cup dispenser provided by the present invention has a turret in which a number of stacks of cups can be supported, and that turret normally holds one of those stacks of cups in register with the stack-supporting fingers of that cup dispenser. Shortly before the last of the cups of that stack of cups has been dispensed, a turret-advanc ing mechanism automatically rotates the turret to dispose a fresh stack of cups in register with those stack-supporting fingers. Shortly before the last of the cups in that stack of cups has been dispensed, the turret-advancing mechanism will again automatically rotate the turret to move a fresh stack of cups into register with the stack-supporting fingers. That turretadvancing mechanism includes a Geneva gear, and that gear assures precise and accurate advancements of the turret. As a result, the various stacks of cups carried by the turret are always precisely indexed into register with the stack-supporting fingers. It is their fore an object of the present invention to provide a cup dispenser with a turret-advancing mechanism that includes a Geneva gear.

The cup dispenser provided by the present invention has a feeler which normally engages the stack of cups in register with the stack-supporting fingers, and that feeler causes the turret-advancing mechanism to index the turret when it no longer feels that stack of cups. That cup dispenser has a second feel'er which normally engages that stack of cups at a point below the point where the first feeler engages that stack of cups, and that second feeler actuates an empty switch when it no longer feels that stack. This means that the first feeler will cause successive indexing of the turret without any actuation of the empty switch, and that the second feeler will actuate the empty switch only when the cup dispenser is out of cups.

The feelers for the cup dispenser provided by the present invention are moved out of engagement with the stack of cups during every cycle of the cup dispenser. This is desirable because it keeps those feelers from being impediments to the downward movement of the cups in the stacks of cups toward the stack-supporting fingers of the cup dispenser. However, before the end of the cycle of the cup dispenser, both of those feelers are permitted to move toward, and feel for the presence of, cups in the stack of cups.

The cup dispenser provided by the present invention has a gear housing, a cam housing, and a motor housing. That g'ear housing is formed so the cam housing can be set at any one of three faces thereof and so that motor housing can be set at any one of said faces thereof. This means that there are three possible positions wherein the cam housing can engage the gear honsing and there are three possible positions wherein the motor housing can engage the gear housing. In addition, where desired, the cam housing and the motor housing can be mounted in tandem; with that cam housing engaging the gear housing. This makes it possible to arrange the cam housing, the gear housing and the motor housing in many different ways; and, therefore, it makes it possible to mount the cup dispenser of the present invention in many places in coinoperated, drink-vending machines where other cup dispensers cannot be mounted. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cup dispenser with a gear housing that has several faces to which a cam housing or a motor housing can be secured, individually or when mounted in tandem.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from an examination of the drawing and accompanying description.

In the drawing and accompanying description, several preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown and described but it is'to be understood that the drawing and accompanying description are for the purpose of illustration only and do not limit the invention and that the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing, FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away, perspective View of one preferred embodiment of cup dispenser that is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and it shows the normal positions which the movable components occupy when only a few cups are held in the cup-separating head.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken, side elevational view of the cup dispenser of FIG. 1, and it shows that cup dispenser after the movable components thereof have passed through approximately one quarter of a cycle.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cup-separating head, the gear housing, the cam housing and the motor housing of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it shows the movable components of that cup dispenser in the positions they occupy in FIG. 2,

' FIG. 5 is a vertical section through a portion of the center of the cup-carrying turret, pivot and driven member of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view in plan of the turret of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 66 in FIG. 2,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view in plan through the cupseparating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 2, it shows the normal positions of the cup-separating fingers and of the stack-supporting fingers and of the finger-moving abutments by solid lines, and it shows a first moved position of those abutments by dotted lines.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view in plan that is taken along the plane indicated by the line 77 in FIG. 2, and it shows the positions which the cup-separating and stack-supporting fingers and the finger-moving abutments occupy when the movable components of the cup dispenser are in the positions shown by FIG.2,

FIG. 9 is a sectional view in plan that is taken along the plane indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 2, and it shows the positions of the cup-separating and stack-supporting fingers and of the finger-moving abutments after the movable components of the cup dispenser have passed through one half of their cycle,

FIG. 10 is a sectional view in plan that is taken along the plane indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 2, and it shows the cup-separating and stack-supporting fingers and the finger-moving abutments in the positions which they occupy in FIG. 8, but it shows the stack-supporting fingers after they have been set to accommodate larger i diameter cups,

FIG. 11 is a vertical section through part of the cupseparating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it shows one of the upper cup-separating fingers that is rotatable but that is held against vertical movement,

FIG. 12 is a vertical section through another part of the cup-supporting head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it shows one of the stack-supporting fingers,

FIG. 13 is a partially broken, perspective view of the gear housing for the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and of some of the components associated with that gear housing,

FIG. 14 is a partially broken, plan view of the driving and driven elements of the Geneva gear used in the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2 and of a latch used with that driven element,

FIG. 15 is a vertical section through part of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 15-15 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a vertical section through another part of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 1616 in FIG. 14,

FIG. 17 is a plan View of the driving and driven elements used with the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2 when that cup dispenser uses a larger cup-carrying turret.

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of one stack-supporting finger and of one upper and one lower cup-separating finger, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 1818 in FIG. 8,

FIG. 19 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 18, but it shows the stack-supporting finger after it has been moved downwardly to accommodate cups having deeper rims,

FIG. 20 is a sectional view in plan, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 202il in FIG. 2,

FIG. 21 is a partially sectioned, partially broken-away, front elevational view, on a large scale, of a detail of the cup-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 22 is a vertical section through the portion of the cup-separating head shown in FIG. 21,

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a positioning ring used in the cup-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 24 is a front elevational view of an indicating panel used with the cup-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 25 is a front elevational view of a cam ring used in thisi gap-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS.

FIG. 26 is a partially sectioned, side elevational view of a portion of the cup-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it shows the movable components thereon in the positions they occupy in FIG. 2,

FIG. 27 is a partially sectioned, side elevational view similar to FIG. 26, but it shows the movable components in their normal positions,

FIG. 28 is a partially sectioned plan housing, part of a cam housing, and part of the cup-separating head of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, and it shows by solid lines the positions which the movable components occupy in FIG. 2 and it shows by dotted lines the positions which the cup-engaging feelers occupy when cups do not block their inward movement,

FIG. 29 is a sectional view in plan through the gear housing of the cup dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2 and through one of the two cam housings associated with that gear housing,

FIG. 30 is a sectional end View through the said one cam housing of FIG. 29, and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 30-30 in FIG. 29,

FIG. 31 is a sectional end view through the shaft and one of the cams in the said one cam housing of FIG. 29,. and it is taken along the plane indicated by the line 3131 in FIG. 29,

FIG. 32 is a partially sectioned, partially broken-away view of the gear

Claims

1. A CUP DISPENSER WHICH COMPRISES A SUPPORT WITH A CIRCULAR OPENING THERETHROUGH THAT IS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE LOWERMOST CUPS OF A VERTICALLY DIRECTED STACK OF CUPS, A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY-DIRECTED PIVOTS THAT ARE MOUNTED ON AND DEPEND DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID SUPPORT AND THAT ARE POSITIONED AROUND SAID OPENING, A PLURALITY OF CUP-SEPARATING FINGERS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIVOTS FOR ROTATION INTO AND OUT OF CUP-ENGAGING POSITION, A PLURALITY OF SPRINGS BIASING SAID CUP-SEPARATING FINGERS TOWARD CUPENGAGING POSITION, A SECOND PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY-DIRECTED PIVOTS THAT ARE MOUNTED ON AND DEPEND DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID SUPPORT AND THAT ARE POSITIONED AROUND SAID OPENING, SAID SECOND PLURALITY OF PIVOTS BEING INTERLEAVED WITH THE FIRST SAID PLURALITY OF PIVOTS, A PLURALITY OF STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND PLURALITY OF PIVOTS FOR ROTATION INTO AND OUT OF STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION, A SECOND PLURALITY OF SPRINGS BIASING SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS TOWARD STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION, SAID CUPSEPARATING FINGERS AND SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS BEING SPACED APART AXIALLY OF SAID SUPPORT OPENING, A CYLINDRICAL MEMBER THAT IS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CIRCULAR OPENING IN SAID SUPPORT AND THAT HAS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY-SPACED, FINGER-ENGAGING ABUTMENTS THEREON, SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER BEING ROTATABLE IN ONE DIRECTION TO MOVE SOME EDGES OF SAID ABUTMENTS AGAINST SAID CUP-SEPARATING FINGERS AND THEREBY MOVE SAID CUP-SEPARATING FINGERS AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID PLURALITY OF SPRINGS AND OUT OF CUP-ENGAGING POSITION, SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER BEING ROTATABLE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO MOVE OTHER EDGES OF SAID ABUTMENTS AGAINST SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS TO MOVE SAID STACKSUPPORTING FINGERS AGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID SECOND PLURALITY OF SPRINGS AND OUT OF STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION, A POSITIONING RING THAT ENCIRCLES BUT IS SPACED RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID CIRCULAR OPENING, SAID POSITIONING RING HAVING SURFACES THEREON THAT CAN COACT WITH SURFACES ON SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS TO LIMIT ROTATION OF SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS TOWARD STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION, SAID POSITIONING RING BEING MOVABLE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF SAID SUPPORT OPENING TO VARY THE EXTENT TO WHICH SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS CAN MOVE TO STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION, A PANEL ADJACENT SAID SUPPORT, A CAM THAT IS ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT AND RELATIVE TO SAID PANEL, AND A LEVER THAT IS ROTATABLE WITH SAID CAM AND THAT IS ADJACENT SAID PANEL, SAID PANEL HAVING MARKINGS THEREON, SAID LEVER BEING ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO SAID PANEL TO ROTATE SAID CAM RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT AND THEREBY SHIFT SAID POSITIONING RING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF SAID SUPPORT TO VARY THE EXTENT TO WHICH SAID STACK-SUPPORTING FINGERS CAN MOVE TO STACK-SUPPORTING POSITION.